‘Baby Reindeer’ Creator Richard Gadd Backs Netflix’s Effort To Get $170M Suit By Self-Declared Real-Life Martha Dismissed
Baby Reindeer creator and star Richard Gadd isn’t named as a defendant in Fiona Harvey’s $170 million defamation suit against Netflix over the hit black comedy, but he sure as Hell is backing the streamer in getting the action tossed out.
“I am a comedian, writer, and actor. I created, wrote, and starred in the Netflix series Baby Reindeer (the ‘Series’),” states Gadd in a July 28 declaration submitted in federal court today in response to the lawsuit by real-life stalker who was partially the inspiration for the series’ scary Martha Scott. “I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth below and, if called as a witness, could and would testify competently thereto. I submit this declaration in support of defendants Netflix, Inc., and Netflix Worldwide Entertainment, LLC’s special motion to strike.”
More from Deadline
Netflix Files To Sell $1.8B In Debt, Following Through On Plan Tipped In Q2 Shareholder Letter
Revealed: The Streamers' Most-Watched Titles In The UK Last Year
Read Ricard Gadd’s declaration in Fiona Harvey’s $170 million defamation lawsuit here
Filing the Scottish comedian’s declaration and a tone of redacted exhibits, the streamer wants a September 3 hearing in front of LA-based Judge R. Gary Klausner to argue for the dismissal.
After publicly declaring on Piers Morgan’s UK chat show that Martha was based on her, Harvey hit Netflix with her big bucks lawsuit on June 6, just two months after Baby Reindeer launched on the streamer to become a global sensation. At the time, the Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters’ run streamer quickly responded that they would “defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
Waiting less than a week after Baby Reindeer scored 11 Emmy nominations including Best Limited or Anthology Series and a Lead Actor in a Limited series and writing nod for Gadd himself, plus a Best Supprting Actress nom for co-star Jessica Gunning, the comedian sought to set the record straight — with some qualifications of sorts.
“Overall, it was an incredibly stressful and worrying time, with a sustained period of relentless behaviour taking place over several years,” he says in 21-page declaration of Harvey’s exploits. “It is impossible to be exhaustive in setting out all of Harvey’s conduct, as there were so many instances of unwelcome personal interaction and attempts to engage, as well as deeply troubling communication.”
Offering “a microcosm of the sheer scale of her targeted harassment,” Gadd also flips the script on Harvey’s claim to infamy.
“I never intended the Series to identify any real person as Martha Scott, including Harvey,” Gadd says in his partially blacked out declaration, portions of which Netflix want sealed. “Martha Scott is not Fiona Harvey. Like all characters in the Series, Martha is a fictional character with fictional personality traits that are very different than Harvey’s.”
“I was surprised that Harvey appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Gadd’s statement says. “Though I have only watched certain segments, I understand she claimed that she was the inspiration for the Martha character, and that she never sent me thousands of emails nor left me any voicemails.,” the declaration given in London yesterday adds. “She harassed and stalked me over several years, and since her interview, other individuals have contacted me through my agents and publicists and said they were also harassed by Harvey, but all were too scared of her to come forward.”
Detailing at length emails and more from Harvey, many of which are redacted exhibits now in the court docket, Gadd notes that he “obtained a First Instance Harassment Warning against Harvey” from UK police in 2016. That seemed to end the digital communication, but there were a few analog encounters.
In the memorandum accompanying Netflix’s motion to strike, the streamer stresses California’s anti-SLAPP statutes and the line between fact and fiction when it come to actually stating a claim.
“Harvey’s defamation claim fails because she does not allege a provably false statement of fact was made about her,” the July 29 document from Netflix’s Latham & Watkins attorneys states (read it here). “None of the alleged statements can form a legal basis for defamation. In fact, Harvey is incapable of showing reputational harm. Her reputation was already tarnished by past news stories detailing her previous harassment and stalking of public figures. And as a public figure herself, she must allege actual malice.”
In Gadd’s declaration, the Baby Reindeer creator does not address is Harvey’s assertion in her suit that the multi-faceted series portrayed her via the Martha character as “a twice convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison.” With even Members of Parliament chiming in, no evidence has been put forth of such a conviction.
Also, Gadd sidesteps the “this is a true story” card that appears near the top of Baby Reindeer and the implications that statement obviously has. With no small amount of hyperbole, Harvey’s defamation suit spotlights that “true story” copy as “the biggest lie in television history.”
Last week, one of Harvey’s lawyers Richard Roth was on Piers Morgan’s YouTube show to drill into a June 16 piece in the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sunday Times that Gadd had “expressed concerns” to Netflix about the on-screen decree. Regardless of who wanted or did not want that “true story” statement on the show, Gadd’s declaration makes it pretty clear that Baby Reindeer was more accurately based on a true story at best.
A slab of contention that will surely make up a significant portion of that DTLA hearing in September.
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
