The real Martha from My Little Reindeer demands 170 million euros from Netflix

Netflix strongly supports Richard Gadd and “his right to tell his own story.”

Since its release on Netflix, My little reindeer was viewed by many subscribers, some of whom did not hesitate to search for the real protagonists of this story, its author and main actor, Richard Gadd, explaining that he was inspired by his own life for this shocking series dealing with harassment and sexual assault. The phenomenon has grown so much that the person concerned had to ask his followers to “not looking for the real Martha and Darrien.”

A Scottish woman, Fiona Harvey, recognized herself in the character of Martha, and after having publicly expressed her anger towards the show, which according to her portrayed her in an extremely misleading way, and would have led to significant online harassment against her person , she ended up filing a complaint against Netflix.

My little reindeer: the “real” Martha comes out of the silence

His request -visible here in English- was filed in the California Court yesterday, Thursday June 6, 2024, and she claims no less than 170 million dollars for “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional stress, negligence and violations of one’s rights of representation.”

For example, it says:

“Among the lies Defendants told about Harvey to more than 50 million people around the world was that she was arrested twice for harassment and that it landed her a prison sentence of five years It also shows Harvey sexually assaulting Gadd. The Defendants told outright lies, over and over again, because it makes for a better story than telling the truth, and it makes more money.

(…)

The result of all these lies, this bad way of doing things, this inappropriate and relentless behavior? Harvey's life has been ruined. It's simple: Netflix and Gadd destroyed his reputation, his person and his life.”

Note that the complaint does not directly target Richard Gadd, but the producers of the series, within Netflix. The company reacted via a press release, explaining “want to vigorously defend Richard Gadd's right to be able to tell his own story.” The complaint should be heard soon by a judge in this American court.

Beware of My Little Reindeer