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UKRANIAN orphan Natalia Grace’s third adoptive family has blasted a new Hulu television series clearly inspired by her controversy-ridden life story.
Nicole DePaul, Grace’s adoptive mother, lashed out at the dramatized miniseries and urged supporters to boycott it.
The drama, which is set to release next month, features Grey’s Anatomy actress Ellen Pompeo and follows a dramatized telling of Grace’s story.
Grace was adopted by the Barnett family in 2010, but they later abandoned her and claimed the orphan was a “sociopathic” 21-year-old woman pretending to be a child.
She was born with a form of dwarfism that prevents her limbs from growing, which makes her look younger than she may be.
Michael Barnett, her former adoptive dad, accused Grace of trying to kill them with poison after they took her in and said that she was a fully grown woman.
But Grace has always defended her age and said that she was a child when the Barnetts abandoned her.
After briefly being placed in the care of another couple, Grace is now on her third family, who are coming to her defense ahead of the Hulu series.
“I do not intend to watch the Hulu series American Family, and I hope you consider avoiding it as well,” Depaul wrote.
“Natalia is not receiving compensation, and it is even more concerning that Kristine Barnett is the only one being paid despite allegations against her.
“Just remember: The jurors themselves stated that had they been aware of Natalia’s true age at the time, they would have returned a guilty verdict,” she continued.
“The defense attorneys’ decision to withhold that information from the jurors raises significant concerns.”
DePaul ended her post with the hashtag Justice for Natalia.
Her protest garnered over 200 reactions and dozens of comments coming to Grace’s defense.
“Oh my goodness I’m disgusted. I hadn’t even known about this but I went to look at the trailer,” one woman wrote.
“The way they depict her is disgusting. This Barnett woman needs to pay for all the damage she’s caused Grace.
“She has trauma that she doesn’t even understand I’m sure. When does it end? Geez I’m outraged.”
Several other comments echoed the woman’s outrage.
“Wow, that is outrageous Nicole. Why even bother glorifying those crazy hypocritical abusers when the truth has been revealed for years,” another woman replied.
Who is Natalia Grace?
Everything to know about Natalia Grace.
- Born: Mykolaiv, Ukraine
- Mother: Anna Volodymyrivna Gava
- Date on original birth certificate: September 4, 2003
- Date on court-adjusted birth certificate: September 4, 1989
- Disability: Dwarfism
- 2010: Grace was brought to the US and adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett
- 2012: The Barnetts successfully petition to change Grace’s age on her birth certificate
- 2013: The Barnetts move Grace into an apartment and move away to Canada
- 2013: Grace eventually contacts authorities and moves in with Cynthia and Antwon Man
- 2019: Indiana authorities charge the Barnetts with child neglect and abandonment because of her disability
- 2023: Michael is acquitted and the charges against Kristine are dropped
- 2023: The Curious Case of Natalia Grace premieres on ID and Max
- 2024: Natalia Speaks airs
“Don’t they legally need Natalia’s permission to use her story?”
Nicole DePaul and Hulu did not initially respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for more information.
THE BARNETT’S
Grace was born in 2003 and diagnosed with a rare form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita.
She was adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett in Lafayette, Indiana, when she was thought to be seven years old.
However, the couple began to question Grace’s actual age as she allegedly got more violent and tormented the family.
“She threatened to stab my sons, drag their bodies outside, and bury them underneath the deck,” Michael Barnett claimed in the May 2023 ID special, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.
“I promise you within five years someone is dead.”
Michael also told Good Morning America that the doctors had diagnosed Grace as a sociopath.
“We were told by doctors, ‘This person is a sociopath. This person is a con artist. You are all in danger,’” he said.
“Natalia would do things like place clear thumbtacks on the stairs face up so that when we would walk up the stairs we would be stepping on thumbtacks to pain and injure ourselves.”
Kristine Barnett, who got divorced from Michael in 2014, backed her ex-husband’s claims and said Grace attempted to poison her with a cleaning agent.
The Barnetts argued that Grace deceived them and successfully petitioned the courts to change Grace’s birth year from 2003 to 1989.
The couple left their adopted child in an apartment by herself before relocating to Canada.
THE TRUTH COMES OUT
Grace had a DNA test done in August 2023 to help prove her true birth year is 2003 and not 1989.
The DNA test confirmed Grace’s argument and her birth year was legally changed back to 2003.
In 2019, the Barnetts were charged with counts of neglect of a dependent, neglect of a dependent causing bodily injury, and conspiracy to commit neglect of a dependent for the abandonment of Grace in 2013.
After a trial, Michael was found not guilty, and Kristine’s charges were dropped in 2023.
TROUBLE IN TENNESSEE
Grace made her way down to Tennessee, where she lived with Bishop Antwon and Cynthia Mans.
The pair legally adopted her in June 2023 after she had been living with them for nearly a decade.
Grace helped care for her 10 adoptive siblings while living under the allegedly strict and controlling rule of the Mans family.
The watchful eyes of the Mans family left Grace plotting her escape with the help of her boyfriend Neil, who she met on Facebook.
Grace reached out to Nicole and Vince DePaul, who had attempted to adopt her back in 2009.
After several months of working with the DePauls and Neil, Grace escaped to DePaul’s home three days before Christmas 2023.
Today, 21-year-old Grace still lives with the DePaul family.
“It’s a blessing to be alive today because looking back at my seven-year-old self, I should have been dead,” she said in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.
Good American Family, Hulu’s new eight-episode dramatization of Grace’s story, will air on March 19, 2025, on the streaming platform.
