‘Leaving Neverland’ Pulled From HBO In 2024, Reasons Examined Amid The Successful Run Of ‘Michael’

Antoine Fuqua’s Michael has managed to pull audiences to the theatres, even though the movie’s content left the critics divided. Released on April 24, 2026, it features Michael Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, playing the lead role. Viewers have appreciated the film’s authenticity in terms of recreating the King of Pop’s iconic singles and Jaafar’s performance at the same time.

Michael Jackson passed away in June 2009. Following his sudden demise, many documentaries based on his life have been made over the years. While Antoine Fuqua’s film avoided Michael’s controversies for certain reasons, they were addressed in another documentary, Leaving Neverland, released directly on HBO in 2019. However, the documentary is nowhere to be found now. Keep reading to know what went wrong!

Leaving Neverland and its subject received criticism from Michael Jackson’s estate

Photo credit: PBS

Leaving Neverland created records with the highest viewership on HBO when it arrived in 2019. It was directed by Dan Reed, covering the child sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson, which surfaced back in the ‘90s. Following its premiere, the documentary was criticised by Jackson’s estate. Notably, the estate was reportedly speaking up against the documentary ever since it was confirmed to be released on HBO.

The Los Angeles Times obtained a statement in 2019, where Jackson’s estate described Leaving Neverland as a “tabloid character assassination” that was suffered by Michael. The estate claimed that the documentary treated the allegations as facts, adding that the lawsuits filed against the artist were dismissed by the court a long time ago. The estate continued by saying that the documentary’s director admitted at the Sundance Film Festival that he spoke only to those who made the allegations alongside their families. The statement referred to the director and added:

“He intentionally avoided interviewing numerous people over the years who spent significant time with Michael Jackson and have unambiguously stated that he treated children with respect and did nothing hurtful to them. By choosing not to include any of these independent voices who might challenge the narrative that he was determined to sell, the director neglected fact checking so he could craft a narrative so blatantly one-sided that viewers never get anything close to a balanced portrait.”

Dan Reed opens up on the circumstances leading to the removal of Leaving Neverland

Photo credit: The Hollywood Reporter

Dan Reed appeared for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on April 22, 2026, where he opened up on other details related to Leaving Neverland. Dan was questioned about the whereabouts of the film during the conversation. Reed replied by saying that Michael Jackson’s estate had an agreement with HBO, which was also signed by the late artist for a concert recording in 1992. The agreement had a non-disparagement clause, which stated that HBO is not allowed to say “anything nasty” about Jackson. Dan continued:

“Somehow the estate managed to persuade HBO to come to an amicable settlement. And that involved, after six years on the platform, taking Leaving Neverland down. HBO has a license only until 2029. So after that, I can resell it and make it available again. The sequel went out on YouTube in the U.S., which is pretty unsatisfying.”

Photo credit: YouTube

Dan Reed also directed the follow-up, Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson. The documentary was released directly on Channel 4 on March 18, 2025. While criticising Dan’s 2019 documentary, Jackson’s estate clarified that they are sympathetic to anyone who has been a victim of child abuse. However, they mentioned that Reed’s film was a “disservice” to the victims.

Jaafar Jackson shares a social media post addressing the success of Michael

Michael created headlines before the release, as it went through reshoots, alongside removing some controversial details related to Jackson. The movie ends in 1988, where Michael Jackson performs in the Bad tour. Although a potential sequel has been teased, the makers have not confirmed anything from their side so far.

Jaafar Jackson recently took to his Instagram handle to share a post on April 26, 2026, addressing the success of the biographical film. Notably, Jaafar added a poster, which says that Michael is the “#1 Movie in the World,” alongside the music of Jackson’s 1979 single, Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough. Jaafar wrote below the poster:

“Wow so incredible to see!! The world has spoken and everyone is showing out. Thank you thank you thank you!!! [heart emoji] I couldn’t be happier and more grateful.”

While Jaafar has already thanked everyone through his recent Instagram post, he appeared in a new meme that has started getting a lot of attention on social media. The meme was shared through the official handle of the film on X on April 26, 2026. It shows Jaafar recreating a moment from Thriller, where Michael Jackson was watching a film while having popcorn. Jaafar appears on the meme with a background showing a Verified Hot rating for the film on Rotten Tomatoes. 

What are your thoughts about Leaving Neverland and its removal from HBO? Let us know.

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