Fiona Harvey, the woman who says she's the real-life inspiration for the character Martha Scott in Richard Gadd's hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer , has filed a $170 million lawsuit against the streamer. After making a public statement that the character Martha was "intended to be a portrayal" of her and announcing her intention to take legal action against "all of those who have lied about me" and use her image to make money, Harvey has done just that. According to the lawsuit obtained by ET, Harvey has filed a lawsuit in California against Netflix, claiming defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and violations of her right of publicity.
In the lawsuit, she takes aim at the show that says it's based on real events and what she calls a false depiction of her as a convicted stalker who sexually assaulted Gadd and was sentenced to prison. She also claims Netflix "did literally nothing" to confirm Gadd's story, allegedly leaving her to suffer the consequences. "Simply, Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character and her life," the lawsuit states.
As for how she was identified, Harvey points to the series' recurring reference to the phrase "hang my curtains," which she says viewers connected to a 2014 tweet from Harvey that read "my curtains need hung badly." According to the lawsuit, from there -- along with her resemblance to the character -- she says she was identified as Martha and has been "tormented" as a result, suffering online .