Baby Reindeer: Body language expert weighs in on Fiona Harvey's tell-all interview
"There are many contradictions throughout this interview."
Fiona Harvey - the woman who allegedly inspired the hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer - recently appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored to share her side of the story. Fiona told Piers that she felt forced to speak out and do an interview after internet sleuths tracked her down and accused her of being the person who stalked Richard Gadd, the creator of Baby Reindeer.
In the series, Richard plays Donny, a man who is being stalked by a woman named Martha, with the storyline being events that happened in Gadd's real life almost 10 years ago. In the interview with Piers Morgan, Fiona said that the allegations against her were complete "nonsense" and said that she had only met Richard Gadd "two or three times" but later said it was "five or six." When asked if she sent him 41,000 emails, Fiona said she had never sent him anything, only to say later that she had exchanged some "jokey banter" emails.
"That's simply not true. If somebody was sending somebody 41,000 emails or something, they'd be doing how many a day? Lots," she said. "None of that's true. I don't think I sent him anything … No, I think there may have been a couple of emails exchanged, but that was it. Just jokey banter emails."
Body language expert speaks out on Fiona Harvey's interview
Body language expert David Stephens, spoke to Yahoo Lifestyle about Fiona's confusing interview, saying there was some significant behaviour on display that disputed Fiona's story and many contradictions that made her a less than reliable source.
"There are many contradictions throughout this interview, which arguably make Fiona less reliable as a witness. For example, she states that she hadn't seen the actress (Jessica Gunning, who plays Martha) but then immediately says, “We’re both Scottish, we’ve both got dark hair," David told us.
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"Another example is that early in the interview she says, 'But we were all friends and then later in the interview she denies ever being friends."
Does Fiona Harvey know Richard Gadd?
When asked how well he thinks Fiona did know Richard, David had this to say.
"In the interview she says, 'Well, I’ve only met this guy two or three times. I don’t know him', however, at the same time we see significant eye flutter behaviours, which indicate there is likely much more going on that what she is admitting here and that the nature of her relationship with Richard is likely much more complex, when considered along with other behaviours in the interview, especially around the number of emails allegedly sent," David said.
"Furthermore, later in the interview, when Piers Morgan puts it to Fiona that all the correspondence could be checked, she replies, 'Even if that were true, I didn’t lunge at him across the bar, I didn’t sexual assault him in a canal, I didn’t go to jail'. By saying this it appears that Fiona is attempting to downplay the potential that all of that correspondence was sent by her, by instead focusing on the other offences the character is accused of committing," David said.
Is Fiona Harvey telling the truth?
David notes that throughout the interview, we see many "discomfort behaviours", including eye-fluttering and lip-licking.
"Furthermore," says David, "When asked by the interviewer if you'd be happy for someone to look at your computer, Fiona answers 'Yer, yer, I don’t know, yer'. As she says this, we see a lot of discomfort, including small head shakes, indicating that she likely did not want anyone to look at her computer. Additionally, she averts her gaze, as she looks away from the interviewer, as well as swallowing behaviours that again indicate a high level of discomfort."
David also points out that Fiona avoids calling Richard Gadd a liar until pressed by Morgan to do so.
"Psychologically, this is one way people try to hide the truth while protecting themselves on a technicality, by attempting to deny the accusations while at the same time not accusing the other person of outright lying," says David.
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He concludes, "While nothing is absolute, on balance these behaviours are a very good indication that Fiona has, in fact, sent a large number of emails and voice messages."
Fiona's final message to viewers
Another very telling moment was when Fiona was given a final chance to talk directly to the show's viewers.
"It is notable that at no stage does Fiona deny any of the accusations. Instead, she points the finger at Richard Gadd and Netflix and while she says she can 'rebut' what has been said, she doesn’t actually deny it," David pointed out. "She also evokes the views of her 'friends' to support her argument, which is a classic consensus technique of making it seem that others support her position, without actually providing any evidence of this."
Mental health support for yourself or a loved one can be found by calling Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978, or the Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. Online support is available via Beyond Blue.
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