The allegations against Michael Jackson have been around for decades but Leaving Neverland brought the claims of the accusers back into a mainstream conversation. After the docuseries aired, Oprah hosted After Neverland, a Q&A with Wade Robson and James Safechuck. As you could imagine, she faced a serious amount of backlash. In a recent interview with Trevor Noah, she opened up about why she was okay with taking a bullet in order for Michael's accusers to speak.
Per Hollywood Reporter, during the "Between The Scenes" segment of The Daily Show, Oprah opened up about the backlash she faced after doing the After Neverland. "I haven’t had that much hateration since I did the puppy episode with Ellen [DeGeneres, the episode in which DeGeneres came out as gay]," she joked.
“I realized that a lot of people were going to get triggered by watching [Leaving Neverland]. And a lot of people will not understand what the pattern is,” Oprah said. “I had done 217 shows trying to get people to understand that it’s not about one person; it’s about the pattern, it’s about the seduction,” she continued. “People call it ‘molestation,’ but there is a big seducing that goes on, and the pattern of that seducing. And that was important enough for me to take the hateration for it."
While Oprah was okay with taking the "hateration" at the time, it appears as though she and HBO have been trying to distance themselves from the controversy. Earlier this week, it was reported that HBO has stopped airing Leaving Neverland while Oprah's clips from After Neverland are no longer available on her YouTube channel.