Tobias Sylvester
Fans were left shocked after watching the long anticipated “Leaving Neverland”, a documentary which focuses on the alleged sexual abuse history of Micheal Jackson.
The Leaving Neverland documentary was premiered on Friday, January 25, 2019, in Park City, Utah where the festival is holding.
According to Huffington Post, the four-hour documentary reveals the testimony of two accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck who claimed to have been abused by the iconic pop star when they were children.
The reaction to the first part of the film has been mostly negative from tweets posted by some of the spectators. Mara Reinstein, a film critic with Us Weekly referred to Michael Jackson as a pedophile. She tweeted:
“Shaking. Wow. We were all wrong when we cheered for Michael Jackson. He was a pedophile.”
Shaking. Wow. We were all wrong when we cheered for Michael Jackson. He was a pedophile. #LeavingNeverland #SundanceFilmFestival2019
— Mara Reinstein (@MaraReinstein) January 25, 2019
Feel sick to my stomach after watching Part 1 of #LeavingNeverland doc. Michael Jackson witnesses/sex abuse victims coming off very credible. It’s so sexually explicit that counselors are in the lobby. #SundanceFilmFestival2019
— Mara Reinstein (@MaraReinstein) January 25, 2019
After the documentary had been shown to the audience, a Q&A session was held where the sex abuse survivor noted that the film is one that can help those like him in their recovery.
A film reporter Adam B. Vary recalls the comment offered by a sexual abuse victim who was at the screening of “Leaving Neverland”. He tweeted:
“The LEAVING NEVERLAND Q&A is over, and I’m going to write a more thorough report. I will never forget the man who stood up and said he had been abused as a kid, and that the film will do a lot more good in the world “than Michael fucking Jackson.”
https://twitter.com/adambvary/status/1088903415864938496
