'Baby Reindeer' Drama: Woman Who Inspired Stalker Role Plans to Sue Netflix, Claims Show Is Not Based on a True Story
Fiona Harvey, the woman who is believed to have inspired the stalker role in Netflix's Baby Reindeer, is speaking out.
While appearing on the Thursday, May 9, episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored, Harvey insisted the series is highly dramatized.
"[Richard Gadd] is lying and they [Netflix] are lying. They have billed it as a true story, so has he, and it’s not. It’s blatantly not. There are two true facts in that [show]: his name is Richard Gadd and he works as a jobbing barman on benefits, in the Hawley Arms," she explained to Piers Morgan, referring to the man she was allegedly fixated on.
In the miniseries, the character allegedly based on Harvey is named Martha Scott (played by Jessica Gunning), while Gadd's name is Donny Dunn. Gadd plays himself in the series.
Harvey called out specific details of the show, saying, "If somebody was sending somebody 41,000 emails or something, they'd be doing how many a day? Lots. None of that's true. I don't think I sent him anything."
She then clarified there were just "a couple of emails exchanged" and they were "jokey banter."
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Harvey revealed she's been harassed since the show premiered on the streaming service on April 11.
"I find it quite obscene. I find it horrifying, misogynistic. Some of the death threats have been really terrible online," she spilled. "People phoning me up. You know, it’s been absolutely horrendous."
She also stated she met Gadd face-to-face only "two or three times."
Despite her claims, Netflix doubled down that the series is based on true events, adding that everyone involved in the drama miniseries took "precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved."
According to Extra, Netflix U.K. employee Benjamin King told lawmakers at a U.K. Parliament hearing, "Ultimately, it’s obviously very difficult to control what viewers do, particularly in a world where everything is amplified by social media. I personally wouldn’t be comfortable with a world in which we decided it was better that Richard was silenced and not allowed to tell the story."
At the end of her appearance on Morgan's show, Harvey confirmed she plans to sue Netflix.