Richard Gadd confesses he still struggles with ‘toxic empathy’ towards Baby Reindeer stalker

Richard Gadd has confessed that despite everything his Baby Reindeer stalker put him through, he still feels “unbelievable pangs” of sympathy towards her and doesn’t see her as a “villain.”

During a Q&A interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he admitted: “I think I struggle with a sort of toxic empathy problem where I feel a lot for people. I remember when I was getting stalked, it was relentless and felt like it was everywhere, and I felt like my life wasn’t really functioning.

“I still had these unbelievable pangs of feeling sorry for her. I never saw someone who was a villain. I saw someone who was lost by the system, really. I saw someone who needed help and wasn’t getting it.”

Via Netflix

Richard Gadd also explained what he hopes viewers will get from the end of Baby Reindeer: “I quite like the fact that its message is ambiguous. I sometimes have problems with work where it’s so clear what it’s trying to say to you. I’ve seen so many different articles on the ending of Baby Reindeer.

“For example, that [final shot] where Donny looks up at the bar and people have said, well, it means he’s a stalker or it means that he’s realized he’s similar to Martha. I’ve seen about seven different interpretations of that, and I like that because I ultimately want my people to take what they want from my work.”

Baby Reindeer is available on Netflix now – For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes about Richard Gadd and his stalker, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Lawyer thinks real-life Martha DOES actually have grounds to sue Netflix over Baby Reindeer

• Baby Reindeer: A forensic psychiatrist explains why Donny was such ‘easy pray’ for Martha

• Richard Gadd questioned by Baby Reindeer producers after actress called him out on Twitter

Featured image via Netflix.