Elizabeth Holmes Called Nathan Fielder Before $15 Million Documentary Debut, Saying She Trusted Him

Q: What dark reality was captured on film that made Holmes' partner call the blockbuster documentary his dumbest mistake?

It was the film’s unvarnished portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes herself — especially footage that made her appear unstable, evasive and still unwilling to accept wrongdoing — that led Billy Evans to say the documentary might be “the dumbest thing” he had ever done. Evans said the project was meant to humanize Holmes by letting audiences “sit with her” and judge for themselves. But after the teaser and early coverage, he acknowledged that the footage seemed to do the opposite. On the “All-In” podcast, he said that in the trailer “she looks insane,” adding that the score and presentation heightened that impression. Reporting on the film suggests the damaging material was not a single revelation so much as the cumulative reality caught on camera during the 34 days before Holmes entered prison. The documentary shows her maintaining her innocence, insisting she had done nothing wrong and, in some accounts, even claiming she had never lied. That close-up access appears to have reinforced public doubts rather than softened them. The film also reportedly captured uncomfortable domestic and interpersonal dynamics, including Evans’ attempts to shape how Holmes would be seen and the couple’s belief that extreme openness would help them. Instead, that intimacy exposed the darker reality of Holmes’ self-presentation: a convicted fraudster still presenting herself as sincere while under intense scrutiny, which many viewers found more disturbing than sympathetic.

3 articles · Updated · Variety · Oct 19

Nathan Fielder said Elizabeth Holmes called him from federal prison just before “You Can See Everything” opened, repeating “I trust you” in their first conversation in more than six months.
The documentary follows Holmes and partner Billy Evans during the 34 days before she began serving her 11-year fraud sentence, after Fielder approached A24 when he learned the couple had unsuccessfully pitched their own film.
Billy Evans said they let Fielder and Lance Oppenheim into their home so viewers could judge Holmes for themselves, but Fielder said he still does not understand why Holmes agreed to such access.
That strategy appears to have backfired: A24’s film stirred backlash over Holmes’ demeanor and claims of innocence, yet still grossed $15 million in its domestic debut—the biggest documentary launch in decades.