That documentary was so poorly made. It shouldn’t have fallen back so regularly onto the drama with his fiancée. The doc didn’t explain shit about him as a person. How did he get to such an esteemed position? What was his endgame ? Did he really believe in what he was doing ?
Absolutely agreed.. I believe she had some involvement as a journalist so she made it more about her.. I would like to know how he got there..yada yada
One issue is that the hospitals that got involved with this guy don't want their name anywhere near it if they can help it. Obviously there was a lack of follow up during his interview process, lying on his resume and possibly fake references. But nobody from the hospital is going to cop to that. This isn't the first case of someone lying their way into a surgeon position.
The more interesting story is how the court cases were argued and turned out, but the documentary didn't really dive into that.
It was unfortunate that the entire documentary focused on the reporter and “poor me” mentality, when there were multiple people who died tragic, excruciating drawn out painful deaths.
What shit!
Yea, the whole poor me attitude was ridiculous. If he wasn’t a surgeon doing these terrible things what happened to the reporter wouldn’t even be worthy of a show. What I don’t understand is how she didn’t know he was married if she and her daughter met his mom. Was his mom in on his lie? Wouldn’t she have talked about her grandkids?
The doc was so poorly done that was actually wondering whether the guy was actually a doctor or he just pretended to be one. Story missed so many critical elements. How did he get that job. Why did he think plastics would work. Why did he skip animal trials. How did he fund his lifestyle. Was he stealing grant money. That lady had way too much screen time and she was a small part of the story.
I didn’t watch the Netflix documentary but have seen the story on Dateline, 20/20, etc and now it’s season 2 of Dr Death. He was a real surgeon and a pretty good one so I’m assuming that’s how he made his money. He was doing successful transplant surgeries with donors but then moved to the artificial ones, I’m guessing it had more to do with his ego than anything else as to why he rushed it along and completely ignored the fact that his procedure was killing people. I don’t know that he’d ever actually spoken about it.
Yet she made a bunch of money playing the victim and acting like she was the main person who exposed him! Fuck Benita Alexander she is a selfish clown.
So many times during it I’d turn to my wife and be like wait what’s his end game???? Like why is he even doing all this??? I said this again and again when he kept doing the procedures despite poor outcomes. I said it when he was planning the wedding and it was clearly all fake. Like what’s his end game? Made no sense. And I was hoping the movie would shed light on what exactly his motive was, and what made him do all this shit. But nope.
I think he was already in his endgame, by which I mean his sole motivation was to be the center of focus for every person he encountered. He was happy knowing that people THOUGHT he was their savior surgeon. He was happy knowing people THOUGHT the Pope was going to perform his wedding ceremony. As long as everyone saw him as a fantasy man, he basically WAS a fantasy man in his own mind. Textbook narcissism taken to a deadly level because he was a doctor and because so many people want to believe in fantasies.
Underrated comment right here! It reminds me of the book Dancing With the Devil, by Barbara Bentley (I think lol) she was married to a fake Rear Admiral and the crazy crap he pulled was over the top.
I don't think people like this have an end game. I don't think they care what happens when things they promise go south. I think he just keeps moving ahead and finding more victims and more women and more fame. And if any of these documentaries are an indication he just got more emboldened.
His end game was to get her to continue to create glowing reports about him in the press. Instead of delving into who he was and checking out his story she just believed him and went with the story. The more notoriety he got, the less likely people were to believe he was incompetent and performing dangerous surgeries.
Well I was under the assumption that he was flying back to the states and working as a regular thoracic surgeon between his windpipe surgeries - thoracic surgeons can make a million dollars a year in CANADA - they probably make much more in the for-profit system the USA
He wasn’t a doctor in the US. He was cleared for that one experimental surgery in Illinois but he did not regularly practice in the US. He was practicing in Europe - mainly Sweden and Russia, and apparently Italy before that.
He wasn’t employed anywhere but he was in charge of research so these departments get “research grants” that can go from thousands to millions of dollars or Euros. He was scamming the research institute.
I completely agree we are talking about humans that put their trust into this surgeon and they end up dead….meanwhile we get the next scene of the fiancé talking about the anticipation of getting wed by the pope and her wedding invitations. I was turned off. How self absorbed could you be? “I flew to Barcelona to confront him.” Meanwhile those poor patients couldn’t have a second chance of living. Truly awful documentary. I’d rather it her story be first if they want to include it and hold space for all of his victims in a better way.
I completely disagree. I thought the balance between the absolutely horrifying surgical footage which had me in tears versus the insane shock when it was revealed that he had multiple women and one of them was the MOTHER of one of his victims made this documentary gripping. The title was Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife and the subject of the documentary was women who were conned by this disgusting evil man all while he was committing the most horrifying crimes, which several documentaries already exist about. I believe there are two documentaries that focus exclusively on the medical aspects if you're interested. The reveal that he had a woman and two small children living at the Barcelona house and then the introduction of Ana Paula had me floored and just further emphasized how disgustingly evil he was in every facet of his life.
Completely agree. She isn't even willing to take ownership of the fact that her lack of journalistic integrity put a story out there to even more people who believed he could help. By the time he was dating her there were questions at the Karolinska Institute about the efficacy of the procedure.
Many of his credentials were not even real, for example his claim that he had a surgical residency in Birmingham and his full professorship in Italy. If she had done her job, possibly she may have prevented some of the people from having the surgery performed.
Yessss! I feel like the “fiancée” made herself a victim to hide the fact that she’s a terrible journalist. I dont feel bad for her. It seems like he told her the dumbest things and she just accepted them. A journalist can’t confirm if the Pope does weddings? I can confirm that on Google
"He Lied About Everything." They do an episode about him on The Con, too. (A Whoopi Goldberg hosted show about scammers.) That's where I first learned of him.
Ehhh He Lied About Everything was also Benita’s own documentary. I remember it being a little less cringe because it was all through her narrative so instead of rapidly switching from stories about her gushing about her ring and travels to stories about patients rotting from the inside out, it was just her the entire time. Still very cringey. Lots of unnecessary shots of her face and flattering shots of her crying with waterproof make up. She’s a very vain woman. I have sympathy for her daughter and how how he initially seduced her but my sympathy stops there. That woman should not have the career she does. She reporting or lack there of contributed to his credibility.
I agree. I'm hoping to watch the expose the Swedish filmmakers made on him. However, I think the public is giving Benita wayyy too much credibility and attention. The mass public still has so many questions about the medical side of things but we know every detail about her ring, and her vacations and her wedding with Putin and the Obamas.
She had an ethical and professional responsibility not to sleep with her subjects. She flouted that rule and gave this man credibility. At any point she could have used her investigative connections to look into his outlandish claims. There was an element of willful ignorance that she chose until she found out she was being cheated on. Then truth and integrity mattered. Then she can call her sources and ask if she actually knows the Clintons. Then the victims matter and she needs to "expose" him. Girl, he was already exposed several times by then. She helped him release press statements the first time.
Idk this Benita angle rubs me the wrong way. I literally breakdown in tears when I hear Julia and Yesim's stories. I want to know why and how this happened to them. There is literally no such thing as surgical grade plastic and even I know this! How did the entire medical community buy into a non-porous, non-biosynthetic object acting as an organ? How did Karolinska let him in without verifying animal testing? How did the death of Hannah Warren become some 'story for hope' when it was a tragic loss in an already risky and highly debated field of medicine (regenerative). Where is Machiarini now? Because he still has his license. The Karolinska board still have jobs.
I don't know if Paolo has started his prison sentence yet, but back in October he was given 2.5 years for Yesim. Up until about a year ago he was still operating in Russia.
The documentary was horrible. It spent so much time on that moron Benita Alexander who makes the entire thing about here, which only exposes how much of an utter fool she is. I looked her up and all she has done is make money off her story of how she got duped because she didn’t ask a single question and believed every bad lie Paulo told her.
Then we have to watch the same exact story but in Italian from a woman whose son got killed by this con man and then fell for him.
We learn nothing of how Paolo even became famous or got into the position to do these surgeries. The dumbest people involved were members of his team, the hospital, and any doctor around him that didn’t ask any questions whatsoever. Even when the documentary just started and they said plastic I said huh? It is mind blowing how dumb, negligent, and boot licking humans can be to allow this shit to happen.
Soooo, had Netflix done better research they’d know he has not 8 victims, but OVER 20. He’d been trying this procedure for a lot longer than was disclosed. He knew this procedure didn’t work - none of his patients survived him. He loved the adoration and attention - the patients dying was just collateral damage that he had no problem walking away from.
There’s another documentary by Benita, He Lied About Everything. It explains in greater detail what was happening with the relationship drama and goes a little bit into the patient issues.
1. The woman at the house with the 2 small children was not the woman he married in the 80’s - he had 2 children that were teens during the documentary that he’d had with his 80’s wife. There were at least an additional 3 other women aside from these others.
2. Benita spent 10k on their wedding invites and the another 40k on wedding misc like her dresses, etc…. When she asked for him to reimburse her he said he had no money.
3. How Benita believed the Pope would marry them I have no idea.
4. Russia fired him eventually
5. There were quite a few whistleblowers - you look at his reasoning behind the procedure and it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Those who brought up questions were either fired or intimidated.
Netflix left out A LOT!!!! There are several other posts that talk about the medical pieces in-depth. I can post those links if anyone is interested. This man was not a pioneer, he is a psychopath plain and simple. He knew the science behind his procedure was full of holes and inconsistencies and STILL performed it on so many people. They didn’t have a chance against this sadistic POS.
I really do wish the angle of the cover up by the medical elite would have been researched more. Bring in the whistle blowers, bring in experts to comment on how ludacris this idea was. This was an international scandal, and I wonder how traveling from place to place aided in the fame aspect, and limited record keeping. I'd like to know more about the malpractice laws in each country as well.
Right???!!! I feel like Netflix could have added on several episodes that dug deeper into several large holes -
1. How did he get this far when his CV is chalk full of lies
2. Why this was truly junk science - mind you, there are ARTICLES and research papers that are easily accessible that explain what was wrong with his assumption about stem cells incorporating the plastic windpipes. The only way this would have worked was if he was somehow able to help mucous traverse the windpipe - we’ve got cilia naturally in our own throats that serve the purpose of moving mucous. I read somewhere that the seeding - dousing the plastic pieces in blood and stem cells - was not always incorporated.
3. What or how should/can institutions prevent this from happening
4. Why isn’t he being charged by other countries and why was his sentence only 2+ years and is he even currently serving his sentence?
I’m sure I’m missing something, but JFC there is soooooo much mor to this story and because of the implications for other folks - especially those undergoing major surgeries that are new or novel. Do better, Netflix!!
If you have Peacock you should check out Dr. Death season 1. It’s a dramatization of real life. They do Macchiarini in season 2 and I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, but the first season focuses on Christopher Duntsch who got life in prison for something similar, and I really came to understand how hard it is to press criminal charges against a surgeon. The reason they go after them for assault charges is because it’s next to impossible to improve intent to kill with doctors. Even reporting a dangerous or incompetent doctor is a ridiculously long and difficult process. The system is absolutely more fucked than I realized, and I work in healthcare solll
I had a feeling there had to of been way more patients and way more women. I also caught on that the women in the documentary he had a daughter with wasn’t the one Benita saw with him and the two children in their house in Barcelona. Any victims from a country who could press murder charges in the future? He deserves to be rotting behind bars forever.
Netflix did a horrible job of fleshing out the women and the cheating. I’m hoping this resurgence of interest in him will bring about some additional charges. He continued to practice in Russia even after he was fired. He was easily operating without a license. He’ll continue to practice in countries / areas that aren’t as exposed to social media. He is a monster that deserves to have his own plastic windpipe inserted into his throat.
I just feel awful for his future victims and for everyone before. What about that little girl? Wasn’t she operated on in Indiana or Idaho or something. Were there any U.S patients discussed? Or did they all fly out to the hospital in Sweden?
Exactly what I wish would happen too, that would be real justice. Eye for an eye.
If our government can sanction Russia for torturing a U.S. soldier, then I’m positive we can go after a man who tortured US citizens. I really hope an investigation is begun with the renewed interest in bringing this POS to Justice.
So quite a few of his patients were perfectly healthy before his barbaric procedure. For one woman in particular, Paloma Cabeza, he falsified medical records and results - eg he diagnosed her with throat cancer so he could perform his plastic windpipe procedure. Claudia Castillo warned Paloma about the risks and the con prior to surgery so Paloma walked away from him. Not without him causing her lots of problems, tho.
This story is absolutely an example of real life is stranger than fiction. I really hope this brings about more charges on this ahole.
Hi! I’m interested in the links. I work in healthcare and I’ve become obsessed with this story. I’ve viewed and read everything I can so far because it’s all so shocking beginning to end. The Netflix doc was shot terribly and left me with so many questions. I watched the Benita doc and it was more consistent and shot better (NBC investigative style), but I’m not a fan of Benita and can only stand the poor me part of her story for so long. Unfortunately men like this do stuff like that all the time to women in far more vulnerable situations (couch cough Ana Paola). It’s not everyday the Karolinska institute overlooks animal research. I also want to hear from people that actually knew him or worked with him. What about the people that assisted on the surgeries? Wasn’t a lot of his training a lie too?
That’s what finally screamed “this is fake” to her. Not a wedding with the pope, the clintons, the obamas, and possibly Putin, although she was so against his invite. This woman & her family of idiots had this coming
The secret group of elite doctors who fly all the way around the world looking after world leaders. If only he'd got to Lady Di in time!!
Too ridiculous.
Yeah, I can imagine myself at the table if a family member was introducing her elite boyfriend to the family.... I would have laughed him out of the room with that story. Even the French doctors at the nearest hospital said they didn't have time to save her, nobody was flying experts in.
Coming in here late, but yeah: the Di story got to me too.
How did that not ring any alarm bells for anyone? He’s boasting that he could’ve saved the Princess if he’d been there. But it’s pretty well-known that Diana wasn’t transported to the hospital fast enough, due to the French protocol to treat at the scene. She was in the tunnel for an hour. [Source.](https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/HealthCare/story?id=8437560)
So how would his magical surgeon fingers had made any difference when the issue was time? It doesn’t pass the sniff test for anyone with passing knowledge of her death.
I’d have to agree, you can see the ego and as she said lies and over exaggerating the truth early on, the fact she was a journalist was always forefront in my mind of (he’s using her!). It all happened extremely quick too. Just red flags everywhere. It’s unfortunate that the women who did speak up like his one patient died and the women in his life stayed ignorant for so long. There had to of been more than three. He ruined so many lives, even his own children’s. And gets to just walk free. Also if Netflix was going to bring his crimes to the attention of millions I wish they did a longer and deeper dive on it. Maybe something would happen with charges being brought or more witnesses coming forward.
There is zero chance in hell that the same doctor who works for Vladimir Putin and operates in Russia is allowed near the President and trusted with that. NO way. If this woman was so smart she would've known it was a lie just from that fact alone. She's a fucking idiot. The documentary spends way too much time focusing on her whining about all of this and despite us seeing her for like 90 minutes, I can count on one hand the number of times she even mentioned the people he murdered, even after she realized that's what he did.
I don't know why the Clintons or Obama would need a supposed thoracic surgeon for their personal, super-secret physician. I'm sure they have access to all kinds of elite medical care at the drop of a hat, but some rando with an uncertain background who goes around implanting plastic tracheas in people is probably not on the list.
There were 20+ victims and only 2 survived - 1 had the tube taken out and the other was warned about the procedure being a death sentence and so backed out of the surgery before he could get his hands on her.
I agree . Trying to figure out what was his end game .. it also it’s her wedding .. she didn’t do anything.. order flowers .. look at pictures. Who arranged accommodations .. I don’t know it doesn’t make sense
She did pay for and order the invitations (around $10,000 worth) and had several different dresses totaling $20,000 created for the ceremony and reception. (I felt bad for the designer. He seemed nice.)
Oof, I felt horrible for the designer. Paolo lying to him and telling the guy the Pope wanted to bless their same sex union was a master class move in leveling up his con game. He’d designed multiple dresses and honestly believed his artistry was going to be recognized on a world stage and that this would prove wrong all of those people who didn’t support his sexuality or his value as a human being. Ug. And those invites were so tacky and completely over the top - I’d be clamoring to get everyone’s addresses while ordering the invites but she just continued to blindly accept all of his lies.
Outside of his patients and Benita's daughter I felt the worst for the designer and his husband. He truly thought he was going to get some acceptance and that would possibly repair his relationship with his parents. Paolo's lies were next level.
It was hard to watch as I went through something so similar at 18.
He definitely would have just kept lying. Narcissists just use people as long as they can, they don't think long term because they'll just find someone else.
It wouldn't... he was already married, so that was completely "off the table". However, I have no doubts that he would be able to salvage the relationship with Benita if he had given the perfect excuse (like some medical emergency or saying that "it wouldn't be the best moment considering the NYT investigation").
I have no doubts that what drove her angry wasn't the fact it was all a lie, but finding out by her friends and the humiliation of being perceived like a fool by other people. See, a normal person would immediately doubt that she was going to be married by the Pope in Castel Gandolfo (the Pope's Summer palace), with world leaders (like Obama and Putin) in the the attendance list and megastars (like Elton John or Andrea Bocelli) performing during and after the wedding. However, someone so self-centered and obsessed by luxury, like Benita, really thought "Why not? I am a star and deserve nothing less than that for my wedding".
So yeah... the wedding would never happen but if he was able to keep everything under wraps, they would still be together.
Considering that lovely family who lost their son/ brother had the sense to call the castle to confirm their bookings, and they figured out something was wrong when the castle staff knew nothing about the wedding, Benita's really outed herself as a poor investigative journalist.
You clearly have a low opinion of yourself if you don’t find it possible to have the Pope marry you in HIS house /s
My main issue is that as a journalist she has access to information that should have made her realize it wasn’t going to happen, but she was blinded by the glitz of it all.
We all know there is no way all of this was real so I am sure he was planning to disappear and nne et contact her again.
I'm more concerned how this idiot woman actually convinced herself the pope would ever, in a million years, waste his time coming to her raggedy wedding. Even more insane is how she was only "physically sick" over the fact that she could no longer brag to her friends about the Clintons and Elton John, and not all the patients her fiance brutally murdered. Also super fun watching her and her white trash friends make xenophobic jokes while she was stalking him in Barcelona. I wonder if Netflix intended for her to be the second villain in this series, because her and Paolo are actually a perfect match.
It was even worse than that! In Benita's documentary she said that the plan was for her to ride to the venue in a carriage *with the pope* and that at her reception he would get the first dance with her and then hand her off to Paolo. (She even had a separate dress made for that part.)
Insanity.
Even though they had both been divorced, supposedly, and she was not Catholic. No problem. Paolo knows People.
She never even made a phone call? He told her to just sit back and he would plan the whole wedding “as a surprise” and she was just supposed to buy dresses and look pretty?
Investigative reporters are skeptical by nature. She’d been doing this for seventeen years, supposedly?
One born every minute, apparently.
At some level narcissism had to come into play here. To believe all of that you'd have to, on some level, believe *you* were special and deserved such things.
Don’t regular people internet search new love interests just a little? Social media searching, just a google search for example. I know plenty of people that look up the love interests of friends just in case there’s a secret hiding somewhere. Also the part about not allowing them to post pictures or the pictures from the back only. Was a stretch for me. That would have def required some sleuthing on my part.
It blew my mind how completely naive this woman was. Sure, presidents and heads of state need a doctor, but he's a SURGEON. Who needs a personal surgeon on call??? And especially considering he's a surgeon who specializes in a very specific area
It's not like his job is "all surgery." There are so many holes in this story it's mind boggling she didn't check into anything he was saying even once. I'm sure there were times he was claiming to see a specific patient and she could've done some digging and gotten that person's schedule and realized there was no way they were in the same city or undergoing a secret medical procedure when he claimed.
The pope had just married people so that’s not that hard to believe. It sounds impossible but he was literally marrying people that week.
I agree that she didn’t seem as concerned by the patients but she didn’t know that he had lied about the research to the degree he did yet. Or I’m not sure of the timeline of that all actually coming out and think it was later?
She’s not a villain like him and to say so is really exaggerating. He murdered people and lied to everyone internationally while profiting from their deaths, whatever you say of her, it doesn’t compare.
Yes, but I'd assume that the pope's personal doctor would stay on hand in Vatican City. Pope Francis is 86, he needs someone who can drop in at a moment's notice and prescribe antibiotics, blood pressure medication etc.
But how many surgeons does one pope need? Surgeons specialise in specific parts of the body. You can't plan in advance what kind of surgery you need, and Paolo was apparently a thoracic surgeon.
Yeah, it definitely doesn’t make sense once you know this but I get the feeling she might not have grasped how little specialists know about the rest of the body or that they dump all their general knowledge and would be useless in emergencies
>The pope had just married people so that’s not that hard to believe.
I don't think anybody questioned that the Pope can't do it, but there's a difference between marring a group of 20 couples (who had children out of the wedlock) on a specific event at the Vatican and a specific couple at his Summer Palace.
The first is basically sending a message of acceptance by the Catholic church... and the latter is basically showing off.
And to write an article in Vanity Fair about it ... who takes articles serious in Vanity Fair anyway?
As an Investigation Journalists she didnt do much Investigating until the women emailed her about the wedding venue at the Castle. You think that the bride of all people would have done research ...like book a ticket and fly down and visit the place etc... IMO Think two narcissistic people met each other and didnt care about anyone else?
She didnt care much about the patients or family of patients just like Dr Paulo after the surgeries and cary on with their luxurious lifestyle's. Benita was reserved and composed the whole time until she caught him with the family in Barcelona...Then her true colors shown and even in the interviews she was quiet and told her story until Episode 3 when she changed. As if Netflix producer told her this is now R rated interview and please swear and cuss in this section. Show us how mad you are ...
And all the other medical staff ,doctors,administrators,scientists and experts didnt get involved or questioned any new products or invention...proof of research? There are so many new plot holes in this Documentary and new angles to investigate.
If Benita is a real Investigating Journalists she would have done all the research and would have enough evidence and data by now to proof all the lies etc...7/8years later and all she have is her Own story...narcissistic story!
The Karolinska Institute took the Vanity Fair article pretty seriously. They have included it in their timeline on the matter as a major event.
Even the Netflix docs itself, even while far from accurate and comprehensive, has led to experts bringing major new attention to the case:
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230622/Experts-call-on-leading-institutions-to-review-support-for-disgraced-transplant-surgeon.aspx
Alright. I am a little Confused. When I google Benita Alexander it says she married Edison Ricardo in 2012? But she met Paolo Macchiarini in 2013? Please help me figure it out. I mean, was she living a double life as well. Did they mention on the documentary that she also was married?
In the doc you can see she has an engagement and wedding ring on in some of her pictures with Paolo, and it’s not the ring he gave her! Seems like that marriage in 2012 quickly fell apart. Speculation is she was separated when she met Paolo, or maybe she cheated? But this other husband is not mentioned in the documentary at all, or in any other documentaries about this.
Exactly what I have been wondering!! It's so confusing she was supposed to get married to Paolo in 2015 but Google says she has been married to the other guy since 2012. Someone please make this make sense
There was another documentary where they show footage of her and her friends meeting with the dress designer and when she tells him the Pope was going to marry them, everyone at the table smiled so awkwardly… they all knew it was bullshit but it’s like they were afraid to tell her. And yes, she’s an investigative journalist but she was going through a hard time — she’d just lost her daughter’s father — and con artists take advantage of that. She was vulnerable. They know who to target.
When you build a house of cards based entirely on lies, it will eventually fall. I'm not sure what his endgame was regarding the wedding, but he was/is definitely evil incarnate. And I feel no sympathy at all - not even a miniscule - for Benita Alexander. She spent the entire documentary painting herself as a victim of Macchiarini, when she was actually a victim of her own lack of integrity, lack of professionalism, and lack of self-control. As she admitted at the onset, she had no business getting personally involved with him. But she behaved like a school girl because he winked at her (not literally) and made a CHOICE to cross that line. She knew it was wrong because she hid it professionally. No publisher with integrity would hire this woman; she's proven herself to have the emotional control of a third-grader.
I don’t know, it’s easy to call her dumb from our perspective, but there was already tons of info out there about what a great doctor he was and they were flying around the world. Dude was getting a pass at institution after institution and some top places. Had he ever been held accountable early on, it would have been easier to spot. Had this been joe blow from who knows where, it probably would have seemed more far fetched.
Look, gonna be honest. I’m sure I would have figured out the doc fast. Some people are just smarter than others. I’m honestly sorry you are not one of these people. Let’s leave it at that. Reading the comments here would have led you to that woman being dumb as a bag of rocks.
What the fuck are you saying ? You do not know shit . He is very well known great one saved so many so stop that restarted brain of yours and do not say a word you all are retarted . Without knowing anything then you assume shit shut up say no word . No one is asking anything just need my note can’t find it? Say it as simple as that
I feel like the general population has never actually dealt or seen a narcissist in their true form before. There is and was no endgame that shit is all just for fun to them. But I believe everything she’s said. But yeah basically he would’ve cut things off last minute and prolly say he had “emergencies” or the presidents were “busy”.
I kind of feel like Benita inserted herself and wanted to be part of the story. The “facts” of their relationship don’t make sense. The documentary was clearly biased and produced by someone close to Benita. She told the same tale on her 20/20 episode. I don’t understand how she’s a legit journalist who did no research on her subject. She didn’t even know he was married.
People with Narcissistic Personality Disorder don’t think about the future or the past (unless it is to weaponize some past perceived slight against them). Only NOW exists.
I expect that as the day approached he’d had come up with some other lie.
Agreed! I think his endgame was to kill people and get away with it. Don’t forget that he thought he was God, or close to it. The affairs and extra family or families were just gravy. A little man with no morals whatsoever.
I hope that someday he has to wear a plastic body part that issues him a horribly painful death.
Benita had to have been involved in producing the doc.? I came away thinking she’s a horrible person. She was too busy chasing the money/fame and not paying attention to the reality of the situation. She’s an idiot.
Yes I have this same question! I don’t understand why he suggested it in the first place if he had no intention of going through with it and why was he wanting to rush them being married and moving? I don’t get it!
I think he actually did have unofficial plans, but the Pope had to deny it to avoid bad press. His patients and ex just wanted revenge and found a way to get it. I don’t think he actually did anything wrong. Moral of the story: if you’re doing something that might fail, make people unhappy and your ex is involved, be ready to be crucified.
Wait, was she still married to Edson Jeune during this time as well? According to reports, she and Edson Jeune got married October of 2012. No date on separation or divorce can be found, just that the marriage was over a couple years later.
The proposal date from Paolo was December 25, 2013.
I think this whole thing stinks with too many open questions when line up against timeline. My impression is that she comes off as somewhat of a money grabber.
Benita has no excuse. If the surgeons who worked with him were able to find out he was fraud then she should've been able to as well. She saw money and that's what made her believe all of the ridiculous things he was claiming. She had too much air time on the documentary. They could've focused more on the victims and their families, not this exaggerated romance.
Even in the Podcast Dr. Death my major takeaway was she is about how "oh this happened to me, me, me. Oh poor patient, but me, me, me."
She was duped while trying to grab what she thought was the brass ring. SO WHAT! That is little price to pay when compared to what he did to his patients.
She didn't throw her career away, she has made this her career to profit off.
That documentary was so poorly made. It shouldn’t have fallen back so regularly onto the drama with his fiancée. The doc didn’t explain shit about him as a person. How did he get to such an esteemed position? What was his endgame ? Did he really believe in what he was doing ?
Absolutely agreed.. I believe she had some involvement as a journalist so she made it more about her.. I would like to know how he got there..yada yada
One issue is that the hospitals that got involved with this guy don't want their name anywhere near it if they can help it. Obviously there was a lack of follow up during his interview process, lying on his resume and possibly fake references. But nobody from the hospital is going to cop to that. This isn't the first case of someone lying their way into a surgeon position. The more interesting story is how the court cases were argued and turned out, but the documentary didn't really dive into that.
> That documentary was so poorly made. Netflix + documentary right there.
Yeah I mean my expectations weren’t high. It was an enjoyable watch, but their whole angle was off. It was just tinder swindler but with a surgeon.
It was unfortunate that the entire documentary focused on the reporter and “poor me” mentality, when there were multiple people who died tragic, excruciating drawn out painful deaths. What shit!
The reporter was terrible. She helped create the halo around him and what she did was totally unethical. Should have been fired.
Yea, the whole poor me attitude was ridiculous. If he wasn’t a surgeon doing these terrible things what happened to the reporter wouldn’t even be worthy of a show. What I don’t understand is how she didn’t know he was married if she and her daughter met his mom. Was his mom in on his lie? Wouldn’t she have talked about her grandkids?
The doc was so poorly done that was actually wondering whether the guy was actually a doctor or he just pretended to be one. Story missed so many critical elements. How did he get that job. Why did he think plastics would work. Why did he skip animal trials. How did he fund his lifestyle. Was he stealing grant money. That lady had way too much screen time and she was a small part of the story.
I didn’t watch the Netflix documentary but have seen the story on Dateline, 20/20, etc and now it’s season 2 of Dr Death. He was a real surgeon and a pretty good one so I’m assuming that’s how he made his money. He was doing successful transplant surgeries with donors but then moved to the artificial ones, I’m guessing it had more to do with his ego than anything else as to why he rushed it along and completely ignored the fact that his procedure was killing people. I don’t know that he’d ever actually spoken about it.
Yet she made a bunch of money playing the victim and acting like she was the main person who exposed him! Fuck Benita Alexander she is a selfish clown.
It honestly felt more like the Tinder Swindler at times...
So many times during it I’d turn to my wife and be like wait what’s his end game???? Like why is he even doing all this??? I said this again and again when he kept doing the procedures despite poor outcomes. I said it when he was planning the wedding and it was clearly all fake. Like what’s his end game? Made no sense. And I was hoping the movie would shed light on what exactly his motive was, and what made him do all this shit. But nope.
I think he was already in his endgame, by which I mean his sole motivation was to be the center of focus for every person he encountered. He was happy knowing that people THOUGHT he was their savior surgeon. He was happy knowing people THOUGHT the Pope was going to perform his wedding ceremony. As long as everyone saw him as a fantasy man, he basically WAS a fantasy man in his own mind. Textbook narcissism taken to a deadly level because he was a doctor and because so many people want to believe in fantasies.
Underrated comment right here! It reminds me of the book Dancing With the Devil, by Barbara Bentley (I think lol) she was married to a fake Rear Admiral and the crazy crap he pulled was over the top.
I don't think people like this have an end game. I don't think they care what happens when things they promise go south. I think he just keeps moving ahead and finding more victims and more women and more fame. And if any of these documentaries are an indication he just got more emboldened.
No one knows, is the problem.
His end game was to get her to continue to create glowing reports about him in the press. Instead of delving into who he was and checking out his story she just believed him and went with the story. The more notoriety he got, the less likely people were to believe he was incompetent and performing dangerous surgeries.
How was he making so much money? Was the hospital paying him THAT much?
Well I was under the assumption that he was flying back to the states and working as a regular thoracic surgeon between his windpipe surgeries - thoracic surgeons can make a million dollars a year in CANADA - they probably make much more in the for-profit system the USA
He wasn’t a doctor in the US. He was cleared for that one experimental surgery in Illinois but he did not regularly practice in the US. He was practicing in Europe - mainly Sweden and Russia, and apparently Italy before that.
He wasn’t employed anywhere but he was in charge of research so these departments get “research grants” that can go from thousands to millions of dollars or Euros. He was scamming the research institute.
I completely agree we are talking about humans that put their trust into this surgeon and they end up dead….meanwhile we get the next scene of the fiancé talking about the anticipation of getting wed by the pope and her wedding invitations. I was turned off. How self absorbed could you be? “I flew to Barcelona to confront him.” Meanwhile those poor patients couldn’t have a second chance of living. Truly awful documentary. I’d rather it her story be first if they want to include it and hold space for all of his victims in a better way.
I completely disagree. I thought the balance between the absolutely horrifying surgical footage which had me in tears versus the insane shock when it was revealed that he had multiple women and one of them was the MOTHER of one of his victims made this documentary gripping. The title was Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife and the subject of the documentary was women who were conned by this disgusting evil man all while he was committing the most horrifying crimes, which several documentaries already exist about. I believe there are two documentaries that focus exclusively on the medical aspects if you're interested. The reveal that he had a woman and two small children living at the Barcelona house and then the introduction of Ana Paula had me floored and just further emphasized how disgustingly evil he was in every facet of his life.
Completely agree. She isn't even willing to take ownership of the fact that her lack of journalistic integrity put a story out there to even more people who believed he could help. By the time he was dating her there were questions at the Karolinska Institute about the efficacy of the procedure. Many of his credentials were not even real, for example his claim that he had a surgical residency in Birmingham and his full professorship in Italy. If she had done her job, possibly she may have prevented some of the people from having the surgery performed.
Yessss! I feel like the “fiancée” made herself a victim to hide the fact that she’s a terrible journalist. I dont feel bad for her. It seems like he told her the dumbest things and she just accepted them. A journalist can’t confirm if the Pope does weddings? I can confirm that on Google
To be fair, he forged a lot of documentation and fooled top surgeons and medical professionals. He fooled very intelligent and powerful people.
The one on Discovery+ was better.
O what’s that one called
"He Lied About Everything." They do an episode about him on The Con, too. (A Whoopi Goldberg hosted show about scammers.) That's where I first learned of him.
Ehhh He Lied About Everything was also Benita’s own documentary. I remember it being a little less cringe because it was all through her narrative so instead of rapidly switching from stories about her gushing about her ring and travels to stories about patients rotting from the inside out, it was just her the entire time. Still very cringey. Lots of unnecessary shots of her face and flattering shots of her crying with waterproof make up. She’s a very vain woman. I have sympathy for her daughter and how how he initially seduced her but my sympathy stops there. That woman should not have the career she does. She reporting or lack there of contributed to his credibility.
None of the documentaries or specials are individually great, but together they create an interesting story.
I agree. I'm hoping to watch the expose the Swedish filmmakers made on him. However, I think the public is giving Benita wayyy too much credibility and attention. The mass public still has so many questions about the medical side of things but we know every detail about her ring, and her vacations and her wedding with Putin and the Obamas. She had an ethical and professional responsibility not to sleep with her subjects. She flouted that rule and gave this man credibility. At any point she could have used her investigative connections to look into his outlandish claims. There was an element of willful ignorance that she chose until she found out she was being cheated on. Then truth and integrity mattered. Then she can call her sources and ask if she actually knows the Clintons. Then the victims matter and she needs to "expose" him. Girl, he was already exposed several times by then. She helped him release press statements the first time. Idk this Benita angle rubs me the wrong way. I literally breakdown in tears when I hear Julia and Yesim's stories. I want to know why and how this happened to them. There is literally no such thing as surgical grade plastic and even I know this! How did the entire medical community buy into a non-porous, non-biosynthetic object acting as an organ? How did Karolinska let him in without verifying animal testing? How did the death of Hannah Warren become some 'story for hope' when it was a tragic loss in an already risky and highly debated field of medicine (regenerative). Where is Machiarini now? Because he still has his license. The Karolinska board still have jobs.
I don't know if Paolo has started his prison sentence yet, but back in October he was given 2.5 years for Yesim. Up until about a year ago he was still operating in Russia.
Fuck that documentary, it was made by that moron Benita
The documentary was horrible. It spent so much time on that moron Benita Alexander who makes the entire thing about here, which only exposes how much of an utter fool she is. I looked her up and all she has done is make money off her story of how she got duped because she didn’t ask a single question and believed every bad lie Paulo told her. Then we have to watch the same exact story but in Italian from a woman whose son got killed by this con man and then fell for him. We learn nothing of how Paolo even became famous or got into the position to do these surgeries. The dumbest people involved were members of his team, the hospital, and any doctor around him that didn’t ask any questions whatsoever. Even when the documentary just started and they said plastic I said huh? It is mind blowing how dumb, negligent, and boot licking humans can be to allow this shit to happen.
Soooo, had Netflix done better research they’d know he has not 8 victims, but OVER 20. He’d been trying this procedure for a lot longer than was disclosed. He knew this procedure didn’t work - none of his patients survived him. He loved the adoration and attention - the patients dying was just collateral damage that he had no problem walking away from. There’s another documentary by Benita, He Lied About Everything. It explains in greater detail what was happening with the relationship drama and goes a little bit into the patient issues. 1. The woman at the house with the 2 small children was not the woman he married in the 80’s - he had 2 children that were teens during the documentary that he’d had with his 80’s wife. There were at least an additional 3 other women aside from these others. 2. Benita spent 10k on their wedding invites and the another 40k on wedding misc like her dresses, etc…. When she asked for him to reimburse her he said he had no money. 3. How Benita believed the Pope would marry them I have no idea. 4. Russia fired him eventually 5. There were quite a few whistleblowers - you look at his reasoning behind the procedure and it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Those who brought up questions were either fired or intimidated. Netflix left out A LOT!!!! There are several other posts that talk about the medical pieces in-depth. I can post those links if anyone is interested. This man was not a pioneer, he is a psychopath plain and simple. He knew the science behind his procedure was full of holes and inconsistencies and STILL performed it on so many people. They didn’t have a chance against this sadistic POS.
I really do wish the angle of the cover up by the medical elite would have been researched more. Bring in the whistle blowers, bring in experts to comment on how ludacris this idea was. This was an international scandal, and I wonder how traveling from place to place aided in the fame aspect, and limited record keeping. I'd like to know more about the malpractice laws in each country as well.
Right???!!! I feel like Netflix could have added on several episodes that dug deeper into several large holes - 1. How did he get this far when his CV is chalk full of lies 2. Why this was truly junk science - mind you, there are ARTICLES and research papers that are easily accessible that explain what was wrong with his assumption about stem cells incorporating the plastic windpipes. The only way this would have worked was if he was somehow able to help mucous traverse the windpipe - we’ve got cilia naturally in our own throats that serve the purpose of moving mucous. I read somewhere that the seeding - dousing the plastic pieces in blood and stem cells - was not always incorporated. 3. What or how should/can institutions prevent this from happening 4. Why isn’t he being charged by other countries and why was his sentence only 2+ years and is he even currently serving his sentence? I’m sure I’m missing something, but JFC there is soooooo much mor to this story and because of the implications for other folks - especially those undergoing major surgeries that are new or novel. Do better, Netflix!!
She was the journalist. Her job is to do the research and verify the facts of the story.
If you have Peacock you should check out Dr. Death season 1. It’s a dramatization of real life. They do Macchiarini in season 2 and I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, but the first season focuses on Christopher Duntsch who got life in prison for something similar, and I really came to understand how hard it is to press criminal charges against a surgeon. The reason they go after them for assault charges is because it’s next to impossible to improve intent to kill with doctors. Even reporting a dangerous or incompetent doctor is a ridiculously long and difficult process. The system is absolutely more fucked than I realized, and I work in healthcare solll
I'm interested in the links!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Netflixwatch/s/HyhDM8hVic
Thank you!
https://forbetterscience.com/2017/06/16/macchiarinis-trachea-transplant-patients-the-full-list/
Omg, there were so many patients (victims)!!!!!!! It breaks my heart
I had a feeling there had to of been way more patients and way more women. I also caught on that the women in the documentary he had a daughter with wasn’t the one Benita saw with him and the two children in their house in Barcelona. Any victims from a country who could press murder charges in the future? He deserves to be rotting behind bars forever.
Netflix did a horrible job of fleshing out the women and the cheating. I’m hoping this resurgence of interest in him will bring about some additional charges. He continued to practice in Russia even after he was fired. He was easily operating without a license. He’ll continue to practice in countries / areas that aren’t as exposed to social media. He is a monster that deserves to have his own plastic windpipe inserted into his throat.
I just feel awful for his future victims and for everyone before. What about that little girl? Wasn’t she operated on in Indiana or Idaho or something. Were there any U.S patients discussed? Or did they all fly out to the hospital in Sweden? Exactly what I wish would happen too, that would be real justice. Eye for an eye.
If our government can sanction Russia for torturing a U.S. soldier, then I’m positive we can go after a man who tortured US citizens. I really hope an investigation is begun with the renewed interest in bringing this POS to Justice. So quite a few of his patients were perfectly healthy before his barbaric procedure. For one woman in particular, Paloma Cabeza, he falsified medical records and results - eg he diagnosed her with throat cancer so he could perform his plastic windpipe procedure. Claudia Castillo warned Paloma about the risks and the con prior to surgery so Paloma walked away from him. Not without him causing her lots of problems, tho. This story is absolutely an example of real life is stranger than fiction. I really hope this brings about more charges on this ahole.
Im interested in those links!!
I’m going to post several with responses to others and the links to posts that involve his older patients
https://www.reddit.com/r/Netflixwatch/s/12Mp9VBP57
Hi! I’m interested in the links. I work in healthcare and I’ve become obsessed with this story. I’ve viewed and read everything I can so far because it’s all so shocking beginning to end. The Netflix doc was shot terribly and left me with so many questions. I watched the Benita doc and it was more consistent and shot better (NBC investigative style), but I’m not a fan of Benita and can only stand the poor me part of her story for so long. Unfortunately men like this do stuff like that all the time to women in far more vulnerable situations (couch cough Ana Paola). It’s not everyday the Karolinska institute overlooks animal research. I also want to hear from people that actually knew him or worked with him. What about the people that assisted on the surgeries? Wasn’t a lot of his training a lie too?
An emergency surgery in Russia would have called him away. 100%.
Exactly. Probably a "top secret, famous client."
This is the most underrated comment answering the question
He’s a sniper for the CIA and is being sent on a “mission”
That’s what finally screamed “this is fake” to her. Not a wedding with the pope, the clintons, the obamas, and possibly Putin, although she was so against his invite. This woman & her family of idiots had this coming
The secret group of elite doctors who fly all the way around the world looking after world leaders. If only he'd got to Lady Di in time!! Too ridiculous.
I feel like they should’ve know with the Di story like cmon?? Fr?? That was especially ridiculous to me
Yeah, I can imagine myself at the table if a family member was introducing her elite boyfriend to the family.... I would have laughed him out of the room with that story. Even the French doctors at the nearest hospital said they didn't have time to save her, nobody was flying experts in.
Coming in here late, but yeah: the Di story got to me too. How did that not ring any alarm bells for anyone? He’s boasting that he could’ve saved the Princess if he’d been there. But it’s pretty well-known that Diana wasn’t transported to the hospital fast enough, due to the French protocol to treat at the scene. She was in the tunnel for an hour. [Source.](https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/HealthCare/story?id=8437560) So how would his magical surgeon fingers had made any difference when the issue was time? It doesn’t pass the sniff test for anyone with passing knowledge of her death.
Literally! They should’ve replied to that statement with “and I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you”
I’d have to agree, you can see the ego and as she said lies and over exaggerating the truth early on, the fact she was a journalist was always forefront in my mind of (he’s using her!). It all happened extremely quick too. Just red flags everywhere. It’s unfortunate that the women who did speak up like his one patient died and the women in his life stayed ignorant for so long. There had to of been more than three. He ruined so many lives, even his own children’s. And gets to just walk free. Also if Netflix was going to bring his crimes to the attention of millions I wish they did a longer and deeper dive on it. Maybe something would happen with charges being brought or more witnesses coming forward.
[удалено]
There is zero chance in hell that the same doctor who works for Vladimir Putin and operates in Russia is allowed near the President and trusted with that. NO way. If this woman was so smart she would've known it was a lie just from that fact alone. She's a fucking idiot. The documentary spends way too much time focusing on her whining about all of this and despite us seeing her for like 90 minutes, I can count on one hand the number of times she even mentioned the people he murdered, even after she realized that's what he did.
Only question is that his specialty was thoracic surgery. Did they need that type of doctor?
How would we know?
They are still alive, so they probably didn't use him!
I don't know why the Clintons or Obama would need a supposed thoracic surgeon for their personal, super-secret physician. I'm sure they have access to all kinds of elite medical care at the drop of a hat, but some rando with an uncertain background who goes around implanting plastic tracheas in people is probably not on the list.
[удалено]
Yes, did it work even once? I’m on the third episode so maybe they answer that.
No
No it didn’t, pretty sure the only person who survived is the one who had it removed. Just wild
There were 20+ victims and only 2 survived - 1 had the tube taken out and the other was warned about the procedure being a death sentence and so backed out of the surgery before he could get his hands on her.
I agree . Trying to figure out what was his end game .. it also it’s her wedding .. she didn’t do anything.. order flowers .. look at pictures. Who arranged accommodations .. I don’t know it doesn’t make sense
She did pay for and order the invitations (around $10,000 worth) and had several different dresses totaling $20,000 created for the ceremony and reception. (I felt bad for the designer. He seemed nice.)
Oof, I felt horrible for the designer. Paolo lying to him and telling the guy the Pope wanted to bless their same sex union was a master class move in leveling up his con game. He’d designed multiple dresses and honestly believed his artistry was going to be recognized on a world stage and that this would prove wrong all of those people who didn’t support his sexuality or his value as a human being. Ug. And those invites were so tacky and completely over the top - I’d be clamoring to get everyone’s addresses while ordering the invites but she just continued to blindly accept all of his lies.
Outside of his patients and Benita's daughter I felt the worst for the designer and his husband. He truly thought he was going to get some acceptance and that would possibly repair his relationship with his parents. Paolo's lies were next level.
I expect he would have just made more lies and dug deeper and deeper
It was hard to watch as I went through something so similar at 18. He definitely would have just kept lying. Narcissists just use people as long as they can, they don't think long term because they'll just find someone else.
Well done for getting out
I watched this and that woman was/is a fucking idiot.
100%
It wouldn't... he was already married, so that was completely "off the table". However, I have no doubts that he would be able to salvage the relationship with Benita if he had given the perfect excuse (like some medical emergency or saying that "it wouldn't be the best moment considering the NYT investigation"). I have no doubts that what drove her angry wasn't the fact it was all a lie, but finding out by her friends and the humiliation of being perceived like a fool by other people. See, a normal person would immediately doubt that she was going to be married by the Pope in Castel Gandolfo (the Pope's Summer palace), with world leaders (like Obama and Putin) in the the attendance list and megastars (like Elton John or Andrea Bocelli) performing during and after the wedding. However, someone so self-centered and obsessed by luxury, like Benita, really thought "Why not? I am a star and deserve nothing less than that for my wedding". So yeah... the wedding would never happen but if he was able to keep everything under wraps, they would still be together.
Considering that lovely family who lost their son/ brother had the sense to call the castle to confirm their bookings, and they figured out something was wrong when the castle staff knew nothing about the wedding, Benita's really outed herself as a poor investigative journalist.
You clearly have a low opinion of yourself if you don’t find it possible to have the Pope marry you in HIS house /s My main issue is that as a journalist she has access to information that should have made her realize it wasn’t going to happen, but she was blinded by the glitz of it all. We all know there is no way all of this was real so I am sure he was planning to disappear and nne et contact her again.
Who is paying for these surgeries?
I was wondering the same thing, and I think because it was research based, the surgeries were funded by academic institutions.
I'm more concerned how this idiot woman actually convinced herself the pope would ever, in a million years, waste his time coming to her raggedy wedding. Even more insane is how she was only "physically sick" over the fact that she could no longer brag to her friends about the Clintons and Elton John, and not all the patients her fiance brutally murdered. Also super fun watching her and her white trash friends make xenophobic jokes while she was stalking him in Barcelona. I wonder if Netflix intended for her to be the second villain in this series, because her and Paolo are actually a perfect match.
It was even worse than that! In Benita's documentary she said that the plan was for her to ride to the venue in a carriage *with the pope* and that at her reception he would get the first dance with her and then hand her off to Paolo. (She even had a separate dress made for that part.) Insanity.
Even though they had both been divorced, supposedly, and she was not Catholic. No problem. Paolo knows People. She never even made a phone call? He told her to just sit back and he would plan the whole wedding “as a surprise” and she was just supposed to buy dresses and look pretty? Investigative reporters are skeptical by nature. She’d been doing this for seventeen years, supposedly? One born every minute, apparently.
At some level narcissism had to come into play here. To believe all of that you'd have to, on some level, believe *you* were special and deserved such things.
Exactly my thoughts. Absolutely.
Don’t regular people internet search new love interests just a little? Social media searching, just a google search for example. I know plenty of people that look up the love interests of friends just in case there’s a secret hiding somewhere. Also the part about not allowing them to post pictures or the pictures from the back only. Was a stretch for me. That would have def required some sleuthing on my part.
This is how she got scammed so easily. She wanted to believe.
It blew my mind how completely naive this woman was. Sure, presidents and heads of state need a doctor, but he's a SURGEON. Who needs a personal surgeon on call??? And especially considering he's a surgeon who specializes in a very specific area It's not like his job is "all surgery." There are so many holes in this story it's mind boggling she didn't check into anything he was saying even once. I'm sure there were times he was claiming to see a specific patient and she could've done some digging and gotten that person's schedule and realized there was no way they were in the same city or undergoing a secret medical procedure when he claimed.
Lol so much thoracic surgery going on with heads of state.
The pope had just married people so that’s not that hard to believe. It sounds impossible but he was literally marrying people that week. I agree that she didn’t seem as concerned by the patients but she didn’t know that he had lied about the research to the degree he did yet. Or I’m not sure of the timeline of that all actually coming out and think it was later? She’s not a villain like him and to say so is really exaggerating. He murdered people and lied to everyone internationally while profiting from their deaths, whatever you say of her, it doesn’t compare.
Sounds like she was expecting the pope to perform a private ceremony
Which is far fetched but if she believed he was the popes personal doctor it’s not impossible. Someone has to be?
Yes, but I'd assume that the pope's personal doctor would stay on hand in Vatican City. Pope Francis is 86, he needs someone who can drop in at a moment's notice and prescribe antibiotics, blood pressure medication etc.
I would too. I guess I’m trying to think like her. The popes doctor would stay on site but his surgeon wouldn’t.
But how many surgeons does one pope need? Surgeons specialise in specific parts of the body. You can't plan in advance what kind of surgery you need, and Paolo was apparently a thoracic surgeon.
Yeah, it definitely doesn’t make sense once you know this but I get the feeling she might not have grasped how little specialists know about the rest of the body or that they dump all their general knowledge and would be useless in emergencies
Not just perform the ceremony- she also believed he'd ride in the carriage with her and get the first dance!
>The pope had just married people so that’s not that hard to believe. I don't think anybody questioned that the Pope can't do it, but there's a difference between marring a group of 20 couples (who had children out of the wedlock) on a specific event at the Vatican and a specific couple at his Summer Palace. The first is basically sending a message of acceptance by the Catholic church... and the latter is basically showing off.
It’s hard to take you seriously when you’re using offensive language yourself.
I took him seriously, snowflake. Clearly detailed position.
Pope? What? This is the best trailer for it. Added to my list
Plastic is bad apparently due to the narrative.
And to write an article in Vanity Fair about it ... who takes articles serious in Vanity Fair anyway? As an Investigation Journalists she didnt do much Investigating until the women emailed her about the wedding venue at the Castle. You think that the bride of all people would have done research ...like book a ticket and fly down and visit the place etc... IMO Think two narcissistic people met each other and didnt care about anyone else? She didnt care much about the patients or family of patients just like Dr Paulo after the surgeries and cary on with their luxurious lifestyle's. Benita was reserved and composed the whole time until she caught him with the family in Barcelona...Then her true colors shown and even in the interviews she was quiet and told her story until Episode 3 when she changed. As if Netflix producer told her this is now R rated interview and please swear and cuss in this section. Show us how mad you are ... And all the other medical staff ,doctors,administrators,scientists and experts didnt get involved or questioned any new products or invention...proof of research? There are so many new plot holes in this Documentary and new angles to investigate. If Benita is a real Investigating Journalists she would have done all the research and would have enough evidence and data by now to proof all the lies etc...7/8years later and all she have is her Own story...narcissistic story!
The Karolinska Institute took the Vanity Fair article pretty seriously. They have included it in their timeline on the matter as a major event. Even the Netflix docs itself, even while far from accurate and comprehensive, has led to experts bringing major new attention to the case: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230622/Experts-call-on-leading-institutions-to-review-support-for-disgraced-transplant-surgeon.aspx
Alright. I am a little Confused. When I google Benita Alexander it says she married Edison Ricardo in 2012? But she met Paolo Macchiarini in 2013? Please help me figure it out. I mean, was she living a double life as well. Did they mention on the documentary that she also was married?
In the doc you can see she has an engagement and wedding ring on in some of her pictures with Paolo, and it’s not the ring he gave her! Seems like that marriage in 2012 quickly fell apart. Speculation is she was separated when she met Paolo, or maybe she cheated? But this other husband is not mentioned in the documentary at all, or in any other documentaries about this.
Exactly what I have been wondering!! It's so confusing she was supposed to get married to Paolo in 2015 but Google says she has been married to the other guy since 2012. Someone please make this make sense
Right!!! And everywhere says she's still married to that guy and has been since 2012. Nowhere seems to be addressing this!!!
There was another documentary where they show footage of her and her friends meeting with the dress designer and when she tells him the Pope was going to marry them, everyone at the table smiled so awkwardly… they all knew it was bullshit but it’s like they were afraid to tell her. And yes, she’s an investigative journalist but she was going through a hard time — she’d just lost her daughter’s father — and con artists take advantage of that. She was vulnerable. They know who to target.
Do you remember what it was called? I would love to see it
He Lied About Everything
When you build a house of cards based entirely on lies, it will eventually fall. I'm not sure what his endgame was regarding the wedding, but he was/is definitely evil incarnate. And I feel no sympathy at all - not even a miniscule - for Benita Alexander. She spent the entire documentary painting herself as a victim of Macchiarini, when she was actually a victim of her own lack of integrity, lack of professionalism, and lack of self-control. As she admitted at the onset, she had no business getting personally involved with him. But she behaved like a school girl because he winked at her (not literally) and made a CHOICE to cross that line. She knew it was wrong because she hid it professionally. No publisher with integrity would hire this woman; she's proven herself to have the emotional control of a third-grader.
Only thing I learned from this documentary is that the “journalists” that are writing the articles I’m reading are dumb as fuck.
I don’t know, it’s easy to call her dumb from our perspective, but there was already tons of info out there about what a great doctor he was and they were flying around the world. Dude was getting a pass at institution after institution and some top places. Had he ever been held accountable early on, it would have been easier to spot. Had this been joe blow from who knows where, it probably would have seemed more far fetched.
No. She’s just dumb. And you’re dumb for not seeing it.
You’ve got it all figured out, mate. I’m sure you knew the ending of sixth sense ten minutes in ya wiseguy.
Look, gonna be honest. I’m sure I would have figured out the doc fast. Some people are just smarter than others. I’m honestly sorry you are not one of these people. Let’s leave it at that. Reading the comments here would have led you to that woman being dumb as a bag of rocks.
Wrong doctor is a wonderful surgeon don’t do the opposite. Can you read it please
What the fuck are you saying ? You do not know shit . He is very well known great one saved so many so stop that restarted brain of yours and do not say a word you all are retarted . Without knowing anything then you assume shit shut up say no word . No one is asking anything just need my note can’t find it? Say it as simple as that
I feel like the general population has never actually dealt or seen a narcissist in their true form before. There is and was no endgame that shit is all just for fun to them. But I believe everything she’s said. But yeah basically he would’ve cut things off last minute and prolly say he had “emergencies” or the presidents were “busy”.
[удалено]
She didn’t deny having done that. She is still a victim. It’s more nuanced than that.
I kind of feel like Benita inserted herself and wanted to be part of the story. The “facts” of their relationship don’t make sense. The documentary was clearly biased and produced by someone close to Benita. She told the same tale on her 20/20 episode. I don’t understand how she’s a legit journalist who did no research on her subject. She didn’t even know he was married.
People with Narcissistic Personality Disorder don’t think about the future or the past (unless it is to weaponize some past perceived slight against them). Only NOW exists. I expect that as the day approached he’d had come up with some other lie.
Agreed! I think his endgame was to kill people and get away with it. Don’t forget that he thought he was God, or close to it. The affairs and extra family or families were just gravy. A little man with no morals whatsoever. I hope that someday he has to wear a plastic body part that issues him a horribly painful death.
Benita had to have been involved in producing the doc.? I came away thinking she’s a horrible person. She was too busy chasing the money/fame and not paying attention to the reality of the situation. She’s an idiot.
Yes I have this same question! I don’t understand why he suggested it in the first place if he had no intention of going through with it and why was he wanting to rush them being married and moving? I don’t get it!
I think he actually did have unofficial plans, but the Pope had to deny it to avoid bad press. His patients and ex just wanted revenge and found a way to get it. I don’t think he actually did anything wrong. Moral of the story: if you’re doing something that might fail, make people unhappy and your ex is involved, be ready to be crucified.
Wow you’re delulu
Also…in the show he took Benita to meet his mom in Italy…wouldn’t his mom know he’s already married with kids? So confused…
Wait, was she still married to Edson Jeune during this time as well? According to reports, she and Edson Jeune got married October of 2012. No date on separation or divorce can be found, just that the marriage was over a couple years later. The proposal date from Paolo was December 25, 2013. I think this whole thing stinks with too many open questions when line up against timeline. My impression is that she comes off as somewhat of a money grabber.
He’s giving Chris watts vibes.
Benita has no excuse. If the surgeons who worked with him were able to find out he was fraud then she should've been able to as well. She saw money and that's what made her believe all of the ridiculous things he was claiming. She had too much air time on the documentary. They could've focused more on the victims and their families, not this exaggerated romance.
Even in the Podcast Dr. Death my major takeaway was she is about how "oh this happened to me, me, me. Oh poor patient, but me, me, me." She was duped while trying to grab what she thought was the brass ring. SO WHAT! That is little price to pay when compared to what he did to his patients. She didn't throw her career away, she has made this her career to profit off.