The Netflix documentary The Man with 1000 Kids made its way to the streaming service’s top lists across the world, including the Philippines. The show delves into Jonathan Jacob Meijer, the Dutch sperm donor and YouTuber purported to have sired hundreds to thousands of children through donations.
Following the show’s release, its subject came forward with his side of the story, stating that details of the series were false, and threatened to sue the streaming site.
What Is "The Man with 1000 Kids" About?
The documentary series probed into the now-42-year-old Dutch musician who allegedly has upwards of 500 children across the world, after several sperm donations he made since he was 25 years old.
In a YouTube video, Jonathan shared that his college friend's struggle with infertility inspired him to donate. With a family history relatively void of major diseases, he signed up for a sperm bank in 2007. The donor later opted out of anonymity, as he posted adverts of his photos with long blond hair and blue eyes.
Jonathan recalled that there was an overwhelming response from women who sought donations, including those in same-sex relationships, single women, and women with infertile partners.
“Sometimes I would think: ‘It’s a lot [of children], maybe you should stop’ but then I’d get a new message saying: ‘Wow, you are really the donor we’ve been looking for,’” he told The Independent. “I found it hard to say no. You’re the guy that comes along with the winning lottery ticket, that’s the feeling you bring these people. It’s something magical.”
However, some women have come forward and accused the donor of deception, saying that he had used several aliases, and that he had lied about the real number of children he helped father. Serial donors run the risk of incestuous relationships between half-siblings unaware of their shared genes, alongside psychological distress.
According to People, more than 150 parents of the donor’s children connected online and sought the Donorkind Foundation, which helps trace the roots of those born from sperm donations. Dutch guidelines state that a donor can only father up to 25 children, and Jonathan was later banned by the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NVOG) in 2017. In April 2023, a Dutch court ordered him to stop donating, with a 100,000 euro fine for future violations. Jonathan stated that he stopped sperm donations in 2019.
“The Man with 1000 Kids” Sperm Donor Jonathan Jacob Meijer Threatens to Sue Netflix
In an interview with The Independent, the sperm donor disputed details presented in The Man with 1000 Kids, among them, the title itself. According to Jonathan, the real number was closer to 600. One of his major gripes with the series, however, was an accusation that he and another donor had mixed their sperm to see who would “win.”
“No, that’s total slander. It’s insane. Why would I do that? Why should anyone do that?” he said in the same interview with the outlet. “If it’s in the documentary, be prepared, I will definitely sue the hell out of the whole Netflix crew.”
Later on, Jonathan posted a YouTube video on July 5, 2024, stating that he had watched the first part of the Netflix documentary and that he had filed a report against slander due to the statement. “I’ve never done that, it’s a blatant lie and Netflix will have to remove it or I will make a legal case.”
The sperm donor also denied several statements lobbied against him, such as donating to sperm banks in Kenya or posting on donor groups allegedly affiliated with sperm banks to “bleach Africa.” “I don’t have contact with these guys,” he said. “I don’t want anything to do with these idiots.”
“I don’t think addiction is a good word for [donating], but if I was addicted to anything it was to being valuable to people and having a great time with them,” he said in the same interview. “Now, looking back, I can say that I should have set more boundaries for myself, and realized when I was reaching my limits. I shouldn’t have waited until people started to scream and shout at me.”
The Man with 1000 Kids is streaming on Netflix.
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