(AllHipHop News) Leaving Neverland took home an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the Creative Arts Emmys. The four-hour presentation focused on former child stars Wade Robson and James Safechuck’s sexual assault and molestation allegations against the late Michael Jackson.
Since airing on HBO in March, Leaving Neverland has been both celebrated for highlighting abuse and slammed for overlooking inaccuracies. MJ’s family members vehemently denied the global superstar molested Robson, Safechuck, or any other children before the documentary even hit television.
The Michael Jackson Estate strongly pushed back against the accusations in Leaving Neverland by providing what it called “undeniable facts” about MJ and the accusers. Additionally, representatives of the deceased “King Of Pop” responded to the controversial doc being recognized by the Television Academy.
A statement from the Estate reads, “For a film that is a complete fiction to be honored in a nonfiction Emmy category is a complete farce. Not one shred of proof supports this completely one-sided, so-called documentary which was made in secrecy and for which not one person outside of the two subjects and their families were interviewed.”
Michael Jackson’s 21-year-old daughter, Paris Jackson, also addressed the documentary and concerns it would tarnish her father’s legacy. She told her Twitter followers, “Yeah they do that to everyone with a good heart and tries to make a [difference] but do you really think that it’s possible to tear his name down? Like do you truly believe they stand a chance? Relax and have peace.”
Leaving Neverland brought in good ratings for HBO. Dan Reed’s film earned the third-largest viewership for an HBO documentary this decade. It averaged around 1.29 million viewers for its initial broadcast. In total, Leaving Neverland collected five Emmy nominations, including a nod for Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program.
