As Gadd soon found out, Netflix viewers are even more interactive than theatergoers.
Hearing the story was rooted in fact, Internet sleuths weren’t going to sit idly by while possible real perpetrators were out there, somewhere, unexposed.
And unlike Gadd, who has never publicly named the people on whom Darrien and Martha are based, Reddit users, X posters, et al., have been happy to attempt to fill in the Baby Reindeer blanks themselves. Social media accounts have been highlighted as potentially belonging to the real Martha and speculation has run amok as to who Darrien could be.
Enough so that Gadd pushed back April 22 on his Instagram Story, writing, “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.”
Foley, an actor, director and Olivier-winning writer, reposted Gadd’s message to X and also wrote, ”Police have been informed and are investigating all defamatory abusive and threatening posts against me.”