The sequel to the explosive 2019 Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland is set to release on YouTube after the original landed HBO is legal troubles. In the two-part original, Wade Robson, 42, and James Safechuck, 46, alleged they were sexually abused by the “Thriller” singer, starting from when they were seven and ten, respectively, and extending to when they were both 14.
The HBO documentary negatively affected Jackson’s public image in the immediate aftermath, with some radios removing his music from playlists and The Simpsons pulling his episode from circulation. In the long run, however, the popularity of his music and name was not impacted — at least not to the extent of what has happened to the reputations of artists like R. Kelly and Diddy. This could be one of the reasons director Dan Reed couldn’t find a more profitable home for his sequel.
The new documentary will follow Robson and Safechuck in their journey to seek legal action against the Jackson estate. According to Jackson was still alive. In the documentary, they explain that the birth of their children motivated them to finally come out with the truth.
Robson and Safechuck first sued MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, Jackson’s production companies, in 2013 and 2014, respectively, for failing to protect them against the abuse, but combined their cases in 2024. The most recent update on their case came in August of last year when a judge denied the men access to Jackson’s criminal file from when he was accused of child molestation in the early 1990s, citing “procedural problems.”
Before that, in 2023, a California appeals court ruled that their lawsuits could move forward to trial after they had been dismissed in 2020 and 2021. Back then, a Los Angeles judge argued the companies had “no legal ability” to control the singer because he was their sole owner. But the appeals court disagreed, stating, “A corporation that facilitates the sexual abuse of children by one of its employees is not excused from an affirmative duty to protect those children merely because it is solely owned by the perpetrator of the abuse,” and adding, “It would be perverse to find no duty based on the corporate defendant having only one shareholder. And so we reverse the judgments entered for the corporations.”
No trial date has been set for the case as yet, but the new documentary could put pressure on the justice system. Though YouTube does not have the prestige of HBO, it could result in the new film reaching wider audiences, since it will be available for free on the platform’s Real Stories channel from the Little Dot Studios Network.
The former took over distribution from HBO after the first documentary landed the legacy network in hot water with the Jackson Estate. According to Deadline, “U.S. courts ruled that Leaving Neverland constituted a breach of a non-disparagement clause in a 1992 contract for an HBO concert special on Jackson’s ‘Dangerous’ tour.”
Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson is expected to land on YouTube for American and Canadian audiences shortly after it first airs on Britain’s Channel 4 on Mar. 18.
Published: Feb 26, 2025 09:06 am