Richard Gadd, the actor who created "Baby Reindeer," has shared in a court filing a selection of the abusive, explicit emails and voicemails that he claims Fiona Harvey, the woman said to have inspired his popular Netflix show, sent him over a three-year period.
2024-07-30Released in April, the fictionalized account of what Gadd said was his experience being stalked by a woman he was kind to at the pub where he worked, quickly became one of the most-talked-about shows of 2024. It was on Netflix's most-watched list throughout April, May, and June.
Gadd said he made efforts to hide the identity of the woman he accused of stalking, named Martha Scott in the show. But armchair detectives used social media to hunt for the "real Martha," leading Harvey to come forward after being abused online.
Following a lengthy interview about Gadd and the show with Piers Morgan in May, Harvey filed a $170 million lawsuit against Netflix, accusing the streamer of defaming her. She said she was falsely depicted in the series and that it did not disguise her identity well enough, which she said led to her being harassed.
Harvey denied stalking Gadd in her interview with Morgan and in the defamation lawsuit.
On Sunday, Gadd filed a declaration of support for Netflix at the Central District Court for California, submitting what he said were multiple examples of the emails, voicemails, and letters she sent him between 2014 and 2017 as evidence that she stalked him.
Harvey's lawyer, Richard Roth, told Business Insider via email: '"Netflix's motion ties itself in knots. First, Netflix and Richard Gadd indisputably admit 'Baby Reindeer' is not a true story — the very essence of Ms. Harvey's claims. After asserting — under oath — that 'Martha' is not Fiona Harvey, it then engages in more attacks of Ms. Harvey, allegations that are irrelevant and have nothing to do with the litigation or the 'true story' of 'Baby Reindeer.' Meanwhile, Richard Gadd continues to hide from the press."
Here are the six main takeaways from Gadd's court filing.
The emails Gadd said Harvey sent contain graphic descriptions of sexual fantasies, her menstrual cycle, and racist and homophobic abuse.
In the declaration, Gadd claimed that Harvey found his email address in July 2014 and started sending him several emails a day, which he never responded to or engaged with.
The messages, included as evidence in the filing, contain graphic descriptions of Harvey's sexual fantasies about Gadd. They also make detailed references to her menstrual cycle, and feature "derogatory content, hateful speech, and threats" toward specific ethnic groups and religions, as well as homophobic insults aimed at Gadd.
"For example, Harvey told me '[y]ou look gay in one of those online photos' and stated 'I would kill a Muslim if they attacked you,'" Gadd claimed in the court document.
Gadd claimed Harvey sent him her underwear.
The actor said he obtained what's known as a First Instance Harassment Warning against Harvey from the police in 2017, which meant that authorities could take action against her if she kept sending him voicemails and emails. This led her to stop.
However, he claimed that she harassed him in other ways, including sending him a handwritten letter and some underwear in August 2017.
"For example, Harvey sent me another handwritten letter along with some underpants. The letter stated 'you've not unblocked your email . . . so have not checked my emails. Here are some lucky [under]pants,'" he said.
Harvey shoved him at work, Gadd said.
Gadd claimed that in March 2015, Harvey spoke to a customer in the London pub where he worked about a bad review Gadd had received about one of his plays. Gadd responded by saying that he'd seen news reports that Jimmy Wray, a Labour Party member of parliament, and his wife, the lawyer Laura Wray, alleged that Harvey had harassed them.
He claimed that Harvey shoved him in retaliation.
"Harvey came behind the bar to where I was standing and shoved me in the back of my neck. I turned to find her chastising me whilst pointing in my face," Gadd said.
"I remember that she referred to the comedian Frankie Boyle's 'mout' having 'got him into trouble' and she said that my 'mouth would get me into trouble too.'"
He added: "I remember quickly apologizing out of fear she was going to hit me, as well as embarrassment at the fact a number of customers nearby were looking over."
Gadd claimed Harvey threatened his family.
Gadd said that Harvey found his phone number from an out-of-office email he set up while he was on holiday in Croatia. He said she left him numerous abusive voicemail messages.
"She also made threats against my family, stating 'I know your family,' and that they have 'enemies.' She claimed that she had a 'file' on me and that a lot of people 'know about me,'" Gadd wrote.
Gadd referred to accusations that Harvey harassed the Scottish politician Jimmy Wray and his wife.
Toward the end of the declaration, Gadd said that Harvey referenced Wray and his wife in the voicemails.
He said: "Harvey admitted that she told Jimmy Wray she would 'wring [his] bloody neck' and that he had reported this as a 'death threat.'"
Wray's wife, Laura Wray, appeared on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" in June, and recalled working with Harvey briefly at L&L Lawrence Solicitors in 1997. She claimed Harvey was fired after two weeks for abusive behavior.
Harvey denied this on"Piers Morgan Uncensored" and said that she left because of a hostile work environment.
Gadd claimed other people contacted him about Harvey, but they were too scared to report her to the police.
Gadd said he found out that Harvey was accused of harassing other politicians, whose names were redacted in the filing.
Gadd added that he was contacted by other people who claimed that Harvey also harassed them.
"She harassed and stalked me over several years, and since her interview, other individuals have contacted me through my agents and publicists and said they were also harassed by Harvey, but all were too scared of her to come forward," Gadd said.