The supermarket Aldi has come under fire after posting a joke on social media based around Baby Reindeer.
Earlier in the week, Aldi posted a photo from the set of Baby Reindeer on X (formerly Twitter).
In the picture, the character of Donny is labelled “us” while Martha is referred to as “Tesco and Sainsbury’s”, while the post was captioned: “Obsessed.”
Given the serious themes of stalking, mental health and sexual assault explored in the hit Netflix series – and the fact the show was inspired by real events from creator and star Richard Gadd’s own life – the post has faced heavy criticism since it was shared, with many questioning whether it’s an appropriate show to joke about…
HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for Aldi for comment.
Baby Reindeer began streaming on Netflix last month, and quickly became a sleeper hit for the streaming giant on both sides of the Atlantic.
For a long time, the show held an enviable critical score of 100% on the reviews website Rotten Tomatoes, and has not budged from Netflix’s list of most-watched TV shows in over a week.
As well as creator Richard Gadd, the show includes Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau and Tom Goodman-Hill among its cast.
However, since its surge in popularity, Richard and several other cast members have had to speak out against viewers trying to track down the real-life people who inspired the show.
“I think if that is happening, I think it’s a real, real shame, because it shows that they haven’t watched the show properly. That’s not the point of it in any way,” Jessica said last week.