New allegations against Michael Jackson have been made public through Leaving Neverland, a documentary directed by Dan Reed. Though it conjured shock and discomfort amongst its viewers during the Sundance Film Festiva premiere, the controversial film received a standing ovation. The production's reception also included overt criticism by Michael Jackson's estate and his supporters. Reed says he has continued to receive violent messages from the icon's fans since the screening.
“I’m getting horrible email messages from Michael Jackson fans," Reed said. "Several thousand emails in the past three weeks. Absolutely as disgusting as you could possibly invent.
"And why do people react that way? Why when two men have come forward saying they were sexually abused as a child, why do we want to shame them? Why do we want to shut them down? Why do we want to silence them? Why do we want to threaten them? I don’t understand.”
Michael Jackson's estate had issued a statement vilifying the film as a "character assassination" on the same day it premiered. Jermaine Jackson later appeared on Good Morning Britain to further his family's defense of Michael Jackson, offering details about their tumultuous relationship with one of the new accusers, Wade Robson.