Fiona Harvey, the woman who says she’s the basis for the character of persistent stalker Martha in Richard Gadd’s Netflix series has now sued the streamer. Harvey, who blasted both Gadd and Netflix for propagating “the biggest lie in television history” by opening the show with the line “This is a true story,” is reportedly seeking at least $170 million in damages from the company. Although Harvey’s lawsuit says Gadd “destroyed her reputation, her character and her life,” she is not also suing the writer, actor, and comedian; Netflix is charges of “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence, and violations of Harvey’s right of publicity.
” Speculation about the real-life basis for —which does, as Harvey’s suit notes, begin by foregrounding the fact that it’s based on Gadd’s life—kicked off pretty much from the moment the show released. (Despite Gadd that this kind of true crime unraveling of the tale was both unwelcome, and counter to what the show was meant to achieve.) According to the suit, Harvey began receiving messages and calls from people accusing her of being the “real” Martha within days of the show coming out.
(She specifically cites both basic similarities between the character and herself, and the show referencing a Twitter message she sent to Gadd in 2014, which several online detectives discovered.) Harvey’s suit alleges that she has faced harassment and death threats in large qu.
