Why Piers Morgan's interview with the 'real' Martha of 'Baby Reindeer' sparked controversy

A debate about the ethics of “Baby Reindeer,” a Netflix hit, have intensified following Piers Morgan’s interview with a woman saying she is its alleged inspiration.

“Baby Reindeer,” a Netflix sensation that has topped the streamer’s U.S.-language shows chart, doesn’t hide that it’s based on creator and star Richard Gadd’s real experiences. In it, he plays a comedian named Donny stalked by a middle-aged woman named Martha.

While the show describes itself as a true story in the opening, it says in the credits, “This program is based on real events: however certain characters, names, incidents, locations, and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes.”

But the show’s creator said his intention wasn’t for viewers to try and investigate more of the story’s origins — though that’s what ended up happening.

After the show came out, Gadd pleaded with viewers not to try and uncover the identity of Martha and a man who sexually assaulted Donnie.

“Please don’t speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That’s not the point of our show,” he wrote in an Instagram story.

Jessica Gunning, who plays Martha in the show, commented on audiences trying to uncover her character’s identity during an interview with Glamour. “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 said. “That’s not the point of it in any way.”

Audiences persisted, though, and found the woman they thought was the real Martha. On May 9, Fiona Harvey, the woman online sleuths identified as Martha’s inspiration stepped forward to tell her side of the story and deny she is a stalker.

In less than one day, the nearly hour-long interview was viewed more than 4 million times, making it the internet’s equivalent to must-watch TV.

“Got to give it to @piersmorgan — this was as gripping as the drama itself!” one X user wrote.

Another shared the following reaction: “Part of me doesn’t want to watch the interview but I can’t stop watching.”

Below, find out what Harvey said. TODAY.com has reached out to Gadd and Netflix for comment. Gadd has never confirmed Harvey is the inspiration for Martha.

What did Fiona Harvey tell Piers Morgan about ‘Baby Reindeer’?

During her interview on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Harvey disputed many details that were depicted in “Baby Reindeer.”

It’s worth noting Gadd said the series was heavily fictionalized. During an interview with GQ, Gadd described the show as “pretty truthful” compared to his personal experiences, but that actual details were different, especially when it came to Martha.

“We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognize herself. What’s been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone,” he said.

The 58-year-old said she hasn’t watched the show but has heard about plot points from friends and the media. She denied stalking accusations and said the following details of her relationship with Gadd differ from their portrayal in the Netflix series:

• Gadd never gave Harvey a free beverage when they first met or on her subsequent trips to the bar where he was working.

• Gadd never showed up outside of Harvey's house.

• Harvey never sat outside of Gadd’s home and didn't know where he lived.

• Harvey never heckled Gadd at his comedy shows.

• Harvey didn't have Gadd's phone number and didn't send him 41,000 emails.

• Harvey only knew Gadd for a few months and met him five to six times.

• Harvey was never romantically interested in Gadd.

Harvey said she only sent him a few emails (“less than 10”) that she described as “jokey banter.”

She was also asked about X posts she published about Gadd which viewers used to help identify her. A scene in series hinges around Donny’s delivery of the line, “I’ll hang your curtains,” which becomes somewhat sexual. Harvey tweeted in 2014, “My curtains need hung badly,” tagging Gadd.

When asked about the tweets, she said, “I may have done years and years ago … No, it wasn’t numerous. It’s about 18 tweets.”

Harvey called Gadd “psychotic” in the interview with Morgan and said he “seemed to be obsessed” with her after their first encounter.

Harvey said she first knew Gadd had created the character of Martha based on her when she heard about a play he performed at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She later heard about “Baby Reindeer” and knew it was about her. However, she said neither Netflix nor Gadd reached out to her about the project.

Harvey confirmed she once owned a toy reindeer, which was a pivotal plot point in the show. Martha calls Donny her “baby reindeer” throughout the show. In the finale, Martha explains the nickname came from a “wee cuddly toy” of a baby reindeer she had as a girl. She says he is the “spitting image” of that toy.

As in the TV show, Harvey said she’s a lawyer and added that she will be pursuing legal action against Gadd and Netflix.

Harvey said she last had contact with Gadd years ago and said “other women warned me about him.”

Why was the interview controversial?

Commentators online highlighted two possible scenarios and found issues with both of them: Either Harvey was truthful and the show exaggerated here behavior, or she’s unwell and has become a media spectacle

In an article for Glamour, commentator Beth McColl said, “Fiona Harvey also been failed by the creators of the show who have neglected to effectively obscure her identity.

The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage called the interview “queasy,” and said “the whole thing reeked of grubby exploitation.”

“Doctor Who” writer Russell T. Davies told The Times that the BBC would have been “much stricter” when it came to disguising identities than Netflix. “Compliance and editorial policy drives us mad here but I sleep at night,” he said.

Netflix commented on efforts to “disguise real-life identities” of those involved, as has Gadd.

Benjamin King, Netflix UK’s senior public policy director, said on May 8, the day before the interview, during a U.K. parliament hearing that the streamer and producer Clerkenwell Films took “every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved in that story.”

“Ultimately, it’s obviously very difficult to control what viewers do, particularly in a world where everything is amplified by social media.

“I personally wouldn’t be comfortable with a world in which we decided it was better that Richard was silenced and not allowed to tell the story.”

Some viewers noted that they were uncomfortable watching the conversation unfold.

“My face during this whole interview,” onewrotealongside a gif from the TV show “The Office.”

The discomfort seemed to stem from viewers’ perspective that Harvey wasn’t necessarily well equipped to handle such an intense interview.

What did Piers Morgan say about the interview?

When he first announced his interview on "Piers Morgan Uncensored", Morgan said, “Fiona Harvey wants to have her say & ‘set the record straight.’ Is she a psycho stalker? Find out tomorrow.”

He doubled down, at the start of the interview, on the idea that this was Harvey’s chance to speak out. “She’s chosen to confirm her identity because she wants to have a right of reply,” he said.

Throughout the interview, Morgan questioned Harvey on her statement that Netflix and Gadd fictionalized her alleged behavior.

He also offered up his own opinion on the obligation both Netflix and Gadd had to protect Harvey’s true identity.

“I think at the very least, Netflix’s duty of care and Richard Gadd’s duty of care has been a spectacular failure — regardless of anything else, regardless of your culpability of anything, the duty of care has failed because people have identified you incredibly quickly,” he said.

Harvey agreed and said she was “forced into this situation” after “internet sleuths tracked me down and hounded me and gave me death threats.”

What did Fiona Harvey say after the interview came out?

In a follow up interview with the Daily Record, Harvey said Morgan focused too much on the 41,000 emails she allegedly sent to Gadd.

“It was very rapid to try to trip me up. He did it fast paced to catch me off guard,” she told the publication.

She explained why she agreed to an interview with Morgan when she’d received so many other offers.

“He is the biggest interviewer out there and has the biggest show so obviously I was going to speak to him,” she said.

Harvey said Piers believed the interview “went well” and described it as “a sparring match.”

“He landed a few punches on me and I landed a few punches on him,” she said.

Reflecting on the interview, Harvey said she felt “a bit used” and thought she had been “set up.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com