Earlier in the present day (February 8), HBO revealed the dates the community will air Leaving Neverland: March three and 4. The two-part documentary, which debuted on the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, follows two males, Wade Robson and James Safechuck (now of their thirties), who say they have been sexually abused within the 1990s by Michael Jackson. Now, Michael Jackson’s Estate has penned a letter to HBO CEO Richard Plepler, denouncing the movie and its director Dan Reed.
The 10-page doc refers to Leaving Neverland as a “one-sided, sensationalist program.” The letter states that the Michael Jackson Estate was by no means contacted by Reed or anybody else related to the movie “to provide the Estate’s views on, and responses to, the absolutely false claims that are the subject matter of the program.” The Estate additionally claims that “no one else who might offer evidence to contradict the program’s premise was consulted either, as Dan Reed has publicly admitted.”
The letter claims that HBO and Dan Reed have been selective within the collection of their interview topics—selecting “not to interview anyone who would detract from their story” such because the Jackson household, individuals who labored with Jackson throughout the time interval on which the movie focuses, mates of Jackson, and a number of other others.
The Estate goes on to discuss with the documentary as “disgraceful,” and states that they’d be “happy to meet with HBO to discuss a solution.” Read the complete letter here via Deadline.
In an announcement to Pitchfork, HBO mentioned:
“Our plans stay unchanged. The two-part documentary, Leaving Neverland, will air as scheduled on Sunday, March third and Monday, March 4th. Dan Reed is an award-winning filmmaker who has rigorously documented these survivors’ accounts. People ought to reserve judgment till they see the movie.”
Leaving Neverland has been criticized by the Jackson Estate prior to now. Just days after it debuted at Sundance, the Estate issued a statement condemning the documentary and referring to the alleged victims as “perjurers.” Filmmaker Dan Reed later responded to the criticism, claiming that the statements from Jackson’s property and household have been “not consistent with having watched the movie.”
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