‘Tell Them You Love Me’ Documentary Review
This film streamed in 2024.
Tell Them You Love Me is a true crime documentary produced by Sky Documentaries and streamed on Netflix. It covers the case of Anna Stubblefield, who was convicted of abusing a client.
Derrick “DJ” Johnson is a man with cerebral palsy and severe mental disabilities. His mother, Daisy, and brother John look after him. One day, John hears a lecture on Facilitated Communication or FC from academic Anna Stubblefield. The technique uses a specialized computer to communicate. Under her guidance, DJ seems to flourish, but Daisy and John start to notice Anna becoming possessive of DJ as she helps in college. Later, Anna informs Daisy and John that she and DJ are in love and that she is leaving her husband. Daisy and John soon press charges because DJ cannot consent, but Anna continually insists their love is real.
The documentary interviews both Anna and DJ’s family. We see just how perverted Anna is, falling back on her education to sound smart, but you honestly see right through her. You feel the genuine love DJ’s family has for him and how this terrible incident forever impacted them.
It is quite disturbing how so many in academia, especially those who claim to care about the less fortunate, use these scam techniques on people. FC is clearly a fraud and ripe for people to use for abuse. The documentary did not come right out and say it, but when they interviewed actual experts, you could see it was a flawed technique from the beginning.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the film is how much victim-blaming Anna, her mother, and her friend performed. DJ and his family were the victims of Anna’s disturbing abuse, but they tried to frame it with the “he was asking for it” defense. While the documentary played it straight down the middle, you still saw what transpired.
There is no other way to put this. Anna Stubblefield is a pervert who was unhappy in her marriage and took advantage of a helpless man to fulfill her deviant desires. I see no evidence that DJ ever wrote the things she claimed he did, even the homework. The student assistant even admitted that the homework resembled one of his classmates’ papers.
Even through her interviews, you can tell she is a selfish narcissist who used a quack technique to take advantage of a man and his family. It is disgusting that an appeals court overturned her conviction, and she got a lesser charge.
As disturbing as it was, I am still glad I watched it. You can see that predators hide in plain sight and take up jobs among the elite. It is a clear warning.
Check out the trailer below:
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Disturbing topics including sexual topics
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, anime, movie, or novel you would like me to review.