Baby Reindeer’s ‘real Martha’ Fiona Harvey is now actually suing Netflix for £132 million

Fiona Harvey, the “real life” Martha from Baby Reindeer is suing Netflix for £133 million.

The lawsuit, filed in a California court, seeks over $170m (£132m) in damages for Fiona Harvey. She accuses Netflix of spreading “brutal lies”, including that she is a “twice convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison”.

“Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money,” states the lawsuit.

“As a result of defendants’ lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined.”

According to the legal documents, she accuses Netflix of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence, and violations of her right of publicity. She accuses Netflix of making it easy for viewers of the series to find her.

A Netflix spokesperson said: “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”

Fiona Harvey is seeking $50 million in actual damages from Netflix in addition to at least $50 million in compensatory damages due to “mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of business” and at least $50 million “for all profits from Baby Reindeer”. She is also asking for least $20 million in punitive damages. Those totals exclude “legal fees, costs and statutory interest.”

Via YouTube

Fiona told BBC News that she was certain her team would win the case. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be doing it,” she said. Richard Roth, a New York-based lawyer representing her, added that there was “no doubt” that Fiona Harvey’s identity was used for Baby Reindeer’s plot.

Most Read

The heartbreaking reason behind Tulisa’s transformation and why she looks so different now

Emma reveals where she and Caspar are now and lots has changed since the MAFS UK reunion

Lacey and Nathan embroiled in nasty feud following ‘bitter rows’ after MAFS UK split

He said he had “incontrovertible documentary evidence” proving that his client had never been convicted of a crime. The lawsuit includes a photo of a background check and a certificate that claims that Ms Harvey has no criminal convictions on her record. Richard Gadd is not named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit does say, however, that some real comments she made to Richard Gadd, such as a tweet she sent him in 2014 , are used in the show’s dialogue.

“The Complaint is self-explanatory,” Fiona’s attorneys said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “Netflix destroyed a woman, claiming, among many allegations, that she was a convicted woman. It never contacted her. It never checked the facts. It never made any effort to understand the truth of its ‘true story!'”

In an interview with Piers Morgan last month, Fiona Harvey said she was “forced” to come forward after receiving online death threats from “internet sleuths”. Fiona Harvey repeatedly denied being a stalker and described the series as “a work of fiction”.

Baby Reindeer is available on Netflix now. For more like Fiona Harvey suing Netflix and all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• ‘It was bedlam’: Richard Gadd speaks out about his crazy life since Baby Reindeer

• Richard Gadd has spoken out about Fiona Harvey being outed as ‘real Martha’ for first time

• Guys, Trisha Paytas has said Netflix should have cast her as Martha in Baby Reindeer

Featured image via YouTube and Netflix.