Earlier this week there was a lot of talk surrounding the casting of Michael Jackson’s nephew to play the late singer in the upcoming Lionsgate biopic. Fans and members of the media, as well as various celebrities, have expressed their views on the election, but if you ask the editor of leave the imaginary landThis is not the conversation we should be having. Director Dan Reed wants to know why more people aren’t outraged about the making of the film.
Dan Reed rose to fame as a critic of Michael Jackson in 2019 when he released the documentary. leave the imaginary land. She recounted the pop star’s long history of bizarre public behavior with young children. She also explored the public allegations against him of child abuse as well as the various deals and settlements she allegedly made with the families of other alleged victims. She also featured extensive interviews with Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who spent a lot of time with Jackson and have claimed they were sexually abused.
At the time, the documentary received a lot of exposure. It aired on HBO and caused many people to ask questions about Jackson’s behavior and legacy, but over the next four years the allegations against Jackson faded and the focus shifted to his music returning to center stage . Reed doesn’t understand why. This week he published a first-person op-ed in The Guardian and asked fans to reconsider what’s going on around the film. Here is part of the quote from him…
What the utter lack of outrage accompanying this film’s announcement tells us is that Jackson’s seduction remains a living force, operating from beyond the grave. It seems the press, his fans and the aging host who grew up loving Jackson are ready to put his unhealthy relationship with children aside and follow the music. To them I say this: even if you don’t believe a word of what their many accusers have said; Even if you don’t care about police investigations and massive payouts to stop lawsuits, how do you explain the totally indisputable fact that for years Jackson spent countless nights alone in bed with small children? What was he doing with them, alone in his room at Neverland, with alarm bells ringing in the hallway? This cannot be acceptable by any measure.
Since beginning his childhood career in The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson has sold over 400 million albums. He has won 15 Grammy Awards, had top 10 singles in five different decades and sold out concerts around the world. He is widely regarded as one of the most famous and popular musicians in history and when he died of an overdose, two billion people attended his funeral.
He also turned his home into an amusement park, had numerous close relationships with children decades his junior, and was accused in 1993 and 2005 of child sexual abuse. In the first case, no charges were ever filed and it was settled out of court. He was acquitted in the second trial. In the years that followed, several other victims filed charges.
His defenders say he was a weirdo as a child, the victim of false accusations and people trying to exploit his naivety. These defenders also point to previous statements made by Robson and Safechuck from children and young adults that the singer never abused them.
In his op-ed, Dan Reed called the lack of outrage about the project “deafening silence.” He asked why “in a moment” of “total outrage” at projects perceived as demeaning to vulnerable groups, no one is talking about the problems with this. He also asked the filmmakers directly in his op-ed how they would address Jackson’s behavior with children in the film.
At this point, it is unclear how the film, which is produced by Bohemian Rhapsodyby Graham King and directed by Antoine Fuqua, will address these allegations or his close relationship with several children. The late singer’s estate is involved, leading many to believe he won’t, but we probably won’t know until the movie finally comes out. No release date has been set, but we are likely to see it in 2024.
Source: Cinemablend
