Baby Reindeer’s alleged stalker Fiona Harvey is too afraid to go to grocery stores as fans of the Netflix show continue to harass her, her lawyers have claimed.
The 49-year-old Scot, who claims to be the inspiration behind the Netflix harassment drama, is suing the streaming giant for at least $170 million for defamation and negligence.
speaking in news nationIn CUOMO, Harvey’s attorney, Richard Roth, argued that Harvey is not a public figure, adding that he felt she needed to come out as the real-life Martha because she was being harassed.
“She’s been harassed, harassed, receives death threats, is afraid to go out to buy food and is not a public figure,” Roth said.
“It’s destroyed, destroyed.”
Baby Reindeer’s alleged real-life stalker Fiona Harvey is too scared to go to the supermarket as fans of the Netflix show continue to harass her, her lawyers have claimed.
The show, which is said to be based on the real-life experiences of comedian and writer Richard Gadd, sees the character Martha Scott, played by Jessica Gunning, stalking him after he offers her a free cup of tea in a pub where works.
Harvey accuses Netflix of “spreading brutal lies,” including that she is a “twice-convicted stalker sentenced to five years in prison,” as the show suggests.
Her lawyers argue that it was defamatory for Harvey to depict Martha’s character as a convicted felon.
“When Netflix starts the series, it doesn’t say ‘this is based on a true story,’ it doesn’t say ‘this is inspired by a true story,'” Roth explained.
“It says five words: ‘This is a true story,’ so you better make sure it’s true.”
The lawyer continued: ‘Spoiler alert, during the series, it comes to light that she was convicted of stalking and spent four and a half years in prison. It never happened. She wasn’t even arrested.
“And then at the end of the series, she pleads guilty to four different charges of harassment and then receives four more felony convictions. So they portrayed this woman as a twice-convicted felon when she hasn’t even been arrested for anything.
Fiona Harvey’s lawyer, Richard Roth, argued that Harvey is not a public figure, adding that she felt she needed to come out as the real-life Martha because she was being harassed.
Roth went on to say that the series made it too easy to identify the woman who inspired Martha.
Roth went on to say that the series made it too easy to identify the woman who inspired Martha.
‘Make it from a different heritage. “Give it a different accent,” Roth suggested, before adding, “They didn’t do anything.”
“Everything here leads to Fiona Harvey, and it’s very easy to find out who she is.”
Netflix has said it intends to “vigorously defend this matter” and defend Gadd’s “right to tell his story.”
Speaking earlier to BBC News, Harvey said she was sure Netflix would lose the case, adding: “I have no doubt about it.” Otherwise, we wouldn’t be doing it. “We believe we are going to win.”
Harvey says the show, which stars Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning (pictured), makes false claims about her.
Netflix presents the seven-episode miniseries starring Richard Gadd as a “true story”; However, it shows “Martha” pleading guilty and being imprisoned for nine months, which she claims never happened.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, states: “Defendants told these lies and never stopped telling them, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.”
“As a result of the defendants’ lies, malfeasance and absolutely reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life was ruined.”
Court documents allege that Netflix “did literally nothing” to confirm that the story depicted was true, stating that Harvey “has never been convicted of any crime and has never been to prison.”
Roth, a New York-based attorney representing Harvey, said earlier this month that he has “incontrovertible documentary evidence” proving his client has never been convicted of a crime.
After the show first aired, Gadd asked viewers not to speculate about the real people who inspired the series.
He also previously said that Martha’s identity was so well disguised that she wouldn’t recognize herself, but Internet sleuths quickly identified Harvey as Martha.
The woman then appeared at Piers Morgan, where she denied the harassment allegations but admitted meeting Gadd several times in Camden, north London.
It was previously revealed exclusively in the Mail that the show’s writer Gadd, who plays himself and based the premise on his own experiences, told filmmakers Clerkenwell Films that his stalker was never convicted.