The stalker from the show Baby Reindeer was identified in real life and is now receiving death threats online.
The Show: Baby Reindeer
The plot circles around a character named Donny Dunn and his stalker Martha, Donny is inspired by the real-life experiences of the show’s creator Richard Gadd in the 2010s. Martha claims to be a lawyer and gets obsessed instantly after an interaction with Dunn. The show depicts how Dunn’s life turned upside down due to an obsessive stalker, bringing back traumatic events from his past. The story is presented as being inspired by real events, with some alterations made to enhance its dramatic impact.
Gadd did not anticipate such a response, considering it was originally a one-man theater show performed at a film festival. The Netflix series has gotten a tremendous viewership of 60 million worldwide in merely a month. The show has won at Gotham Awards in New York and is anticipated to get nominated for Emmy awards in June. The show is now considered one of the biggest ever, and audiences are curious about the real-life inspiration behind it.
“Real-life inspiration.”
Fiona Harvey appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored following claims that she inspired the character of Martha
A Scottish woman aged 59 years old from the UK claims to be the inspiration behind the character of Martha. Martha in the show, was the stalker convicted of stalking charges against Dunn (The Protagonist). After the show gained Popularity, the crowd turned towards Fiona Harvey – convicted for 5 years of real-life stalker of the Gadd (as portrayed in show)
The Lady went onto the Piers Morgan show and put a word for herself, that she had gotten several death threats and a bombardment of phone calls after she was wrongfully portrayed in the series. The show mentions 41000 emails, 106 letters, and hundreds of voicemails sent by Martha but All of these claims including being a stalker are denied by Harvey on the show. She rather says there were some mail conversations and funny banter between the two- Harvey and Gadd.
The series has caused severe harm to her reputation and security, she isn’t able to go outside the home, because of numerous death threats.
The worldwide lies about her stalking and sexually assaulting Gadd are something that isn’t true but a better story that has made money for the organization (Netflix) hence the lady has filed a defamation lawsuit against it claiming $170 million as reverence money.
Harvey asks for $50 million for actual damages, another 50 for mental anguish, loss of enjoyment, and business as compensation, another 50 for the show’s profit, and 20 million for punitive charges.
Stance of the Defendants
Richard Gadd and Netflix will be represented as the Defenders against the lawsuit. Gadd has before said in an interview that he has shaped Martha’s character in a way that she wouldn’t recognize herself. He has changed names and contexts to protect the identity of characters on the show. He has only tweaked the storyline for dramatic enhancement.
In defense of Gadd, Netflix says he has the right to tell his story.
Regulative steps by Netflix
The platform has agreed to put a disclaimer at the start and closing credits of the show of the characters being altered for the dramatic purpose of the content, it will also be donating to nonprofits which helps free the falsely convicted around a million dollars.
The Central District Court of California is currently handling the lawsuit filed against Harvey vs Netflix.
