I’m a bit of a Michael Jackson fan, I’m not one of those die hard, won’t listen to reason, he definitely didn’t do it types. In all honesty, I’m more inclined to believe he was a paedophile than not believe it. However, I don’t have any strong feelings or opinions either way. There’s too much time past to actually prove anything and I don’t think anyone will ever know the truth. But let’s just say that (for the sake of argument) it was 100% proven that he did sexually abuse children… I wouldn’t be surprised. That’s pretty much my stance on the whole thing.

I grew up listening to his music and in my opinion, Bad was his last great album. After that, I think he lost his way musically and that’s when I lost interest in him, he got too ‘preachy’ in his music after Bad. So when the first wave of allegations came around in 1993 – I just didn’t really care that much and I’ve showed little interest since then with any other allegations made after those first ones.

Which brings me to this documentary that’s dividing opinions. Some say this documentary is full of shit, others think it’s a damning indictment that proves MJ’s guilt. Honestly, I really had no desire to watch it. As I said, I lost interest a long time ago. But watch it I have, we’ll the first half anyway. I didn’t watch it to form an opinion on the subject, I watched it due to the backlash that had come about due to its existence…

So far radio stations are refusing to play MJ’s music. The Simpsons producers have pulled the episode he featured in. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis has removed all of it’s MJ memorabilia. Louis Vuitton has removed it’s MJ themed clothing from sale. As for MJ’s family/estate themselves… well let’s just say they’re not impressed. It seems this documentary has ruffled a lot of feathers. That’s why I watched because I’m trying to understand the effect the documentary is having. I mean, for big name brands pulling support and radio stations not playing his music and so on… there’s got to be something in the documentary that’s pretty concrete at proving MJ’s guilt… right?

So yeah, I went into this pretty much sitting on the fence. But maybe just leaning slightly in the he’s guilty camp, but as I said before – I don’t really have any strong feelings one way or the other.

Just a quick catch-up. Leaving Neverland is a four hour, two part documentary where Wade Robson and James Safechuck claim MJ sexually abused them when they were kids. They sit there telling their stories to the camera inter-cut with home video footage of these now grown men as kids along with MJ concert footage, etc.

That’s all the documentary really is, just two grown men telling a story. Sometimes the families of the accusers chip in with a few comments, but it’s mainly just Wade Robson and James Safechuck telling of their relationships with MJ and how he sexually abused them over the years. This is where I have a big problem with this documentary as that’s it… just two guys telling a story. There’s zero evidence, zero proof of anything and just a case of ‘He Said, She Said’. The way both of them talk just feels disingenuous, it’s like they are reading off a script and not from the heart, as if they’ve practised and rehearsed each and every word and what you are watching is the best take of the day. Now I’m not saying that these guys and their families are lying… just that it feels ‘off’ and lacks genuine emotion.

As I said, this is a four hour, two part documentary split into two separate two hour parts and the first time any sexual abuse comes to light is around 40 minutes into the first part when James Safechuck claims MJ introduced him to masturbation. Then he goes on this soliloquy of quite unconvincing claims of various times he was sexually abused by MJ. There’s a part where Safechuck just lists rooms in the Neverland ranch and says “we had sex there” after each one. It all comes across as just being very “scripted”. I watch a few documentaries covering all sorts of subjects and I note how people often break down when they recount events from their past that have traumatised them. Here, there’s none of that. It’s really just two guys telling a story. A very emotionless and banal story. It’s a documentary with a lot of filler and not real meat to the stories being told. No need for this to be two hours long when what is told could’ve been told in 30-40 minutes.

The end of the first part just boils down to how Wade Robson became jealous when MJ befriended Macaulay Culkin (who for the record has always said MJ never abused him). That’s what this documentary comes across as, two now grown men jealous that MJ found other friends when they were kids.

If I went into this having no strong opinion but leaning more toward believing that MJ was guilty, then after watching this documentary… I not convinced of anything – innocence or guilt. Leaving Neverland has done nothing to sway me. This is why I’m not understanding the backlash the documentary is having. I don’t get why The Simpsons have pulled the MJ episode or why radio stations refuse to play his music and so on. Why are MJ’s family getting so upset when the documentary is so unconvincing? Because there is nothing here but hearsay. It’s a bad documentary that does nothing (in my eyes) to prove anything.

As I said, I’ve only watched the first part. Maybe the real damning evidence is in the second part? Maybe that is where the meat and reasoning for this whole backlash, for the pulling of The Simpsons episode and everything else lies? The first part is two hours of sheer boredom and unconvincing stories and I just can not fathom the fallout the documentary is creating.

I’m going to watch the second part now and see if that can change my mind and help me understand why this documentary is so controversial.