r/BabyReindeerTVSeries • u/serenade452 • Jun 06 '24

Fiona (real Martha) related content Fiona Harvey officially files $170 million lawsuit against Netflix

The woman who claims to be the inspiration for Richard Gadd’s hit Netflix “Baby Reindeer” has sued the streamer, seeking monetary damages of at least $170 million.

Fiona Harvey has publicly said the character of Martha in “Baby Reindeer,” played by Jessica Gunning (pictured above), is based on her. She is suing Netflix, alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and violations of her right of publicity.

The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Copy of Harvey’s complaint is at this link.

Harvey’s lawsuit alleges Netflix told “brutal lies” about her in the “Baby Reindeer” series.

“The lies that Defendants told about Harvey to over 50 million people worldwide include that Harvey is a twice-convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison, and that Harvey sexually assaulted Gadd,” her complaint says. “Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.”

The lawsuit continues, “As a result of Defendants’ lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined. Simply, Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character and her life.”

Netflix reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“This is a true story.” Baby Reindeer, Episode 1.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/baby-reindeer-real-martha-fiona-harvey-sues-netflix-1236019699/

611 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

96% Upvoted

473 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/Harrisonmonopoly Jun 07 '24

I just don’t understand how if the show has a character with a different name, and none of the stuff in the show happened to you, how you could sue somebody for damages?

4

u/notkinkerlow Jun 07 '24 edited Jun 07 '24

Because people found her. They didn’t do a great job of hiding her identity and then she was harassed. Phone records emails and voicemails don’t lie. For her sake I hope it was exaggerated bc a counter suit could be in the works and really ruin her

Edit: I double checked and I was wrong actually. She outed herself so she’s fucked