‘Very nasty man’: Michael Jackson documentary director drags new biopic

With the new Michael Jackson biopic hitting cinemas, Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed has hit out at the film and the public response to it, describing the late King of Pop as “worse than Jeffrey Epstein”. 

The Michael biopic has already faced controversy due to the fact that it avoids the allegations altogether, which star Colman Domingo explained is due to the timeline – it tells the singer’s story up to 1988, five years before the child abuse claims were made public. 

Critics have hailed it more “PR than cinema”, giving it just 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, current estimates suggest it will be a box office sensation, predicting a $150million opening weekend haul. 

The film is a celebration of MJ’s life, a stark contrast to the 2019 Leaving Neverland documentary, which explored the child sexual abuse allegations made by choreographer Wade Robson and actor James Safechuck.

The HBO series got a follow-up in 2025, Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson, which covers Robson and Safechuck’s attempts to take their cases to trial with allegations the Jackson estate has long denied. 

Filmmaker says fans ‘don’t care’ about the Michael Jackson allegations

Reed, who directed the documentaries, has long been critical of Michael Jackson – and in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he argued that public reaction to the biopic reflects a wider indifference.

“It says that people don’t care that he was a child molester. Literally, people just don’t care,” he told the outlet.

“I think a lot of people just love his music and turn a deaf ear,” Reed added, suggesting audiences are willing to separate the singer’s legacy from the allegations.

“Short of having actual video evidence of Michael Jackson engaged in sexual intercourse with a seven-year-old child, I don’t know what would be sufficient to change these people’s minds.”

He did, however, note that his intention in making the series was never to stop people from enjoying MJ’s music, but that people should also consider the claims. 

“I think Jackson was genuinely a very nasty man and hurt a lot of children. And he may have been a great entertainer, but those two things don’t cancel each other out,” he continued.  

Reed also responded to the side of the press that he claims is “sucking up to the Jackson machine,” arguing that “there’s a ton of money to be made by any kind of association with the Jackson IP” and that anyone who’s criticised Michael has had “smears” against them. 

“So a lot of people, I think, will kind of swallow any misgivings they may have and just sort of say, ‘Oh well, it’s a great jukebox movie’ and just completely ignore the fact that this guy was worse than Jeffrey Epstein,” Reed said. 

Dan Reed addresses comments from Michael director Antoine Fuqua

Prior to this, the documentarian reflected on his perception of MJ and what he learned during the making of Leaving Neverland, and he didn’t hold back. 

“I learned Michael Jackson f**ked little boys. That’s what I learned,” Reed said. 

“I don’t make documentaries about celebrities or pop music or any kind of music. I make documentaries about terror attacks and war and stuff.”

As such, he was “skeptical at first” due to how famous Michael is and the fact that there were so many rumours and versions of what happened. 

But over time, he found Robson and Safechuck’s accounts “so detailed and layered and convincing” and was able to corroborate a lot of what they said.

Finally, Reed addressed the comments from Michael director Antoine Fuqua about the various allegations against the singer. 

For the uninitiated, Fuqua told The New Yorker that he didn’t know about the truth, but added “sometimes people do some nasty things for some money,” referring to those who have filed lawsuits or accounts to the police. 

When asked about this, Reed replied, “For Antoine Fuqua to accuse people of gold digging is kind of ironic. It seems to me all the people involved in this movie are just making bank.

“How can you tell an authentic story about Michael Jackson without ever mentioning the fact that he was seriously accused of being a child molester? I just don’t really see it. 

“If anyone’s making money, it’s Michael Jackson’s estate and the people who worked on this biographical picture.”

The documentarian claimed that Robson and Safechuck haven’t made any money from their accusations.

The Michael Jackson estate has consistently denied all allegations made against the singer. Film Shrine has contacted the estate for comment.

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Featured image credit: Universal Pictures/HBO