According to CNN, the defamation lawsuit against Netflix for the Emmy-awarded show Baby Reindeer will continue. The Scottish woman who allegedly stalked the show’s creator, Richard Gadd (Wedding Season, Clique), was revealed as Fiona Harvey.
Harvey was the one to sue Netflix in June of this year for villainizing her because of the actions committed in the show against Gadd. She allegedly sought $170 million for damages and a jury trial in her original case.
Although the show is “based” on a true story, viewers can still assume she took it too far from what they watched. These were the thoughts of Judge R. Gary Klausner in the order released on Oct. 27. He also mentioned how Baby Reindeer “appears to present itself as fact” as opposed to how Gadd portrays his experience in the show. Baby Reindeer follows Gadd’s recollections of his stalking experience with a woman who allegedly harassed him with hours of voicemails and an endless amount of emails.
The lawsuit states that Harvey notices differences between Martha and herself. She highlights how television watchers will assume she was “a twice convicted criminal that spent five years in prison for stalking,” who “sexually assaulted Gadd in an alley,” “stalked a police officer,” “stalked Gadd by waiting outside his home every day for up to 16 hours a day” and “violently attacked Gadd … gouged his eyes with her thumbs.” via CNN.
Judge Klaussner acknowledges Netflix’s argument that the examples above are significantly true. The streamer insisted that “she could have been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison,” and allegedly touched Gadd without consent in multiple areas of his body, even though she is not a twice-convicted criminal.
Klaussner did not see eye to eye with the Netflix statement. He wrote, as stated by CNN, “There is a major difference between stalking and being convicted of stalking in a court of law. Likewise, there are major differences between inappropriate touching and sexual assault, as well as between shoving and gouging another’s eyes.”
He stated that if Harvey were to be imprisoned for the actions portrayed on Baby Reindeer, she would show “actual malice.” The Sunday Times showcased evidence of this, where Gadd shared that he allegedly felt afraid to portray this show as a true story. While the lawsuit will proceed, the judge dismissed Harvey’s right of publicity, gross negligence and requests for punitive damages claims.
According to CNN, a previous statement was released from a Netflix spokesperson: “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.” However, there are no other comments to report on the situation.