Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: True crime, Netflix, Documentaries, Film and TV
Michael Slavin
When it comes to Netflix true-crime documentaries, it takes a lot to be called the most unsettling.
Whether it be Don’t F**k with Cats, Nightstalker, or even the harrowing Shannon Watts doc American Murder: The Family Next Door – there are a lot to choose from.
But we think we've found a serious contender.
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The new documentary, titled Tell Them You Love Me, has made a case for the title however, with one viewer saying:
“Tell Them You Love Me might be one of the most unsettling documentaries I’ve ever watched on Netflix," before going on to call the doc ‘insane’.
It follows the case of a university professor by the name of Anna Stubblefield, who sexually abused a disabled man who she met through his brother, a student of hers.
Her victim, Derrick Johnson (known by his family as DJ), is a severely disabled man who suffers from cerebral palsy, is non-verbal, and is unable to stand or move without help.
Whilst she was John’s teacher, Stubblefield and DJ's family worked together and organised for him to use ‘facilitated communication’, in which a disabled person points at letters on a keyboard with the assistance of a facilitator.
Using this method, Stubblefield claimed to have started a relationship with DJ – and announced to his family the two had ‘fallen in love’.
She was later found guilty of two counts of first degree aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
As well as this, the Johnson family were awarded a $4 Million settlement in a civil lawsuit against her.
The former teacher two years later appealed this conviction successfully, with a retrial granted in which she was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of criminal sexual contact.
Stubblefield was released for ‘time served’ and now lives in New Jersey away from the limelight.
She continues to protest her innocence, stating the pair were ‘in love’.
The Johnson family continues to dispute these claims though, stating that there was no way for DJ to knowingly consent to sexual acts with her, and believe that Stubblefield communicated on DJ’s behalf – rather than facilitating his own communication.
John told the New York Times: “On behalf of my brother, who is nonverbal, I want to say, ‘Me, too’. This was not merely touching for ‘mutual pleasure.
“This was rape. She raped him two times. She did godawful things with him, and I believe the punishment is woefully inadequate”.
The documentary has shocked many, with several viewers being left sickened by Stubblefield’s crimes.
One viewer posted on X: “Anna Stubblefield is the most dangerous monster that has ever existed ever”.
And another said: “As someone who works with people with developmental disabilities… Tell Them You Love Me on Netflix made me absolutely sick to my stomach. Anna Stubblefield does not deserve to be out of prison.”
Male Survivors Partnership is available to support adult male survivors of sexual abuse and rape. You can contact the organisation on their website or on their free helpline 0808 800 5005, open 9am–8pm Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays; 8am–8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays; 10am–2pm Saturdays.