‘Baby Reindeer’s Emmy Wins Are A Defeat For Honesty, Says Lawyer For Real-Life Martha
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Richard Roth, the lawyer for Fiona Harvey, Baby Reindeer‘s real-life Martha, has responded to the show’s success at the Emmy Awards.
In a statement to Deadline, Roth said: “The Emmy wins confirm that Netflix’s strategy worked, going for the higher revenues and awards while leaving honesty and transparency behind.” Roth is pursuing a $170M defamation lawsuit against Netflix, claiming that the darkly comic hit series, billed as a “true story,” was “the biggest lie in television history.” They are suing after Baby Reindeer portrayed Harvey, via the Martha character, as “a twice convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison.” Netflix has admitted that Harvey has never been convicted of stalking.
A trial is set for 2025. Roth’s comments follow a staunch defense of the show from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who has been in London speaking at a Royal Television Society event.
Sarandos said repeatedly that Baby Reindeer is creator Richard Gadd’s “true story” and that the series “is not a documentary, there are elements that are dramatized.” He added that the debate over duty of care standards on Baby Reindeer is a uniquely British preoccupation.
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