Director Slams Prince's Estate for Scrapping His 9-Hour Doc and Says They're 'Afraid' of the Late Icon's 'Humanity'

Mar. 15, 2025

Prince in June 2011.Photo: BERTRAND GUAY/AFP/Getty

The director ofNetflix’s scrapped Prince documentaryis speaking out.

After the streaming service and Prince’s estate announced Ezra Edelman’s long-in-the-works film would be shelved in favor of a different documentary onthe “Purple Rain” singerlast month, the Oscar-winning filmmaker reacted to the news ina March 4 appearance on thePablo Torre Finds Outpodcast.

“The estate, here’s the one thing they were allowed to do: Check the film for factual inaccuracies. Guess what? They came back with a 17-page document full of editorial issues — not factual issues,” he said. “You think I have any interest in putting out a film that is factually inaccurate?”

Edelman claimed the estate’s concerns are in regards to “who has control” over the contents of the documentary.

He expressed feeling as though Netflix is “afraid” of the “Let’s Go Crazy” artist’s “humanity,” adding that it’s “galling” to witness “the short-sightedness of a group of people whose interest is their own bottom line.”

Prince in October 2009.BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty

BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty

“The lawyer who runs the estate essentially said he believed that this would do generational harm to Prince,” said Edelman. “In essence, that the portrayal of Prince in this film — what people learn about him — would deter younger viewers and fans, potentially, from loving Prince. They would be turned off.”

In 2023,The New York Timessent reporter Sasha Weiss to a screening of Edelman’s film, which she described as a detailed portrait of Prince’s music and career, including the darker sides of his personal life, which he kept private until his death in2016 at age 57of an accidental overdose. The documentary featured both vault footage and interviews with more than 70 people.

Prince in February 2015.Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

The film reportedly touched on thedevastating loss of Prince’s infant sonwith ex-wife Mayte Garcia and his difficult childhood — and featured an interview with a former girlfriend who alleged physical abuse. One scene saw his ex-partner Jill Jones recounting a 1984 evening when punched her in the face repeatedly, per the outlet.

Netflix and Prince’s estateannounced the film would be shelved in favor of something differenton Feb. 7.

“The Prince Estate and Netflix have come to a mutual agreement that will allow the estate to develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince’s archive. As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released,” a statement read.

source: people.com