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Trainwreck: The Real Project X, released on Netflix on July 8, 2025, and directed by Alex Wood, is a 48-minute documentary in the Trainwreck anthology series. It revisits a chaotic 2012 event in Haren, Netherlands, where a teen’s birthday party spiraled into a riot, inspired by the 2012 film Project X. The series explores real-life disasters, from Woodstock ’99 to the Astroworld tragedy, using archival footage and interviews.
The story centers on Merthe Marije Weusthuis (the birthday girl), a 16-year-old whose public Facebook invite went viral, drawing thousands. The chaos led to vandalism and arrests. Merthe, now 28, speaks up for the first time in 12 years about the incident. After finishing school, she pursued higher education in media and communication and is now thriving professionally in digital branding and marketing.
Merthe now lives in Dubai, thriving professionally, and is married to Mohammed Ahmed Adss since November 2024. The documentary Trainwreck: The Real Project X details her journey from infamy to a new life, showing how she transformed a painful chapter into growth.
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Merthe Weusthuis rebuilds life in Dubai after Haren’s viral chaos featured in Trainwreck: The Real Project X
In 2012, Merthe Weusthuis, a 16-year-old from Haren, Netherlands, accidentally set her birthday party Facebook event to the public, sparking chaos documented in Trainwreck: The Real Project X (Netflix, July 8, 2025). Initially inviting 78 friends, the event went viral after classmates shared it, inspired by the 2012 film Project X, per TIME.
An 18-year-old, Jorik Clarck, created a copycat event, “Project X Haren,” attracting 350,000 RSVPs. Merthe deleted her event, but the hype, fueled by YouTube trailers and merchandise, persisted, per Martincid. She fled to her aunt’s house as 3,000 people arrived, leading to riots. Around 30 people were injured, and 34 were arrested.
Directed by Alex Wood, the documentary uses Merthe’s first interview in 12 years, alongside YouTubers and officials, to show social media’s role in amplifying her mistake. As highlighted in the documentary, Merthe has spent the past decade distancing herself from the chaos. Merthe completed high school in Groningen and studied marketing at Hanze University.
She moved to Dubai in 2019, building a career in digital marketing. After completing her studies, she worked in media consulting before moving to Dubai for better opportunities. Her Instagram reflects a successful professional life and a stable personal one, as she’s been married since late 2024. Merthe’s visits to Haren stir guilt, but she’s embraced a stable life.
Haren’s 2012 riot disrupts a quiet town with viral frenzy
Before September 21, 2012, Haren, a small Dutch town of 18,000, was known for its calm, per The Guardian. Merthe Weusthuis’s public Facebook invite for her 16th birthday, inspired by Project X, changed that, as shown in Trainwreck: The Real Project X. Local businesses sold “Project X Haren” T-shirts, and YouTubers hyped the event, expecting a wild party, per Martincid.
Despite Merthe’s father begging Jorik Clarck to cancel his copycat event, 3,000 teens arrived, per Manchester Evening News. Police, unprepared after underestimating warnings, faced riots. Crowds chanted, looted shops, set a car on fire, and damaged property, and people got injured and arrested as well.
A journalist in the documentary movie remembers the event where he found his car vandalized, with footprints all over the car and a window smashed with a brick. He said he is keeping the brick as a souvenir, per TIME.
During all the chaos, Merthe was hiding at her aunt’s house and became somewhat of a pariah, per The Telegraph. Archival footage in the documentary shows the night’s intensity, with rowdy crowds clashing with police in a town unprepared for such mayhem.
Haren’s mayor, Rob Bats, resigned after ignoring warnings, and he refused to be in the Trainwreck: The Real Project X, per The Telegraph. However, the film doesn’t just focus on destruction. It also highlights how local volunteers launched “Project Clean-X Haren” the next morning, showcasing social media's capacity for both chaos and community, per Martincid.
Stay tuned for more news and updates.
