‘Baby Reindeer’ Creator Richard Gadd Responds To $170 Million Defamation Lawsuit By Woman He Claims ‘Stalked & Harassed’ Him

In a recent legal battle, Richard Gadd, the creator and star of the hit miniseries Baby Reindeer, has responded to a lawsuit filed against Netflix by a woman who claims to be the inspiration for the stalker character in the show.

In a detailed 21-page declaration filed in a Los Angeles federal court, Gadd asserts that while the series is “at its core, emotionally true,” it is nevertheless a “fictionalized” work that does not portray “actual facts.”

The lawsuit, brought forward by Fiona Harvey, is for over $170 million and alleges that the character of Martha Scott (played by Jessica Gunning) is a thinly veiled portrayal of her. She further declared that Netflix’s “lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct” have “ruined” her life.

However, Gadd maintains that the characters and events in Baby Reindeer are not a “beat-by-beat recounting” of his experiences, but rather a dramatized and fictionalized version, designed to explore the complexities of his alleged encounters with Harvey.

In his court filing, Gadd provides extensive details about his purported experiences with Harvey with claims that she “stalked and harassed” him throughout 2014-2017, with frequent visits to the pub where he worked, accompanied by crude jokes, and attempts to touch him inappropriately. Gadd alleges that Harvey’s behavior caused him considerable anxiety and negatively impacted his ability to work effectively.

Gadd’s declaration also addresses the issue of identity, and states that he “intentionally used characters that did not share the actual names of any persons from my life” and that his “hope was that the audience would recognize that neither of them was truly the aggressor nor the victim.”

In response, Harvey’s lawyer criticized Gadd’s statement with arguments that it “ties itself in knots” as it said that Baby Reindeer is not a true story, thereby “conceding the very essence of Ms. Harvey’s claims.” The lawyer also accuses Gadd of continuing to “hide from the press” and make “allegations that are irrelevant and have nothing to do with the litigation or the ‘true story’ of Baby Reindeer.”