If you haven’t yet seen Baby Reindeer, you’ve at least heard of it. Between its spot on Netflix’s all-time Top 10 list of most-viewed shows and Piers Morgan’s viral interview with Fiona Harvey (who claims that she was the inspiration for the “Martha” character), people have been buzzing about the series all summer.
Created by and starring Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer is ultimately a story about Gadd’s own trauma, both as a victim of rape and stalking. The show has been a starting point for important conversations about male victims, sexuality — and recently, defamation.
After a viral appearance on Piers Morgan, Fiona Harvey waged a 170 million dollar defamation lawsuit on Netflix. While the show includes a statement in the credits that reads, “This program is based on real events: however certain characters, names, incidents, locations, and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes,” the lawsuit argues that Harvey’s identity was not adequately disguised, since it only took a few days for viewers to name Harvey as the potential inspiration for Martha’s character.
However, in a recent court filing, Gadd claimed that “Harvey identified herself to the press as Martha after three or four other people previously had been falsely identified as Martha by members of the public.”
His statement also qualified which characterizations of Harvey were factual, one of which was the incessant harassment he endured from his stalker. Gadd stated that Harvey had bombarded him with thousands of emails, voicemail messages, and even some handwritten letters, which “often included sexually explicit, violent, and derogatory content, hateful speech, and threats.” Gadd also clarified that while Harvey was never arrested, he did in fact go to the police multiple times until Harvey was eventually issued a harassment warning (which dramatically curtailed the harassment, but it didn’t put an end to it; Gadd shared that even after the warning, Harvey sent him a letter with a pair of underwear inside).
Gadd’s statement ascertained that other depictions of Harvey were based on reality, but the crux of his argument was that the emotional turmoil her behavior caused was very real. “I was fearful,” he said. “I was panicked and paranoid. I was terrified about getting on tubes and buses for fear of seeing her. I genuinely was worried that she might harm me or my parents–my parents especially. In short, her actions took an extensive toll on my physical and especially my mental well-being.”
Her actions took an extensive toll on my physical and especially my mental well-being.”
Richard Gadd
Due to Gadd’s fundamental trauma from the stalking, Netflix is seeking to have the lawsuit thrown out on the grounds that the depiction is substantially true.
Other TV series have been criticized for their dramatized retellings of true events. Hulu’s The Act, which portrays the story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, was criticized by Gypsy herself for being inaccurate. Blanchard even considered suing the producers, due to the fact that they did not get her consent to use her name and story. As of today, Gypsy hasn’t taken any legal action, but the ethical implications still remain up for discussion.
Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story had arguably the worst impact on the real people involved. Dahmer’s own father, Lionel, came forward against the show, arguing that the biographical drama played a role in glamorizing his son’s atrocious crimes. Lionel also considered suing Netflix, since the show never even contacted him, let alone ask for his consent to move forward with the production. Families of Dahmer’s victims also stated that Netflix failed to contact them, and that the show ultimately re-traumatized them. When it comes to the legality of the situation, Netflix ultimately had no contractual obligation to consult victims’ loved ones as the events portrayed in the show are public record. Despite this, many viewers felt that the show should have never been created.
Baby Reindeer is a slightly different case, because the content of the show is based on the personal experiences of Richard Gadd, the creator. At the end of the day, it is his story — but that doesn’t mean that the people he portrays in the show aren’t impacted.
Let’s make it clear: we stand with Gadd and all victims. He should absolutely be allowed to process his trauma in any way he wants, including using it to make art and share his experiences with the world. On the other hand, it can definitely be argued that Netflix did not do their due diligence when it came to masking the identities of the real people depicted. By blurring the line between fact and fiction, there is a lot of room for debate over which elements of the story were real and which were dramatized. Not only does this open the door for potential legal fallout, which we’re seeing with Harvey’s lawsuit, but it also enables people to question the validity of Gadd’s experience as a whole. So many victims don’t come forward due to that very fear of being questioned, and the public reception to stories like Gadd’s can fuel that stigma.
With these issues in mind, Baby Reindeer was ultimately a net positive. Its depiction of trauma was harrowingly honest — regardless of the details that may have been dramatized. There isn’t a lot of representation of male survivors in the media, and Gadd’s story has the potential to normalize these conversations. The show also did a great job of dispelling the myth of the “perfect victim.” Gadd’s vulnerability is commendable, and represents all the nuances and messiness that come with trauma.
The genre of “biographical drama” as a whole leaves a lot of room for interpretation and debate around stories that often cover sensitive topics. On one hand, artists should have room to take creative liberties in their work. It’s also important to consider, though, the implications of using fiction as a vehicle for truth. Hopefully the discourse around the legality and ethics of blending fact and fiction can motivate Netflix to address these stories responsibly moving forward. After all, everyone is entitled to their own story, especially when it comes to topics of trauma and abuse.
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