Netflix vs "the real Martha": Streaming giant faces US$170M lawsuit for "Baby Reindeer"
Baby Reindeer drama has just moved from online to offline as a woman claiming to be the “Real Martha” is suing Netflix for defamation.
The limited series is based on a one-man play written by Scottish actor, writer, and comedian Richard Gadd, who also stars in the Netflix adaptation as Donny Dunn. In the show, Dunn, a struggling comedian and bartender, befriends a woman named Martha (played by Jessica Gunning). Martha soon becomes obsessed with Dunn and starts to stalk him.
According to Netflix, the show is “also true to reality.”
Netflix
The show debuted on April 11 and became an instant hit, but now a woman claiming to be the “real Martha” is suing Netflix.
A lawsuit filed on June 6 in the US District Court for the Central District of California claims that the quote “This is a true story” that appears in the first episode is “the biggest lie in television history.”
“It is a lie told by Netflix and the show’s creator, Richard Gadd, out of greed and lust for fame; a lie designed to attract more viewers, get more attention, to make more money, and to viciously destroy the life of Plaintiff, Fiona Harvey — an innocent woman defamed by Netflix and Richard Gadd at a magnitude and scale without precedent,” states the document.
Netflix
Harvey is suing Netflix for “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence, and violations of Harvey’s right of publicity, arising out of the brutal lies Defendants told about her in the television series Baby Reindeer.” According to Variety, she’s seeking at least US$170 million in damages.
The day after the lawsuit was filed, Netflix shared Jessica Gunning’s audition tape “for her powerful role” as Martha.
See Jessica Gunning’s audition tape for her powerful role as Martha in the limited series, BABY REINDEER. From creator and writer Richard Gadd. pic.twitter.com/jzvSPHl78F
— Netflix (@netflix) June 7, 2024
In an interview with Netflix, Gadd explained that TV shows portray stalking as mysterious and sexy when, in reality, “stalking is a mental illness.”
“I really wanted to show the layers of stalking with a human quality I hadn’t seen on television before,” he said. “It’s a stalker story turned on its head. It takes a trope and turns it on its head.”
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