The woman who allegedly inspired the character Martha in Netflix’s Baby Reindeer will appear at a nightclub in Coventry, according to the club’s Facebook page. Kasbah nightclub announced that Fiona Harvey, the woman base of the character Martha, will be taking selfies, signing autographs and may even take a lucky reindeer home to hang her curtains. This news was met with shock on Twitter, with one user asking the club why they would give this woman a platform, and others saying that taking advantage of someone so vulnerable was unfair.
This comes just a week after some viewers of Baby Reindeer expressed concern at the “exploitative” nature of a recent interview Piers Morgan did with Harvey. In the interview, Harvey denies many aspects of the show’s narrative, stating that she did not stalk Richard Gadd, attack his girlfriend, destroy the bar he worked at, or contact his parents. Harvey also confirmed that she will be taking legal action against Gadd and Netflix, stating that she is “exploring all the options out there.”
Many viewers reacted negatively to the interview, with one user of X/Twitter writing that they were uncomfortable with how comfortable we are putting deeply unwell people in front of cameras. Another user described the interview as cruel, irresponsible and ghoulish. Harvey herself has stated that the interview left her feeling used and that she felt set up.
Netflix or Gadd himself have yet to comment on claims that the woman persona of Martha is based on is the ‘real-life’ Martha, with Benjamin King, Netflix’s policy chief, saying that the company “took every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved in that story.” Almost immediately after the show aired last month, some viewers attempted to uncover the real identities of the characters, including Martha. Gadd subsequently urged people to refrain from speculation, stating, “that’s not the point of our show.”
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