'Leaving Neverland' director slams 'Michael' for presenting 'false narrative'
What's the story
Dan Reed, the Emmy-winning director of the documentary Leaving Neverland, has slammed Michael, the biopic on pop icon Michael Jackson. In an interview with Variety, he said that the film presents a "false narrative" about Jackson's life and relationships. Reed said that the portrayal of Jackson as an eccentric overgrown child distorts the truth about his relationships with children.
Misrepresentation
Reed uncomfortable with how Jackson's hospital visits were shown
Reed took issue with scenes in Michael where Jackson is seen interacting with sick children in a hospital's cancer ward. He said, "That made me feel really icky. It suggests that Jackson's engagement with children was entirely benign and motivated by nothing but philanthropy." "I'm not calling for Jackson to be 'canceled' and for nobody to listen to his music, but Wade (Robson) and James's (Safechuck) story needs to be respected as well."
Truth distortion
'Why are they dancing around it?'
Reed further claimed that Michael flips the truth on its head. He also questioned why the film doesn't address the abuse allegations against Jackson. "Why are they dancing around it?" he asked. The film ends in the 1980s before any abuse allegations were made against Jackson, but Reed believes these events should have been included in the narrative.
Director's response
'False narrative around a man who's a pedophile...'
Reed responded to director Antoine Fuqua's comments about the abuse allegations against Jackson. Fuqua had said that "sometimes people do nasty things for money." Reed countered this by saying, "Someone who's made tens of millions pushing a false narrative around a man who's a pedophile, that's a nasty thing." He added, "Mr. Fuqua has described his own actions while attempting to smear the protagonists of my documentary, and that makes me laugh."
Film criticism
'Michael' has been criticized for 'sanitizing' Jackson's image
Michael, directed by Fuqua and written by John Logan, has been criticized for "whitewashing" and "sanitizing" Jackson's image. The film stars Jaafar Jackson as the lead and chronicles his life from the 1960s to the 1980s. Despite mixed reviews, it has performed well at the box office in India, earning ₹25.31 crore so far, as per Sacnilk.