The Creative Arts Emmys ceremony went down over the weekend, with Leaving Neverlandtaking home the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special honors. Not long after, the estate of the late Michael Jackson—the subject of the controversial HBO special—shared a statement in which the family again questions the veracity of the film.
"For a film that is a complete fiction to be honored in a nonfiction Emmy category is a complete farce," the estate said in a statement cited by Entertainment Tonight in a report filed Sunday. "Not one shred of proof supports this completely one-sided, so-called documentary which was made in secrecy and for which not one person outside of the two subjects and their families were interviewed."
Dan Reed's film had been nominated in the category alongside other widely discussed docs like Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened and Minding the Gap.
Neverland was directed and produced by Reed and centers on the sexual abuse allegations against Jackson from Wade Robson and James Safechuck. The singer's estate has released several statements to media outlets since promo for the HBO special began, including requests to the network to completely shelve the project. Leaving Neverland ultimately premiered across two nights on HBO in March.
In August, HBO asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit from the estate in which it was alleged that the network had breached contract. The network's legal team says the contract in question is "inapplicable and expired." According to the most recent updates, a hearing date is set for Sept. 19.
