Whereas everybody who isn’t depraved believes that R. Kelly is a monster, following the hardcore series Surviving R. Kelly, opinion on Michael Jackson remains divided.

Michael’s life has once again been thrust into the limelight in the wake of Leaving Neverland, which is the work of British director Dan Reed.

We’ve covered some of what’s contained in the explosive doccie before, but now HBO has released the official trailer, following its airing at Sundance.

The two-part, four-hour film has been called “devastating” and “complicated and heartbreaking” by critics, as well as being panned by Jackson’s estate.

Time to dive in:

Director Reed is well versed in the criticism the movie faces, as the Guardian reports:

“This is not a movie about Michael Jackson,” said director Dan Reed to Variety. “This is not a movie about Michael Jackson abusing little boys. It’s a movie about two families and how two families came to terms with what their sons revealed to them many years after Jackson died.”

…Since the film premiered, some Jackson fans have attacked the director and the two accusers.

“There is also this league of fans who are almost like a cult, and they say very nasty things [about the film] on social media,” Reed said to Vice. “And their words echo the two-decade-long rhetoric of the Jackson family and legal team, which is shaming the victims. It happens often in these cases. It’s what they do very aggressively and relentlessly, and I don’t think you can get away with that in 2019 like you could in the past.”

Time and time again, people who come forward and speak about sexual assault from years gone by are demonised, shamed and dismissed, and we wonder why so many powerful people have got away with their crimes for so long.

Jackson fans may watch Leaving Neverland and seek to discredit the two men who feature at every opportunity.

Thankfully, there are many who won’t.

[source:guardian]