Lily Allen says people wouldn’t have been ‘interested’ in Baby Reindeer if victim was a woman
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Lily Allen has suggested that ‘Baby Reindeer’ might never have been made if the victim and protagonist had been a woman.
The singer, who endured her own stalking ordeal over several years, said people are often “not remotely interested” when women are harassed and pursued by men - despite these cases being “arguably far more common”.
Dark comedy drama-thriller ‘Baby Reindeer’ recounts the true story of comedian Richard Gadd, 35, who was stalked by a woman who he first encountered in a London pub.
Gadd plays himself while Jessica Gunning plays the character of ‘Martha’ - Gadd’s stalker.
Yet while the drama has amassed more than 68 million views, it sparked controversy after online sleuths sought to track down the “real Martha”.
Fiona Harvey, 58, went on to identify herself as the woman portrayed by Gunning, and told Piers Morgan that several claims made in the drama series were not true - but neither Gadd nor Netflix has confirmed her identity.
Allen’s stalker Alex Gray, began pursuing the singer in 2008 - sending abusive letters, banging on her door and spending nights in her garden.
His campaign was eventually brought to an end when he was charged after Allen was awoken by him bursting into her house.
Gray was eventually convicted of burglary and harassment in 2016.
‘Arguably more common’
Speaking ‘The Sunday Times Style’ magazine, Allen, 38, said: “I find it interesting that ‘Baby Reindeer’ has landed so massively. I feel like if it had been a female protagonist it wouldn’t have got greenlit.”
She added: “People will not be remotely as interested in a woman’s story, which is arguably more common than a male story.”
At the time of her ordeal, Allen was critical of the police - saying they had made her feel “like a nuisance, rather than a victim”.
She told the publication that she remembered talking about her ordeal at the time it was going on at dinner parties.
‘It’s quite upsetting’
“There were a handful of occasions with men that I vaguely knew who would be surprised at how I felt I’d been mistreated by the police because they had had experiences with female stalkers and said the police couldn’t have been more helpful,” she added.
“In contrast to how women feel when it happens to them, it’s quite upsetting.”
Allen, whose debut single ‘Smile’ was a UK number one in 2006, gave the interview alongside friend and TV presenter Miquita Oliver - who she co-hosts the podcast ‘Miss Me?’.
The singer and mother-of-two also told of how she had recently taken away the smartphones of her daughters - aged eleven and nine - after reading a book that claimed children should not use the devices until they are 14.
‘Browsing capability’
She went on to tell the magazine how she and her husband - ‘Stranger Things’ actor David Harbour - have also limited their smartphone usage.
“I now have a kids’ phone called Pinwheel,” she said.
“It has no browsing capability and no social media, but you can still have Uber and Spotify.
“My husband is the caregiver on it, so he controls what I’m allowed to have as an app on my phone. I’m the controller of his as well.”
