A judge has ruled Baby Reindeer should not be billed a “true story” and said Fiona Harvey’s lawsuit against Netflix can move forward.
Harvey came forward claiming to be the inspiration behind Martha Scott in the hit show, alleging the story is inaccurate, and filed a $170m (£127m) lawsuit against Netflix.
Created by Scottish comedian Richard Gadd, and starring Jessica Gunning as his stalker, the dark comedy thriller came under fire from those who claim to have been depicted by the series.
At the beginning of the first episode, text appears on the screen which says: “This is a true story.”
US district judge Gary Klausner said in a ruling on Friday statements in the show were of a “worse degree” than the actions of Harvey.
He wrote: “There is a major difference between stalking and being convicted of stalking in a court of law.
“Likewise, there are major differences between inappropriate touching and sexual assault, as well as between shoving and gouging another’s eyes.
“While plaintiff’s purported actions are reprehensible, defendants’ statements are of a worse degree and could produce a different effect in the mind of a viewer.”
The judge added that Netflix “should have known the statements and portrayal of plaintiff through Martha were false, and that viewers would discover her identity and harass her based on these false statements and portrayals.”
He added the defendants made “no effort to investigate the accuracy of these statements and portrayals, or take further measures to hide her identity.”
Harvey denied stalking Gadd and sending him 41,000 emails, hundreds of voice messages and 106 letters.
Gadd described Baby Reindeer as “a dramatic work” and added “it is not a documentary or an attempt at realism.”
He continued: “While the series is based on my life and real-life events and is, at its core, emotionally true, it is not a beat-by-beat recounting of the events and emotions I experienced as they transpired.
“It is fictionalised, and is not intended to portray actual facts.”
He added: “It is an expression of my views on stalking, harassment and sexual abuse told through the lens of my own experiences, emotions and self-reflections.
“I did not write the series as a representation of actual facts about any real person, including Fiona Harvey.
“Harvey is never mentioned in the series.”
Emails detailed in the documents allegedly contained “hateful speech and derogatory racist and homophobic language” made by Harvey.
Gadd said “Harvey frequently made personal attacks and threatened me in her emails.”
In the court papers, Gadd recounted allegedly meeting Harvey in 2014 in a London pub called the Hawley Arms and said their “common Scottish heritage” began a conversation.
He said: “In 2014, I met Harvey at the pub where I worked at the time, the Hawley Arms. I noticed that Harvey looked distressed and offered her a cup of tea on the house. On noticing each other’s accents, we engaged in what I took at that time to be a friendly conversation, and discussed our common Scottish heritage.
“Following that first meeting, Harvey subsequently stalked and harassed me throughout 2014–2017. She frequently appeared at the pub. It quickly became clear that she had memorised my shift pattern by hanging around the pub constantly.
“She would then arrive just before my shift started on most days I was working and sit at the end of the bar. She would also call the pub constantly on days when I was not working to check if I was in.”
The show was among the big winners at this year’s Emmy Awards, taking home four gongs, with Gadd collecting three of the awards for writing, producing and starring in the series.
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