A federal judge in California has ruled that a Scottish woman can continue her defamation lawsuit against Netflix regarding the miniseries “Baby Reindeer,” which stars comedian Richard Gadd. In his ruling, Judge R. Gary Klausner noted that the show presents itself as factual, claiming, “this is a true story,” potentially misleading viewers about the portrayal of Fiona Harvey.
Harvey’s lawsuit stems from Gadd’s depiction of her as a stalker who inundated him with over 40,000 emails and hours of voice messages. She asserts that the show inaccurately portrays her as a twice-convicted criminal who engaged in violent and sexual assaults. Although Netflix argued that the claims about Harvey were “substantially true,” Klausner highlighted significant differences between alleged behaviors and actual criminal convictions.
While Harvey’s defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims will proceed, her negligence and right of publicity claims were dismissed. Netflix has stated its intention to vigorously defend Gadd’s right to share his story.
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