The mini-series "Baby Reindeer" launched on the streaming service Netflix last week, and to date has already become a global hit with 2,6 million viewers. It also achieved a rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and the audience was shocked by the fact that it was a true story.
In the series, comedian Richard Gad describes, of course with a little artistic freedom, how he was persecuted and abused.
"Obviously, the series hit a chord. I really believed in it, but everything started happening so fast that I feel a little taken aback," Gad admitted in an interview with the British "Guardian".
Names and some details have been changed for the series. Gad plays Donnie, a comedian who works in a bar and meets an older woman who begins to sit across from him every day and shower him with creepy compliments. Then she finds out his email address and sends him hundreds of messages a day, and when she discovers he's a comedian, she ruins his shows.
"Some things have been changed for the sake of drama. But emotionally everything is very true, obviously. I was seriously persecuted and seriously abused. But we wanted to keep the story in the realm of art, as well as to protect the people it was based on," explained the comedian.
After this hellish experience, Gad admits that he also had a part in the whole story, although the Guardian journalist doubts that it is possible.
"People are afraid to admit they've made a mistake, and I think a lot of mistakes people make are to please others. You keep lying because it's easier to avoid a tense situation. I never wanted to hurt someone who was vulnerable," he said.
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