A US judge has made a major decision in the ongoing legal saga surrounding the hit Netflix show Baby Reindeer.
The Emmy-winning miniseries was inspired by its creator and star Richard Gadd’s real experiences of being stalked, with each episode beginning with a message that reads “this is a true story”.
Earlier this year, a woman claiming she inspired the stalker character “Martha” took legal action against Netflix, accusing the platform of “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence” and “violations of [her] right to privacy”.
At the time, she requested $170 million (around £127 million) in damages.
On Friday, US district judge Gary Klausner ruled that the woman in question can move forward with parts of her lawsuit, claiming that the opening message about the show being “a true story” led viewers to think Baby Reindeer was entirely factual.
And while the judge said the woman’s “purported actions are reprehensible”, he said the fictional character Martha’s behaviour was “worse”, and she therefore had a case.
“There is a major difference between stalking and being convicted of stalking in a court of law,” he said.
“Likewise, there are major differences between inappropriate touching and sexual assault, as well as between shoving and gouging another’s eyes.
“While plaintiff’s purported actions are reprehensible, defendants’ statements are of a worse degree and could produce a different effect in the mind of a viewer.”
Although the claimant can move forward with her lawsuit for intentional infliction of emotional distress, her claims of negligence, violation of her publicity rights, and for punitive damages were dismissed by the judge.
“It appears that a reasonable viewer could understand the statements about Martha to be about plaintiff,” he said.
“The series states that plaintiff is a convicted criminal who sexually and violently assaulted Gadd. These statements may rise to the level of extreme and outrageous conduct.”
Netflix previously vowed to “defend this matter vigorously”, insisting they also stood by “Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story”.
Richard also said in his own court filing in July that the series is “emotionally true” to his own life, and not intended to be a “a beat-for-beat recounting”, while also detailing “stalking, harassment, abuse and threats” that he allegedly endured from the claimant between 2014 and 2017.
Jessica Gunning – who recently won an Emmy for her portrayal of Martha in Baby Reindeer – also said in an interview that she thinks Richard “has every right to tell his side of this story in an artistic, emotionally truthful way”.
