Leaving Neverland

Leaving Neverland
File:Film Poster for Leaving Neverland.jpg Television release poster
Directed by	Dan Reed
Produced by	Dan Reed
Starring	Michael Jackson (archival footage) Wade Robson James Safechuck
Cinematography	Dan Reed
Edited by	Jules Cornell
Music by	Chad Hobson
Production company	Amos Pictures
Distributed by	HBO Channel 4 Kew Media
Release dates	January 25, 2019 (2019-01-25) (Sundance) March 3, 2019 (2019-03-03) (United States) March 6, 2019 (2019-03-06) (United Kingdom)
Running time	236 minutes 189 minutes (UK version)
Countries	United States United Kingdom
Language	English

Leaving Neverland is a 2019 documentary directed and produced by the British filmmaker Dan Reed. It focuses on two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who allege they were sexually abused as children by the singer Michael Jackson.

The film is a co-production between the UK broadcaster Channel 4 and the US broadcaster HBO. Following its premier at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019, it was broadcast on HBO in two parts in March 2019 and as a shortened version on Channel 4. It received acclaim from critics, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, but it received mixed reviews from viewers.

The documentary resulted in a backlash against Jackson and a reassessment of his legacy. However, it boosted sales of his music. Others dismissed the film as one-sided and questioned its veracity; the Jackson estate condemned it as a "tabloid character assassination". The film led to protests from Jackson's fans. Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth, a documentary challenging the allegations of Leaving Neverland, was released on August 13 by Amazon Prime Video.

On February 21, the Jackson estate sued HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 contract. The suit sought to compel HBO to participate in a non-confidential arbitration that could result in $100 million or more in damages rewarded to the estate. HBO denied claims of a breach of contract and filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the estate. On September 20, Judge George Wu issued a ruling that denied HBO's motion to dismiss the case, allowing the Jackson estate to compel arbitration.

Synopsis

Jackson with James Safechuck (right) in Hawaii, January 1988

Director Dan Reed described Leaving Neverland as a "study of the psychology of child sexual abuse, told through two ordinary families ... groomed for twenty years by a pedophile masquerading as a trusted friend." In the film, Robson and Safechuck allege that Jackson sexually abused them when they were children, Safechuck beginning in 1988, Robson beginning in 1990. They give graphic descriptions of Jackson's sex acts, including masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex, which they allege took place at his home, Neverland Ranch, and other locations.

The two men say that these acts were regarded as "romantic" and did not realize they were inappropriate until adulthood. Safechuck says Jackson once took him shopping for an engagement ring, which he kept as memorabilia, and held a mock wedding. He began therapy in 2013 and recalled his trauma for the first time. Stephanie Safechuck, his mother, describes feeling elated and dancing when Jackson died in 2009. Robson says Jackson told him to distrust women. Both men claimed that Jackson tried pushing them away from their families and "brainwashing" them. Jackson allegedly sent the two men "love letters" and set up security systems at Neverland to prevent other people from witnessing their sexual acts.

Safechuck says Jackson eventually replaced him with Brett Barnes, and Robson says he was replaced by actor Macaulay Culkin, because Jackson preferred prepubescent boys. Robson says he was given Jackson memorabilia as a child; he is photographed burning those items at the end of the film.

Background

In 1993, singer Michael Jackson was accused of sexually molesting 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. Jackson denied the claims and settled the case out of court for a $15 million payment, and no charges were filed after a criminal investigation due to a lack of evidence and testimony from the alleged victim. In 1996, Jackson made an out-of-court settlement with the mother of another boy, Jason Francia, for more than $2 million, who previously told police that Jackson never molested him. The Francias never filed a lawsuit.

In 2005, Jackson was criminally tried for several counts of child molestation charges following concerns raised in the 2003 documentary Living with Michael Jackson. He was seen holding hands in the documentary with 12-year-old Gavin Arvizo and talked about sharing a bed. Jackson was acquitted of all charges. In 2011, choreographer and former friend of Jackson, Wade Robson approached John Branca, co-executor of the Michael Jackson Estate, about directing the Michael Jackson-Cirque du Soleil joint production Michael Jackson: One. Robson wanted the job badly, but the Estate chose someone else for the production. In 2012, Robson stated he had a nervous breakdown caused by his obsessive quest for success. He said, during this time, his career began to "crumble." In the same year, Robson failed to find a publishing deal for book alleging that he was sexually abused by Jackson.

In 2013, Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old; the suit was reportedly worth up to $1 billion. The following year, James Safechuck, another former friend of Jackson, filed a case alleging he was sexually abused over a four-year period from the age of ten. He said he realized he was abused by Jackson after seeing Robson on television. A probate court dismissed his suit in 2017. Both men had previously testified that Jackson never molested them—Safechuck as a child during the 1993 investigation and Robson as a child in 1993 and as a young adult in 2005.

In 2015, Robson's case against Jackson's estate was dismissed on the grounds of being "untimely and should be dismissed." The ruling was not a judgement on the validity of Robson's accusations. Robson's attorney Maryann Marzano said the ruling would be appealed against and the accusations would be pursued against Jackson's business entities. In 2017, it was ruled that the corporations formerly owned by Jackson could not be held accountable for Jackson's alleged past actions. Their individual lawsuits have been appealed.

Production

Leaving Neverland was conceived by Channel 4 editors. After Reed produced enough material to make a four-hour film, the HBO network joined the production. He felt the length was necessary to present the story "in a way that makes it fully understandable in all its complexity." Reed said he did not use the film to comment on Jackson's actions or motivations and did not want to interview other key figures because they might complicate or compromise the story he wanted to tell. The UK version of the film was trimmed by 47 minutes.

In February 2017, Reed and assistant producer Marguerite Gaudin flew to Hawaii to interview Robson who agreed to tell his story chronologically and omit no unpleasant details. A camera failed shortly after shooting began, but a solution was found; shooting continued until nighttime and continued throughout the second day. Reed traveled to Los Angeles later that week to shoot Safechuck's story in two days. Reed said that Robson, Safechuck, and their families received no financial compensation for the film.

After filming, Reed returned to London and began corroborating the stories. Wondering how Robson and Safechuck's mothers could have allowed their sons to be allegedly abused, he returned to Los Angeles in November 2017 and interviewed their families. The interview discussing the wedding ring with Safechuck was filmed in July 2018. Reed decided that footage he had shot of former detectives and prosecutors from the 1993 case and the 2005 trial was unnecessary.

Reed was unable to contact Jordan Chandler for the documentary and assumed he preferred to remain private. Reed also said the Chandler and Arvizo stories could form the basis for a second documentary.

The documentary was scored by Chad Hobson. Hobson said his approach was to "imagine a walk through a beautiful and magical forest ... But as you travel deeper into the forest it becomes darker, more distorted, the limbs of the trees becoming more twisted and sinister."

Release

Leaving Neverland premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019. For television, it was split into two parts broadcast on March 3 and 4 on HBO in the US and March 6 and 7 on Channel 4 in the UK. The Channel 4 version was edited from four hours to three to create space for commercials. It broke Channel 4 streaming records and became the most downloaded Channel 4 show ever, and took a 45% share of young television audiences. 2.1 million watched Part 1 on Channel 4, and 1.9 million watched Part 2. In the US, Part 1 drew a 0.4 rating and 1.285 million viewers, the third-largest audience for an HBO documentary this decade behind Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief and Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Part 2 drew a 0.3 rating and 927,000 viewers in its initial airing.

Kew Media Group sold the documentary to channels in 130 territories. In New Zealand, the first episode was watched by 716,000, making it one of the most watched non-sporting non-news broadcasts in the country's history. Netherlands broadcaster VPRO referred viewers to the Mind Korrelatie foundation for victims of sexual abuse, and attracted callers in large numbers.

The US broadcast was followed by Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland (recorded March 2, 2019), in which Robson, Safechuck, and Reed were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey before an audience of victims and their families. Winfrey later spoke of the "hateration" she received from people who negatively criticized the film and Jackson's supporters, yet said her support of the accusers has not wavered.

Channel One Russia planned to release the film on nighttime television on March 15, but relegated it to their website, available until March 20, due to "mixed reception, speculation, and aggression from both supporters and opponents of the film".

Music

Leaving Neverland: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released by Redrocca in the U.S. and UK on digital formats on 1 April 2019 and is the official soundtrack album. The music was issued due to the composer gaining support requesting it to be released. The album's score contains 19 tracks all composed by Chad Hobson.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Leaving Neverland holds an approval rating of 98% based on ninety-two reviews, with an average score of 7.97/10. Its consensus states: "Crucial and careful, Leaving Neverland gives empathetic breadth and depth to the complicated afterlife of child sexual abuse as experienced by adult survivors." On Metacritic, it holds a weighted average of 85 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on twenty-two reviews.

In Vanity Fair, Owen Gleiberman described the two men's stories as "overwhelmingly powerful and convincing". Hank Stuever of The Washington Post thought the documentary was "riveting" and "devastating", ending his review with a plea: "Turn off the music and listen to these men." Melanie McFarland of Salon believed the film's "intent isn't to merely grant these men and their families a platform to air their stories in all their painful fullness, but to place the viewer inside the perspectives of everyone who was taken in by the dream...it does leave the viewer in the thorny clarity of what we know now." Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe wrote that the film was not "particularly imaginative", yet he admired how it chronicled Robson's and Safechuck's emotional narrative: "It accounts for every stage of their respective recoveries, which are still in progress, including their darkest feelings of fear, denial, and shame."

In Entertainment Weekly, Kristen Baldwin gave the film a B grade. She criticized it as "woefully one-sided" and concluded: "As a documentary, Leaving Neverland is a failure. As a reckoning, though, it is unforgettable." In The Hollywood Reporter, Daniel Fienberg wrote: Leaving Neverland is "about the 20+ years...Robson and Safechuck [held secrets, lied, covered up] — and the damage that can do — as it is about the alleged crimes." He concluded, "it's doubtful you'll feel exactly the same after watching." The Daily Telegraph awarded it five out of five, describing it as "a horrifying picture of child abuse."

David Fear wrote in Rolling Stone: "By offering these men a forum, this doc has clearly chosen a side. Yet the thoroughness with which it details this history of allegations, and the way it personalizes them to a startling degree, is hard to shake off." IndieWire's David Ehrlich wrote that the film was "dry" and "hardly great cinema," but that it was "a crucial document for a culture that still can't see itself clearly in Michael Jackson's shadow." Alissa Wilkinson described the documentary as "a devastating case" that "may forever" change Jackson's legacy. In the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper described it as a "devastating and undeniably persuasive film."

Leaving Neverland earned the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and the TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information.

Criticisms of allegations

In January 2019, the Jackson estate issued a press release condemning the film: "The two accusers testified under oath that these events never occurred. They have provided no independent evidence and absolutely no proof in support of their accusations." In February 2019, the estate filed a $100 million lawsuit against HBO, petitioning a court to compel their arbitrate cooperation regarding the film's broadcast. As Jackson is dead, HBO cannot be sued for defamation. Instead, the estate claimed HBO had violated a 1992 agreement never to disparage Jackson's public image, stipulated in the terms for broadcasting his concert film Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour. On the day of the HBO premiere of Leaving Neverland: Part One, the estate posted Live in Bucharest on YouTube. The next day, to coincide with the broadcast of Part Two, the estate posted another concert film, Live at Wembley July 16, 1988.

Fans of Jackson demanded the Sundance Film Festival cancel the screening. At the Sundance premiere, Robson and Safechuck said they had received death threats from some fans. Fans organised protests outside Channel 4's office, an internet campaign against the film, and a crowdfunded campaign placing posters with the slogan "Facts don't lie. People do" on public transport. On March 13, Transport for London announced it would remove the adverts after the charity Survivors Trust complained that they could discourage victims of sexual abuse from coming forward.

American actor Corey Feldman, a friend of Jackson since a child, called the documentary "one-sided" and said Jackson never approached him inappropriately. He later said that his comments "[weren't] meant in any way to question the validity of the victims". Singer Aaron Carter, a friend of Jackson as a child, stated that he remembered his friend as "an amazing guy" and reiterated his support for Jackson. Brett Barnes and American actor Macaulay Culkin, both of whom were insinuated as victims in the film, also denied any inappropriate behavior from Jackson. American singer Barbra Streisand spoke in Jackson's defense, saying "his sexual needs were his sexual needs" and that the accusers had been "thrilled" to be with him. She added that the accusers were "both married and they both have children, so it didn't kill them". Streisand later apologized and expressed sympathy for the accusers.

English singer Boy George expressed skepticism about the documentary: "It's just taken almost for granted that this is what happened and therefore we all should accept it." American singer Madonna, who was a friend of Jackson, told British Vogue: "I don't have a lynch-mob mentality, so in my mind, people are innocent until proven guilty ... Are there people asking for money, is there some kind of extortion thing happening?" Joey Fatone of NSYNC, who had worked with Robson at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, also expressed skepticism: "[At the time] it seemed like nothing was going on, that's the whole thing. To come out later on and have these repercussions, it's kind of weird and interesting because you never know what's true."

Jackson's niece Brandi Jackson told John Ziegler of Mediaite that Jackson had introduced her to Robson, and she and Robson began dating around the time Robson claimed to have been molested. She said that her experience with Robson contradicted his story of abuse. In an interview with Billboard, Brandi said that "the only thing he said was how blessed he was to have Michael as a business partner and a friend". Three of Jackson's brothers, and Taj Jackson, his nephew, denounced the film, saying it had no new facts to corroborate the allegations. A former bodyguard of Jackson dismissed claims of child sexual abuse, saying that Jackson was heterosexual. A second bodyguard condemned the film for omitting Robson and Safechuck's lawsuits against the Jackson estate.

Journalist Charles Thomson, who wrote about media bias against Jackson and has investigative experience in child molestation and child murder cases, told podcast host John Ziegler: "[Robson and Safechuck] have previously testified under oath, under intense cross-examination, [have] maintained for twenty years a consistent story about Michael Jackson being innocent, and they come forward and completely change their story. That in itself is discrediting."

Jackson biographer Mike Smallcombe argued that Safechuck's claims of sexual abuse at Neverland's train station from 1988 to 1992 could not be true because the train station was not built until 1994. Reed responded: "There seems to be no doubt about the station date. The date [the accusers] have wrong is the end of the abuse." He said that Safechuck was present at Neverland before and after the construction of the station, and that it was "just one of the many locations where James remembers sexual activity taking place". Smallcombe replied to Reed; accusing him of trying to "change" Safechuck's timeline. Smallcombe also criticised the documentary for omitting the debts Robson and Safechuck allegedly owe Jackson's estate in court costs.

A 30-minute documentary rebutting the claims in the film, Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary, was released on YouTube on March 30, 2019. It was directed by journalist Liam McEwan and features interviews with Jackson's family and colleagues. Another documentary challenging the film, Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth, was released on August 13.

On August 13, 2019, a video of Wade Robson's 2016 video deposition leaked online. The video showcases Robson contradicting his as well as his mother, Joy Robson's allegations that were made in Leaving Neverland.

Backlash against Jackson

The documentary led to a media backlash against Jackson in some quarters. All Cogeco-owned stations in Canada pulled his music from their playlists,, but has since added Jackson's music back in rotation. NH Radio in the Netherlands and MediaWorks New Zealand, New Zealand Media and Entertainment and Radio New Zealand also pulled Jackson's music. An episode of The Simpsons guest-starring Jackson, "Stark Raving Dad", was pulled from circulation; writer Al Jean said he believed Jackson had used the episode to groom boys for sexual abuse. A London concert produced by Jackson collaborator Quincy Jones removed Jackson's name and album titles from its advertisements; the organizers said the modified artwork reflected the show's broader inclusion of Jones' repertoire unrelated to his work with Jackson. "Weird Al" Yankovic indefinitely dropped his song parodies of Jackson's music from his Strings Attached Tour.

Film producer Jodi Gomes said she and the Jackson family had been working on a new documentary about the Jackson 5 for their 50th anniversary. The project was canceled after the broadcast of Leaving Neverland. However, Gomes believes Jackson's legacy will live on "from this generation to the next". Items of Jackson's clothing and a Jackson poster were removed from the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, but Jackson's photographs from the museum's Ryan White exhibit were kept. Fashion house Louis Vuitton canceled Jackson-inspired products planned for its 2019 collections. American artistic gymnast Katelyn Ohashi removed Jackson's music and Jackson-inspired dance moves from her floor routine at the 2019 PAC-12 Championships. The city council of Brussels cancelled plans to dress the Manneken Pis sculpture in Jackson's signature clothing.

Aftermath

Despite the negative publicity, Jackson's honors were not rescinded, as happened following sexual assault allegations made against Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein, and there were no mass calls to stop playing his music, as happened following allegations against R. Kelly. His combined music sales, including his work with the Jackson 5, increased 10%. Streams of his music and videos increased 6%, rising from 18.7 million between February 24 and 26 to 19.7 million between March 3 and 5. His videos were viewed 22.1 million times, an increase of roughly 1.2 million from the week prior, and three of his albums re-entered the UK iTunes chart.

In June 2019, around the time of the tenth anniversary of Jackson's death, various industry executives said that his legacy would endure. Darren Julien, president of Julien's Auctions, which has sold millions of dollars' worth of Jackson memorabilia, said: "He still commands prices compared to most any other celebrity." Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell said she interviewed about thirty music executives who believed Jackson's legacy could withstand the controversy. In a Guardian article reassessing Jackson's legacy, biographer Margo Jefferson expressed her support for Jackson's accusers and concluded: "The task is to read the art and the life fully as they wind and unwind around each other, changing shape and direction."

Public arbitration

On February 7, 2019, Howard Weitzman, attorney for the Jackson estate, wrote a lengthy letter to HBO chief executive Richard Plepler criticizing the documentary, which was about to be aired, and attacked HBO's decision to do so in disregard for journalistic ethics. The letter said that HBO is "being used as part of Robson's and Safechuck's legal strategy [both of which are currently seeking appeals]," and that director Dan Reed intentionally did not choose to interview anyone who detracted from the story. The letter mentioned that the two accusers had been caught lying in testimony, and the documentary would only bolster their credibility. "HBO is facing serious competitive pressures from Netflix, Amazon and other more modern content providers, but to stoop to this level to regain an audience is disgraceful…. We know that this will go down as the most shameful episode in HBO's history," the letter said.

On February 21, the Jackson estate sued HBO for violating a non-disparagement clause in a 1992 contract by agreeing to run the documentary. The suit sought to compel HBO to litigate the issue in a public arbitration process and claimed that the estate could be awarded $100 million or more in damages. The suit accused HBO of fabricating lies with a financial motive. HBO did not stop the airing of the documentary on March 3.

On February 28, Plepler resigned from HBO. He was rumored to have chafed under the leadership of John Stankey, WarnerMedia's new chief. The Jackson estate said Plepler "must have known" about the 1992 contract between HBO and Jackson, since he worked as senior vice president of communications then. It was later revealed in September 2019 that Plepler resigned three days after an unnamed shareholder wrote a letter criticizing, among other things, Plepler's green-lighting of Leaving Neverland, arguing that it opened the company up to a nine-figure lawsuit.

On May 2, HBO's lawyers Daniel Petrocelli and Theodore Boutrous filed an opposing motion arguing that the contract expired once both sides fulfilled their obligations. HBO contended that the estate's interpretation of the clause as conferring perpetual immunity from disparagement, even beyond the grave, was excessively broad. They argued that such interpretation would "run afoul of the public policy embodies in numerous California statutes to protect children from sexual abuse" and "legitimize the creation of a category of wealthy, powerful or famous individual who could…preserve for themselves via contract posthumous control over how they are portrayed and described in a way that ordinary citizens cannot." Bryan Freedman, an attorney for the estate, responded, "If HBO thinks the contract does not apply or is expired then why are they opposing adjudicating it? The reason why is because they know they were complicit in this one-sided farce of a money grab that clearly violates the agreement…. Let this be a warning to all talent that HBO will disregard the truth and distribute fictitious one-sided content in violation of the artists’ rights it promised to protect."

The Jackson estate aimed to have a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to compel an arbitration before the American Arbitration Association. HBO said there was no enforceable agreement that had not expired and covered Leaving Neverland. They argued that an over-reading of the 1992 contract would violate both its due process rights and the First Amendment; under the Federal Arbitration Act, the federal judge had to decide the "gateway issues of validity and arbitrability." The Jackson estate called these arguments "classic tautology," and that it "assumes the very conclusion that HBO wants an adjudicator to reach in this dispute, i.e., that there are no remaining obligations under the Agreement."

HBO filed a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion against the estate on August 29. It pointed to the "extraordinary" origins of the case. The estate argued that its petition is a federal issue, under the Federal Arbitration Act, hence the California SLAPP law should not take precedence. They said, "Breaching an agreement by refusing to arbitrate is not constitutionally protected activity. And even if it were, the Jackson Estate has shown a probability of success on that claim." The SLAPP law provides an automatic right to an immediate appeal, which may bring the case to the Ninth Circuit.

On September 19, Judge George Wu tentatively denied HBO's motion to dismiss the estate's lawsuit. John Branca, co-executor of the estate, said HBO has been trying to suppress the other side of the story. "I've never seen a media organization fight so hard to keep a secret," Branca said. On the following day, Judge Wu gave a final ruling to deny HBO's motion to dismiss the case, granting the Jackson estate's motion to compel arbitration.

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special	Leaving Neverland	Won
	Outstanding Picture Editing For Nonfiction Programming	Jules Cornell	Nominated
	Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program	Dan Reed	Nominated
	Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	Ross Millership, Poppy Kavanagh	Nominated
	Outstanding Sound Mixing For Nonfiction Programming (Single or multi-camera)	Matt Skilton, Marguerite Gaudin	Nominated
35th TCA Awards	Outstanding Achievement in News and Information	Leaving Neverland	Won

See also

• Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary
• Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth
• 1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson
• Trial of Michael Jackson

External links

• Official website
• Leaving Neverland on Channel 4
• Leaving Neverland at IMDb
• Leaving Neverland at Metacritic
• Leaving Neverland at Rotten Tomatoes