A former coworker of Baby Reindeer's creator and star, Richard Gadd, has refuted the claims made on the show about the comedian being targeted by a female stalker. Instead, she asserts that the woman was actually "the target of ridicule" by the male staffers in a "misogynistic" environment.
The hit drama-thriller series is based on Richard's real-life experience of being stalked by a mentally ill woman, believed to be 58-year-old Fiona Harvey, while he was a bartender at The Hawley Arms in Camden, London.
Highlights
- An ex-coworker of Richard Gadd challenged the portrayal of Fiona Harvey as a stalker in "Baby Reindeer," claiming she was ridiculed.
- Fiona Harvey, portrayed as mentally ill stalker, was actually seeking companionship and was targeted as a joke, she says.
- The ex-employee describes a culture of drug use, alcohol, and promiscuity at the famous Hawley Arms pub.
Speaking with the DailyMail, the ex-colleague claims that Richard portrayed an inaccurate recount of the events on the show and that the woman—played by Jessica Cunning in the series—never stalked him.
Image credits: thehawleyarms
"Something doesn't sit right with me about him portraying himself as being the innocent party and being stalked. It just doesn't fit in with my perception of working there," she said.
"There was some underlying joke going on. I feel sorry for her. She was clearly vulnerable and clearly lonely.
"I think she was targeted as a joke between the male staff members, and he led her on for the laughs."
According to the former pub worker, Richard's attitude led Fiona to believe that he had a romantic interest in her.
"She must have got the impression that he fancied her because of this, hence the alleged stalking.
"They targeted somebody who was vulnerable and thought it was funny. I really feel for her. She's clearly not very well. Why would you pursue someone who's clearly not stable?"
The show is based on comedian Richard Gadd's real-life experience of being stalked by a mentally ill woman while he was a bartender at a pub
Image credits: mrrichardgadd
Fiona was "a familiar face" at the famous pub and would often show up by herself to order a soft drink.
"She would be there maybe three times a week. She was always by herself. She was never with anyone," the worker added.
"She would sit at the table, usually in the corner, quite far away from the bar near the stairs leading to the upstairs bar.
"She was looking for a bit of companionship because there were people to talk to, and I think he played in on that as a joke, and now he's made loads of money out of it, and she's still being the target of ridicule."
Moreover, the woman denies that Fiona met Richard after he offered her a cup of tea.
"That certainly didn't happen. She didn't drink tea as he said. There wasn't any tea. There was a coffee machine but I never served anyone coffee there ever."
The worker described the pub, run by four men at the time, as a "very misogynistic place to work."
His former co-worker claims that Fiona Harvey, the alleged stalker, was actually the "target of ridicule" by Richard and other male staff members
Image credits: Piers Morgan Uncensored
She says Richard's misogynistic treatment of Fiona wasn't an isolated case.
"There were always jokes about females and people targeting females, trying to sleep with certain people. That was the culture.
"The staff were constantly sleeping with customers and getting numbers. It was pretty pathetic."
The woman says she and other female workers made an "alliance" to "look out for each other" and protect themselves from the men.
"Even the first week I was working there, I was warned by another female to stay away from certain people who worked there or certain regulars who drank in there because they were womanizers.
"It made me feel uncomfortable, but you felt like you had to just put up with it in order to get your wages.
"I know I was hired because one of them wanted to sleep with me as it was an open-running joke. I was very young, and I was really naive, and I was a bit of a fool for being drawn in."
"They targeted somebody who was vulnerable and thought it was funny. I really feel for her," she said
Image credits: Netflix
Ultimately, the woman decided to quit her job at the pub for her own wellbeing.
"Mentally, I felt drained, so I left. I didn't want to be around that culture and that kind of people anymore. It was just a culture of drug taking, alcohol, and promiscuousness in terms of the staff and in general.
"I didn't work in a pub again after that. It put me off."
The Netflix show paints a different picture of the relationship between Richard and Fiona. The creator claims that, over four years, the woman sent him 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemail, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, and 106 pages.
She also said there was a "culture of drug taking, alcohol, and promiscuousness" in the pub
Image credits: Netflix
Although the comedian denounced the situation to the police, he says law enforcement paid little attention to his words because of the stalker's gender.
"When a man gets stalked, it can be portrayed in films and television as a sexy thing," he explained. "Like a femme fatale who gradually becomes more sinister."
Fiona, who threatened legal action against the streaming giant, told her version of the story during a highly anticipated interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored on May 9.
The Scottish law graduate referred to the popular show as "horrifying" and "misogynistic."
Though she admitted meeting Richard at the pub, she denied having sent him thousands of messages or displaying an obsession with him.
Fiona said she sent Gadd only "a handful" of emails, tweeted him about 18 times, and wrote him one letter.
"He's making money out of untrue fact, he's the ultimate misogynist," she expressed.
Fans of the show shared their views on the former pub worker's comments
