Sherri Papini: Who is Smegma?

The second episode of Hulu’s Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini is titled ‘Smegma was Relentless’ — but who exactly is Smegma?

There’s plenty of new true crime coming to streaming this month, with this week’s offerings dominated by the Hulu documentary series about the woman who faked her own kidnapping. 

You could say the situation was like American Nightmare in reverse. Initially, police believed Sherri’s version of events: that she was kidnapped and abused for 22 days. However, inconsistencies in her story and DNA evidence painted a different picture, one that would land her in jail. 

With all three episodes of Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini available on the streaming service now, here’s what you need to know about the person named Smegma.

Who is Smegma in the Sherri Papini case?

Smegma is the nickname Sherri gave to one of the two made-up captors in a book she wrote about her kidnapping, labeling the other Taint. 

Episode 2 of the true crime series reveals this previously unknown information about the case, as Sherri’s ex-husband Keith Papini opens up about the days after her release — before he and the authorities knew it was all a hoax. 

“Those first few weeks, Sherri was having a hard time recalling a lot of events,” he says. “It was abundantly clear that she needed some therapy through this trauma that she went through.”

During the sessions, Sherri’s therapist recommended writing a book about her abduction as a way to capture memories. “That turned into this book dubbed ‘22 Days’,” Keith adds. 

Sherri wrote down her version of events, claiming as she did to detectives that she was abducted and abused by two Hispanic women. 

In an excerpt from the book, she wrote, “There were two very different personalities I dealt with while in captivity. One older and larger woman, we will call her Smegma. And a smaller but muscular woman, we will call her Taint. 

“Smegma was relentless. She never wavered or bent to reason, with body language that you would see in an adult male gorilla defending his turf. She didn’t like to feed me or allow me to shower. She is the monster I fear in every stranger that approaches my personal space.”

Sherri’s injuries explained

When Sherri was found, she had bindings, bruises, and rashes all over her body, a swollen nose, burns including a hole in her arm, and a Bible verse branded on her back. She was also emaciated, weighing just 87 pounds, and her hair had been cut short. 

The Bible verse was revealed to be Exodus 21:16, which reads: “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.”

Following a years-long investigation, Sherri eventually confessed to faking the whole kidnapping and making up the two Hispanic captors. Instead, she had been staying with her boyfriend, James Reyes.

He told the police that Sherri inflicted the injuries on herself. Although he wouldn’t hit her, he agreed to hold up a hockey stick for her to run into and branded her upon her request. 

Perfect Wife sparks fresh backlash

With the docu-series exploring the case once more, Sherri is facing backlash again for reinforcing a number of racist stereotypes with her made-up story. But she’s also receiving criticism for allegedly abusing her children, with some accusing her of having Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

It’s well documented that Sherri’s description of the two captors had an impact on local Hispanic communities, who were worried about traveling in pairs in case they got called in by the police. 

According to court documents, she told officers that the women wore “those big hoop earrings,” had thin, “almost drawn in” eyebrows, and listened to Mariachi music. 

Thomas Saenz, the president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, told CNN in 2022: “She fell into stereotypes about the Latino community that are far too prevalent in the population at large but clearly, she was also counting on law enforcement relying upon stereotypes.”

Following the release of Perfect Wife, numerous viewers have lambasted Sherri online, with one writing on Reddit, “The racial hatred she flared up in this community, I’ll never forgive her for.”

Another said in reference to the Smegma episode, “When I first saw the title, I was cringing thinking we were going to get too many details about the state of her hygiene when she returned… alas, just Sherri’s racism raising its ugly head again.”

There’s also much criticism about a reveal at the end of Episode 3, in which Keith claims that he found out from his daughter that Sherri used to make her children inhale rubbing alcohol fumes. 

As well as doing this when they were sick, she is accused of filling plastic bags with rubbing alcohol-soaked toilet paper and tying them around her children’s necks. When this made them sick, she’d look after them.

Although this isn’t mentioned in the true crime series, her actions sound similar to those with Munchausen syndrome by proxy, the same condition as Gypsy Rose’s mom. It’s a form of abuse whereby a caregiver deliberately makes a dependent person appear sick. 

Often, this is done to garner sympathy and attention from others, which would explain why Sherri faked her kidnapping too. It’s important to note that she has never received a formal diagnosis, but it hasn’t stopped viewers from speculating. 

“Sounds like Munchausen by proxy syndrome/attention seeking behavior… which Sherri seemed/seems to crave,” wrote one Redditor. 

Another said, “She has Munchausen syndrome by proxy! She totally made her kids sick for NO reason but to take them to the doctor for attention. This woman is a nightmare.”

Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini is streaming on Hulu now. For more true crime, look at our deep dive into Tell Them You Love Me on Netflix, how to watch the Herb Baumeister documentary, and whether Ashley Madison’s Sam and Nia Rader are still together. You can also check out the new TV shows coming to streaming this month.