Netflix John McAfee Doc Filmmakers Accused of Questionable Tactics

John McAfee's former girlfiend is accusing the filmmakers behind Running With the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee of being "shady and low" — and she's not alone. Another participant alleges filmmakers used stole footage without payment or credit, while McAfee's daughter calls the film a work a fiction.

Speaking with MarketWatch's Jon Swartz as part of a new exposé on the popular Netflix documentary, McAfee's ex-girlfriend Samantha Herrera took particular issue with the film's conclusion, in which she's quoted as saying she received a call from McAfee after his reported suicide in a Spanish prison last year. It's a startling revelation, but according to Herrera, it didn't actually go down that way.

"What I said was I got a call from Texas from someone saying it was John, who said he was still alive in Spain," she explained to MarketWatch. "I told the film’s makers that I didn’t know if it was him or someone posing as him. I said that on film, but it wasn’t used."

She went on to say of the phone call that her doubts mounted as quizzed the caller and they struggled to answer her questions. "I am so upset. They [the filmmakers] are making a sh*load of money off my name, and I asked them to blur my face. This is really shady and low."  

Former Vice editor-in-chief Rocco Castoro, who's also featured in the film, says he's considering suing Curious Films — the makers of Running With the Devil — for using footage he shot without release, credit, or compensation.

McAfee's daughter Jen McAfee is also quoted taking issue with the film for advancing debunked claims that John McAfee was implicated in the death of his own father. "They didn't make a movie," McAfee told MarketWatch. "This is much more like a James Bond movie."

Jed Rosenzweig is the Founder and Publisher of Primetimer.