The True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘The Manhattan Alien Abduction’ And Linda Napolitano

Linda Napolitano continues to stand by her story that she was abducted by aliens outside her New York City apartment in 1989. Netflix's docuseries The Manhattan Alien Abduction revisits what happened before and after the extraterrestrial event, which 20 people reportedly witnessed. But did the abduction actually occur, or was it all a hoax?

The three-part docuseries explores the events surrounding the alleged Brooklyn Bridge Abduction. To this day, Napolitano maintains that she was taken by aliens from her high-rise in Lower Manhattan. The series includes interviews with both her supporters and skeptics, notably critic Carol Rainey, who spent years working to debunk Napolitano's story until her passing in 2023.

Read on to learn about what happened during the alleged Brooklyn Bridge Abduction, including what "witnesses" have said about the incident and why critics like Rainey believe Napolitano made it all up.

What Allegedly Happened To Linda Napolitano?

Linda Napolitano, a NYC housewife and stay-at-home mom, said that on the night of Nov. 30, 1989, three extraterrestrial beings kidnapped her outside her 12th-floor downtown apartment.

She claimed that these non-human beings made her levitate out her window and into a spacecraft hovering above the city, according to Time.com . Napolitano argued that the aliens performed experiments on her before returning her to her bedroom.

How Did Linda Napolitano Meet Budd Hopkins?

A few months before the November 1989 incident, Napolitano reportedly sent UFO researcher Budd Hopkins a letter detailing a previous extraterrestrial encounter that she claimed to have endured during a weekend in the Catskills 13 years prior. Time.com also reported that she began to attend Hopkins' support group meetings for abductees.

After this first supposed encounter in April 1989, Napolitano said that she found a strange bump on the side of her nose that was eventually revealed to be a strange foreign object. Hopkins believed that this was evidence that aliens inserted an impact into her nostril. However, the object had allegedly disappeared when a specialist tried to remove it.

Were There Any Witnesses Of The Brooklyn Bridge Abduction?

There were about 20 people who allegedly witnessed the Brooklyn Bridge Abduction. After the incident, Napolitano reported what happened to Hopkins, who claimed to have found over a dozen witnesses who saw Napolitano floating above her building.

However, none of the witnesses was publicly identified or interviewed in Netflix's documentary. In his book Witnessed: True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge Abduction , Hopkins used pseudonyms for all the witnesses. There is also no evidence that security officers Richard and Dan, who were allegedly stationed in a nearby car to guard then-UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, actually existed. This claim is complicated by their communication with Hopkins, which was solely through letters.

Cuéllar later refuted the suspicion that he was affiliated with the abduction. "I cannot but strongly deny the claim that I have had an abduction experience at any time," he wrote in a statement to PBS. "On several occasions, when questioned about that matter, I reiterated that these allegations were completely false and I hope that this statement will definitely put an end to these unfounded rumours."

Napolitano maintains that there were real witnesses who saw what happened to her that night. "If I was hallucinating, then the witnesses saw my hallucination," she recalled to Vanity Fair in 2013. "That sounds crazier than the whole abduction phenomenon."

The docuseries features alleged descriptions from several witnesses from that night, though their accounts differ significantly. For example, one woman claimed to have seen a bright light shining through her curtains.

Who Is Carol Rainey?

Filmmaker Carol Rainey was formerly married to Hopkins and now believes Napolitano's alien abduction story was fabricated. In the documentary, Rainey recalled that she initially believed Napolitano's story and they became friends. But over time, Rainey began to question whether Napolitano was telling the truth.

In the docuseries, she explained how Hopkins hypnotized several people as part of his work and said Napolitano did not behave in the way most people do under hypnosis. Instead, she claimed that Napolitano mimicked other people who had been hypnotized on purpose, according to TODAY.com .

"I felt that Budd had lost his objectivity," Rainey said in the series. "I don't know if it was through the Linda case, or earlier than that. I couldn't respect what I heard him do to people who were vulnerable, very vulnerable. I had to try to protect other people from being tormented this way. I was sick. I was literally sick of the whole business, and the only thing I could think to do was to speak out about it."

Meanwhile, Napolitano denied Rainey's accusations throughout the documentary. "She used my case and me and my family as a tool to get even with Budd."

Why Is Linda Napolitano Suing Netflix?

Ahead of the Oct. 30 premiere of The Manhattan Alien Abduction, Napolitano sued Netflix, claiming that the project "defames her, paints her in an unflattering light and steals the work of an author who first wrote about her story more than 20 years ago," Forbes reported .

The complaint alleges Netflix allowed Rainey to play a prominent part in the docuseries as an expert "skeptic" in the field when she was instead allegedly an "embittered, alcoholic ex-wife hell bent on revenge against her husband" who negatively portrayed both Hopkins and Napolitano.

Woman Who Claims She Was Abducted By Aliens In 1989 Sues Netflix Over Docuseries

Napolitano also said she agreed to have her story told by Netflix after she was promised only one interview with Rainey would be used and that the "true story of her abduction would finally be presented." Instead, she felt blindsided by a screening of the series in September.

The complaint seeks an undetermined amount of monetary damages for six claims, including fraud, defamation, and breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

The Manhattan Alien Abduction is now streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.