“Leaving Neverland” director Dan Reed is speaking out against the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic.
Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson will portray the King of Pop in Lionsgate’s upcoming biopic “Michael,” directed by Antoine Fuqua. In a Sunday op-ed in The Guardian, Reed said the film will “glorify a man who raped children.”
“In an era when full-throated outrage accompanies anything that smells of delegitimization or insensitivity against a vulnerable group, it amounts to a deafening silence,” Reed wrote. “No one is talking about ‘canceling’ this movie, which will glorify a man who raped children.”
According to the studio, the biopic will unpack Jackson’s road to fame, “including his most iconic performances that led him to become the greatest entertainer of all time.” The film will also cover accusations that Jackson molested children.
READ MORE: Jaafar Jackson, Nephew of Michael Jackson, to Play King of Pop in Biopic
Jaafar, the son of Jermaine Jackson and Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza, will make his acting debut with “Michael.”
“It’s incredibly exciting to watch Jaafar bring Michael to life,” Fuqua said in a statement to Variety. “There was such a spiritual connection when I first met Jaafar, who has a natural ability to emulate Michael and such a great chemistry with the camera.”
The biopic comes four years after “Leaving Neverland,” which unpacked MJ’s alleged sex crimes against white children.
“Here was an opportunity to bring to the widest possible audience an insight into how children fall victim to any sexual abuser, the psychology of the predator and, above all, the grooming process,” Reed said about his motivation to produce the documentary. “Maybe we could help prevent young children from falling prey to this most scarring, crippling of crimes.”
Reed states that “Jackson’s seduction is still a living force, operating from beyond the grave.”
“It seems that the press, his fans and the vast older demographic who grew up loving Jackson are willing to set aside his unhealthy relationship with children and just go along with the music,” Reed continued. “By sidestepping the question of Jackson’s predilection for sleeping with young boys, you are broadcasting a message to millions of survivors of child sexual abuse. That message is: if a paedophile [sp] is rich and popular enough, society will forgive him.”
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