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In April, My little reindeer (Baby Reindeer in the original version) had created a surprise. Adapted from a stand-up show and broadcast on the sly on Netflix, the seven-episode mini-series had the effect of a bomb, being presented as taken from a true story. A fiction, yes, but inspired by real events. Despite the terminological disagreements, this narrative gem had managed to unite a very large audience dissecting the traumas of Donny (alter-ego of Richard Gaddcreator, screenwriter and main actor of the series), aspiring stand-up bartender confronted with a virulent stalker for several years.
A slew of scandals had not eroded the success of the series, now nominated for Emmys in six categories. Neither the accusations of sexual manipulation towards Richard Gadd made by an actress rejected for the casting after a relationship with the screenwriter, nor the complaint filed by Fiona Harveythere “real stalker” found by fans of the series on social networks. Denying the version of events presented by Gadd in his series, the latter is demanding 170 million dollars for “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and violations of his representation rights”.
Netflix's response has always been the same: Richard Gadd has the right to tell his story, and together they could provide evidence of the hundreds of messages sent by Martha to Donny in the miniseries, and by Fiona to Richard in real life.
Beyond that, it is a very specific point in the narrative that bothers the Scottish woman. At the end of My little reindeerMartha, played by Jessica Gunningis sentenced to nine months in prison after three charges of harassment. However, Fiona Harvey explains to the Hollywood Reporter :
“The problem for Richard Gadd and now for Netflix is that Baby Reindeer is not a true story at all. I am not a “convicted stalker”. I have never been accused of any crime. No one has ever asked me to comment on the accuracy of Baby Reindeer or the very serious and damaging allegation that I am a convicted felon, with a serious criminal record, who has spent time in prison. No one has ever asked my permission to present myself in this manner or use my image.”
An argument swept aside by the show's performance on the American platform, and in which the main interested party refers to the syntax used by Benjamin KingNetflix's top executive, at a British parliamentary hearing held last May to discuss the country's film and television plans.
John Nicolsona former member of parliament, subsequently asked Netflix to justify the terms of the “stalker convicted”the journalists having been “unable to find any trace of the conviction to which [Benjamin King faisait] reference”.
On May 23, Benjamin King sent a response to the Committee before which he made these remarks.
“In response to a question about the characters depicted in this series, I said: 'This is an extraordinary true story […] which chronicles the horrific abuse that writer and protagonist Richard Gadd suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker'he wrote. I wanted to clarify that the person on whom the show is based – whom we have not at any time sought to identify – was the subject of a court decision and not a conviction. The author of Baby Reindeer suffered severe harassment for many months (as appears to have been the case for many others), which had a significant impact on his well-being.”
A backpedaling by interposed letter, but which reaches us while Richard Gadd (against whom Fiona Harvey is not filing a complaint), sends a twenty-one-page declaration to the authorities in charge of the trial which will take place soon between Fiona Harvey and Netflix. Declaration in which he says he is ready to testify, while defending his work. The artist specifies:
“[La série parle de] my personal struggles with my sexual identity and my experiences with sexual abuse and harassment. […] The series is a dramatic work. It is not a documentary or an attempt at realism. Although the series is based on my life and real events and is, at its core, emotionally true, it is not an account of the events and emotions I experienced as they were happening. It is fiction and is not intended to depict real events.”
He also reveals that in 2016 he obtained from the British police a “First instance harassment warning against Harvey”but no evidence of conviction is provided.
In Netflix's motion to end the lawsuit, their lawyers explain:
“Harvey's defamation claim fails because it does not allege that a patently false statement of fact was made about her… None of the alleged statements can provide a legal basis for defamation. In fact, Harvey is unable to prove that she suffered any reputational harm. Her reputation was already tarnished by press reports detailing her past harassment and stalking of public figures. And as a public figure, she must allege actual malicious intent.”
To be continued in the next episode…
Why My Little Reindeer is a hit on Netflix