Michael Jackson documentary opens old wounds before premiere

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By Daniel Arkin

The lineup at this year’s Sundance Film Festival includes buzzy documentaries about some polarizing names: ex-film producer Harvey Weinstein, former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, and the McCarthy-era lawyer Roy Cohn.

But those festival debuts have not created nearly as much of a pre-release firestorm as “Leaving Neverland,” a four-hour documentary about two men who claim they were sexually abused by the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

The film, slated to premiere at Sundance on Friday morning before airing on HBO and Britain’s Channel 4 in the spring, has already riled many fans and infuriated Jackson’s family, who have blasted it as an “outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on” the iconic artist, whose estate earned $75 million in 2017, Forbes reported.

Jackson, who long professed his innocence and died in 2009, was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005. “Neverland,” named for the sprawling California ranch where the singer once lived, could nonetheless put fresh scrutiny on his complicated life and artistic legacy.

“If there’s anything we’ve learned during this time in our history, it’s that sexual abuse is complicated, and survivors’ voices need to be listened to,” Dan Reed, the film’s BAFTA-winning director, said in a statement.

The film focuses on the accounts of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, both of whom claim they were befriended and then physically abused by Jackson when they were children. Robson and Safechuck, who are now adults and were interviewed at great length for the documentary, were not available to comment for this article, according to their attorney, Vince Finaldi.

“Neverland” comes on the heels of “Surviving R. Kelly,” a six-part Lifetime series that examined sexual, emotional and physical abuse allegations against the embattled R&B star. The series inspired a renewed reckoning with Kelly’s alleged misdeeds. Sony Music, his record label, cut ties. Lady Gaga and Chance the Rapper apologized for collaborating with him. Kelly, 51, has consistently denied the allegations against him.

source: nbcnews.com