‘Baby Reindeer’ lawsuit: Alleged ‘real Martha’ seeks $170 million from Netflix

The woman who allegedly inspired the serial stalker character at the center of Netflix’s hit miniseries “Baby Reindeer” has sued the streaming giant for negligence and defamation. Fiona Harvey filed a $170-million complaint Thursday in United States district court in California, alleging that Netflix and “Baby Reindeer” creator Richard Gadd told “brutal lies” about her in an effort to “attract more viewers,” “make more money” and “viciously destroy” her life. As Harvey’s lawsuit points out, the pilot episode of “Baby Reindeer” opens with the message, “this is a true story.” The show stars Gadd as Donny Dunn, a struggling Scottish stand-up comedian whose life begins to unravel when a woman wanders into the bar where he works and develops an unhealthy obsession with him. Though Gadd has said that he and Netflix went to great lengths to obscure the identity of his real stalker, Harvey says in her lawsuit that Donny and Martha’s use of the phrase “hang my curtains” as a euphemism for sex in “Baby Reindeer” caused thousands of internet users to interrogate and suspect the character was based on her. According to the complaint, the rampant speculation stemmed from a 2014 tweet by @FionaHarvey2014 that tagged @MrRichardGadd and read, “my curtains need hung badly.” Harvey has since spoken publicly about her alleged history with Gadd and disputed some of the plot points in “Baby Reindeer.” She alleges in her lawsuit that Netflix “did nothing” to fact-check Gadd’s production when making the show.