Baby Reindeer fans should stop searching for Richard Gadd’s stalker

The real-life stalking case that inspired Netflix’s Baby Reindeer has fans obsessed with finding out the truth — and it’s all getting dangerously out of hand. 

Armchair detectives are nothing new in the world of TV crimes. In years gone by, this usually went as far as trying to outthink the clever writers responsible for that week’s episode of Murder, She Wrote. However, the increased popularity of true crime TV has changed what it means to be a small-screen super sleuth. 

Armed with a streaming subscription and an iPhone, anyone can weigh in on real cases, real verdicts, and real people just as easily as completely made-up plots. The sheer volume of true crime content is only increasing, with their creators themselves starting to blur the line between what’s real and what isn’t. It’s always been thought that what’s in the public eye is fair game to debunk, discuss, and destroy — but should it be?

Now, the original limited series Baby Reindeer has brought these questions to the fore. Based on the real-life experiences of Richard Gadd and developed from his one-man play, the lead character Donny (Gadd) struggles with life as a fledgling comedian while being aggressively stalked by Martha (Jessica Gunning), a woman he once served in a pub. Fans of the show are now trying to unmask who Gadd’s real stalker might be, and that’s a major issue. 

Baby Reindeer introduces a brand new problem

Netflix

How do we control reactions to something that is neither — yet both — fake and true? That’s the problem that “Martha” now presents. Going by what the episodes have told them, fans have ripped the internet in two trying to find who the real Martha is. As a result, unknowing people have been thrust into the spotlight based on throwaway remarks they made decades ago.

Waking up one morning to discover you’re being accused of being a stalker by people across the world must create a pit in your stomach that never leaves. With no hard evidence to go on, the dangers a fanbase can place on a random stranger likely reach further than we think. Beyond mental state, someone’s job, livelihood, and relationships can crumble based on something totally out of their control — and isn’t that what Baby Reindeer is trying to not let happen?

On top of this, Gadd himself has urged people to quit while they’re ahead. Alongside recent statements on social media, he’s campaigned for some level of privacy for “Martha” in recent interviews, stating that his past is best left there. Making a show about your own life experiences is going to come with its share of scrutiny, but blurring story and truth in this way shows us just how volatile that criticism can be. 

The problem is nobody is really accountable for what happens when fans try to solve a real-world mystery. The internet is practically the Wild West when it comes to this sort of thing, and that’s not going to change. While the odd program like Making A Murderer can turn this into a life-changing positive, others such as Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders and They Called Him Mostly Harmless highlight the impact throwaway claims can have on a person’s life. 

Internet investigations destroy our right to privacy

Netflix

Regardless of how it’s handled — it’s obvious that there is no clear answer to this yet — Baby Reindeer fans need to stop before it’s too late. In the age of readily available information, leaving something alone is more difficult to do than ever, but for all those who are involved, it’s imperative. 

What we know is what we are presented with, and that’s that Gadd has done something incredibly courageous by lifting the lid on his previous trauma. He’s presenting everything that he wants us to see and is intentionally avoiding everything unnecessary and painful. 

At its most basic level, the obsession with knowing the truth behind the artistic truth is giving people the ick. Where there’s a right to know the truth to a legal case, nobody owes anyone else the ins and outs of their own private history. 

As viewers, we’re lucky to get the authentic slice of Gadd, and we shouldn’t take it for granted. Searching for answers that people don’t want to share destroys the right to privacy and could come back to haunt us in our own lives. One viral TikTok video or social media post could mean we’re the very person being crucified.

How we move forward from here is an important question, but is largely unknown. In a way, it’s almost a good thing that Baby Reindeer has had the invasive reception that it has, hopefully inspiring a lesson learned or a precedent for viewers to look back on for what not to do. 

However, social media — and history — tell us that people are in love with making the same mistakes all over again, making it likely that another future Baby Reindeer will receive the same fate. 

Find true crime shows and documentaries to stream, alongside amazing new movies to catch on Netflix this month. If that’s not enough, find out what the streaming platform has in store for K-drama. You can also read more about what we know about Fiona Harvey and our breakdown of Baby Reindeer’s ending.