Netflix‘s three-part docuseries Michael Jackson: The Verdict has become one of the most-watched and most-contested titles on the streaming platform this year, drawing 17.8 million views in its first five days while simultaneously being hammered with one of the lowest audience ratings in recent memory.
The docuseries, which premiered June 3, debuted at No. 1 on Netflix in the United States and has since claimed the top spot on the streamer’s global charts, according to tracking platform FlixPatrol.
Despite those staggering numbers, the series holds a devastating 6% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes a stark contrast to its 80% critics’ rating as loyalists launched an organized review-bombing campaign against the project.
The three-part series, directed by Nick Green and showrun by David Herman, revisits Michael Jackson’s 2005 criminal trial, during which the King of Pop was charged with molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo at his Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, California. Jackson was ultimately acquitted on all charges.
The docuseries features firsthand accounts from jurors, prosecutors, attorneys from both sides, and journalists who covered the trial, alongside extensive archival footage from the proceedings.
Audience backlash has been immediate and vocal. Viewers on Reddit and X have claimed the series selectively edited courtroom footage to frame Jackson as guilty allegations Netflix has not publicly addressed.
Comments flooding Rotten Tomatoes describe the project as “one-sided,” “defaming a dead man for profit,” and “bad timing,” with many fans pointing to Jackson’s full legal acquittal as evidence the series misrepresents the historical record. The claims of deliberate manipulation remain unverified.
The controversy is amplified by a unique cultural collision happening in real time. Netflix released The Verdict just six weeks into the blockbuster theatrical run of Michael, the Antoine Fuqua-directed biopic starring Jaafar Jackson as his uncle.
That film has now grossed over $857 million globally — and carries the exact inverse of The Verdict‘s Rotten Tomatoes split, with critics rating it at 39% while audiences have given it a near-perfect 97%.
The two projects represent directly competing narratives about one of music’s most complex legacies. The biopic conspicuously omits any reference to the allegations against Jackson; the docuseries places them at the center. Lead prosecutor Ron Zonen, who appears in The Verdict, told TMZ this week that he has received threats from fans following the series’ release.
The renewed spotlight on Jackson’s trial has coincided with a commercial and cultural resurgence for the late artist. His Spotify monthly listener count has surged to an all-time high of 112.8 million, making him the first artist in history to reach that milestone.
Michael Jackson: The Verdict is currently streaming on Netflix.
