{"id":2735,"date":"2026-04-29T13:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/staging-filmshrine\/?p=2735"},"modified":"2026-04-29T13:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:18:09","slug":"michael-jackson-documentary-leaving-neverland-director-drags-new-biopic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/04\/29\/michael-jackson-documentary-leaving-neverland-director-drags-new-biopic\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Very nasty man’: Michael Jackson documentary director drags new biopic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 \u201cworse than Jeffrey Epstein\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s story up to 1988, five years before the child abuse claims were made public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Critics have hailed it more \u201cPR than cinema\u201d, giving it just 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, current estimates suggest it will be a box office sensation, predicting a $150million opening weekend haul.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film is a celebration of MJ\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

The HBO series got a follow-up in 2025, Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson, which covers Robson and Safechuck\u2019s attempts to take their cases to trial with allegations the Jackson estate has long denied.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Filmmaker says fans ‘don\u2019t care’ about the Michael Jackson allegations<\/h3>\n
\"Michael
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\u201cIt says that people don\u2019t care that he was a child molester. Literally, people just don\u2019t care,\u201d he told the outlet.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people just love his music and turn a deaf ear,\u201d Reed added, suggesting audiences are willing to separate the singer\u2019s legacy from the allegations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShort of having actual video evidence of Michael Jackson engaged in sexual intercourse with a seven-year-old child, I don\u2019t know what would be sufficient to change these people\u2019s minds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He did, however, note that his intention in making the series was never to stop people from enjoying MJ\u2019s music, but that people should also consider the claims.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019t cancel each other out,\u201d he continued.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n