Why Oprah Winfrey was needed to take a stand in the Leaving Neverland controversy

The Daily Beast

Oprah's After Neverland special proved that "we needed Oprah," says Kevin Fallon. The Monday special, airing on HBO and OWN, continued the important work of the Leaving Neverland documentary, "doing what the confessional-focused documentary couldn’t in its four-hour running time by contextualizing and explaining the psychology of abuse to viewers at home," says Fallon. As Oprah explains in the special, “this moment transcends Michael Jackson. It is much bigger than any one person. This is a moment in time that allows us to see this societal corruption that is like a scourge on humanity.” Thus Oprah was perfect choice for an aftershow special on the controversial documentary. "In all of the think-piecing, debating, and reporting on Leaving Neverland, a special like this, especially from a person like Winfrey, was needed to distill what we’ve seen, what it means, and to allow us talk about how we can reckon with it, process it, learn from it, grow from it, and stop it from happening again," says Fallon. "She is right: this moment transcends Michael Jackson. But it takes a person like Oprah Winfrey to make that happen. There is no discounting or underselling the dignity and validation she just gave, not just to (accusers Wade) Robson and (James) Safechuck’s stories, but to all survivors by using her platform in this way, and amidst such volatile feelings about this documentary."

ALSO:

• After Neverland was a rare kind of a narrative platform, harkening back to Oprah's 2010 special episode on male childhood sexual abuse: "By treating her interview subjects’ stories with this kind of rigor and familiar thoughtfulness, Winfrey—like (director Dan) Reed—reframes the lens through which abuse allegations are discussed," says Hannah Giorgis, who adds that the special was "framed as a kind of communal healing from the effects of this plague."
• Leaving Neverland deepens the shadow over Martin Bashir's 2003 ABC documentary Living with Michael Jackson
• Canadian radio stations have begun pulling Michael Jackson's music following Leaving Neverland