Since the Michael Jackson biopic was announced, there have been questions about how the film will cover the allegations of abuse made against the pop icon in the years before his passing. The film's director Antoine Fuqua has previously stated the film will present an “unbiased” image of Jackson, but according to the director of Leaving Neverland, that may not be the case.
Dan Reed, who directed the 2019 documentary centered on the abuse allegations against Michael Jackson, said the film was “a complete whitewash” of the pop star's image that tries to downplay the severity of the allegations, according to Deadline.
“It’s an out-and-out attempt to completely rewrite the allegations and dismiss them out of hand, and contains complete lies,” Reed said. “You never even see him alone with any boys, when it is a matter of fact that he shared his bed with small children for many years.”
Reed's harsh words come from his own experience researching the child sexual abuse allegations levied against Jackson for the two-part HBO documentary Finding Neverland. The documentary centered on the alleged experiences of Wade Robson and James Safechuck while visiting Neverland Ranch between 1988 and 1996, which is also the matter of an ongoing lawsuit by the pair against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures.
While the documentary received praise from critics, audience reaction was far more mixed. Many viewers praised the documentary for exposing Jackson's alleged acts while other condemned the film for attempting to assassinate Jackson's character since he could no longer defend himself.
Reed is hardly the first person to voice these concerns about the biopic, though, as one report suggested the film was going to try and “convince” audiences of Jackson's innocence. Director Antoine Fuqua pushed back against this idea, saying he had thoroughly researched Jackson's life and wanted to “humanize but not sanitize” the star's “complicated” life.
Michael is scheduled to release in theaters on April 18, 2025.
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