Michael Jackson doc director challenges ‘cult of celebrity’

“The cult of celebrity is pernicious and it leads people to go blind and parents to do stupid things,” says Dan Reed, director of a new Michael Jackson documentary.

His film, Leaving Neverland, first made headlines in January, when it was considered so graphic that mental health professionals had to be on hand at a screening.

Showing at Sundance Festival, the four-hour film featured the testimonies of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who say they were sexually abused by the singer as young boys in the 1990s.

The Jackson estate has denied the allegations and made a number of attempts to discredit the film, calling it “an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in” after the singer’s 2009 death.

But Reed tells the BBC he hopes his film will “make parents think twice about trusting strangers and will make people think twice about idolising a celebrity”.

With a week until its release on Channel 4, Reed has spoken about the power of the testimonies of Robson, 36 and Safechuck, 40.