Brittany Luce

An audience aware of his music and greatness, but who didn't live through either round of allegations during his lifetime.

An audience without the emotional baggage that comes with watching a beloved superstar disintegrate in real time.

That doesn't mean they're unaware of the controversies.

I think that my generation is more like because we didn't grow up with him in person right in front of our face like that.

I like I don't remember having to take all of those steps.

I think I was much more ready to accept that he may have been a predator from the very first offhand mention of like, oh, you know, he was touching them kids.

I was like, oh, damn.

OK.

But maybe it's just accepted by them and a lot of people, really.

as an asterisk, a matter-of-fact piece of his legacy.

There's nothing in Leaving Neverland that I feel like I didn't hear in barbershops or at Thanksgiving when Michael was brought up.

So speaking of Leaving Neverland, it's pretty much all but disappeared, faded into the

The Jackson estate sued HBO for breach of contract on the basis of a non-disparagement clause in a deal to air one of Jackson's concerts in 1992.

Now, there were some reports that a settlement was reached and HBO agreed to permanently remove Leaving Neverland from its platforms in the U.S.

As recently as February 2026, new child abuse allegations surfaced against Jackson, though they've hardly made a dent in the media landscape.

The reality is, after the world finished collectively mourning his shocking death, the diehard fans kept being diehard fans while his music kept existing in the culture.

But many other people just moved on.

A documentary coming nearly a decade after he died may have come too late and felt redundant.

But also, leaving Neverland couldn't withstand the messiness of the internet.

Again, this is Rodney Carmichael.