Netflix has admitted that the real woman Baby Reindeer’s Martha is based on was not technically convicted of stalking Richard Gadd in real life.
The runaway streaming hit was billed as a “true story” upon its release in April of this year, and creator and star Richard has spoken candidly in interviews about how the show is based on a real stalking ordeal he endured.
While the real-life stalker was never identified, last month the streamer was hit with a $170 million (around £133,000) lawsuit by the woman who claims she inspired the character.
Netflix has now acknowledged that the real “Martha” – who has since been identified as Fiona Harvey – only received a court order over her interactions with Richard – not a conviction – according to a report in Deadline.
Earlier this year, a lawmaker questioned a statement Netflix made during a hearing, after which the streamer admitted in a letter to parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee that the real “Martha” was never convicted.
Benjamin King, Netflix’s senior UK director of public policy, appeared before the committee in May to detail how Baby Reindeer is the “true story of the horrific abuse” Richard suffered “at the hands of a convicted stalker”.
Committee member John Nicolson subsequently wrote to Netflix requesting evidence to support this claim.
In response, Benjamin wrote in the letter: “I wanted to clarify our understanding that the person on whom the show is based — who we have at no point sought to identify — was subject to a court order rather than a conviction.”
He added: “The writer of Baby Reindeer endured serious harassment over many months (as it now seems has been the case for many others), which had a significant impact on his wellbeing.”
In the Emmy-nominated series, Martha is depicted as pleading guilty to stalking and is sentenced to prison time.
Last month, Harvey accused the company of “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence” and “violations of [her] right to privacy”, and is now seeking $170 million in damages.
In a court filing on Monday, Richard reaffirmed his stance that the series is “emotionally true” to his own life, and not intended to be a “a beat-for-beat recounting”.
While the cast urged viewers not to speculate on the real identities of those depicted in the show, questions were ultimately raised about whether enough was done by Netflix to protect their identities.
In response to the lawsuit, Netflix vowed to “defend this matter vigorously”, insisting they also stood by “Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story”.