Dan Reed says the film recasts abuse allegations as lies and sidesteps Jackson’s relationships with children
Michael, the recently released biopic of Michael Jackson, has been severely criticised by the director of Leaving Neverland, the 2019 documentary that chronicled claims against Jackson of child sexual abuse by Wade Robson and James Safechuck.
In an interview with Variety, Dan Reed, who was subject to death threats after Leaving Neverland was released, said: “What the movie does is creates a version of events that essentially portrays Wade, James and others who’ve accused Jackson of child sexual abuse as liars without actually articulating it.”
Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, centres on Jackson’s early years and first steps as a music star, performing with his brothers in the Jackson Five and culminating with his 1988 concert in London after he had gone solo, to enormous success.
Reed said that he had seen the film and “there’s zero insight into what makes Jackson tick”, adding: “He’s this asexual plastic action doll of a figure in the film. And of course, the issue of his relationship with children is completely distorted by the fact that they portray him as an eccentric, overgrown child, which we know is not the full story.”
