'Baby Reindeer' actor Richard Gadd shared 'sexually explicit, violent, and derogatory' emails he says Fiona Harvey sent him. Here are 6 key takeaways from the court filing.
Eammon Jacobs
- "Baby Reindeer" actor and creator Richard Gadd shared emails he claimed Fiona Harvey sent him.
- In a court filing, Gadd described the messages as "sexually explicit, violent, and derogatory."
"Baby Reindeer" creator and actor Richard Gadd 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.
Released in April, the fictionalized account of what Gadd said were his experiences of being stalked by a woman to whom he showed kindness at the pub where he worked, quickly became one of the most talked about shows of 2024. It placed on Netflix's most-watched list throughout April, May, and June.
Gadd said he made efforts to hide the identity of his alleged stalker, 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. She claimed the streamer defamed 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, using what he claimed were multiple examples of the emails, voicemails, and letters she sent him between 2014 and 2017 as evidence of her stalking him.
Fiona Harvey's representatives did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Here are the six main takeaways from the 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 every day, which he never responded to or engaged with.
The messages, included as evidence in the filing, contain graphic descriptions of Harvey's alleged sexual fantasies about Gadd. They also make reference to her menstrual cycle in great detail, 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 would mean the authorities could take action against her if she kept sending him voicemails and emails. This lead her to stop.
However, he claimed that she harassed him in other ways, including sending 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 recalled.
Harvey shoved Gadd at work, he claimed.
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 Labour MP Jimmy Wray and his wife, 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 Harvey's harassment of Scottish politician Jimmy Wray and his wife.
Toward the end of the declaration, Gadd said that Harvey referenced Labour MP, 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, appeared on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" in June 2024, 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 due to a hostile work environment.
Gadd claimed other people contacted him about Harvey, but they were too scared to report her to the police.
As well as the Wrays, Gadd said he was aware that Harvey also harassed other politicians, whose names were redacted in the filing.
However, Gadd said 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.
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