Leaving Neverland
Leaving Neverland is a 2019 documentary television film directed and produced by Dan Reed. The documentary focuses on two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who allege they were sexually abused as children by the American singer Michael Jackson.
Following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019, Leaving Neverland was broadcast in two parts on HBO; a shortened version was broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in March 2019. The film received critical acclaim, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, but mixed reviews from viewers.
Leaving Neverland triggered 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; Jackson's estate condemned it as a "tabloid character assassination", while Jackson's fans organized protests. A number of rebuttal documentaries seeking to refute the allegations were released. In February 2019, the Jackson estate sued HBO and later won their case against HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 Jackson concert contract by distributing the film. A sequel, Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson, premiered on March 18, 2025.
Synopsis
Director Dan Reed described Leaving Neverland as a "study of the psychology of child sexual abuse, told through two ordinary families... groomed for twenty years by a pedophile masquerading as a trusted friend." In the film, Wade Robson and James Safechuck allege that Jackson sexually abused them when they were childrenSafechuck from 1988 to 1992 and Robson from 1990 to 1996. They give graphic descriptions of Jackson's alleged sex acts, including masturbation, oral sex and anal sex, which they say took place at his home, Neverland Ranch, and other locations.Robson and Safechuck claim that Jackson said these acts were "romantic," and that they did not realize they were inappropriate until adulthood. Safechuck also claims that Jackson took him shopping for an engagement ring and later held a mock wedding. Safechuck alleges that around the time of Jackson's criminal trial in 2005, he told his mother that Jackson "wasn't a good person." Safechuck asserts to have begun therapy in 2013, thus recalling his trauma for the first time. Safechuck's mother Stephanie describes feeling elated and dancing upon hearing of Jackson's death in 2009: "'Oh thank God, he can't hurt any more children!' Those were my thoughts." Robson says Jackson told him to distrust women. Both men claimed that Jackson tried pushing them away from their families and "brainwashing" them. Jackson allegedly sent the two men love letters and set up security systems at Neverland to prevent other people from witnessing the abuse.
Safechuck says Jackson eventually replaced him with Brett Barnes; Robson claims he was replaced by the actor Macaulay Culkin, who is two years older, because Jackson preferred prepubescent boys. Robson says he was given Jackson memorabilia as a child, and is photographed burning the items.
Background
Prior accusations against Jackson
In 1993, Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler. Jackson denied the claims and settled the case out of court for US$23 million. No charges were filed after a criminal investigation due to a lack of evidence and testimony from Chandler. In 1996, Jackson made an out-of-court settlement with the mother of another boy, Jason Francia, for more than US$2 million, who, in 1993, previously told police that Jackson never molested him. The Francias never filed a lawsuit. In 2005, Jackson was criminally tried for several counts of child molestation following concerns raised in the 2003 documentary Living with Michael Jackson. In that film, he was seen holding hands with 12-year-old Gavin Arvizo and talked about sharing a bed with him. Jackson was acquitted of all charges.Safechuck and Robson lawsuits
Robson states in his 2013 complaint that he had suffered two nervous breakdowns in April 2011 and March 2012. In 2013, Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old; the suit was reportedly worth US$1.5 billion. The following year, Safechuck filed a lawsuit alleging he was sexually abused by Jackson over four years, beginning when he was ten years old. Safechuck said he realized he was abused by Jackson after seeing Robson on The Today Show in 2013. A probate court dismissed Safechuck's suit in 2017. Both men had previously testified that Jackson never molested them—Safechuck as a child during the 1993 investigation, and Robson as a child in 1993 and as a young adult in 2005.In 2015, Robson's case against Jackson's estate was dismissed because it was "untimely." His attorney, Maryann Marzano, said they would appeal the ruling and that they would pursue Jackson's business entities. In 2017, it was ruled that the corporations formerly owned by Jackson could not be held accountable for his alleged past actions. The rulings were appealed because of a change in California law that extended that statutes of limitation. On October 20, 2020, Safechuck's lawsuit against Jackson's corporations was again dismissed, with the presiding judge ruling that as a matter of law, Jackson's companies had no duty to keep Safechuck safe from Jackson's alleged predation. On April 26, 2021, Robson's case was dismissed because of a lack of supporting evidence that the defendants exercised control over Jackson. In 2023, an appellate court overturned the decisions and allowed both cases to move to a jury trial.
Production
Leaving Neverland was conceived by Channel 4 editors. After Reed produced enough material to make a four-hour film, HBO joined the production. He felt the length was necessary to present the story "in a way that makes it fully understandable in all its complexity." Reed said he did not use the film to comment on Jackson's actions or motivations and did not want to interview other key figures because they might complicate or compromise the story he wanted to tell. The UK version of the film was trimmed by 47 minutes.In February 2017, Reed and the assistant producer Marguerite Gaudin flew to Hawaii to interview Robson, who agreed to tell his story chronologically and without omitting details. A camera failed shortly after shooting began, but a solution was found; shooting continued until nighttime and continued throughout the second day. Reed traveled to Los Angeles later that week to shoot Safechuck's story in two days. Reed said that Robson, Safechuck, and their families received no financial compensation for the film.
After filming, Reed returned to London and began corroborating the stories. Wondering how Robson's and Safechuck's mothers could have allowed their sons to be abused, he returned to Los Angeles in November 2017 and interviewed their families. The interview in which Safechuck discusses and shows the wedding ring was filmed in July 2018. Reed decided that footage he had shot of former detectives and prosecutors from the 1993 case and the 2005 trial was unnecessary.
Reed was unable to get into contact with Jordan Chandler for the documentary and assumed he preferred to remain private. Reed also contacted Gavin Arvizo, but got no response. Reed also said the Chandler and Arvizo stories could form the basis for a second documentary.
The documentary was scored by Chad Hobson. His approach was to "imagine a walk through a beautiful and magical forest... But as you travel deeper into the forest it becomes darker, more distorted, the limbs of the trees becoming more twisted and sinister."
Release
Leaving Neverland premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019. For television, it was split into two parts, broadcast on March 34 on HBO in the US and on March 67 on Channel 4 in the UK. The Channel 4 version was edited from four hours to three to create space for commercials. It broke Channel 4 streaming records and became the most downloaded Channel 4 show ever, taking a 45% share of young television audiences. An audience of 2.1 million watched Part 1 on Channel 4, and 1.9 million watched Part 2; after 28-days of catch-up viewing, improving substantially to 5 million and 4 million respectively. In the US, Part 1 drew a 0.4 rating and 1.285 million viewers, the third-largest audience for an HBO documentary in the decade, behind only Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief and Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Part 2 drew a 0.3 rating and 927,000 viewers in its initial airing.Kew Media Group sold the documentary to channels in 130 territories. In New Zealand, the first episode was watched by 716,000, making it one of the most-watched broadcasts in the country's history not involving sport or news. Dutch broadcaster VPRO referred viewers to the MIND Korrelatie organization for victims of sexual abuse, and attracted callers in large numbers.
The American broadcast was followed by Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland, in which Robson, Safechuck, and Reed were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey before an audience of victims and their families. Winfrey later spoke of the "hateration" she received from Jackson's supporters and others who criticized the film, yet said her support of the accusers has not wavered.
Channel One Russia planned to release the film on nighttime television on March 15, but relegated it to their website, available until March 20, because of "mixed reception, speculation, and aggression from both supporters and opponents of the film". A soundtrack album was released by Redrocca in the US and UK in digital format on April 1, 2019.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, Leaving Neverland holds an approval rating of 98% based on 96 reviews, with an average score of 8/10. Its consensus states: "Crucial and careful, Leaving Neverland gives empathetic breadth and depth to the complicated afterlife of child sexual abuse as experienced by adult survivors." On Metacritic, it holds a weighted average of 85 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 23 reviews.In Vanity Fair, Owen Gleiberman described Safechuck and Robson's stories as "overwhelmingly powerful and convincing". Hank Stuever of The Washington Post thought the documentary was "riveting" and "devastating", ending his review with a plea: "Turn off the music and listen to these men." Melanie McFarland of Salon believed the film's "intent isn't to merely grant these men and their families a platform to air their stories in all their painful fullness, but to place the viewer inside the perspectives of everyone who was taken in by the dream... it does leave the viewer in the thorny clarity of what we know now." Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe wrote that the film was not "particularly imaginative", yet he admired how it chronicled Robson's and Safechuck's emotional narrative: "It accounts for every stage of their respective recoveries, which are still in progress, including their darkest feelings of fear, denial, and shame."
In Entertainment Weekly, Kristen Baldwin gave the film a B grade. She criticized it as "woefully one-sided" and concluded: "As a documentary, Leaving Neverland is a failure. As a reckoning, though, it is unforgettable." In The Hollywood Reporter, Daniel Fienberg wrote: Leaving Neverland is "about the 20+ years... Robson and Safechuck — and the damage that can do — as it is about the alleged crimes." He concluded: "It's doubtful you'll feel exactly the same after watching." The Daily Telegraph awarded it five out of five, describing it as "a horrifying picture of child abuse".
David Fear wrote in Rolling Stone: "By offering these men a forum, this doc has clearly chosen a side. Yet the thoroughness with which it details this history of allegations, and the way it personalizes them to a startling degree, is hard to shake off." IndieWire