Netflix’s new documentary series “The Man With 1,000 Kids” centers around Jonathan Jacob Meijer, who is a Dutch YouTube personality who donated enough sperm worldwide to father between 500 and 1,000 children. The series examines the consequences of this situation for his children and their parents, as well as society.
Meijer has claimed that he has spent as many as 50,000 hours in sperm donation clinics over the course of 15 years. In his YouTube channel, he admitted that, from his knowledge, he “helped out with 550 children.” In 2021, he told The New York Times that assumptions of him having 1,000 children are “ridiculous.”
He has also maintained that he made all the sperm donations with an altruistic intention. In a video released in October 2023, Meijer said that the idea of “something very small with a big impact” felt “very noble,” as the donor isn’t “getting awards, or fame, or money, and I found that very appealing.” However, at last, he found fame and also a lawsuit.
Who is Jonathan Jacob Meijer?
Apart from being known as the man that has donated enough sperm to have upward of 500 children worldwide, Meijer is also known for being a YouTuber and musician. According to The Mirror, he has worked as a civics teacher, cryptocurrency consultant and mail carrier.
Why did Jonathan Meijer become a sperm donor?
In a YouTube video uploaded in February 2024, Meijers said that he thought of becoming a donor when he was studying to become a teacher after a classmate told him he was infertile. In October 2023, he said that, as he doesn’t have a family history of cancer, diabetes or genetic diseases, he thought donating sperm would be a kind thing to do for others.
In a 2021 interview with The New York Times, Meijer said that he didn’t become a donor “for any numbers” but “out of love to help parents with realizing their dream. I cannot understand how anyone can only focus on numbers and see my donor children as a number.”
What’s the story behind ‘The Man With 1,000 Kids’?
In 2017, Meijer was first banned from donating sperm through the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Netherlands. At that time, he had already fathered 102 babies after donating sperm to 11 clinics, as well as an international sperm bank called Cryos. The Dutch legal limit is 25 children by up to 12 different mothers.
According to The Mirror, Miejer admitted that he “lied to the women” because he “wanted to help them.” However, Meijer continued his donations to other clinics abroad. He was accused of using a different name when applying, but he denied the allegations to The New York Times.
In April 2023, however, a Dutch court banned Meijer from donating more sperm after some families with children conceived using Meijer’s sperm filed a civil lawsuit against him.
Where is Jonathan Meijer now?
Meijer spends much of his time traveling the world and posting YouTube videos from his trips. He denounced The Man With 1,000 Kids despite admitting to never seeing it and refused to participate in its production. “I think the title is sensationalizing and misleading,” he said about the documentary.
“I don’t know much about it because I didn’t participate in it,” he said in a June 2024 video. “It’s what they think about me and what others say about me. I was right in not participating for myself, personally, because they first wanted to call it The Fertility Fraudster. That’s not a title I can work with.”