Piers Morgan is reflecting on his interview last week with Baby Reindeer‘s real-life Martha, arguing that Fiona Harvey was “failed” by Netflix.
Morgan told ITV’s Lorraine show that Netflix had not done enough to protect Harvey’s identity after she was tracked down by internet sleuths within days of Richard Gadd‘s series premiering.
Morgan added that the streaming giant faced legal questions after billing Baby Reindeer as a “true story.” Harvey has said that she is considering suing Netflix.
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“They failed in their duty of care to Harvey, there’s no question about that — Netflix in particular,” Morgan said. “The key question is whether they’ve defamed her. If you accuse somebody of being a convicted stalker and they’re not a convicted stalker, that’s a pretty serious mistake to make.”
Morgan has faced questions himself about the decision to interview Harvey on his YouTube channel, with the exchange having been viewed nearly 11M times. He has been accused of chasing clicks and exploiting an allegedly vulnerable person.
Morgan was unapologetic. “I have a YouTube channel called Piers Morgan Uncensored and I want people to click on it. Shock horror,” he joked. Morgan said he had to be persuaded by his team to do the interview and it has become “one of the biggest things I’ve ever been involved in.”
Harvey claimed that she was offered £250 ($313) for the interview and is now demanding that Morgan’s team pay her £1M.
“I asked if that was what they paid everyone and, if so, I wanted to see documentation to that effect,” she told The Daily Record newspaper. “That documentation has not been forthcoming. I have not signed a contract for the interview and I will be seeking far more.”
Morgan responded: “She’s not going to get a million pounds. What she wants is an agent. We gave her the same amount we give, I would say, 95% of all of our guests.
“We don’t discuss the terms but we paid for her to have a nice haircut, a car, and everything else. I think we have performed our duty of care [and] we’ve stayed in touch with her since.”
Harvey also appears to be demanding £1M from Netflix and wants the series removed from the platform. “If I can’t get that show to shut down easily, if they don’t give me the money – and I’m talking £1M – politicians will shut the show down,” she told The Daily Record.
Netflix is ignoring questions from journalists on the Baby Reindeer safeguarding saga. Benjamin King, the company’s UK policy chief, defended the show in UK Parliament last week and said appropriate steps had been taken to protect identities.
Gadd admitted to The Hollywood Reporter this week that the show is set in a “fictional realm” despite being billed as a true story. “I’ve spoken publicly about how I don’t want people to do it [identification guessing] and if I start playing a game of whack-a-mole, then I’m almost adding to it. I don’t think I’ll ever comment on it ever again,” he added.
Morgan said it was a “very messy” human interest story. “I do think she sent all these messages. And I do think that shows that she has an obsessive streak, certainly in relation to Richard Gadd. But I also think, by his own admission, he himself is a pretty damaged individual and he admits to leading her on.”
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