Is It Based on a True Story or Book?

Fans are wondering whether Tell Them You Love Me on Netflix is based on a true story. This documentary chronicles the relationship between a married white woman professor, Anna Stubblefield, and Derrick Johnson, a non-verbal black man with cerebral palsy. He is offered help with facilitated communication by Anna.

So, is Tell Them You Love Me based on real events? Here’s your answer.

Is Netflix’s Tell Them You Love Me based on a true story and real events?

Yes, Netflix’s Tell Them You Love Me is based on a true story and real events.

The documentary covers exactly what happened between Anna Stubblefield and Derrick Johnson. It also covers how she was first charged in 2013, and later convicted in 2015, after being found guilty of two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault against Derrick.

As per Forbes, Anna Stubblefield and Derrick Johnson first met in 2009. His brother John Johnson was a Rutgers University PhD student who studied philosophy and disability studies under Stubblefield. He asked her about FC (facilitated communication), as she was knowledgeable in the subject after seeing her mother’s 20-year usage.

Stubblefield then met Derrick Johnson’s mother Daisy, and eventually agreed to help him with FC. Gradually, Stubblefield’s help, he learned to use a keyboard with an LED screen to type. Derrick enrolled in an African American Literature course and began attending FC events with her.

Stubblefield eventually claimed that she and Derrick fell in love and had a consensual sexual relationship. However, his mother Daisy, aware her son was not capable of physical and emotional intimacy, reported Stubblefield to the police.

Following her 2015 conviction, Anna Stubblefield’s verdict was overturned two years later in 2017 by a New Jersey State appellate court. This is because, as per Slate, the judge in her original trial “unfairly excluded evidence related to the man’s capacity to give consent.”

Stubblefield eventually had another trial and pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct after accepting a plea deal for a lesser sentence, and served time. She was released two years later and has not been in touch with Derrick since 2011. He is currently living with his family and does not use facilitated communication anymore.