Showrunner Dan Reed believes the documentary's criticism says a lot about the entertainment industry
MICHAEL Jackson's celebrity defenders have been branded "horrific" by Leaving Neverland director who said it proves how A-listers cover up fellow stars’ behaviour.
Showrunner Dan Reed believes the documentary's criticism says a lot about the entertainment industry.
Reed told Sunrise TV: "People like Barbra Streisand are coming out and saying that it was not such a bad thing and that it didn't kill them - that's horrific.
"It does tell you about attitudes in the industry - particularly among the older generation.
"Stars having their way with fans was something that was accepted and it was all brushed under the carpet because money was being made."
Icon Diana Ross was one of the Hollywood celebs rushing to Jackson's defence from allegations of child sexual abuse made in the two-part documentary.
It does tell you about attitudes in the industry - particularly among the older generation
Dan Reed
Actress Barbra Streisand shared similar viewpoints to Ross, saying the accusers were "thrilled to be there" before later apologising for her remarks.
Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin laughed off the allegations, despite being mentioned in Leaving Neverland.
Reed also addressed the fear people in his interviewees had for the lawyers of Jackson's estate.
Wade Robson and James Safechuck’s shocking abuse allegations have angered the Jackson family and his legions of fans around the world.
The Jackson estate has served HBO with a $100 million lawsuit for allegedly breaching a contract that was signed by the network and the King of Pop back in 1992, reported .
In an interview with Channel Seven, he said: "I interviewed a lot of the police investigators and spoke to other people and the level of fear was quite high.
"People are afraid of the power of his lawyers and his wealth. He was known to be extremely aggressive to anyone who crossed his path."
Last week, Reed revealed when he spoke to the sheriff's office which probed the superstar's background the officers there had no doubts he was a sex fiend.
Talking to The Morning Show in Australia, director Dan Reed said Safechuck and Robson’s allegations were thoroughly checked.
Saying “facts don’t lie, but paedophiles do,” Reed said he went in “with an open mind” and later became convinced of Jackson’s guilt.
“I didn’t approach this in a naive way. I listened very carefully to days and days and days of interview, then we went and did about 18 months of research and checked everything we could and tried to poke holes in Wade and James’ accounts,” said Reed.
“We didn’t find anything that cast any doubt on their accounts — on the contrary, we found a lot of corroborating evidence.
“I interviewed the police investigators and the sheriff’s department investigators who were part of looking into Michael Jackson’s background, and none of them had any doubts at all about his guilt.”
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