Fiona Harvey, the woman on whom the character of Martha, the stalker in the series, is supposedly based My stuffed reindeer, has sued Netflix this Thursday for at least 170 million dollars (about 156 million euros) in damages to its image. This Scottish woman claims to feel defamed by the representation made of the stalker portrayed in the series, which she has claimed is inspired by her. The complaint was filed in federal court in Los Angeles. Netflix has responded in a statement that the platform positions itself alongside Richard Gadd, creator and protagonist of the production based on his life as a victim, because, they defend, “he has the right to tell his story.”
The plaintiff claims that the character of Martha in the audience phenomenon written by Gadd is based on her: they share a physical resemblance and are both lawyers in London. In My stuffed reindeer, An aspiring comedian makes a living behind a bar. His kindness to a woman, Martha (played by Jessica Gunning), whom he invites to tea one day, triggers an obsession that quickly leads to dangerous harassment. From there, he begins to receive dozens, hundreds of emails every day and daily visits to the bar.
Harvey has denied that he harassed Gadd in several interviews on UK television, in which he claimed that he had to reveal his identity last April, after the premiere of the series, because “the internet sleuths tracked me down, harassed me.” and they threatened to kill me, so the truth is that I had no choice.” According to his version, he never harassed the comedian, although both Netflix and Gadd maintain that they have around 41,000 emails, 350 voice messages, 106 letters, and several tweets. This woman publicly admitted to having sent him “a handful of joking emails,” a letter and some tweets.
In his complaint, Harvey assures that “Netflix and Gadd tell these lies because they are a better story than the truth and with these types of stories they get more money.” The creator has not wanted to point out anyone, nor has he confirmed that the complainant is the person he is talking about: “I cannot confirm or deny anything about the real people on whom the characters are based. (…) I want the series to be received as a piece of art, and that’s how I want it to be enjoyed. It exists in fiction, even if it is based on truth. “If I wanted people to be singled out, I would have made a documentary,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
After its premiere, which was not highly publicized by Netflix, the series spent several weeks at number one of the most watched in the world on the platform. In your second week It added 13.3 million views, being the most viewed series of the week, number one in 38 countries, and thus confirming the global phenomenon. And all thanks to personal recommendations from users. According to data collected by Nielsen, it is one of the most viewed Netflix series in 2024.
The plaintiff requests at least $50 million in damages from both parties, to compensate, among other things, for mental health problems caused by the broadcast of the series, in addition to another $20 million in punitive damages. The complaint says that “lies about Harvey told to more than 50 million people include that she is a convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison, and that she sexually harassed Gadd. (…) A multinational company with billions of dollars like Netflix did nothing to confirm ‘the true story’ of Gadd, and never investigated what happened.”
This same week, Netflix reached an agreement with New York prosecutor Linda Fairstein, who had sued the company for defamation in the series This is how they see us, about the racial abuse in the case of the Central Park Five. Netflix will not pay anything to the prosecutor, but will donate one million dollars to the NGO Innocence Project, in charge of exonerating unjustly imprisoned people. In addition, it will include a prior notice to the series: “Although the drama is inspired by real events and characters, there are certain characters, events, locations, dialogues and names that are fictional for the purpose of the dramatization.”
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