Netflix has failed in its attempt to persuade a judge to throw out a defamation lawsuit brought by the woman who inspired the stalker character in hit series Baby Reindeer.
Fiona Harvey claims the streaming giant told “brutal lies” about her to more than 50 million viewers around the world.
The show, created by Richard Gadd, is billed as “a true story”, but certain key events, like the conviction for stalking, did not happen in real life, the judge concluded.
Netflix said: “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
In his ruling, Judge Gary Klausner wrote: “There is a major difference between stalking and being convicted of stalking in a court of law.”
There were other substantial disparities between what really happened and what was shown on screen, he noted.
Ms Harvey says also she did not stalk a police officer, sexually assault Gadd, violently attack him in a pub by smashing a bottle over his head and gouging his eyes, or wait outside his home for up to 16 hours a day.
Netflix argued those things should be viewed as “substantially true” because she did arguably similar things in real life.
However, the judge wrote: “There are major differences between inappropriate touching and sexual assault, as well as between shoving and gouging another’s eyes.”
Gadd’s original stage play was billed slightly differently – as being “based on a true story” – which suggests “certain details were likely false”, the judge wrote.
A Sunday Times article from June quoted TV industry sources as saying Gadd “expressed concerns” with Netflix about presenting it as simply “a true story”.
The fact the company went ahead “suggests a reckless disregard of whether statements in the series were false”, Judge Klausner wrote.
Netflix argued that most viewers would understand the claims made in the show to be “not factual” because it was shot in the style of a drama.
However, the judge disagreed, writing: “While the statements were made in a series that largely has the trappings of a black comedy-drama, the very first episode states unequivocally that ‘this is a true story’, thereby inviting the audience to accept the statements as fact.”
Netflix also said the similarities between the real and fictionalised people were so broad that average viewers would not have been able to identify Ms Harvey as Martha.
“The court disagrees,” the judge wrote. “This is not the typical case where a plaintiff happens to be one of hundreds of people that match a fictional character’s broad characteristics.
“Rather, Martha and Plaintiff [Ms Harvey] have specific similarities that few others could claim to share.”
However, the judge did side with Netflix in some parts of Ms Harvey’s case, dismissing her negligence and gross negligence claims, and her request for punitive damages.
Baby Reindeer has been one of the biggest TV hits of the past year, and recently won six Emmy Awards in the US.
