A fiery clash erupts over Michael Jackson's new biopic Michael, as the director of Leaving Neverland blasts it for ignoring child abuse claims. Dan Reed calls the film a "false narrative" that paints the pop icon as innocent fun-loving kid-lover, flipping truth upside down. With fans packing theaters despite backlash, will this controversy dim the King of Pop's glow?
Dan Reed's Strong Criticism On Biopic
Emmy-winning filmmaker Dan Reed, director of the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, has slammed the biopic Michael for promoting a "false narrative" about Michael Jackson's alleged sexual abuse of children. In an interview with Variety, Reed said the film "just flips the truth on its head" by showing Jackson only in a positive light with kids. He argued that portraying Jackson as "an eccentric, overgrown child" distorts his real relationship with children, which is "not the full story."
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Scenes That Upset Dan Reed
Reed felt "really icky" about biopic scenes where Jackson visits sick children in a hospital cancer ward, as they suggest his time with kids was "entirely benign and motivated by nothing but philanthropy." He stressed, "I'm not calling for Jackson to be 'canceled' and for nobody to listen to his music, but Wade and James' story needs to be respected as well." Reed noted the movie portrays accusers like Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who shared abuse accounts in Leaving Neverland, as liars without saying it outright. The biopic ends in the 1980s, dodging later allegations, and offers no counter-story from Jackson's estate or writers.
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Clapback At Director Fuqua
Reed hit back at Michael director Antoine Fuqua's comment that "sometimes people do nasty things for money" about the accusers. "Someone who's made tens of millions pushing a false narrative around a man who's a paedophile, that's a nasty thing," Reed replied. He added, "Mr. Fuqua has described his own actions while attempting to smear the protagonists of my documentary, and that makes me laugh."
Michael Biopic Details And Box Office
Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, Michael stars Jaafar Jackson, Michael's nephew as the lead, with Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Miles Teller, and Colman Domingo. It covers Jackson's rise from Jackson 5 in the 1960s to solo hits like Off the Wall and Thriller. Critics slam it for "whitewashing" Jackson's image, but fans love it, in India alone, it has earned Rs 21.15 crore so far. Leaving Neverland won an Emmy, though Jackson's estate called it "a complete fiction" that is "completely one-sided."