Since it launched last month, Netflix’s Baby Reindeer has remained the talk of social media.
The true crime drama series claims to tell the “true story” of creator and star Richard Gadd’s real-life stalking experience, with the seven episodes following the relationship between struggling comedian Donny Dunn (a fictionalised version of Gadd) and Martha Scott (played by Jessica Gunning), a former lawyer with a criminal past.
Baby Reindeer has inspired conversations about true crime and where the line should be drawn between fiction and reality, with fans tracking down the alleged real-life inspiration for Martha Scott and her denying the stalking allegations. Gadd has also claimed he never saw Scott as a villain. “I saw someone who was kind of lost by the system really. I saw someone who needed help and wasn’t getting it”.
When the woman eventually revealed her identity, she called the Baby Reindeer story “rubbish”, and was interviewed by Piers Morgan before agreeing to do a meet and greet at a club in Coventry – though that was cancelled due to backlash.
However, the dark comedy and the ongoing public back-and-forth has also inspired a number of memes that have divided the internet. Here are the best-slash-worst Baby Reindeer memes that social media has to offer.
“Obsessed”
The complicated relationship between Dunn and Scott in Baby Reindeer begins when the bartender gives her a cup of tea in an attempt to cheer her up. From there, things quickly spiral out of control and that first encounter has since been used as a meme by everyone from bartenders to crypto bros.
— The HAPPY PINT (@HAPPY_PINT) April 28, 2024
GOOD MORNING#babyreindeer #dataengineer #softwareengineer #developer pic.twitter.com/pejZUA20Nw
— Firebolt (@FireboltHQ) May 6, 2024
GOOD MORNING#babyreindeer #dataengineer #softwareengineer #developer pic.twitter.com/pejZUA20Nw
— Firebolt (@FireboltHQ) May 6, 2024
The same image has also been used to toy with the idea of obsession, however Aldi has faced backlash for its take on the meme. Earlier this month, the supermarket shared an image of Martha (labelled as rival supermarkets Tesco and Sainsburys) pointing at Donny (captioned as “our prices”) alongside the caption “obsessed”. Replying to the original image, Aldi went on to call themselves the “Aldi Alpha Dog” as fans praised them for getting things “spot on”.
OBSESSED pic.twitter.com/dzsAI2zZc5
— Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) April 29, 2024
However, other people aren’t so keen. “Hate to be that boring person but it doesn’t sit right with me that people, especially brands, are making memes about this show that’s main theme is stalking and sexual abuse,” read one viral tweet, while another asked “did we all watch the same show?”
If you can’t put something into words, try memes instead
Baby Reindeer is an absolutely wild ride, especially with Gadd going on to create a one-man show about the experience. In fact, the twists and turns were so much for some people, that the only way they could explain them was via existing memes.
@findingmem0 Weird show #Meme #MemeCut #babyreindeer #netflix #fyp #goviral #trending #relatable #willferrell
@dreacavea Nah foreal that was a disater #Meme #MemeCut #babyreindeer
‘Real-life’ Martha is a one-stop meme machine
Just when it looked like the Baby Reindeer hype was dying down, Fiona Harvey, who claims she was the inspiration for Martha Scott, sat down with Piers Morgan for a chaotic interview. Some fans have described the encounter as “exploitative” while Harvey has said she wasn’t paid enough for the appearance, earning £250 for a video that has been watched over 10million times, and claims she was “set up” by Morgan. However, Morgan has since claimed Harvey ”lied quite a lot” during the interview.
Whatever you think of the interview, it’s certainly given the world plenty of material to work with.
@meme_______clipzzz #Meme #MemeCut #uk #babyreindeer #martha #fionaharvey #richardgadd #funny #relatable #viral #fyp #foryoupage
@prizzely #Meme #MemeCut #funnyvideos #relatable #babyreindeer #britishhumour #foryoupage #fyp #fypシ゚viral
@vampiredream__ Fiona Harvey cray cray #babyreindeer #piersmorganuncencored #fionaharvey #CapCut #richardgadd #babyreindeeredit #foryou #meme #funny #viral #fypシ
@shannonnicolexx No means yes tho #babyreindeer #Meme #MemeCut
@traceylouise777