Baby Reindeer’s ‘real Martha’ defamation case against Netflix handed trial date

Fiona Harvey’s defamation lawsuit against Netflix over the Baby Reindeer controversy has been handed a trial date for 2025.

Harvey, the Scottish lawyer who internet sleuths tracked down as the person who inspired the show’s stalker character Martha Scott, is trying to sue the streamer for defamation after she alleged that the story is inaccurate and falsely depicted her as a convicted criminal who spent time in prison for stalking.

A federal judge has set a 6 May start date for Harvey’s action against Netflix, and proceedings are estimated to last about two weeks, according to Deadline.

The series, which follows a struggling comic Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) as he is relentlessly harassed and stalked by a woman named Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning) for more than four years, was embroiled in controversy when internet sleuths unearthed the “real Martha” as Harvey.

The series, which claims to be a “true story” in the opening credits, is based on the real-life experiences of Gadd, the show’s creator and lead actor.

Harvey was never convicted of stalking, despite the show depicting her pleading guilty to stalking and being sentenced to prison.

The series is billed as a “true story,” which Harvey argues in her $170m (£132m) lawsuit is “the biggest lie in television history”.

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According to documents seen by The Independent, Harvey has accused Netflix of defamation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violations of her right to privacy among other allegations.

While Gadd isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit, he filed a response in federal court defending a motion to dismiss Harvey’s claim in a declaration dated 28 July.

“I never intended the series to identify any real person as Martha Scott, including Harvey,” he wrote in the 21-page document. “Martha Scott is not Fiona Harvey. Like all characters in the series, Martha is a fictional character with fictional personality traits that are very different than Harvey’s.”

A Netflix spokesperson said at the time of the lawsuit’s filing: “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”

But the streamer has come under fire over the effectiveness of its safeguarding protocols for the subjects of its true crime series.

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Gadd has defended the show as being the “emotional truth” and has denounced internet sleuths who went in search of Harvey.

“I want the show to be received as a piece of art and I want people to enjoy the show as a piece of art. I’m called Donny Dunn. It exists in a sort of fictional realm, even though it is based on truth it exists in a fictional realm,” he previously told The Hollywood Reporter.

“If I wanted the real life people to be found, I would’ve made it a documentary,” the actor added. “I’ve spoken publicly about how I don’t want people to do it and if I start playing a game of whack-a-mole, then I’m almost adding to it. I don’t think I’ll ever comment on it ever again.”

Despite the controversy surrounding the series, Gadd’s show received 11 nominations at the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards, and the results of the nominations will be announced on 16 September.

Gadd himself was nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie while his co-stars Jessica Gunning and Nava Mau (who played Teri) picked up Best Supporting Actress nominations.

The Independent has contacted Netflix for comment.