The Michael Jackson biopic opened at number one in 64 countries, setting a new record for the biggest music biopic opening ever. The milestone was immediately overshadowed, however, when Dan Reed, the director of the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, went on camera and made a striking comparison, stating that Jackson was “worse than Jeffrey Epstein. ”
Reed’s comments came in a series of interviews published in late April 2026, timed to the release of the film, which stars Michael Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, and was directed by Antoine Fuqua. The documentary filmmaker’s media blitz has reignited a decades-old controversy, drawing renewed attention to the years of statements from those who knew Jackson, the results of a long-running FBI investigation, and the actions of the original accuser.
The allegations against Jackson began in 1993, when 13-year-old Jordan Chandler accused the singer of sexual abuse. Jackson denied the claims, and the case was settled civilly, with no admission of guilt and no criminal charges filed. A decade later, new allegations emerged following a documentary, leading to Jackson’s arrest and a 2005 criminal trial on 14 counts. The jury deliberated for 32 hours over seven days before acquitting Jackson on every single count on June 13, 2005.
Reports indicate that on an initial vote, before deliberations had even begun, nine of the twelve jurors had already voted to acquit. Fourteen years later, Reed released Leaving Neverland on HBO. The four-hour film, which won a BAFTA, was built entirely on the testimonies of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who claimed Jackson had abused them as children. Reed later admitted that he chose not to use footage that would have challenged his subjects’ accounts, and the documentary featured no former investigators, detectives, or cross-examination of the accusers.
The credibility of the two accusers has been a central point of contention. In 1993, both Robson and Safechuck told police that nothing had happened. In 2005, Robson testified as a defense witness at Jackson’s criminal trial, stating under oath that he had slept in Jackson’s bedroom more than 20 times but was never inappropriately touched. Safechuck also told authorities the same thing in 1993.
It was not until May 2013, four years after Jackson’s death, that Robson filed a lawsuit claiming abuse, and Safechuck followed with his own lawsuit in 2014. Actor Macaulay Culkin, one of the most famous child actors of the 1990s, has consistently supported Jackson for over three decades. In 2005, he testified under oath that Jackson never touched him or behaved inappropriately, calling the allegations “absolutely ridiculous. ” He did so against the advice of his own managers and agents.
Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau later praised Culkin and actor Chris Tucker for their loyalty, noting that both had told him, “Michael needs us, and we’re going to be there. ”
In a pre-trial interview with Larry King, Culkin explained his perspective on Jackson’s friendships with younger people, stating that he and Jackson played video games and that Jackson’s bedroom was large, which contextualized the sleeping arrangements. He also referenced the 1993 settlement, saying that if someone had done something like that to his child, he would not “just settle for some money,” but would want the person in jail. Even a decade after Jackson’s death, Culkin’s position remained unchanged.
In a 2020 interview with Esquire, referenced again in 2026 coverage, Culkin stated, “I’m going to begin with this. It’s not a lie, it’s the truth. He never did anything to me. ” He echoed this on the Inside of You podcast, saying, “The guy has passed on.
If anything, right now is a good time to speak up. If I had something to speak up about, I would totally do it. But no, I never saw anything. He never did anything.
” Culkin is also the godfather to all three of Jackson’s children. Reed’s recent statements have been particularly aggressive. In a Hollywood Reporter interview published on April 24, 2026, the day the film opened, he said, “This guy was worse than Jeffrey Epstein. People don’t care that he was a child molester.
Literally, people just don’t care. ” He told Global News Canada the same day, “Short of having actual video evidence of Michael Jackson engaged, I don’t know what would be sufficient for people. ” He also compared the biopic to a promotional film about Harvey Weinstein and accused Fuqua of making the film for money. Reed has also accused the filmmakers of deliberately covering up the allegations, but the film’s production history tells a more complicated story.
The original screenplay, written by Oscar-nominated writer John Logan, was reportedly built around the 1993 allegations, with the Jordan Chandler case serving as the backbone of the third act. Fuqua confirmed to the New Yorker that the film originally opened with the 1993 police raid on Neverland. However, the Jackson estate’s lawyers, who were also serving as producers, discovered a clause in the 1994 civil settlement with the Chandler family that legally barred Jordan Chandler from being depicted or mentioned in any film. This discovery forced 22 days of emergency reshoots, moving production from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, costing the production its state tax rebate.
The reshoots added between 10 and 15 million dollars to an already massive budget of 155 million, and the film was pushed back a full year. Lionsgate has described the film as “part one,” leaving the door open for a sequel that could cover the allegations era directly. Reed’s media campaign also comes as Robson and Safechuck pursue a $400 million civil lawsuit against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, the companies formerly owned by Jackson. The trial is scheduled for November 2026, and the Jackson estate has refused all settlement offers.
Reed has already released Leaving Neverland 2, which documents Robson and Safechuck preparing for the trial, and is reportedly working on a third documentary to cover the trial itself. The FBI investigation into Michael Jackson ran for nearly a decade, from 1993 to 2005. During the 2003 raids on Neverland Ranch, agents confiscated 16 hard drives, which were sent for full forensic analysis by the FBI’s computer analysis response team. The results were clean, with no incriminating material found on any of the drives.
In December 2009, the FBI released over 333 pages of documents, with more than 600 pages released in total. Notably, two-thirds of those files placed Jackson as a victim of extortion attempts and threats, rather than as a perpetrator. Perhaps the most significant detail involves the original accuser, Jordan Chandler. In 2004, two FBI agents contacted Chandler, who was then in his early 20s, to ask him to testify at the 2005 criminal trial.
Chandler refused, stating he would not testify against Jackson under any circumstances and would legally fight any attempt to force him to. Reports from the time also surfaced claiming that Evan Chandler, Jordan’s father, had used sodium amytal, a barbiturate with hypnotic effects, on his son during a dental procedure, leading to allegations of an induced confession. Evan Chandler had also demanded $20 million from Jackson privately to prevent the allegations from going public. On December 9, 2004, the FBI closed that line of investigation, citing no outstanding leads or evidence items.
In December 2025, the Department of Justice released over 300,000 pages of Epstein files, which included a photo of Michael Jackson standing next to Jeffrey Epstein at Epstein’s Palm Beach home. Reed used the photo to further his “worse than Epstein” narrative. However, Jackson’s former bodyguard, Matt Fiddes, came forward on December 20, 2025, stating he was physically present when the photo was taken. According to Fiddes, Jackson was looking to move to Palm Beach to be near his friend Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, and his team arranged real estate viewings at multi-million dollar properties in the area.
One of the houses on the list, which was for sale at the time, happened to be Epstein’s. The 2026 biopic continues to draw massive audiences worldwide, while the debate over Jackson’s legacy remains as contentious as ever.
