‘Baby Reinder’ star Richard Gadd delivers powerful speech after Emmy Awards win
At the 2024 Emmy Awards, Netflix’s Baby Reindeer was one of the biggest winners of the night. As the series found itself in the middle of a difficult legal battle and mass social media discourse on the ethics of the show, its creator, Richard Gadd, gave an emotional speech when winning his first award.
The creator, star, and executive producer of the show took home a few trophies last night at the Emmy Awards. The show won the ‘Best Limited or Anthology Series’ category, which is a major success for Gadd’s debut TV series. His writing also got celebrated as he won the accolade for ‘Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series’.
Furthermore, it was his actual performance skills in the limelight as he beat out major names like Jon Hamm, Andrew Scott and Matt Bomer to win ‘Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series’.
Really, it’s no wonder that Gadd was incredible in the role of Donny Dunn as the actor was playing himself. As announced at the start of the pilot episode, “This is a true story,” with Gadd writing about his own experiences of sexual assault, stalking and his own mental health struggles.
He touched on this during his moving acceptance speech when he won in the acting category. “Look, 10 years ago I was down and out, right? I never ever thought I would get my life together,” he said.
Adding, “I never ever thought I would rectify myself for what happened to me and get myself back on my feet again,” touching on the tough times that inspired the show. But as he held the trophy in his hand, he added, “And then here I am, just over a decade later, picking up on the biggest writing awards on television.”
Overall, he declared, “This is the stuff of dreams.”
However, for the woman who claimed to be the alleged basis for Martha, it would be the stuff of nightmares. Following the release of Baby Reindeer in April 2024, Fiona Harvey spoke out about the TV show and sued Netflix for $170 million. She sought damages for defamation and emotional distress as she accused Netflix and Gadd of telling “brutal lies” about her to “attract more viewers,” “make more money,” and “viciously destroy” her life.
In particular, the legal case is investigating Gadd’s claims that the story was “true”, as Harvey claims the facts have been twisted. A Netflix spokesperson said in a statement about the suit, “We intended to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”