A Scottish woman sued Netflix for $170 million on Thursday as the Netflix defamed her as stalker in the hit mini-series “Baby Reindeer”. The inspiration behind the character Martha in the series is inspired by Fiona Harvey, played by actress Jessica Gunning who portrayed as lawyer in London as her. But in the complaint she mentioned that Richard Gadd, the creator of “Baby Reindeer” mentioned it as a true story but he showed the she was a stalker who got convicted for the same two times and was sentenced to 5 years in imprisonment. Harvey denied the stalking conviction in which she has been stalking Gadd who was a frictional version of himself named Donny Dunn.
“Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money,” the complaint said. Netflix in response to lawsuit said, “it intended to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
The lawsuit is seeking at least $50 million for each damage, including compensatory damage and at least $20 million of punitive damage. They are also seeking the mental anguish damage and actual profits.
Netflix agreed to mention a disclaimer of alteration of some characters in the starting of the episodes of the series. It also agreed to donate $1 million to a nonprofit that helps free wrongfully convicted people.
The case is Harvey v Netflix Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 24-04744.