The sperm donor from The Man With 1000 kids Netflix documentary blasted the show’s producers during Tuesday’s This Morning as he insisted his number of offspring ‘isn’t exceptional’.

Dutchman Jonathan Meijer, 43, was grilled by presenters Ben Shepherd and Cat Deeley as they interviewed him about his bombshell claims that the documentary was incorrect.

The Man With 1000 Kids, which premiered globally on July 3, follows Jonathan, who is believed to have fathered upwards of 500 children over nearly two decades.

It features some of the mothers who claimed Jonathan would bypass official sperm banks and wouldn’t be truthful about the number of children he had fathered.

However, appearing on the ITV show today, YouTuber Jonathan attempted to get his side of the story across.

The sperm donor from The Man With 1000 kids Netflix documentary blasted the show’s producers during Tuesday’s This Morning as he insisted his number of offspring ‘isn’t exceptional’

Dutchman Jonathan Meijer, 43, was grilled by presenters Ben Shepherd and Cat Deeley as they interviewed him about his bombshell claims that the documentary was incorrect

When Ben asked the donor if he understood why some of the women who featured in the doc felt victimized, he responded: ‘No. They wouldn’t get this exclusivity from a clinic. I am no exception that’s why I am so surprised about the movie.’

He added that he was ‘very happy’ he chose not to participate in the three-part Netflix show and instead wants to debunk it on his YouTube channel.

Cat and Ben also quizzed Jonathan on whether he thinks it’s ‘okay to have 550 children’ – the number that he claims is the right one and that the documentary ‘exaggerated’ with its title.

‘Yeah,’ he replied, ‘It’s common practice for a donor. This is something people have to realise. They think its exceptional or unique but its not.’

Talking about what made him decide to become a donor back in 2007, he quipped: ‘I found it fascinating that people can help families in that way.

‘I took one year to think it all over, I still felt positive about helping. I became a donor, it was quite easy.

‘I am from a big family myself, I have seven siblings. I saw other families in our church were struggling to have children and there was a huge demand for donors.

‘They will inform you if you want, so after six months I could find out and they said you already have five children.

When Ben asked the donor if he understood why some of the women who featured in the doc felt victimized, he responded: ‘No. They wouldn’t get this exclusivity from a clinic. I am no exception that’s why I am so surprised about the movie’

Appearing on the ITV show today, YouTuber Jonathan attempted to get his side of the story across

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The Man With 1000 Kids, which premiered globally on July 3, follows Jonathan, who is believed to have fathered upwards of 500 children over nearly two decades

‘The thing that struck me was when I found out I became a biological father. They [Netflix] said 11 clinics but that’s not correct. It was six sperm banks spread across the country.’

After his time using clinics, Jonathan admitted he began to approach women directly.

He told Cat and Ben: ‘The clinic was great, it was security for me it was safe, it was in a controlled manner. I felt at ease.

‘But I was missing the human contact, meeting people, getting updates about the child. At the time I was ready for it, I could be a known donor.’

When asked why he lied to some mothers about how many children he had, he said: ‘At first I was fully open, I shared anything about every recipient.

‘I found out from experience to be fully open is very dangerous to me, I have no lawyers no support. For my own safety I had to limit it.’

Earlier this month, Jonathan announced on a late-night chat show that he was taking legal action against the documentary that he said slandered him and the families he helped to create.

He said the number of children the documentary said he could have fathered – up to 3,000 – was incorrect.

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After his time using clinics, Jonathan admitted he began to approach women directly

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In April 2023, a Dutch court ordered Meijer to stop donating semen to clinics, or face being fined 100,000 euros (£88,000) per infraction

They argued that Mr Meijer’s continued donations violated the right to a private life of his donor children, whose ability to form romantic relationships are hampered by fears of accidental incest and inbreeding

‘Five hundred and fifty, that’s the number I know for sure. Anything above that is just speculation,’ he said.

‘That’s why I have started a case to fight against these lies,’ he said, describing as ‘sensationalist’ the show that aired without his participation.

Meijer hit the headlines last year when a court ordered him to stop donating after he had helped produce 550 to 600 children since starting as a donor in 2007.

Dutch clinical guidelines say a donor should not father more than 25 children in 12 families.

The court said Meijer had misinformed families about past donations, meaning that the children were ‘part of a huge kinship network with hundreds of half-siblings they did not choose’.

The court considered it ‘sufficiently plausible’ that this could cause psychosocial consequences for the children, including identity problems and fears of accidental incest.

Meijer said that he had stopped donating sperm in 2019, except to families that wanted a second or third child with his aid.

The Man With 1000 Kids hears from some of the mothers who claimed Jonathan would bypass official sperm banks and wouldn’t be truthful about the number of children he has fathered

Meijer hit the headlines last year when a court ordered him to stop donating after he had helped produce 550 to 600 children since starting as a donor in 2007

Meijer was banned from donating sperm in the Netherlands in 2017, after it emerged he was the father of 102 children, born from donations made to 11 clinics around the country.

He continued donating in other countries until 2023, when one woman and a foundation supporting her filed a civil suit against Meijer, arguing he was increasing the risk of incest for his children.

In his testimony, Meijer admitted having between 550 and 600 children.

However, the court said he may have fathered up to 1,000 across several continents.

The judge ultimately banned Meijer from donating sperm to new parents in the Netherlands, and said he would be fined €100,000 (£85,000) per donation if he did so.

He also impregnated women occasionally through ‘natural donation,’ i.e. sex, if the woman was single.