Baby Reindeer officially declared not a “true story” by judge

Seven months after it dropped on Netflix, a judge has ruled that Baby Reindeer can’t be classified as a “true story”, allowing Fiona Harvey to proceed with her defamation lawsuit.

Not long after the stalker horror story arrived on the streaming service, cybersleuths were quick to accuse Fiona Harvey of being the “real life Martha.” In the months following, Harvey went on a campaign of rebuttal, even appearing on the Piers Morgan’s show in the most controversial interview of 2024.

Harvey then filed a defamation lawsuit in June against Netflix for $170 million, alleging that Baby Reindeer had lied about her sexual assault and imprisonment. These were all events depicted in what the streamer described as a show based on “true story.”

In July, Netflix filed a motion to throw out the lawsuit, with Gadd maintaining that Harvey had stalked him for a number of years, sexually harrassed him, and sent him more than 41,000 emails and 350 hours of voicemail messages. Although she wasn’t imprisoned in real life, he claims to have reported her to police.

Netflix

On Friday 27 September, Judge Gary Klausner found that although the show opens with the statement “This is a true story” (which, according to a report by The Times, was at Netflix’s request, not Richard Gadd’s), certain details were depicted as being worse than the real life accusations against Harvey.

He said: “There is a major difference between stalking and being convicted of stalking in a court of law. Likewise, there are major differences between inappropriate touching and sexual assault, as well as between shoving and gouging another’s eyes.

“While plaintiff’s purported actions are reprehensible, Defendants’ statements are of a worse degree and could produce a different effect in the mind of a viewer.”

It was also noted that the details found in the series would make it easy for “a reasonable viewer” to connect the fictional character of Martha to Fiona Harvey.

The judge added: “This is not the typical case where a plaintiff happens to be one of hundreds of people that match a fictional character’s broad characteristics.”

As a result of the ruling, Harvey’s claims of negligence, violation of publicity rights, and punitive damages were dismissed. However, she is able to proceed with a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

For more, find out why Martha called Donny “Baby Reindeer.” You can also take a look at all of Fiona Harvey’s tweets to Richard Gadd, and the 10 movies and TV shows you should watch after Baby Reindeer.