The judge ordered it Baby reindeer viewers could take it as a “true story” — which would allow Fiona Harvey’s defamation lawsuit against the show and the streaming network to proceed.
In a court order obtained by PEOPLE, the court disagreed with Netflix’s claim that the Richard Gadd-created series is fictional in many of its details, despite the written text on the screen at the beginning of the series that reads, “This is a true story.”
The decision was made following Harvey’s lawsuit over the implications of her actions, as portrayed by the show’s character Martha. The result is that the judge allowed most of the claims to proceed to trial.
In his order, Judge Gary Klausner compared Gadd’s experience with Harvey to Martha’s actions on the show, stating that “there is a big difference between stalking and being convicted of stalking in court,” “inappropriate touching and sexual assault” and “pushing and prodding.”
Harvey claims in the lawsuit that the show’s portrayal of obsessive stalker Martha is defamatory of her encounters with Gadd, 35.
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Baby reindeerRichard Gadd claims show not about Fiona Harvey: ‘She identified herself to reporters as Martha’
IN Baby reindeerGadd plays a version of himself named Donny Dunn. Although he says he “changed some events a little to create dramatic climaxes,” he told za The Guardian in April 2024 that the story is extremely true.
“Obviously it’s very emotionally true: I was seriously stalked and severely abused,” he said. “But we wanted it to exist in the realm of art, as well as protect the people it’s based on.”
In July, Netflix asked to have the lawsuit dismissed with Gadd’s support, as he claimed Harvey stalked and abused him. He also clarified that the show depicts his personal experiences, although parts of the story are “fictionalized”.
At the time, Netflix argued that “a reasonable person would not understand the statements [regarding Harvey] be factual claims” and that “a reasonable person in context would understand that the elements are not factual” due to the “cinematic elements of events” used in the series.
The judge, however, disagreed and stated that the events depicted “shall be construed as statements of fact.”
Klausner wrote, “The very first episode states unequivocally that ‘this is a true story,’ thereby inviting the audience to accept the statements as fact.”
Martha on ‘Baby Reindeer’.
Ed Miller/Netflix
Baby reindeerReal-life ‘Martha’ files $170 million lawsuit against Netflix over her portrayal on show
Harvey filed a defamation lawsuit on June 6, seeking more than $170 million in damages after claiming she was harassed after the show. She also vehemently denied that she sexually assaulted Gadd and was a convicted stalker, stories that were featured in the limited series.
In a 20-page statement supporting Netflix’s July effort to have the case dismissed, Gadd said he first met Harvey while working at a pub and that she “subsequently stalked and harassed me from 2014-2017.”
Gadd alleged in his court filing that Harvey touched him in “sexual” ways that were unwanted and claimed she accessed his personal information and contacted him “relentlessly,” sending him “thousands” of emails, voicemails and letters handwritten, including “sexually explicit, violent and derogatory content, hate speech and threats.”
He also stated that he was “scared” of Harvey as her stalking continued and eventually contacted the police to take legal action when her messages became more sexually explicit.
Gadd added in the filing that it was Harvey who “identified herself to the newspaper as Martha,” after the show aired.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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Source: HIS Education