Baby Reindeer may be one of the best shows in Netflix's recent history. The dark comedy does have its awkward moments and may be cringeworthy at some parts, but at the heart of it, it's a gut-wrenching story about mental illness and trauma. Since release, fans have been on a witch hunt for the real Martha. Creator Richard Gadd has spoken out about the theories now.
Curiosity may be understandable, but some Baby Reindeer viewers have taken it too far. Every day, there are more women accused of being the real Martha, leading to harassment of said people. Finding the "real Martha" and actually messaging her has become some kind of sick entertainment for people who think they're entitled to center themselves in other people's trauma, mistakes and past. Just for the record: they're not.
Baby Reindeer's creator Richard Gadd shares his traumatic story in the Netflix series and didn't invite people to harass others, no matter what they may have done in the past. And, frankly, it's quite disturbing that people go after the "real Martha" more than other people portrayed in the show. It's easier to stomp down on a sick woman, isn't it? You can be really proud of yourself if you found and messaged her, right?
The Real Martha And Darrien From Baby Reindeer: "Please Don't Speculate"
In a recent Instagram story, Richard Gadd addressed the current speculations and tried to put a stop to it – rightfully so. He wrote:
Hi Everyone, People I love, have worked with and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly getting caught up in speculation. Please don't speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That's not the point of our show. Lots of love, Richard x X
Sean Foley has been speculated to be one of the characters in the show and has faced harassment because of it, just like some women speculated to be the real Martha. In Foley's case, the director even had to involve police according to The Standard. Foley was accused to be the real Darrien.
It was to be expected that people would be curious about who the characters were based on – that's just the thing with shows based on real life events – but some of the fans have taken it too far.
Which is, quite honestly, kind of ironic that a show that has stalking and abuse as a theme leads to exactly that. Most fans of the show didn't cross any lines, thankfully – still, enough of them did, prompting Richard Gadd to speak out to just stop with te speculations.