If you're looking for your latest complex, divisive documentary to immerse yourself in, Tell Them You Love Me could be a pick for you.
Directed by Nick August-Perna and executive produced by Louis Theroux, it follows “a relationship between a married white professor and a Black man with cerebral palsy [which] sparks controversy when the man’s mother alleges that her son is incapable of consent — leading to a nationwide debate over power dynamics, disability and race”, according to a synopsis from Netflix.
Above all, the documentary asks whether Derrick Johnson, who has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal, could've given consent to a relationship, physical and otherwise, with professor Anna Stubblefield – who claimed that they embarked on a romantic relationship together.
Give us all the goss.
“Through exclusive footage and interviews with those on both sides of the case, this feature documentary weaves a riveting and endlessly nuanced story about communication, race, and sex,” the synopsis for Tell Them You Love Me reads.
Here's everything we know about the Tell Them You Love Me documentary, including where Anna Stubblefield is now.
What is the true story behind Tell Them You Love Me?
Anna and Derrick first met through his brother, John who was a student of Anna's and had taken her philosophy and disability studies class. John later asked Anna if he could learn more about facilitated communication (FC) – an assisted typing technique which uses a facilitator to physically support a person's hand or arm to spell out words on a keyboard. Anna was familiar with this technique after watching her mother use it. It has since been discredited by scientists.
However, Anna claimed to have taught Derrick how to communicate through FC, calling him an intellectual trapped in a body that couldn't communicate, despite the fact that other experts had called his comprehension “limited” and lacked cognitive capacity.
Derrick appeared to be progressing with FC, but only seemed to do so when Anna was involved, not when his mother or brother were. He attended conferences and wrote essays for an African American literature course. But soon, suspicions were raised when Derrick's preferences seemed to reflect Anna's, not what his family knew to be his own.
Anna, who was married at the time, claimed that her and Derrick fell in love and embarked on a “consensual” sexual relationship. Derrick's mum Daisy, on hearing this, called the police. Anna was then charged in 2013 with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault. No evidence related to FC was considered by the court because it wasn't scientifically recognised.
But Anna's verdict was overturned when a judge ruled that her original trial “unfairly excluded evidence related to the man's capacity to give consent”. In a new trial, she accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to sexual misconduct.
Where can I watch Tell Them You Love Me?
While it was released on Netflix in the US, it's available to watch on Sky and NOW TV in the UK.
Where is Anna Stubblefield now?
She was released from prison after two years in 2017, and now lives out of the public eye and hasn't seen Derrick since 2011.
For the documentary's director Nick August-Perna, his feelings around the conviction being overturned are not simple. “It’s complicated because of the material evidence that was barred from the courtroom in the original trial,” he said in an interview with Netflix's TUDUM. “I don’t know if it would have made a difference in the outcome, but most legal experts I’ve spoken to agree with the appellate decision.”
The ending of the documentary shows how Derrick is doing now – he is healthy and living with his mother. Louis Theroux also spoke to TUDUM about the importance of showing this.
“It was important to remind viewers of who the central character in the film is, and to tune out all the other voices for a moment," he said. "The bigger picture is, he’s healthy, he’s safe, he’s provided for, he’s loved, but we’re also maybe wondering how much more he may be capable of, how much more life might have to offer him were his circumstances different.”
