Baby Reindeer viewers spot odd detail in massive Netflix lawsuit filed by 'real life' Martha

For several weeks, it felt like all anyone (ourselves included) could talk about was Baby Reindeer. The harrowing Netflix series, which is based on true events, quickly became one of the most-watched shows on the streamer as fans wildly speculated about who the real-life people could be.

Naturally, with this being the digital age, it didn't take long for viewers to find Fiona Harvey - who they quickly decided was the 'real-life Martha' from the series. Despite series creator and alleged stalking victim Richard Gadd begging his fans to not try to figure out who the real people were, Fiona was "unveiled" as the alleged culprit and became a cultural touchstone.

The former lawyer even appeared on Piers Morgan to share her side of the story, vehemently denying that she had stalked Gadd and even suggesting that it was Gadd who had harassed her after she had turned down his proposition for sex.

In a series of posts on her Facebook page (and during her interview with Morgan), Fiona suggested that she was prepared to take legal action against both Gadd and Netflix for defaming her and now, she has done just that, filing a lawsuit against the streamer and seeking $255 million AUD in damages.

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The suit accuses Netflix of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence and violations of her right of publicity.

The lawsuit also states that Harvey's life has been ruined thanks to the series and its portrayal of her as a "twice convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison" and someone who "sexually assaulted Gadd."

Viewers confused about Fiona Harvey lawsuit

The news of the lawsuit was met with much confusion on social media, as viewers struggled to understand if Harvey has a case or not.

"They didn’t use her name and never claimed it was her. She’s the only one going around telling everyone it’s her…" one person wrote on Instagram.

"Lmao! The fact we wouldn’t have known otherwise who the “real” Martha was had this woman not come and claimed it just makes her defamation suit even more ridiculous. Ma’am. You played yourself," another wrote.

"Haven't watched the film yet, but it's my understanding that they used a "stage" name for the stalker and they never named her. If she outed herself, how exactly does this lawsuit work? This is not defamation," a third added.

Will there be a season two of Baby Reindeer?

Others suggested that she is merely after some of the money that Baby Reindeer has made while others still made jokes about her sending the lawsuit from her "iphon" (a reference to how Martha misspells the name of the device in the series).

Several other fans quipped that the turn of events was good fodder for a sequel with one person hypothesising that "Richard (Gadd) is in the writing room writing season 2 as we speak."

Does Fiona Harvey have a case?

A recent YouGov survey discovered that of those who watched Baby Reindeer and subsequently looked more into the story, 71% said they believed Richard Gadd’s side. However, almost one in five (16%) have expressed belief in Fiona Harvey’s version of events.

But what about in the court of law instead of public opinion? Does Fiona have a chance at winning her suit?

According to Kevin Lynch, Media Partner at Johnson Winter Slattery, she could commence a defamation action even though she is not specifically named in the Netflix series.

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, Kevin said, "The drama claims to be a true story and members of the public were able to identify Fiona Harvey from details that were contained within the episodes."

He continues, "It is well established law that a dramatic production which the audience is able to associate with a real person can defame that person. Here it is even more direct in that the association is made and it is said to be a faithful account."

Of course, Fiona still needs to be able to prove that Baby Reindeer caused people to think less of her (although looking at the thousands of comments on her Facebook page and hundreds of TikToks made about her, that might not be too difficult).

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"Then it is over to Netflix and the creators of the program to make out a defence," says Kevin. "In this case, they would need to be able to establish in court that the program is an accurate depiction of Fiona Harvey.

"That’s where things would get interesting."

So, only time will tell but it's safe to say that, in the meantime, everyone will be making their own judgements and shouting about them on social media.

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