Current:Home > reviewsCharles Langston:Natalia Grace Docuseries: Why the Ukrainian Orphan Is Calling Her Adoptive Mom a "Monster" -Intelligent Capital Compass
Charles Langston:Natalia Grace Docuseries: Why the Ukrainian Orphan Is Calling Her Adoptive Mom a "Monster"
Burley Garcia View
Date:2025-04-10 01:14:08
Natalia Grace is Charles Langstonspeaking out about her time with the Barnetts.
After the mysterious case of the Ukrainian native—who was adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett in 2010 when she was 6 years old—was previously explored in harrowing detail, she's ready to share her side of the story.
Though the former couple have alleged that Natalia—who has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare genetic disorder—was not a child, but rather a dangerous adult who subsequently attempted to kill them, Natalia has maintained that she was a young girl looking forward to her future when the Barnetts took her in.
But instead, she believes there was ulterior motives behind her adoption from the beginning.
"Kristine said that adopting me was this mission of love and never once did I see any love," Natalia says in an exclusive look at the ID docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks. "I feel like it was a mission of boosting her ego type of thing. I feel like she just wanted people to be like, ‘Oh my goodness, like she's this amazing person.'"
As Natalia further explained, "'She just adopted a little girl from the Ukraine who has dwarfism and has all these different medical issues and everything like that. You know, she's a great mom for wanting to help somebody, right?'"
However, she maintains that her adoptive mom's persona was really a "mask."
"Have this really nice smile, 'I'm a great mom,'" she continues. "But and then it's like, pull that mask off—this is who she really is, like your true colors. Kristine was a monster. I didn't know what she was going to do next."
E! News has reached out to reps for Michael and Kristine Barnett for comment and has not heard back.
In 2012, the Barnetts petitioned a court to change Natalia's birth year from 2003 to 1989, making her 20 years old when they adopted her and accused her of attempting to harm them on several different occasions.
Michael and Kristine subsequently moved with their three sons to Canada, leaving Natalia to live by herself in an apartment in Lafayette, Ind., the following year.
Six years later, Michael and Kristine—who finalized their divorce in 2018—were brought up on charges in connection to their move. Michael was found not guilty on his charges in 2022, while prosecutors dropped their case against his ex-wife this past March.
The latest installment of Natalia's twisted adoption story will take a closer look at the "saga and the Barnetts' allegations from Natalia's perspective," according to a press release from ID, "offering insight into what really went on behind closed doors in the Barnetts' home."
The three-night docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks kicks off Jan. 1 at 9/8c on ID.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (568)
prev:Sam Taylor
Related
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Hawaii Supreme Court quotes The Wire in ruling on gun rights: The thing about the old days, they the old days
- This week on Sunday Morning (February 11)
- Optimism about the U.S. economy sends stocks to a new record
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Republican’s resignation shifts power back to Democrats in Pennsylvania House ahead of election
- Fan suffers non-life threatening injuries after fall at WM Phoenix Open's 16th hole
- Tunisia says 13 migrants from Sudan killed, 27 missing after boat made of scrap metal sinks off coast
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Virginia lawmakers limit public comment and tell folks taking the mic to ‘make it quick’
Ranking
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Mardi Gras is back in New Orleans: 2024 parade schedule, routes, what to about the holiday
- Taylor Swift's Eras Tour estimated to boost Japanese economy by $228 million
- What is Wagyu? The beef has a 'unique, meltaway texture' but comes with a heavy price tag
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Chip Kelly leaving UCLA football, expected to become Ohio State coordinator, per reports
- Military names 5 Marines killed in helicopter crash in California mountains. All were in their 20s.
- 'I guess we just got blessed with a long life': Florida twins celebrate 100th birthdays
Recommendation
Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
Hottest January on record pushes 12-month global average temps over 1.5 degree threshold for first time ever
Marvel television crewmember dies after falling on set of Wonder Man series
Costco, Trader Joe's pull some products with cheese in expanded recall for listeria risk
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
Utah school board member who questioned student's gender faces calls to resign
56 years after death, Tennessee folk hero Buford Pusser's wife Pauline Pusser exhumed
The Daily Money: How to file taxes free