‘The Man With 1000 Kids’ snaps back at Netflix doc and claims he’s the ‘vulnerable’ one

Right now everyone is watching The Man With 1000 Kids on Netflix, and talking about the wild case that it covers. But now, the sperm donor at the centre of it, Jonathan Meijer, has snapped back at the documentary about him.

The three part documentary tells the story of a group of families, who learn the charismatic man they had trusted is sperm donor to hundreds — or perhaps thousands — of other children across the world.

The Netflix synopsis reads: “The Man With 1000 Kids uncovers the gripping tale of a charming Dutch scammer, Jonathan Meijer, who is accused of travelling the world deceiving mothers into having his babies on a mass scale. The three-part series investigates the murky world of the fertility industry and uncovers how due to a lack of global regulations, some international fertility clinics continue to allow anonymous donations.

“With exclusive access to a group of passionate and aggrieved parents, this series unravels the twisting and turning story of this YouTuber who defrauded parents from all around the world, and how they are now on a mission to push for a change in the law to prevent him deceiving more.”

via Netflix

However, now Jonathan Meijer has said he’s no scammer, and has clapped back at the Netflix documentary about him. He says he is the vulnerable one, and has discounted claims made in the show.

The Man With 1000 Kids accuses Jonathan Meijer of misleading people, which he says is not true

Most Read

Vanessa reveals heartbreaking reason she unexpectedly quit The Ultimatum with Dave

The most iconic I’m A Celeb catchphrase of 2024 has to go to this legendary campmate

The ‘horrific’ true story that inspired new spy drama Black Doves on Netflix

Jonathan Meijer – who was banned from donating sperm in the Netherlands in 2017 – has been labelled a “narcissist” and a “public health risk” but he has said he didn’t mislead anyone, and he’s the real victim in the story.

He told the BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “I offer something better than sperm banks. I offer directly fresh sperm which is better than frozen sperm. I give it for free, they don’t have to pay me. They can have contact with me. They can ask me anything they want. How is this misleading? How is this false?”

via Netflix

He added: “When I started as a private donor I was open about the number I have helped. But you run into so many problems with that, that I chose to follow the guidelines of the clinic. Yet I decided to give them an approximate number so that they have an idea.

“If I said ‘oh I’ve helped 50 times’, at least I was giving an approximate number. So they could see he is a mass donor. I gave them more than what the clinic would offer. In a perfect world, that would be the best thing. Everybody could be open, I could be open and I wouldn’t be vulnerable.

“As a private donor you are very vulnerable. I have had situations you cannot imagine because I was open about myself. I gave my address but when I decided not to help somebody, they stood in front of my door. Who is there to protect me? I don’t have money in the bank, I don’t have lawyers. I was very vulnerable, there is no protection for private donors.”

He said the mums in The Man With 1000 Kids ‘put on an act’

Later in the same interview, when asked if he felt he had misled women, Jonathan Meijer said: “If you want exclusivity you go to the clinic. You pay €10,000 and then your donor is exclusive. If you don’t want to share as a mother, why did you even choose this path? These mums in this documentary, they put on this act, I don’t know why. Maybe they were hurt and they put this on me.”

via Netflix

Jonathan Meijer has admitted he ‘got carried away’

Despite saying he only started donating sperm to help people, speaking to The Independent, Jonathan admitted he may have got carried away. “Sometimes I think I got too carried away,” he said. “I should have told myself that [a smaller number of children] is fine. It would be best if I had been open, but I chose to follow the international guidelines.”

He has also accepted that fathering so many children without them knowing does cause concern for inbreeding, but said his critics are “over-exaggerating” the likelihood of that happening. “It comes down to if [my donor children] would run into somebody that they don’t know, and they can always ask,” he told The Independent. “All the children know that they’re from a donor and they know my name. It’s a little thing that they have to be aware of. ‘Are you from a donor, and is your donor Jonathan?’”

The Man With 1000 Kids is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Worst Roommate Ever on Netflix: Where is Janie Ridd from season two episode one now?

• Your Honor was savagely cancelled after season two, but now Netflix could save it

• Ranked: The best and worst seasons of Bridgerton on Netflix, according to Rotten Tomatoes