Fiona Harvey has ridiculed Netflix for claiming that viewers were able to disregard Baby Reindeer’s “true story” billing because of its jaunty music and absurd scenes.
In the latest stage of the legal battle over Baby Reindeer, Harvey’s lawyers claimed that the smash-hit series has “destroyed” her life after she was identified as Martha, the Jessica Gunning-portrayed character who stalks Donny, the protagonist played by creator Richard Gadd.
U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled last September that Harvey’s $170M defamation lawsuit could proceed to a trial, but this decision was appealed by Netflix. Written arguments from both sides have now been submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Netflix argued that Harvey’s lawsuit was an attempt to “undermine” Gadd’s First Amendment rights and “chill” the streamer’s ability to produce thought-provoking drama of “considerable public importance.”
Represented by Latham & Watkins, Netflix’s 67-page argument repeatedly attempted to downplay the idea that Baby Reindeer was a true story, despite the series including a title card that contained the words: “This is a true story.”
Netflix said: “This line must be viewed — from the perspective of a reasonable viewer — in the context of the rest of the series’ content and dramatic devices, including its creative cinematography, intentionally ironic and absurd scenes, and cheeky music.”
One example of “cheeky music” referenced by Netflix was Happy Together by The Turtles, which featured in the first episode.
Netflix continued: “In context, the ‘this is a true story’ line — presented in the same cheeky style and font as a main character’s texts and emails shown throughout the series — functions as a dramatic device akin to others present throughout the series.
“A reasonable viewer would understand that, while the series tells Gadd’s story of struggling through a personal crisis while being stalked by a woman he met at a pub, it is a drama infused with fictionalized elements — not a real-life documentary.”
In her 75-page submission, Harvey hit back: “Netflix now responds that its repeated assertions that Baby Reindeer told a true story were merely an attempt to be ‘cheeky’ … What is cheeky is Netflix’s argument.”
She argued that Baby Reindeer had exposed her identity and defamed her by portraying her as a twice-convicted stalker who spent five years in prison. In reality, Harvey has never been convicted of a crime.
Harvey, represented by Richard Roth of The Roth Law Firm, argued that Netflix “recklessly disregarded” that Baby Reindeer was fictionalized. Her lawyers cited a story in The Sunday Times newspaper, which alleged that Gadd “voiced concerns to Netflix about asserting the series was a true story.”
Netflix said this was “inadmissible and anonymous hearsay,” but in its argument to the U.S. Court of Appeals, it did not highlight any inaccuracies in The Sunday Times report.
Netflix further contested that Baby Reindeer carried a disclaimer in the credits that the show was “fictionalized for dramatic purposes.” Harvey argued that this does not “immunize” Netflix.
“In order to view the credits, the viewer must manually select ‘watch credits’ within the mere seconds allotted by Netflix before the next episode plays,” Harvey’s argument said.
“Even if ‘watch credits’ is selected, the viewer must then wade halfway through three minutes of credits to find the actual disclaimer sandwiched between a warning about copyright infringement, various credits, and a logo.”
