That lie, according to the complaint, are the five words that appear on screen right after the first scene of the first episode: “This is a true story.”
Harvey goes on to allege that Netflix “destroyed” her life, describing herself as “an innocent woman defamed by Netflix and Richard Gadd at a magnitude and scale without precedent.” She’s seeking $170 million for “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence, and violations of Harvey’s right of publicity” over what she claims are “brutal lies” perpetuated by the series and Gadd.
Langberg adds another point that bodes well for Harvey: “The other issue that comes up a lot when somebody’s real name isn’t used is you have to prove that it’s about the person—and here showing all the messages she got makes it very clear that a good part of the public knew it was about her. So these are really serious allegations about her that are certain to cause harm to her reputation and certain to cause her emotional distress if they’re false.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani seconds that sentiment when he tells The Daily Beast, “Harvey has a chance if she can prove that Netflix and Gadd misappropriated her name and that their depiction was misleading.