NOTE: The following details are based on unverified sources and fan speculation. Read at your own risk.
In Baby Reindeer, Richard Gadd tells his overwhelming stalker story, where his stalker went to incredible lengths while obsessing over him and his life. The series became a huge hit as soon as it was released on Netflix. The stalker in the show is named Martha Scott, and she represents the person who stalked Gadd in his twenties. As soon as people learned that Baby Reindeer was based on real events, they started investigating and looking for the real stalker.
The whole situation escalated when fans accused Fiona Harvey, a Scottish woman, who then became the main suspect for Gadd's stalker. After the allegations, Fiona Harvey then came forward demanding compensation from Netflix.
Below you can see what we know so far about the alleged accusations and Fiona's lawsuit.
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Alleged Accusations
It all began after fans discovered Fiona Harvey's social media accounts and found many similarities between her posts and Martha's character. Although Richard Gadd and Netflix's team have not confirmed Fiona as the real Martha, fans quickly put the pieces together.
They noted that the resemblance between Baby Reindeer's Martha and Fiona was too strong to deny, both based on her appearance and her personality and character. Fiona Harvey had also posted about Richard Gadd years ago, which was supposedly the time Gadd experienced his stalking issue. After learning of this, fans started bullying Fiona extensively.
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Fiona Harvey on Piers Morgan's Show
This made the Scottish woman go public and appear on Piers Morgan's show to speak her truth. During the interview, Fiona confirmed knowing Richard Gadd but denied all the stalking accusations against her. It was also at that time that Fiona told Piers Morgan she would be suing both Richard Gadd and Netflix for allegedly making up all those lies and painting her as a crazy convicted criminal.
Not long after that, it was announced that Fiona Harvey was suing Netflix for $170 million, calling Baby Reindeer "the biggest lie in television history." The lawsuit has been filed in California, where Netflix headquarters are located.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the amount of $170 million is speculated to be the sum of the total profits made from Baby Reindeer, and Fiona's "loss of business." Fiona Harvey is blaming Netflix for all the emotional distress and violated privacy rights she has experienced.
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Baby Reindeer and Netflix
Even though Richard Gadd's story seems to be truthful to some extent, Netflix made the devastating decision to categorize Baby Reindeer as a "true story."
Not an inspiration, not a show based on true events, but a true story, which some would argue can be labeled as a documentary. After using that terminology, all viewers were convinced that what they were watching did happen in real life.
Baby Reindeer delves into very dark themes and events, some of which include Martha terrorizing Gadd's family, and assaulting his girlfriend, all ending with her going to jail.
However, after conducting an investigation Fiona's legal team currently claim that she has never been to prison. This may suggest that Netflix's show is lying to an unknown extent about Gadd's stalking experience. However, none of this is yet to be officially confirmed. After receiving the lawsuit, Netflix issued the following statement.
"We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story"
Netflix
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No matter if you sympathize with Richard Gadd or if Fiona Harvey does turn out to have done some of the things from the show, it is generally seen as wrong to accuse someone falsely.
Baby Reindeer allegedly portrayed Fiona as a convicted criminal, and that's how she is seen in society now. After watching Piers Morgan's interview with her, fans speculated that Harvey lied on multiple occasions.
However, Netflix completely tore her apart and allegedly ruined her life with the extent of their accusations. There is currently no official information on the outcome of the lawsuit, but fans speculate that it could potentially affect the television industry from now on, and we are all eagerly waiting to see what happens.
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