Leaving Neverland director unsurprisingly unhappy with Michael’s success

To say that Michael Jackson has his fans is an understatement, at the time of writing, the recently released biopic, Michael, is on track to hit $300 million worldwide, sits at a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and will no doubt see a monolithic rise once again once it hits streamers and rental services. But, of course, one person who is unsatisfied with the success is that of Dan Reed, the director behind Leaving Neverland.

As expressed in a Variety feature, the controversial doc focused on the allegations lobbed at the singer was rife with problems from Jackson loyalists who believed he could do no wrong. The doc was largely centered around Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two accusers who were lavished with gifts and forced to do sexual acts with the King of Pop. Unlike other cases, Robson and Safechuck were spared the silence others were put under.

What Leaving Neverland‘s director thinks

This leads us to the thoughts of Reed, whose own documentary was pulled from its streaming service home over a non-disparagement clause in a contract signed by HBO pushed by the Michael Jackson Estate, granted all hope isn’t lost for those wanting to see the doc. When speaking about the director’s statement about people doing nasty things for money, he attributes that to pushing “a false narrative around a man who’s a pedophile” and it “makes me laugh.”

“Someone who’s made tens of millions pushing a false narrative around a man who’s a pedophile, that’s a nasty thing. Mr. Fuqua has described his own actions while attempting to smear the protagonists of my documentary, and that makes me laugh.”

Leaving Neverland was a massively controversial documentary released back in 2019 that caused quite a ruckus. Theaters had to seek law enforcement back up to ensure the safety of the people as Jackson loyalists would go the route of turning in terrorist threats to theaters who showed the doc. Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson was spared a similar fate as a different studio picked up the rights and released it to YouTube.