Baby Reindeer’s real “Martha” says she’s being victimized because of the Netflix series’ following and is considering legal action because of it.
The woman recently spoke with The Daily Mail about what’s happened since the release of Baby Reindeer, in which comedian Richard Gadd recounts in a fictionalized version of his real-life story that he was relentlessly stalked by a woman he calls “Martha.” Gadd — who plays himself in Baby Reindeer — goes by the name Donny Dunn in the series, while Jessica Gunning stars as Martha.
The publication purposefully did not identify the woman making the claims about being the real Martha.
‘He’s using Baby Reindeer to stalk me now,’” the woman told The Daily Mail. “I’m the victim. He’s written a bloody show about me.”
She also told the publication that Gadd’s script for the series — which is based on the one-man stage show he created in the UK in 2019 — is about “bullying an older woman on television for fame and fortune.”
The woman also told The Daily Mail that she is getting online “death threats and abuse from Richard Gadd supporters.”
‘Baby Reindeer’ Star Urged Viewers To Leave Real ‘Martha’ Alone
According to The Daily Mail, Gadd received 41,071 emails, 744 tweets and 350 hours of voicemail messages — among other things— from Martha during his stalker ordeal.
Since the series premiered on Netflix on April 11 and shot to the top of Netflix’s Top 10 Global TV Shows chart, viewers have been trying to find the real Martha. Jessica Gunning — who plays Martha in the series — said the searches for the real woman need to stop.
“I would urge people not to be doing that. I think if that is happening, I think it’s a real, real shame because it shows that they haven’t watched the show properly,” Gunning told Glamour. “That’s not the point of it in any way. Netflix and Richard [Gadd] went to extreme lengths to try and make sure that the identities were kept private for a reason.”
While Gadd has fictionalized the story of Baby Reindeer for Netflix, he said of the series, “It’s all emotionally 100% true.”
The woman claiming to be the real Martha denied being a stalker in her interview with The Daily Mail and instead said, “Richard Gadd has got ‘main character syndrome.”
She also told The Daily Mail that she is considering legal action against Gadd.
“He always thinks he’s at the [center] of things,” she said. “I’m not writing shows about him or promoting them in the media, am I? If he wanted me to be properly anonymous, he could have done so. Gadd should leave me alone.”
All seven episodes of Baby Reindeer are streaming on Netflix.
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