Jessica Gunning as Martha in “Baby Reindeer”
Ed Miller/NetflixBaby reindeer is the No. 1 series on Netflix right now, but the woman who supposedly inspired the series isn’t happy with its success.
In a recent interview with the Daily MailThe woman – whose name was not given – said she was considering legal action against it Richard Gaddwho created and stars in the Netflix series.
“He uses Baby reindeer to stalk me now,” the woman claimed. “I am the victim. He wrote a damn show about me.”
Based on Gadd’s one-man stage show of the same name, Baby reindeer follows a struggling comedian named Donny Dunn (Gadd) who interacts with Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning), a former lawyer who begins to stalk him. The series was inspired by Gadd’s own experience of being allegedly stalked and sexually abused in his twenties.
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Gadd, now 34, asked fans of the TV show to stop looking for the real person who inspired Gunning’s character, but not everyone listened. The woman told this Daily Mail that she has been the target of “death threats and abuse from Richard Gadd supporters” since the series premiered earlier this month.
While Gadd claims to have changed the identifying details of his real stalker, the woman who spoke to him Daily Mail claims his script amounts to “bullying an older woman on television to gain fame and fortune.”
Richard Gadd as Donny and Jessica Gunning as Martha in “Baby Reindeer”
Ed Miller/NetflixThe woman also objected to the title Baby reindeer, which comes from a pet name Martha uses for Donny in the series. Martha tells Donny that he reminds her of a baby reindeer toy she had as a child because of his “big lips, huge eyes, and cutest little butt.”
“I have never owned a toy baby reindeer and would not have had a conversation with Richard Gadd about a child’s toy,” the woman said Daily Mail. “Richard Gadd has ‘main character syndrome’. He always thinks he is at the center of things. I don’t write shows about him or promote them in the media, do I? If he had wanted me to remain truly anonymous, he could have done that. Gadd should leave me alone.”
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Baby reindeer Fans have also tried to identify the real person who raped Gadd. In the series, the character is called Darrien O’Connor and is played by the actor Tom Goodman Hill. According to misguided internet detectives, the theater director was incorrectly referred to Sean Foley Inspiring Darrien, Gadd urged viewers to stop their investigation.
“People I love, worked with and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly caught up in speculation,” Gadd wrote on his Instagram Story earlier this month. “Please do not speculate about who the real people might be. That’s not the point of our show.”