Piers Morgan has slammed Netflix and accused it of “failing in its duty of care” to Baby Reindeer’s real-life “Martha” Fiona Harvey after he faced backlash over an explosive interview with her.
Morgan questioned Ms Harvey on his show Piers Morgan Uncensored over the weekend, but faced criticism from victims of stalkers and those concerned about Ms Harvey’s well-being.
In the controversial discussion, which already has more than 11 million views, the couple discussed the new hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer, based on the real-life story of actor and comedian Richard Gadd’s ordeal at the hands of a stalker
Speaking to ITV’s Lorraine, Morgan said she believes her channel has “fulfilled our duty of care” but questioned whether Netflix may have “defamed” Ms Harvey by claiming she is a convicted stalker.
He said: ‘The key question is whether she has been defamed. If you accuse someone of being a convicted stalker and they’re not a convicted stalker, that’s a pretty big mistake…
Piers Morgan addressed the controversial interview on ITV’s Lorraine on Tuesday morning.
Morgan questioned Fiona Harvey on her show Piers Morgan Uncensored over the weekend
“If it turns out not to be, then Netflix’s statement at the beginning of each episode, ‘This is a true story,’ becomes extremely problematic because it is not a true story.”
He added: “I think they have problems here because she is clearly determined to have her day in court with Netflix.”
‘The key question after watching the series and my interview is: is it really a true story? And the key part of this is did he really go to prison? Is she a convicted stalker? As I sit here, Lorraine, so far there is no real evidence that she has ever been in court.
Fiona Harvey had not previously been identified in reports about the Netflix series before her explosive interview with Morgan.
During the interview, she confirmed that she is the woman on whom Baby Reindeer’s character, Martha, is based, but denied ever harassing Mr. Gadd, sexually assaulting him, or attacking his girlfriend.
She also denies having been arrested by the police or having gone to prison.
The show alleges the comedian’s stalker carried out a relentless campaign that began after he waited on her in a London pub while working as a bartender.
Fiona Harvey had not previously been identified in reports about the Netflix series before her explosive interview with Morgan.
Baby Reindeer depicts the character of Martha, played by Jessica Gunning, as a stalker who was obsessed with Gadd.
In the show, Martha goes to court and pleads guilty to stalking and intimidating Donny.
At the end of the final episode, it is revealed that the reason Martha uses this name is because she used to have a reindeer toy when she was a child, which was described as “the only good thing” about her childhood.
In the Netflix hit, Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) offers Martha a free cup of tea on the house during their first meeting, which Harvey claims never happened.
The program alleges that Gadd was bombarded with 41,000 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 48 Facebook messages and 106 letters during the harassment campaign.
Ms. Harvey told Morgan this is “simply not true,” adding that she sent “less than ten” emails to Gadd and “one letter.”
During the interview, Ms. Harvey referenced a scene from the show where the character Martha admits to bullying Gadd’s character and receives a nine-month prison sentence.
“That is completely false, very, very defamatory of me, very damaging to my career,” he said.
Piers Morgan’s explosive interview with Baby Reindeer’s ‘real’ Martha has left most viewers with more questions than answers.
Netflix shows Martha walking into the pub where Donny worked almost every day, sitting outside his house at the bus stop for hours, and even sneaking into his stand-up comedy shows.
The show claimed that Martha walked into the pub where Donny was a barman and in a moment of sympathy towards this stranger, he offered her a free cup of tea, which inadvertently sparked the obsession.
“I wanted to completely refute that on this show: I’m not a stalker, I haven’t been to jail, I have no injunctions… it’s complete nonsense.”
Many viewers said the interview left them “disturbed,” calling it “painful” to watch.
But Morgan said she believed her show had fulfilled its “duty of care” by keeping in touch with her since the interview, as she revealed Ms Harvey “wants an agent”.
He told Lorraine that he saw “no sign of anyone I thought was mentally ill,” but added that he believes she has “an obsessive streak” and that she “lied a lot in the interview.”
He also criticized the show’s attempts to anonymize Ms. Harvey, saying it was “disingenuous” of Gadd to ask fans not to look for the real person behind the character.
“I think it’s pretty fake as they’ve used segments of the exact messages she sent so any internet sleuth can go into them and find them on her phone.
“I think they failed in their duty of care to Fiona Harvey, especially to Netflix,” Morgan said.
Responding to criticism of the interview, she said: “I felt it was important that she be allowed to give her opinion as the media had already revealed that she was the real-life Martha, but she did not have the ability to tell her story. “.
Viewers previously took to social media to criticize Morgan for allegedly “exploiting” Ms Harvey.
One user said: ‘Fiona Harvey’s fixed beliefs and delusions are clear signs of serious mental health issues for anyone working in this field. “It is clear that she is being exploited for financial gain.”
Another wrote: ‘It was very irresponsible to put Fiona Harvey on TV!’
Since the release of Baby Reindeer, Ms Harvey has been posting regularly on social media protesting her innocence.
Lawyer Laura Wray was allegedly harassed by a former employee similar to the character ‘Martha’ in the new Netflix series Baby Reindeer.
Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning attended a photo call for a screening in Los Angeles earlier this month.
Since then, other alleged victims of harassment have come forward to share their own experiences with Ms. Harvey.
Laura Wray, widow of former Labor MP Jimmy Wray, told the Mirror she fears for her safety following the release of the Netflix series.
The Scottish lawyer described the national attention on her alleged stalker as “quite distressing”, adding: “My partner and I are worried about what he might do next.” Is he going to come for me?
‘She is posting things on Facebook accusing me of all kinds and of being abusive. You don’t know where she’ll end up.
Wray said he met Harvey after hiring her for a two-week trial at his Scottish law firm in 1997.
He said he fired her days later because she was “completely incapable of good behavior.”
After being fired, Wray claims she was allegedly harassed by Harvey, known at the time as Fiona Muir.
Wray claimed Harvey bombarded her with phone calls, emails and text messages. She also claimed that Harvey had reported her to social services for allegedly mistreating her son.
She said: “She made a bizarre accusation that I was driving my car and somehow managed to hit my son who was sitting in the back of the car in the child seat.”
“In the end everything was abandoned, but that was when I requested a provisional precautionary measure.
‘Fortunately, it worked. She didn’t defend him. We never heard from her again.
Netflix and Richard Gadd’s representatives have been contacted for comment.