safechuck

Leaving Neverland is a 2019 documentary film directed and produced by 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 premiere 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 media backlash against Jackson and a reassessment of his legacy. However, it boosted sales of his music. Some 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 and asserting omissions and inconsistencies in that account, was released on August 13 on Amazon Prime Video. Another rebuttal documentary, Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary, presented interviews with individuals described as having been omitted from HBO's work.In February 2019, 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 awarded to the estate. HBO denied claims of a breach of contract and filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the estate. Judge George Wu denied HBO's motion to dismiss the case, allowing the Jackson estate to compel arbitration, but granted HBO's motion to stay the arbitration proceedings with the Jackson estate pending HBO's appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Reed is developing a follow-up documentary, with Robson and Safechuck returning. On December 14, 2020, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal upheld the lower court ruling favoring the Jackson estate.