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Netflix says it will defend itself against a multi-million-dollar lawsuit filed by a Scottish woman who says she is the real-life inspiration behind a character in the hit limited TV series Baby Reindeer.
Fiona Harvey has filed papers in the US District Court for the Central District of California suing the streaming service for defamation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violations of right of publicity and more.
She is seeking $US170 million ($255 million) in damages.
This includes $US50 million each for actual damages, compensatory damages including mental anguish and profits, plus at least $US20 million of punitive damages.
Ms Harvey had flagged a possible lawsuit when she appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored claiming she was falsely depicted as an obsessed stalker in Baby Reindeer and was the real-life inspiration behind the character Martha (played by actor Jessica Gunning).
Ms Harvey claims she has been harassed by people from all over the world because of the portrayal of her as Martha on the show.
She says Netflix included many of the real phrases she used to communicate with Richard Gadd — the writer, actor and comedian who created and starred in the series — and made very little effort to mask her identity including descriptions of her job as a lawyer.
Gadd portrays a fictional version of himself called Donny Dunn in the program, which has been a major hit for the streaming service.
He had reached out to fans on social media asking them to stop trying to track down the real people from the series.
Ms Harvey states in the lawsuit:
"The lies that Defendants told about Harvey to over 50 million people worldwide include that Harvey is a twice convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison, and that Harvey sexually assaulted Gadd.
"Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.
"And Netflix, a multi-national billion dollar entertainment streaming company did literally nothing to confirm the "true story" that Gadd told.
"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."
In a statement issued to ABC News, Netflix says it stands by its series, which it referred to at the beginning of each episode as a true story.
"We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd's right to tell his story," a spokesperson said.
Piers Morgan has also interviewed lawyer Laura Wray, who alleges she's a victim of Ms Harvey.