Baby Reindeer was a sleeper hit for Netflix. It became one of the most-watched shows this year and had a huge social media impact. The story:
…follows Donny’s warped relationship with a female stalker and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark buried trauma.
The show was such a success it started speculation about real-life inspiration about the show’s fictional character. People on social media tried to find out who ‘Baby Reindeer’ was in the real world.
Richard Gadd, the writer, star, and creator of the show, asked fans to stop any such speculation in a statement in April 2024. In May of this year, a 59-year-old law graduate, Fiona Muir-Harvey, claimed to be the real-life inspiration for Martha, the stalker in the show.
It now turns out a judge has approved a $170 million defamation lawsuit against Gadd and Netflix. R. Gary Klausner, a US District Judge, read in part:
“Defendants argue that a reasonable person would not understand that Martha is, in actual fact, Plaintiff, such that any statements about Martha would be about Plaintiff. In particular, Defendants argue that the similarities between Martha and Plaintiff are so broad that a reasonable person would not have been able to identify her. The Court disagrees.”
The rest of the statement went on to say that Harvey has a case against Baby Reindeer. It said that the similarities between Harvey and Martha, the fictional character, were too broad to be considered coincidental.
Netflix has been in trouble like this before, but Baby Reindeer is the biggest case to date. The court case is due to start in May 2025.