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Woman who claimed 1989 story sues Netflix over document
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Woman who claimed 1989 story sues Netflix over document

The truth is out there somewhere.

“The Manhattan Alien Abduction” (currently streaming on Netflix) follows the strange true story of Linda Napolitano, a New York mother and housewife who claims she was abducted by aliens in 1989.

At the time, Napolitano’s story, now 77, was discussed on “Ricki Lake” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Now he’s suing Netflix over its new docuseries.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Linda Napolitano in 1989. Courtesy of Netflix
Linda Napolitano in “Manhattan Alien Abduction.” Courtesy of Netflix

What did he claim to be?

Napolitano, a housewife and mother of two who grew up in Little Italy, claimed that she was abducted by aliens on November 30, 1989.

He claimed that he was levitated from the 12th-floor window of his Lower Manhattan apartment and floated toward the Brooklyn Bridge toward an alien spaceship.

On the screen, he recalled: “They take me up to the top. (The spaceship) opens almost like a clamshell, and then I go in. I’ll close my eyes. I don’t want to see.”

A dramatized reenactment of Linda beaming into the spaceship in “The Manhattan Alien Abduction.” Courtesy of Netflix

Napolitano said, “There were these creatures around me and they were examining my stomach. One of them came after me with a needle the size of a turkey… I didn’t want to believe that I was a laboratory mouse being experimented on. But after a while, I couldn’t deny it anymore.”

He took his story to the late UFO researcher Budd Hopkins, who died in 2011.

In 1996 Hopkins published a book on his account. “Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Hijackings.”

An undetermined amount of time after the alleged incident, Napolitano claimed that the aliens returned and targeted his family, giving them “nosebleeds”.

Budd Hopkins and Linda Napolitano. Courtesy of Netflix
A dramatized rendition of Linda being levitated, as shown in “The Manhattan Alien Abduction”. Courtesy of Netflix

What was the proof?

At the time, 23 witnesses claimed to have seen Napolitano soaring over Manhattan. Like Criss Angel. Or at least that’s what Hopkins claimed in his book, but he didn’t reveal all of their identities.

On screen, a witness claimed to have seen him flying through the sky and said: “I thought it was a movie; special effects.”

Another eyewitness was an unnamed deliveryman for the New York Post who said he saw this while on his delivery route.

“It scared me so much. “And I saw a woman go out the window and disappear,” he recalled.

“I understood exactly what I saw and I couldn’t just let it go. Who was the woman in the white dress? I don’t know what the big secret was. I don’t know why they kept it from the public. But we are not alone.”

Linda Napolitano talks about her alleged on-screen experience in “The Manhattan Alien Abduction.” Courtesy of Netflix

Napolitano also produced an X-Ray showing a supposed metal object that he claimed aliens had nosed into to track him down.

His son Johnny, who appeared on the screen under a secret identity, also supported his story that his family was targeted.

“This has to be the most terrifying and hopeless thing I have ever felt. So I was very reluctant to even start talking about it again. “It’s been over 30 years since I sat down and talked about this seriously with anyone other than my therapist,” he said, his face hidden on the screen.

She added: “I’m just trying to erase him from my life. This happened a long time ago. I was quite young. Frankly, as a kid you don’t know what to think.”

He claimed to have seen three “beings” in their family’s living room.

“I know my mother better than anyone, and let me tell you right away; I don’t believe she would ever want to make something like this up,” he concluded, adding that there were more than twenty witnesses.

“So either it planted a seed in those people’s minds and in my own, or it’s a real experience.”

Linda Napolitano in Manhattan Alien Abduction Courtesy of Netflix

What were the gaps in his story?

Napolitano frequently visited and recorded with Hopkins. hypnosis sessions he remembered his alleged ordeal.

“I had access to all of Budd’s original source materials, so I began building a library of Budd’s hypnosis sessions with people,” his widow, Carol Rainey, said onscreen in the document.

He added: “When I heard people going into hypnosis, they talked as if they were a little drunk and had a hard time getting it all together. But when Linda was hypnotized, her voice didn’t sound like the others did when they were in the deep end. Her voice was clear and coherent. I didn’t believe she was under hypnosis.”

Carol Rainey in “Manhattan Alien Abduction.” Courtesy of Netflix
Carol Rainey in the 80s, as depicted in the movie “Manhattan Alien Abduction.” Courtesy of Netflix

Rainey also said Napolitano may have taught his son what to say.

“I listened to Budd’s phone conversation with his son Johnny and I could hear him pause at a few points and you don’t know why,” he recalled.

“She could have coached him to adapt to his own story… Did Linda convince her son that he had been abducted by aliens? You don’t lie to kids about things like that. “That would have been traumatic for him.”

Rainey doubted Napolitano’s “evidence” in the form of an x-ray of the metal implant placed in his nostril. He explained that this wouldn’t be difficult to do if he held the metal all the way to the outside of his nose.

As part of his account, Napolitano claimed that mysterious government officials named Richard and Dan visited him to obtain information about his kidnapping. But when Rainey had a handwriting analyst examine Richard and Dan’s signatures on the documents, the analyst found that it matched Napolitano’s handwriting, Rainey said.

Linda Napolitano in “Manhattan Alien Abduction.” Courtesy of Netflix
A dramatized depiction of the story of Linda being blown up from her bedroom in “The Manhattan Alien Abduction.” Courtesy of Netflix

Why is he suing Netflix now?

By the way to ForbesNapolitano’s complaint filed with the New York Supreme Court alleges that Netflix featured Rainey as an “expert” in the docuseries, while in reality Rainey was “an angry, alcoholic ex-wife determined to take revenge on her husband.” .

Additionally, Napolitano’s complaint alleges that the series portrays him as “a villain for the purpose of controversy and conflict” and that “Manhattan Alien Abduction” will “tarnish his reputation as an honest and decent person.”

The Post has reached out to Netflix for comment.

“Manhattan Alien Abduction” is streaming now.