Amid an ongoing lawsuit, Netflix is standing by Baby Reindeer as a dramatic work of fiction.
Anne Mensah, the streamer’s vice president of original series, emphasized the importance of the Richard Gadd-created series for resulting in an increase of male abuse survivors seeking support as she appeared at this week’s Edinburgh TV Festival.
“It was important for those reasons, and if you feel [the controversy] detracted from that, I would be absolutely disappointed,” said Mensah, according to The Independent. “I absolutely stand by all the show. It’s drama, not a documentary.”
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Based on Gadd’s alleged experience being sexually assaulted by a woman he claims was stalking him, the hit Netflix series quickly resulted in widespread speculation about the real identity of his abuser, who inspired the character of Martha (Jessica Gunning).
Mensah said that Netflix takes safeguarding “incredibly seriously” after a warning from the UK government. “I don’t make shows for publicity’s sake,” she said, adding: “It was about giving [Gadd] the space to tell that story. Chasing publicity is the antithesis of what I believe in.”
Fiona Harvey has since come forward, claiming to be the inspiration for Martha and hitting the streamer with a $170 million defamation and negligence lawsuit. Her attorney Richard Roth has since seized on The Sunday Times‘ report that Netflix pressured Gadd to include the “this is a true story” disclaimer before each episode.
“This is far worse than negligence, this is intentional misconduct if they were told, ‘Don’t make it a true story.’ And they said it was true,” Roth told Piers Morgan Uncensored. “They are going to have to show that they have the facts to support their claim.”
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