“Baby Reindeer” poster.
NETFLIX
The lawyer for Baby Reindeer’s real “Martha” is detailing what Netflix must provide in Fiona Harvey’s $170 million lawsuit against the streaming service.
Baby Reindeer became a global streaming sensation when it was premiered on Netflix in April. Based on Richard Gadd’s 2019 one-man autobiographical stage show in the UK, Baby Reindeer tells the story of how the standup comedian/part-time bartender was relentlessly stalked for four years by Martha (Jessica Gunning) after he was kind to her in a pub.
The first episode of Baby Reindeer includes a prologue line that reads, “This is a true story.” During interviews about the series, Gadd said while the story has been fictionalized for the series, “emotionally, it’s all 100% true.”
Gadd plays himself but his character is named Donny Dunn in Baby Reindeer. However, internet sleuths eventually pieced together clues about the person Gadd claims to be his stalker and eventually outed Harvey as the real “Martha.”
On May 9, Harvey formally revealed her identity in an interview with the host of Piers Morgan Uncensored but denied key aspects of the series, including claims that she sent Gadd more than 41,000 emails and left him 350 hours of voicemails.
In a recent interview with Good Morning Britain (via Yahoo! UK), Harvey’s attorney Richard Roth said Netflix needs to provide the emails and voicemails Gadd claims he received. Gadd is not named in the lawsuit, but it appears that Harvey’s attorney wants what was allegedly sent to him on his computer or left for him on his phone.
“They better have those hours of voicemails, they better have 41,000 messages. Think about that, 41,000 messages. The relationship was not that long of a relationship,” Roth told Good Morning Britain. “So, if they don’t have those 41,000, I’m telling you we don’t have them and I don’t believe they have them. Then that’s where Netflix fails.”
“Fiona stands by her statement that she made in front of Piers Morgan, which is that there is nowhere near that amount,” Roth told Good Morning Britain. “So yes, if there are those types of messages, it becomes a little more difficult. But still.”
In Harvey’s lawsuit against Netflix—which was filed on June 7—the complaint states, “As a result of Defendants’ lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined. Simply, Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character and her life.”
A representative for the streaming service responded to the filing in statement, which reads, “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
‘Baby Reindeer’ Continues To Build Viewership On Netflix
While Fiona Harvey’s lawsuit against Netflix continues to unfold, the viewership for Baby Reindeer has hit a milestone on the streaming service.
On June 9, Baby Reindeer cracked the Netflix All-Time Top 10 Shows list with a debut on the chart at No. 10. As of the most recent update of the chart on June 16, the show has held steady at No. 10 with 85.9 million views, which equates to 340.6 million viewing hours.
In addition, Harvey’s lawsuit against the streamer hasn’t stopped Netflix from campaigning for the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards. The day after the lawsuit was filed, Netflix posted Martha actor Jessica Gunning’s audition video on X.
If Baby Reindeer has any success in its Emmy campaign, it will compete in the Emmy Awards’ Limited/Anthology Series or TV Movie category. The nominations will be revealed on July 17.
