Richard Gadd Hits Back At Lawsuit From ‘Baby Reindeer’ Stalker As He Details Her “Concerning” Behavior: “Her Actions Took An Extensive Toll”

Richard Gadd, the creator and star behind the hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer, responded to the $170 million defamation lawsuit Fiona Harvey filed against Netflix after she took issue with how the show depicted a stalker character that was allegedly inspired by her.

Gadd defended the show in a 21-page document filed in Los Angeles federal court, noting that Baby Reindeer is a “fictionalized” account of what he experienced when Harvey “stalked and harassed” him between 2014 and 2017, per Entertainment Weekly.

“I intentionally used characters that did not share the actual names of any persons from my life and wrote fictionalized dialogue and scenes,” he wrote. “Each of the characters from the Series has some imagined personality traits and events that I specifically selected to make them useful as dramatic devices.” 

He added that he made the characters of Donny and Martha more complex in the hope that “the audience would recognize that neither of them was truly the aggressor nor the victim.”

He also noted that he is willing to testify if necessary, and supports Netflix’s motion to get the lawsuit dismissed.

The comedian and actor went on to detail the alleged harassment he faced by Harvey, some of which closely resembles the events of the show.

In the court filing, Gadd explained that Harvey regularly visited him at the pub he worked at and memorized his schedule. “Sometimes she would stay for my entire shift, other times she would stay a few hours,” he alleges. “Sometimes she would just say something and abruptly leave.” He noted that she would make crude jokes at his place of work and falsely told customers that they had sex with each other.

He later alleges that Harvey was “handsy” with him. “Harvey often attempted to touch me in inappropriate (and sometimes sexual) ways,” he said. “Harvey pinched and touched various parts of my body, including my bum.”

Harvey also allegedly followed him “around town, sometimes very close to where I live,” and regularly attended his performances.

“I genuinely was worried that she might harm me or my parents — my parents especially,” he stated. “Her actions took an extensive toll on my physical and especially my mental well-being.”

Gadd expressed that he was surprised to see Harvey come forward on Piers Morgan Uncensored in May.

“I understand she claimed that she was the inspiration for the Martha character, and that she never sent me thousands of emails nor left me any voicemails,” he said. “She harassed and stalked me over several years, and since her interview, other individuals have contacted me through my agents and publicists and said they were also harassed by Harvey, but all were too scared of her to come forward.”

Harvey’s attorney fired back in a statement to EW, saying Gadd’s account “ties itself in knots” by admitting that Baby Reindeer “is not a true story.”

“After asserting — under oath — that ‘Martha’ is not Fiona Harvey, it then engages in more attacks of Ms. Harvey, allegations that are irrelevant and have nothing to do with the litigation or the ‘true story’ of Baby Reindeer. Meanwhile, Richard Gadd continues to hide from the press,” they said.

It was also found that Harvey was never convicted of stalking Gadd as was depicted on the show, but rather subjected to a court order.

But Gadd maintains in his filing that Martha was not meant to directly represent Harvey.

“I never intended the Series to identify any real person as Martha Scott, including Harvey,” he stated, per Deadline. “Martha Scott is not Fiona Harvey. Like all characters in the Series, Martha is a fictional character with fictional personality traits that are very different than Harvey’s.”