‘Martha’ in Baby Reindeer sues Netflix for $170 million

A woman claiming to have inspired hit TV series Baby Reindeer is seeking at least £132 million in a lawsuit filed against Netflix.

Fiona Harvey, from Glasgow in Scotland, has accused the streaming platform of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence, and violations of her right of publicity in the lawsuit filed at the Californian federal court.

It comes after she claimed to be the inspiration behind the character of Martha Scott, who stalks comedian Richard Gadd’s character Donny Dunn after he serves her a free cup of tea in the pub where he works.

The show is said to be based on the real-life experiences of the writer – billed in the opening titles as a “true story”. After the show aired, Gadd asked viewers not to speculate over the real people who inspired the series.

But Harvey said she has been “forced” into telling her side of the story after receiving death threats from “internet sleuths” following the release of the Netflix show which has spent eight weeks in the streaming giant’s top ten most watched shows.

Jessica Gunning plays Martha in Baby Reindeer Netflix

In the new lawsuit, Harvey has accused Netflix of spreading “brutal lies”, including that she is a “twice convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison”.

“Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money,” it states.

“As a result of defendants’ lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined.”

The court documents allege Netflix “did literally nothing” to confirm that the story represented was true, stating that “Harvey has never been convicted of any crime and has never been to prison”.

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‘No evidence’ Baby Reindeer’s real-life Martha was ever in court, says Piers Morgan

During an interview with Piers Morgan, Harvey referenced a scene in the show where character Martha admits to intimidating Gadd’s character and receives a nine-month prison sentence.

“That is completely untrue, very, very defamatory to me, very career damaging,” she said.

Later, Morgan claimed there is “no actual evidence” that Harvey ever appeared in court.

A statement from Netflix said: “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”

The lawsuit seeks actual damages and compensatory damages at 50 million dollars (£39 million) each; punitive damages at 20 million dollars (£16 million); as well as “all profits” from Baby Reindeer at 50 million dollars (£39 million).

A representative for Gadd has been contacted for comment.