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Kamiyah Mobley's family hosts watch party for Lifetime movie despite disapproval

"The truth that I wanted people to see... was not of the kidnapper or the child that had been kidnapped, but the struggle of the parents... had to go through."

On Monday morning, many people are still talking about the Lifetime movie, 'Stolen by my Mother; the Kamiyah Mobley Story.'

It aired Saturday night and opened old wounds, not just for the people involved, but for many in Jacksonville who remember when Kamiyah Mobley was stolen from a local hospital in 1998. 

She was found 18 years later in Walterboro, South Carolina living as Alexis Manigo. The woman who kidnapped and raised her, Gloria Williams, is now serving an 18-year prison sentence.

RELATED: 5 things to know about the true story behind Lifetime's 'Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story'

First Coast News' Keitha Nelson attended the watch party hosted by the family Saturday night and watched as Mobley wandered around with family members appearing uninterested in the Lifetime feature depicting her kidnapping. 

Her father, Craig Aiken, was not a fan of the movie. He told First Coast News that it wasn't real and was just for profit.

"At the end of the day, it's just a movie," Aiken said. "It's based on a true story. I don't want people to have the wrong outlook on it like this is who we are or that is who my daughter is. It's just a movie. I'm not going to be mad about it. It just is what it is."

RELATED: 'Not a true story... only for profit:' Kamiyah Mobley's father reacts to Lifetime movie airing this weekend

Many of you wanted to know why the family held a watch party if they didn't approve of it. We asked that question and Aiken said, "For me and my family to watch it together. For other people to watch it with us. To share some of the experience that my daughter went through. And before I knew they had changed the name and the script of the story, I had planned this but the show must go on and we will hold our heads up going in and coming out."   

Aiken says the family simply has a lot to celebrate, including his birthday which was this past Sunday. He says Kamiyah enjoys being around her sisters every time she's in Jacksonville.

"It's going to be kind of hard looking at it from the kidnapper's side," Aiken said. "But I have to stand for my daughter, it's her movie and I can't take that away from her. I just wish that Lifetime with this platform they have that they would have expanded it to me and her mother (Shanara Mobley) so we could get the truth out. So people can learn... so we can help other people. The truth that I wanted people to see from beginning to end was also not of the kidnapper or the child that had been kidnapped, but the struggle of the parents and the situation they had to go through."

Following the movie, Mobley said she didn't want to talk about it. Instead, her focus was on having fun with the family she was born into and recently reconnected with.

She says she's still learning her way around town and plans to attend college in Jacksonville in the near future.

If you missed the Saturday premiere of the film on Lifetime, it is scheduled to air again Monday at 2:05 a.m. and 12 p.m.

RELATED: Father | Kamiyah Mobley moving back to Jacksonville, 'This is a big step for us'

RELATED: Commentary: The Kamiyah Mobley Story was ripped from the headlines

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