Who is Jonathan Meijer? Serial sperm donor banned by courts refused to participate in 'The Man with 1000 Kids'
TANZANIA, EAST AFRICA: Jonathan Meijer seemed to be a gift from heaven for many Dutch individuals hoping to have children. Prospective parents looking through private sperm donation sites were drawn to Jonathan's profile because he was tall, beautiful, and gifted with thick blond hair.
Jonathan stated in his early correspondences that he only planned to provide sperm to a few families, but it soon became apparent that he had misled several of them.
In addition to eleven sperm banks in the Netherlands and private donations, Jonathan had been donating sperm all over the world. The three-episode documentary series named, 'The Man with 1000 Kids' attempts to piece together the massive devastation wreaked by Jonathan across several nations and continents.
Interviews with the lawyer, fertility activist, and medical professional who try to stop Jonathan, as well as other parents who are still dealing with the fallout from his actions, are featured in the docuseries.
Jonathan is a tall, blue-eyed, tallish, curly-haired musician from Netherlands who is in his early 40s. He first claimed to be contributing sparingly to families, but it turned out that he had been lying to them and that the true amount was far higher.
After it was discovered in 2017 that he had fathered 102 children in Netherlands alone through his contributions, he was prohibited from attempting to conceive in his native country. But that didn't deter him; according to reports, he went to other nations and donated his sperm at different clinics there.
Jonathan stated in a late 2023 video that he thought he had donated for at least 15 years, putting in 50,000 hours. He said he had been spending several hours a day writing advertisements for families, making profiles, and contacting individuals who were interested, addition to the act of donation, all in the service of helping families fulfill their aspirations.
Jonathan claimed that he had never gone up to someone by himself.
Jonathan Meijer 'could not work with' Netflix's 'The Man with 1000 Kids'
Speaking directly to the Netflix documentary, Jonathan claimed he turned down the opportunity to be a part of it and that at first, he was informed that 'The Fertility Fraudster' was the working title for the program, which he felt was a topic "he could not work with."
Jonathan criticized the title of 'The Man with 1000 Kids', calling it "sensationalizing and misleading" and criticizing it for failing to reveal the donor's identity right away. Furthermore, Jonathan stated that he does not think the figure "1,000" is accurate.
He went on, "I want to talk freely; I want to have [a say] in my own story," explaining why he declined to join the Netflix project.
"I've seen the trailer; somebody sent it to me because I don't watch Netflix. I don't have Netflix; I think it's evil [...] I live in nature; nature is important to me, not my story, something artificial. I help people; that's it. But I'm more sad that they decided to change the lives of all my donor children [...] It's not right to sensationalize. They should have asked all the parents and children [before making the documentary]."
Jonathan Meijer calls Netflix title 'misleading' and 'deceptive'
On June 26, Jonathan sent an email to Newsweek informing them that he had never lied to those he claimed to have assisted, but he had chosen not to appear on the show. He said he hadn't had a chance to watch the Netflix documentary yet since he had rejected participating in it.
"Already, the title is super misleading. Deceptive," Jonathan said. "No surprise to anybody; Netflix is like any other corporation, company, focused on making money."
According to Jonathan's statement to Newsweek, a small percentage of participants in the event aimed to defame him.
"This little group of bullies are in no way a representation of the wonderful parents that I have helped worldwide and are extremely grateful for my help," Jonathan said.
Why was Jonathan Meijer barred from donating sperm?
After learning that their children shared a father, mothers of blonde-haired, blue-eyed newborns began to connect online, and it became evident that Jonathan had assisted many more families than he had said. Some people organized a group with the goal of stopping the serial sperm donor because they were concerned about possible incest and other negative effects.
The families expressed concern that, should Jonathan's children fail to recognize that they had a father, they would wind up in romantic relationships.
"If I had known he had already fathered more than 100 children, I would never have chosen him. If I think about the consequences this could have for my child, I am sick to my stomach," a mother named Eva told Cosmopolitan.
"Many mothers have told him he needs to stop, but nothing helps. So going to court is the only option I have to protect my child."
Jonathan may have fathered as many as 800 children, although the estimate was between 500 and 600. Jonathan was informed at the beginning of 2023 that he may face fines of up to 100,000 euros each time he disobeyed the order, prohibiting him from giving to any clinics.
According to Reuters, he was also instructed to write to clinics, requesting that they destroy any samples of his semen that they may still have in storage. Newsweek was informed by Jonathan that he had neither deceived nor misled his parents.
In his email, he said, "I have followed the guidelines of all the big commercial fertility and sperm banks. They also never give away the information about the amount of conceived children with the donor sperm. They also send the semen worldwide to multiple countries until the max is reached."
Where is Jonathan Meijer now?
Jonathan is currently associated with a YouTube channel where videos of him talking about his experience as a sperm donor, how to overcome demons, and his opinions about tradwives are uploaded.
Jonathan was on a beach when he posted his most recent YouTube video. After leaving The Netherlands a few months ago, he has been filming videos in Italy and Tanzania, among other places.
Jonathan claimed to be just a sperm donor and not to have fathered 1,000 children. He shared a video in May, stating that it had a message for his children.
During the court case, he stated on the video that he was compelled to break off communication with some of the families he had given to.
"I never charged money, I never intended on having sex, I am seeing 75% of the children and families regularly and doing everything for my donor children that they feel loved, wanted in my life and that they are unique human beings and souls," Jonathan wrote in a Newsweek email on Wednesday.
A Dutch court barred Jonathan from donating sperm in April of last year. He also had to write to clinics all over the world that already had his samples on file—some of which provide potential parents in the UK and Ukraine—informing them that the samples had to be destroyed.
One exception to this regulation was that the stock would still be available to parents who previously had children from Jonathan's sperm and intended to have more in the future. Additionally, the court ruled that Jonathan might face fines of up to £88,000 for each gift if he was found to be in violation of the order.
'The Man with 1000 Kids' premieres on Netflix on July 3