The woman who allegedly inspired the serial stalker character in the hit Netflix miniseries “Baby Reindeer” has sued the streaming giant for negligence and defamation.
Fiona Harvey filed a $170 million lawsuit Thursday in a U.S. District Court in California, alleging that Netflix and “Baby Reindeer” creator Richard Gadd told “brutal lies” about her in an effort to “ attract more viewers” and “make more money.” and “brutally destroy” her life.
Harvey is rumored to be the real-life Martha Scott, the stalker played by Jessica Gunning in the popular television adaptation of Gadd's one-man show. In particular, Harvey's lawsuit takes issue with Netflix depicting Martha as a twice-convicted stalker who sexually assaults Gadd's character and is sentenced to prison.
“The defendants told these lies and never stopped telling them, because it was a better story than the truth,” the complaint says, “and better stories made money.”
“We intend to defend this matter vigorously and defend Richard Gadd's right to tell his story,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement.
As Harvey's lawsuit notes, the pilot episode of “Baby Reindeer” begins with the message “this is a true story.”
The show stars Gadd as Donny Dunn, a struggling Scottish comedian whose life begins to fall apart when a woman walks into the bar where he works and develops an unhealthy obsession with him.
Although Gadd has said that he and Netflix went to great lengths to hide the identity of his real stalker, Harvey says in his lawsuit that Donny and Martha's use of the phrase “hang my curtains” as a euphemism for sex in ” Baby Reindeer” caused thousands of Internet users to question her and suspect that the character was based on her.
According to the complaint, the rampant speculation stemmed from a 2014 tweet by @FionaHarvey2014 that tagged @MrRichardGadd and said, “my curtains need to be hung wrong.”
Harvey has since spoken publicly about her alleged history with Gadd and has questioned some of the plot points of “Baby Reindeer.” She alleges in her lawsuit that Netflix “did nothing” to check Gadd's production in making the show.
Harvey seeks a jury trial.
Earlier this week, Netflix settled another defamation lawsuit brought by former New York City prosecutor Linda Fairstein over her performance in Ava DuVernay's Emmy-winning limited series “When They See Us.”
Times archivist James Kim contributed to this report.
