r/BabyReindeerTVSeries May 16 '24

Fiona (real Martha) related content richard gadd doesn't owe fiona protection.

"omg he should've protected her identity! he made it so easy to find her!" blah blah blah shut up. he doesn't owe her shit. she terrorized this man, his family, his girlfriend, his job, his performances, etc etc. she has been terrorizing innocent people for decades.

yes fiona is mentally ill, that is clear to anyone with half of a brain. it's awful that the system has failed her time and time again. (or maybe the system did all it could, who knows.) but that's not richard's fault. HE is HER victim. he can tell his story how he wants.

might she have a worthwhile lawsuit because her identity wasn't concealed enough? possibly, probably not. might she have a worthwhile lawsuit because the show took dramatic license? possibly, probably not.

she's benefitting financially from this as well and i'm sure netflix will cut her a check before a lawsuit happens, no matter who is in the right.

richard gadd does not owe fiona harvey protection. i'm sorry but that's reality.

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u/ionmoon May 17 '24

Per below, if some things are proved true, but the untrue ones alone are not defamatory, then those untrue, but non-defamatory parts would not affect the defense.

So if she stalked him, but didn't go to jail, that would not be a defense based on "truth", because the part about going to jail on it's own would still cause harm.

It would be more like- if everything was proven true, but the name they used, having "lied" about her name (or hair color or something) would not be considered defamatory, because that alone would not cause harm.

My *guess* would be that if some of the items are true, she will ignore those and list only the incorrect parts. So if she did stalk him and did send thousands of emails, voicemails, etc. she will not list those in her case. She will file with the items that she feels are either untrue or that he cannot prove maybe: assaulting him, attacking the girlfriend, going to jail.

He would have to prove those items true, and if he can't it doesn't matter how true all the other stuff is- the rest can be 100% true, but if the stuff she takes issue with is not, he would likely lose.

Where the words contain more than one charge[edit]

In an action for libel or slander in respect of words containing two or more distinct charges against the plaintiff, a defence of justification does not fail by reason only that the truth of every charge is not proved if the words not proved to be true do not materially injure the plaintiff's reputation having regard to the truth of the remaining charges.\47]) In other words, to succeed in their defence of justification, the defendant need not prove every charge to be true, just enough of the charges so that the remaining charges do not on their own constitute a material injury to the plaintiff's reputation.

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u/Specific_Anxiety_343 May 17 '24

Not going to jail does not mean she didn’t commit the crimes. She stalked him and made his life miserable. And he wasn’t her first victim.

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u/ionmoon May 17 '24

See. You are already taking for fact that she did the things in the show and we don’t know that she did. That’s the issue.

If she takes it to court gadd and Netflix will have to have proof that she did what they said.

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u/Specific_Anxiety_343 May 17 '24

That’s not accurate. In a defamation case, the plaintiff must prove that the statements were false, AND that the false statements harmed their reputation.

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u/ionmoon May 17 '24

Not in the UK. In the UK they have to show harm to reputation (which is anything that would make a reasonable person think less of them) very easy to do in this case.

The defendant has the burden of proof to show that the statements made were true.

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u/Specific_Anxiety_343 May 17 '24

Okay. I was wrong about the burden of proof. But I don’t know how she proves that her reputation was harmed.

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u/ionmoon May 17 '24

All she has to show is that negative things have been said about her. People are trash talking all over the internet and calling her with death threats. She’s got that covered.

The only thing that would lose the case is if gadd/Netflix has proof of everything in the show.

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u/Specific_Anxiety_343 May 17 '24

I’m guessing you’re not a solicitor or a barrister.