Baby Reindeer’s real Martha poses real legal threat to Netflix after ‘demanding $170,000,000 in damages’-Kitty Chrisp-Entertainment – Metro

Fiona Harvey, who claims to be the ‘real Martha’ from Baby Reindeer, is reportedly suing Netflix (Picture: Piers Morgan Uncensored/TalkTV/PA Wire)

Fiona Harvey, the woman who claims to be the real-life Martha from hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer, poses a real legal threat to the streaming giant, according to a lawyer.

Richard Gadd plays himself in the Netflix series – which states at the start it is ‘a true story’ – all about his ‘stalker’ Martha, who internet sleuths seemingly found out to be based on Harvey.

Since, Harvey has also claimed to be the ‘real Martha’ – and she was even interviewed by Piers Morgan all about the explosive series.

It’s now been reported that Harvey, 58, is seeking monetary damages from Netflix of at least $170,000,000 (£132,000,000) for her supposed depiction in the series.

According to Variety, Harvey is alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and violations of her right of publicity.

While many might brush Harvey’s reported legal intentions off as unlikely to come to anything, lawyer Alexander Cameron, member of the Forum of the Insurance Lawyers and Legal Director at Birketts, thinks she poses a real challenge to the Californian streaming company.

Harvey could post a real legal threat to Netflix over her supposed portrayal in the series, a lawyer has told Metro.co.uk (Picture: Ed Miller/Netflix)

Richard Gadd starred as himself in the series, which said at the start it was a ‘true story’ (Picture: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

‘Despite the British dimension to this story, California is the obvious place to bring this lawsuit,’ he told Metro.co.uk.

‘Netflix is headquartered there and should the claim for defamation etc. succeed, the court potentially may award tens of millions of dollars in damages,’ he added, explaining how Harvey thinks her reputation has been destroyed by the series.

English courts do not give monetary values on this scale in defamation claims. Also, California law protects ‘publicity rights’ – the right to prevent unauthorised use of a person’s name or likeness by a third party for commercial benefit.

Cameron explained: ‘Netflix intends to “defend this matter vigorously” referring to the right of Gadd to “tell his story” and US First Amendment protection for freedom of expression will feature in the proceedings.  

‘The court will need to grapple with questions of whether Netflix is legally responsible for identification of “real-life Martha” and whether the show makes defamatory allegations of fact against her.

‘The series does not disclose her identity but contained sufficient clues to enable “internet sleuths” to work it out.

‘The fact that Richard Gadd plays himself and on-screen Martha bears a strong physical resemblance to real-life Martha has aided this process.

‘The show’s opening credits state: “This is a true story.” There is no disclaimer that it is merely “inspired by true events”.

‘These features of the show mean that Netflix faces a real legal challenge in successfully defending this lawsuit.’

Throughout the course of Baby Reindeer’s seven episodes, Martha infiltrates every corner of Gadd’s life, making his life miserable until she is finally sentenced.

Baby Reindeer was streamed over 60million times in its first month, and subsequently it wasn’t long before internet detectives trawled social media trying to identify the real people behind the characters in the show.  

Gadd urged viewers not to track them down, stressing it ‘misses the point’ of the series.

In a matter of days though, Harvey’s real tweets to Gadd were unearthed, and spread like wildfire on X, as she chose to give her side of the story on Morgan’s YouTube channel.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More