Leaving Neverland: Ofcom dismiss complaints over Michael Jackson documentary

The media watchdog said the 'allegations were very clearly presented as personal testimonies'

Hundreds of complaints against Channel 4’s Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland have been rejected by Ofcom.

The media watchdog received 230 complaints alleging that the film presented claims of sexual abuse claims against the late singer as fact despite not being proven in court.

Leaving Neverland centres on two men, James Safechuck and Wade Robson, who claim Jackson molested them as children.

The Jackson estate has called the documentary a “public lynching” and are suing HBO – who co-produced the film with Channel 4 – for $100 million.

Ofcom has said the allegations were balanced by references to the singer’s family denying the accusations, and viewers would not be substantially misled by the Channel 4 programme.

A spokesman for Ofcom said: “We understand that this two-part documentary gave rise to strong opinions from viewers.

“In our view, the allegations were very clearly presented as personal testimonies and it was made clear that the Jackson family rejects them.”

There were also four complaints about the level of detail in the description of sexual abuse that were rejected. Ofcom has said the descriptions were to be expected in a programme shown after the watershed, and with clear audience expectations as to its sexual content.