Dan Reed, director of the documentary “Leaving Neverland” about two accusations of sexual abuse against the late pop star Michael Jackson, criticized the biographical film “Michael”, promoted by the artist’s family and his estate.
Reed, Emmy winner, said he saw “Michael” in theaters during its premiere and noted that it is a film “impossible to take seriously” as a counternarrative to “Leaving Neverland.”
“The movie simply turns the truth around: black is white, white is black, and two plus two equals five; and no one who goes to see it will question it, but It is a film that is impossible to take seriously as a counternarrative to Leaving Neverland. . “It was supposed to be the answer to Leaving Neverland, and they tried it in a first script, but it failed, so they created this film of popular songs, but they have not managed to create a plausible narrative that explains Jackson’s affection for children,” Reed said in an interview with Selection.
“Leaving Neverland” follows accusations from two men who claim Michael Jackson allegedly abused them when they were children. Jackson was also accused of sexual abuse by Jordan Chandler in 1993, when he was 13 years old. This was the first abuse allegation against the pop star and was resolved in an out-of-court settlement.
The magazine asked Reed what he thought of the family producing a film that ignored the sexual abuse allegations against Jackson.
“It is well known that Jackson spent a lot of time with young children, even taking them to his bed at night and locking the door, which is indisputable. That alone, if someone reported him, would probably be enough to convict him of child sexual abuse. But with Jackson, none of this seems to matter. Neither the estate, nor the film’s screenwriter, nor anyone else has offered an alternative version, other than, well, he didn’t have a childhood, so he needed to spend the night alone with children, which makes no sense,” he said. Reed.
Before the film’s release, it was learned that several scenes addressing the sexual abuse allegations in “Michael” had to be removed because lawyers for Jackson’s estate did not realize that there was a clause in the agreement between Michael Jackson and Jordan Chandler prohibiting exposure of the abuse allegations in any audiovisual production.
In its contemporary version, the film began with a police raid on Neverland after the accusations became known. In the final version these scenes were eliminated and the film ends in the late 1980s, a few years before the first accusation against Jackson.
Reed also criticized “Michael” director Antoine Fuqua, who downplayed the sexual abuse allegations against Jackson and asserted that “sometimes people do nasty things for money.”
“That someone who has made tens of millions by spreading a false narrative about a pedophile man is disgusting. Mr. Fuqua has described his own actions while trying to discredit the subjects of my documentary, and that makes me laugh,” Reed said.
“Michael” premiered in theaters on April 24 and has become one of the most successful biographical films in history. grossed $97 million in the United States and $217 million worldwide in its opening weekendaccording to Selection.
This film surpassed any other biographical film at the box office, including “Straight Outta Compton” (2015), nominated for an Oscar in the “Best Long-established Screenplay” category, which had a debut of $60 million. “Michael” surpassed “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the 2018 Freddy Mercury biography, which opened with $51 million.
Keep reading:
·“Michael” grossed $217 million worldwide
·Paris Jackson criticizes “Michael”, the biographical film about her father: “It’s a fantasy world”
·Cascio brothers denounce “abuse” by Michael Jackson