Piers Morgan has defended his decision to interview Fiona Harvey, the woman who is thought to be the real-life inspiration for the stalker character in Netflix‘s Baby Reindeer.
Harvey appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored last Thursday (May 9), her first television interview since confirming her identity earlier in the week.
Baby Reindeer is a semi-autobiographical series written by the comedian Richard Gadd that claims to tell the “true story” of a struggling stand-up (played by Gadd) who is maliciously stalked by an older woman named Martha.
In the interview, which has been viewed over 10 million times, Harvey denied many aspects of the show’s narrative, saying that she did not stalk Gadd, attack his girlfriend, destroy the bar he worked in or contact his parents. She also strongly denied being convicted of any charges, which is the fate that befalls Martha in the show.
Viewers were quick to question the ethics of the interview since Gadd has previously stated that his real stalker was “mentally unwell”. However, Morgan has hit back at the claims, saying Harvey should be allowed to “tell her side of the story”.
“If she was a convicted stalker who had gone to prison and put his life through hell, clearly we had to think long and hard about the public interest justification in giving her the platform,” Morgan told BBC News Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall.
“But I felt there was enough of a question mark surrounding that part of the story to justify her at least giving her side of the story. She is emphatic that there was no court case, no conviction, she never pled guilty and there was no prison sentence,” he added.
MORE BABY REINDEER: What did @piersmorgan consider before speaking to alleged 'real Martha' & does he regret the interview some have called exploitative? On the Media Show he explains his decision & his media strategy – more from @BBCRosAtkins & me @BBCSounds @BBCRadio4 pic.twitter.com/rI7sVTGHD8
— Katie Razzall (@katierazz) May 15, 2024
Asked if he and his team had performed checks into Harvey’s criminal history before the interview, Morgan replied: “There were obviously other reports of her having stalked other people but again, nothing that led to any apparent conviction.
“I think that is a crucial distinction I would draw here, which is there’s a big difference legally between someone who may have been obsessive towards some people, may have even harassed them, but if it hasn’t crossed the bar of a crime, then to call them in a series where they have been immediately identified a convicted criminal, that is a serious failure by Netflix.”
Morgan was also asked if his show had looked into Harvey’s mental health prior to the interview, to which he responded: “We had long conversations about it but actually I have no qualms at all about offering her the platform because I certainly didn’t get the feeling when she came in that I was dealing with someone who was a vulnerable person.
“If anything, she was pretty combative with me. When it comes to the mental health issue, Richard Gadd has been very searingly honest about his own mental health issues and yet that doesn’t seem to factor into people’s concerns.
“He was allowed a platform to tell what he says is his story… If he can be allowed to do that, then I think the person he has put up there as a convicted stalker who has gone to prison for harassing him should be allowed to have her say if, as she says, it isn’t true.”
Since the interview, Morgan himself has said that he believes Harvey lied to him “quite a lot”, adding, “if her threatened legal action against Netflix and Gadd goes ahead, I suspect it will quickly emerge she did send all the emails, messages, and letters to him,” he said.
Harvey has previously spoken about how she felt the interview went, saying: “I wouldn’t say I was happy. It was very rapid to try to trip me up. He did it fast paced to catch me off guard. It seemed to me that I was set up. I feel a bit used.”
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