Winning Emmys for a series you conceived, wrote, produced, directed, and starred in is just about the highest achievement you could imagine. But when that series is wrapped in controversy, it’s hard to avoid it even amid the celebration. Richard Gadd, the man behind Baby Reindeer, tried his best, however, on the night that the Netflix drama took home four Emmys.
In the press room at Sunday night’s Emmys, Richard Gadd was posed with a question about Fiona Harvey – the supposed inspiration for Martha Scott – who has launched a $170 million lawsuit against Netflix for the harmful depiction in Baby Reindeer, chiefly tied to defamation and emotional distress. But Gadd wouldn’t take the bait, redirecting with, “This is a night of celebration. I really don’t want to talk about any of that stuff. It’s easy in this day and age to focus on the negatives. This has touched the lives of so many people.” Here, Gadd is referring to a reported uptick in abuse reports since Baby Reindeer started streaming in April. “Nobody seems to be talking about that enough.”
That attention has been lured away from the positive outcomes of Baby Reindeer – even amid its multiple Emmy wins – is terribly unfortunate. Even still, we shouldn’t be surprised that the ongoing claims and lawsuit have drawn the most attention. As it stands, the lawsuit claims, “As a result of Defendants’ lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined. Simply, Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character and her life.” Gadd has denied all of this and says he will testify if it comes to that point.
Baby Reindeer was one of the top winners at Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards, taking home Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, as well as Outstanding Lead Actor, Supporting Actress and Writing in that same category. With these, it stood alongside The Bear and Shōgun for most wins in the major categories. A few nights prior, Baby Reindeer won Outstanding Casting and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series at the Creative Arts Emmys.
Do you think Baby Reindeer will ever escape the controversy surrounding it or will it always be tied to it?