Baby Reindeer’s ‘Real Martha’ Is ‘Afraid to Go Out’ Amid Lawsuit

Fiona Harvey’s lawyer is giving an update on her well-being amid her $170 million lawsuit against Netflix over Baby Reindeer.

“I speak to her regularly. Honestly, she’s not well. She’s clammed up [in] her apartment. She doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know where to go… she’s hurting. She’s been shattered by this,” lawyer Richard Roth said on the Tuesday, June 18, episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored.

“There’s going to be a big percentage of the populace that don’t believe her and think she is the Martha who’s depicted in the series,” Roth added. “She’s afraid to go out and get groceries. It’s that bad.”

Harvey filed a lawsuit against Netflix on June 6, accusing the streaming service of defamation, among other things, over the character Martha, who she believes is based on her.

Baby Reindeer, inspired by comedian Richard Gadd’s one-man stage show of the same name, premiered on Netflix in April. The series follows struggling comedian Donny Dunn (Gadd) as he interacts with Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning), a former attorney who starts stalking Donny over several years. Baby Reindeer was inspired by Gadd’s alleged experiences as a stalking and sexual assault victim.

“The lies that Defendants told about Harvey to over 50 million people worldwide include that Harvey is a twice-convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison and that Harvey sexually assaulted Gadd,” reads the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. “Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.”

Her complaint continued, “As a result of Defendants’ lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined. Simply, Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character and her life.”

“We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd‘s right to tell his story,” Netflix responded in a statement on Friday, June 7.

In May, Harvey came forward as the inspiration behind Martha in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored but denied that she stalked Gadd.

“He’s crazy and wants to make this up,” Harvey said. “I mean, I’ve not phoned the guy. I don’t have his number. The only explanation for having a voicemail from me would be [from] taping me in the Hawley Arms [pub in London where they met in 2014]. That’s the only place we’ve ever met.”

“I think there may have been a couple of emails exchanging, but that was it,” Harvey said. “Just jokey banter emails.”

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