The $170 million dollar lawsuit against Netflix’s award-winning series Baby Reindeeris slated to begin trial proceedings on May 6th, 2025. Grabbing international attention when it began to unfold earlier this year, the case seeks to address alleged stalker Fiona Harvey’s accusations of defamation against the popular streaming service.
Deadline reported that the May 6th trial date was set by a judge on Tuesday, confirming Harvey’s intent to pursue her allegations regarding the Netflix-produced dramatic thriller Baby Reindeer. The series, billed as a true story by both Netflix and the show’s creator and lead actor Richard Gadd, follows Gadd’s traumatic experiences with a female stalker, who is given the pseudonym “Martha.” Although Gadd claimed to have fictionalized his account of the events depicted in Baby Reindeer beyond recognition, a woman claiming to be the “real-life Martha” emerged shortly after the show’s release, maintaining anonymity in a Daily Mail article before an interview with Piers Morgan finally revealed her as 58-year-old Fiona Harvey.
If Martha is indeed Harvey’s fictionalized counterpart, it’s understandable why she might feel unfairly persecuted by the Netflix series. By presenting itself as a true story, Baby Reindeer erroneously led audiences to believe that all events depicted in the show were entirely accurate — including events that have since been disproved. For example, Baby Reindeer presents Martha as a twice-convicted stalker who serves prison time at the show’s conclusion, but after a statement from Harvey objecting to this claim, both Netflix and Gadd have admitted that the real-life Martha did not, in fact, serve prison time.
Central Questions in the Baby Reindeer Lawsuit
In order to prove defamation, Harvey must demonstrate that Baby Reindeer failed to adequately disguise her identity. Although Gadd discouraged viewers of the show from speculating as to who the real-life Martha might be, Harvey has contested that her identity was exposed within a matter of days by shrewd Internet sleuths. Her initial complaint to Netflix alleged that too many details were left as clues in the show, including her age, location, profession, manner of speaking, and general appearance. Social media users were also able to unearth an old tweet by Harvey that included a specific quote used almost word-for-word in Baby Reindeer.
Meanwhile, Gadd must contend with the “true story” label that preceded the first episode of Baby Reindeer, especially since one detail included in the show — Harvey’s convictions and prison sentences — has already been proven false, with Harvey alleging that many other details about her life in Baby Reindeer are similarly untrue. This is a particularly crucial element of the lawsuit, since knowingly presenting fictional, harmful claims about Harvey’s life which can cause damage to her reputation constitutes the very definition of defamation. Meanwhile, Netflix has remained relatively silent as to where the upcoming lawsuit is concerned, likely gearing up for the difficult fight ahead.
