Meet Jonathan Meijer, who is the center of the new British docuseries The Man with 1,000 Kids.
Currently sitting at number one on Netflix’s top ten shows list, this three-part documentary chronicles the story of a Dutch sperm donor (Meijer) who donated to numerous couples around the world and how the families band together to put a stop to him.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Meijer revealed that he became a sperm donor after talking to a friend in college, who couldn’t have children of their own. “He was the first person to put the idea of sperm donation in my mind,” he told the outlet. “At first, it was really great. I knew that the people who got my sample would be super happy, and they’d create a family. That’s something meaningful and real.”
He continued, “I thought it was a pity I couldn’t meet people and see the smiles on their faces. Then I read about websites where you could donate privately, and I realized it was something I wanted to do as well. It felt more complete to me.”
While talking to Netflix’s TUDUM, the docuseries director, Josh Allott, shared that he personally met Meijer and asked the prolific sperm donor if he wanted to be involved in the series—but he declined. “I did meet [Jonathan] in order to speak to him about being in the documentary,” Allott said. “We approached him a number of times to be interviewed and gave him a right to reply at the end. He refused to comment on any of the allegations in the series.”
All three episodes of The Man with 1,000 Kids are available to watch now on Netflix. And it looks like I have a new show to start tonight.
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