What happens when a ‘true story’ isn’t true?
The controversy surrounding Richard Gadd’s award-winning Netflix TV show, Baby Reindeer, intensified recently when an American judge in California ruled that the show was incorrectly marketed by the streamer as a ‘true story’.
In his judgement, US district judge Gary Klausner said that the streamer ‘made no effort’ to verify the validity of Gadd’s story, or camouflage Fiona Harvey, who self-identified herself as the real-life inspiration for convicted stalker Martha. The judge Gary Klusener said, ‘the very first episode states unequivocally that 'this is a true story', thereby inviting the audience to accept the statements as fact.’ As a result of Klusener’s judgement, Harvey and her legal team have been given permission to pursue her $170m defamation lawsuit against Netflix.
Earlier in the year before the judgement, a Netflix executive told a UK Parliamentary select committee that the show was ‘obviously a true story of the horrific abuse that…Gadd suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker’, without offering any evidence that Harvey had been jailed for stalking as shown in the ‘true story’.
Netflix appears to be unconcerned about its compliance failures that other broadcasters like the BBC, ITV and Sky would automatically implement in similar circumstances. There are solid commercial reasons why Netflix is doing this. The ‘true story’ hook makes Baby far more compelling to 260m subscribers than mere fiction. And Netflix has plenty of wriggle room when it is free from Ofcom regulators. Previous defamation cases involving the company suggests the streamer is more likely to negotiate a suitable compensation package for Harvey and settle out of court.
But what about Scottish comedian, Richard Gadd? What about his responsibilities as a writer, blurring the lines between fiction and truth? He is Baby’s creator, writer, actor and executive producer …and real-life victim of alleged severe stalking and abuse. His critically-acclaimed, award-winning TV show was based on his theatre production performed at the 2019 Edinburgh festival fringe where an empty chair, cleverly, represented the stalker.
In a detailed court statement to support his employer, Netflix, he said, ‘the Series is a dramatic work. It is not a documentary or an attempt at realism. While the Series is based on my life and real-life events and is, at its core, emotionally true, it is not a beat-by-beat recounting of the events and emotions I experienced as they transpired. It is fictionalized (sic), and is not intended to portray actual facts.’
His written declaration included extensive details of Harvey’s activities over a three-year period. Harvey rebutted these claims when she appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored in May 2024 before seeking further redress in the American courts.
Gadd’s attempts to disguise and fictionalise Harvey as Martha didn’t work very well. The ‘true story’ hook excited amateur online sleuths and encouraged them to investigate historic social media posts. They quickly named and shamed Harvey (and wrongly identified others) before she outed herself.
Any sensible agent, publisher, writing buddy or broadcaster would have strongly advised Richard to disguise the real life identities far better than he managed: different locations, different jobs, different appearances, different characteristics, different crimes, different ages, different this, different that, different everything. Make himself a musician rather than a comic. Change their ages around so he is older and she is younger. Perhaps he worked in retail rather than a bar. Make Martha a lot more difficult to spot. According to the Sunday Times, Gadd was aware of concerns about ‘this is a true story’ tag but deferred to Netflix.
Most experienced crime writers who draw upon real-life stories and people as the baddies in their novels and manuscripts are savvy enough to mask who are they are. They act as their own judge and jury, editing out anything contentious that might find them defending a libel action. They instinctively understand character interactions drive a narrative, irrespective of the fact that they are real or imagined. The actual drama is created by what the person does, not in their name, mannerisms, appearance or vital statistics.
But there are exceptions and Gadd could be one. Diluting and masking his story could seriously neuter the power, impact and cultural significance of Baby Reindeer. Would viewers have been so enthralled if it was a complete work of fiction without Gadd’s own backstory driving the narrative and PR? But was he right to sacrifice and exploit a vulnerable Harvey to tell his truth at all costs? And can he morally justify switching hunter/hunted roles with Harvey so it is her turn to be stalked in the name of creativity?
As a writer, only he knows whether the end justifies the means? We’ll have a better idea ourselves soon enough. The BBC has commissioned Gadd’s Lions (working title), an original six-part drama about two men across the decades set and filmed in and around Glasgow. Will Lions mirror the success critical and commercial success of Baby Reindeer? And will it carry a ‘this is a true story’ hook?
This article was originally published in the January 2025 edition of the Crime Writers Association Red Herring magazine.
January 2025 edition of the CWA’s Red Herring magazine
