PEOPLE – The continuation of the hit series will play out in court. Fiona Harvey, who claims to be the inspiration for the character Martha in My Little Reindeer, Richard Gadd’s hit series on Netflix, filed a lawsuit on Thursday June 6. In her complaint, filed in the federal court of the Central District of California and reported by specialized media, Fiona Harvey claims a total of more than $170 million in damages from the streaming platform.
My Little Reindeer follows Donny, who Richard Gadd plays himself, as he is harassed by an older woman named Martha, played by Jessica Gunning. Although the creator said the story was based on his personal experiences, he insisted that Martha’s character was not like her real-life counterpart.
A statement in the end credits of the series certainly indicates that it “is based on real events”but adds that “certain characters, names, incidents, places and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes”. But despite claimed efforts to veil Martha’s real identity, Fiona Harvey claims in her complaint that her identity remained “completely undisguised”. Which would have facilitated the work of Internet sleuths who only took a few days to identify her on social networks and harass her.
Fiona Harvey had previously publicly stated that she planned to take legal action against Netflix on the grounds that a director had called her a “convicted stalker”. “We intend to vigorously defend this case and defend Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”for its part responded Netflix in a press release.
Fiona Harvey denies committing Martha’s crimes
Fiona Harvey’s complaint claims that, unlike how Martha was portrayed in the series, she was never convicted of a crime, nor sexually assaulted, attacked or harassed Richard Gadd. The lack of “diligence” of Netflix in verifying these claims, combined with the massive popularity of the series, renders the series defamatory, according to the plaintiff’s lawyers.
Shortly after the series’ release, Fiona Harvey made an appearance on Piers Morgan’s YouTube show, where she denied sending 41,000 emails to Richard Gadd, as shown in the series.
Like Martha, Fiona Harvey is a Scottish lawyer who lives in London, is twenty years older than Richard Gadd, has been accused of harassing a lawyer and who physically resembles the character of Martha, we can read in the complaint. “Additionally, her accent, manner of speaking, and cadence are indistinguishable from Martha’s. »
According to her lawyers, Fiona Harvey developed physical symptoms of emotional distress and began to fear going out in public or viewing the news. And to add: “Netflix and Richard Gadd have simply destroyed his reputation, his character and his life. »
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