Dan Reed, who directed Leaving Neverland– a documentary that addresses claims of sexual abuse against Michael Jackson – is criticizing the biopic in the works about the singer. Reed is concerned about the upcoming film “glorifying” Jackson despite his history of child molestation.
The filmmaker expressed his opinion publicly through a guest column published in The Guardian. He wrote:
“no one is talking about ‘canceling’ this movie, which will glorify a man who raped children…It seems that the press, his fans and the vast older demographic who grew up loving Jackson are willing to set aside his unhealthy relationship with children and just go along with the music”
The biopic was announced last week and is supposed to address Jackson’s life broadly, according to Lionsgate. However, it has not been revealed yet whether the film will also be centered around Jackson’s controversies surrounding his pedophile behavior. The film will be directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by John Logan, and produced by Graham King, John Branca, and John McClain. Reed addressed the film team through his column and wrote:
“How will you represent the moment when Jackson, a grown man in his 30s, takes a child by the hand and leads him into that bedroom? … How will you depict what happens next?”
Reed added that the biopic is sending a wrong message to survivors of child sexual abuse: “That message is: if a [pedophile] is rich and popular enough, society will forgive him.”
The director stated that he made Leaving Neverland an opportunity to allow Jackson’s victims to speak in front of the camera for the first time but also as: “an opportunity to bring to the widest possible audience an insight into how children fall victim to any sexual abuser, the psychology of the predator and, above all, the grooming process.”
Indeed, in the film, Wade Robson and James Safechuck tell their stories of abuse and describe the grooming process they suffered from Jackson. Their stories have similitudes and demonstrate a specific way of operating from the singer.
Jackson was accused multiple times of sexual abuse against children. The first allegations happened in 1993 from the father, a boy that used to go to the Neverland Ranch. The allegations ended in a settlement outside court for $22 million. There were two other cases that year that resulted in no charges. However, that investigation was reopened in 2003. That led to the singer being charged with lascivious acts with a child under 14. However, he was found not guilty in 2005. Jackson denied all allegations until his passing in 2009.
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