Biopic over “Iceman” Wim Hof put on hold over domestic violence allegations

A feature film about the life of “Iceman” Wim Hof has been put on hold after his ex, their son, and her two children from a previous marriage came forward to say that Hof physically and verbally abused them for around 13 years. British production company Genesius Pictures confirmed to the Volkskrant on Monday that production of the biopic was temporarily halted due to “the seriousness of the accusations.”

The biopic about Hof, with actor Joseph Fiennes in the lead, was announced as an “inspiring,” “moving,” and “at times extremely funny” movie. But it sent chills down the spine of Hof’s ex, Caroline, and her three children - Noah, the son she had with Hof, and Christiaan and Nathalie, her children from a previous marriage.

Caroline approached the Volkskrant after the producer contacted her to have a say in the biopic. They have been trying to distance themselves from the man who, for them, represents years of aggression, physical violence, verbal abuse, humiliation, and, in Caroline’s case, sexual abuse. The Volkskrant corroborated their story with court rulings, a report from the Child Protection Board, medical reports, emails, and a report filed against Hof for the abuse of a previous partner, among other things.

Hof physically attacked Caroline for the first time in 2002, when she was a few months pregnant with their son, Noah. She told the Volkskrant that he confronted her in the living room one evening after she had once again asked him to find a solution for his other four children, who, at the time, were living by themselves while Hof lived with Caroline and her children. The oldest of Hof’s children was 18 years old then. “He slapped my face,” Caroline told the newspaper. “Then he dragged me through the room by my hair and tried to kick men in the belly. I was just about able to hide behind the couch, so his kick only grazed me. Then he left.”

Things escalated from there. In the years that followed, everyone in the family faced verbal and physical abuse. For example, Hof constantly commented on Nathalie’s appearance, weight, and what she was eating, often calling her a pig. “He also threw hot coffee on my face,” Nathalie said. Noah reported several incidents of physical violence and said that his father always made him feel worthless. At least once, Hof told Noah that he wasn’t the boy’s father, but Christiaan, Noah’s older brother, was. Christiaan reported several incidents of physical violence against him.

One night in 2006, Caroline thought Hof would kill her. “He grabbed me by the throat, cutting off my breath. I was very close to dying. Eventually, he let go, probably because Noah was around.”

Things came to a head in 2010. Nathalie, 16 at the time, had had enough and told her mother she was leaving and wouldn’t return until Hof was gone. Caroline told Hof to go, and he said he would, but weeks passed, and he was still there. On 8 May 2010, after drinking all day, Hof took a plate from the cupboard and threatened to smash it over Caroline’s head. He pushed Noah around and physically attached Christiaan, who had come home after his mother called.

“Wim opened the door and immediately started shouting very aggressively that he would smash my head in. He was making these karate moves. At one point, he punched me in the stomach,” Christiaan told the Volkskrant. Christiaan suffered a nosebleed and a black eye. Caroline managed to call the police and they arrived just as Hof tried to throw a large glass fruit bowl at Christiaan. The police arrested Hof.

A few days later, Christiaan filed a police report against Hof, and Nathalie gave a witness statement. Caroline also filed a report detailing the years of abuse.

The mayor of Amsterdam imposed a restraining order on Hof, banning him from coming near the family. The explanation for the restraining order stated that Hof “used physical violence” against Caroline, Christiaan, and Noah and made “death threats.” It also stated that “the gravity and frequency of the violence has increased over the years” and that the children had been “witnesses and victims of that violence.” In 2012, the court setenced Hof to community service and a fine for the assault on Christiaan.

After that, Hof only had fortnightly contact with Noah - his parental right to access. In 2015, there was a court case to get Noah away from Hof. The Child Protection Board wrote in its report for this case that Hof used the time with Noah to badmouth Caroline and his two siblings and would coerce Caroline to have sex with him, “either by threatening to take Noah away from her, but also for money.” Noah witnessed this.

Caroline confirmed to the Volkskrant that Hof would only pay alimony if she was prepared to have sex with him. “‘Only later, in therapy, I started to realize that what he was doing was actually rape,” Caroline told the newspaper.

The Child Protection Board’s report also stated that Hof had committed so much psychological violence against Noah that the boy never felt safe around him. Based on that report, the court ruled that Hof had forfeited his right of parental access to Noah.

Hof denied the allegations to the Volkskrant, saying that Caroline and her children were “on a warpath” and out to make him look bad. He also blames Caroline for everything, telling the Volkskrant things like “Caroline always knew how to quickly get under my skin” and “Because of her, I started drinking, yes.”