Netflix was sued on Thursday for at least $170 million by a Scottish woman, Fiona Harvey, who claimed she was defamed by her portrayal as a stalker in the hit miniseries “Baby Reindeer.” Harvey publicly stated that she inspired the character Martha, played by actress Jessica Gunning, who resembles her and, like her, is a lawyer in London.
In a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, Harvey alleged that Netflix and “Baby Reindeer” creator Richard Gadd went too far by suggesting in the show, which bills itself as a “true story,” that she was a twice-convicted stalker sentenced to five years in prison. Harvey denied stalking Gadd, who plays a fictional version of himself named Donny Dunn, or having been convicted or imprisoned.
However, she claimed that many people couldn’t distinguish between fact and fiction, leading thousands of Reddit and TikTok users to refer to her as the “real” Martha. The complaint stated, “Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.”
Netflix responded to the lawsuit by stating its intention to “defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.” The lawsuit seeks at least $50 million each for actual damages, compensatory damages including mental anguish and profits, plus at least $20 million in punitive damages.
Harvey filed the lawsuit two days after Netflix settled a defamation suit by former prosecutor Linda Fairstein over her portrayal in “When They See Us,” a 2019 series about the Central Park Five rape case three decades earlier.
