Leaving Neverland, the 2019 documentary about Wade Robson and James Safechuck’s allegations of Michael Jackson’s abuse, is getting a sequel and the trailer has been launched. Directed by Dan Reed, Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson is about to premiere without cost on Actual Tales, Little Dot Studios’ premium documentary channel on YouTube. Earlier than its streaming launch, the documentary will air on the UK’s Channel 4 on Mar. 18, after which it will likely be obtainable without cost on YouTube.
Leaving Neverland 2 continues Robson and Safechuck’s ordeal as they attempt to get some justice from Jackson’s property. Each males have accused the King of Pop of sexual abuse, and their allegations had been documented in a two-part documentary movie launched by HBO underneath their label HBO Documentary Movies. Dan Reed’s documentary was critically acclaimed, and it gained the Primetime Emmy Award for Excellent Documentary or Nonfiction Particular. Leaving Neverland sits at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, however audiences did not react the identical manner.
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The movie confronted controversy from viewers who alleged that it solely confirmed one aspect of the story, and it did not give Jackson’s aspect an opportunity to rebuke the allegations. Some believed it was biased, and the response got here in statements and documentaries that stood in opposition to the accusations by the victims. Celebrities like Corey Feldman and Macaulay Culkin had been among the many few who mentioned that Jackson had by no means proven any predatory conduct in direction of them.
Leaving Neverland was additionally the main target of a lawsuit in opposition to HBO. The lawsuit made the community’s attorneys return just a few many years to the early Nineties once they aired a particular referred to as Michael Jackson: Stay in Live performance in Bucharest. When this contract was signed, it had a clause that indicated HBO couldn’t air something that might damage Jackson’s picture. It is fairly apparent that Leaving Neverland did have an effect on the singer’s picture, however HBO claimed that the documentary was an train in free speech, and so they had the correct to air it.
Ultimately, a decide panel dominated in favor of Jackson’s property, stating that HBO had breached the contract. Though the documentary wasn’t faraway from the streamer’s library at that second, it was taken down sooner or later, and it is at present unavailable to stream anyplace.
The King of Pop’s Fall From Grace Is Not Over
Leaving Neverland 2 continues the authorized and emotional quest by those that declare to be Michael Jackson’s victims. Greater than a decade after his demise and twenty years after he was acquitted in a courtroom, Jackson nonetheless faces accusations from his grave. His songs are nonetheless performed all through your complete world, and though his legacy is unparalleled, documentaries like these solely add gas to the fireplace. Leaving Neverland was an incendiary piece, however did it assist Robson and Safechuck? Did anybody change their thoughts about Jackson?
As Leaving Neverland’s sequel retains the flame alive by way of dividing the general public’s opinion, one other Jackson-related mission is going through some delays. Michael, the artist’s biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua, was imagined to be launched in April 2025, nevertheless it has been delayed to October. The movie remains to be a part of Lionsgate’s 2025 slate, however apparently, it went via some reshoots due to its “unusable” third act that confirmed Jackson’s authorized battle in opposition to pedophilia expenses.
