Apple TV+ secures Oprah Winfrey film on music industry sexual misconduct

Apple has secured another in-production documentary presented by Oprah Winfrey for Apple TV+, with the untitled film dealing with allegations of sexual misconduct in the music industry and expected to debut on the streaming service in 2020.

The documentary, which currently does not have a title, will follow a former music executive who was allegedly assaulted by a major figure in the industry. The Apple TV+ film will observe the executive as they come to terms with the prospect of going public with the story, and likely how it could impact both parties.

While presented by Winfrey, the documentary will be filmed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, documentarians who previously were nominated for an Oscar, as well as securing two news and documentary Emmy awards and a Peabody, for US military rape documentary "The Invisible War." The Hollywood Reporter advises the pair also received an Emmy nomination and a Producer's Guild Award for "The Hunting Ground," a 2015 film about sexual assault on college campuses.

The duo were also behind "The Bleeding Edge," a documentary about the $400 billion medical device industry and how the industry pushes implanted devices on the market while still dealing with the need for clinical trials. "The Bleeding Edge" was released in 2018 on Netflix.

Dick and Ziering's Jane Doe Films will be producing the new feature, with executive producers including Winfrey, Terry Wood, Dan Cogan, Regina K. Scully, Ian Darling, and Abigail Disney.

Winfrey's connection to the project is likely to be one of the reasons why it was picked up by Apple for Apple TV+. The former talk-show host and media mogul is working with Apple on a reincarnation of her famous book club, while at the same time helping to present other films and shows for Apple TV+ itself.

Two documentaries already linked to Oprah for Apple TV+ include "Toxic Labor," which will cover the subject of workplace harassment, while a second will be a mini-series covering mental health.

36 Comments

hodar 366 comments · 14 Years

About 4 years ago

The documentary, which currently does not have a title, will follow a former music executive who was allegedly assaulted by a major figure in the industry. The Apple TV film will observe the executive as they come to terms with the prospect of going public with the story, and likely how it could impact both parties.

So if I understand correctly, someone without any evidence whatsoever, gets to publicly accuse another person of sexual abuse, play the "victim card" on national TV; and the accused must prove his/her innocence in the court of public opinion. The accused may have their career/reputation/marriage destroyed either out of revenge, malice, or just to appease the ego of the accuser - without recourse, appeal or way to recover their reputation.

All in the name of "entertainment".

I am no fan of sexual abuse, in fact if it were up to me, it would be a capital offense - but we do have a legal system to handle this sort of thing, where the rights of the accuser and the accused are both respected, where evidence is required, and proof of guilt is required. This is a mockery of justice, masquerading as a "Documentary". If you want to do a real documentary on sexual abuse, there are countries that practice slavery, where children are sold as sex slaves - but that would be asking too much.

fastasleep 6450 comments · 14 Years

About 4 years ago

hodar said:

The documentary, which currently does not have a title, will follow a former music executive who was allegedly assaulted by a major figure in the industry. The Apple TV film will observe the executive as they come to terms with the prospect of going public with the story, and likely how it could impact both parties.

So if I understand correctly, someone without any evidence whatsoever, gets to publicly accuse another person of sexual abuse, play the "victim card" on national TV; and the accused must prove his/her innocence in the court of public opinion. The accused may have their career/reputation/marriage destroyed either out of revenge, malice, or just to appease the ego of the accuser - without recourse, appeal or way to recover their reputation.

All in the name of "entertainment".

I am no fan of sexual abuse, in fact if it were up to me, it would be a capital offense - but we do have a legal system to handle this sort of thing, where the rights of the accuser and the accused are both respected, where evidence is required, and proof of guilt is required. This is a mockery of justice, masquerading as a "Documentary". If you want to do a real documentary on sexual abuse, there are countries that practice slavery, where children are sold as sex slaves - but that would be asking too much.

You’re sure making a lot of assumptions here, so I’m going to guess that no, you do not “understand correctly”. You have no idea what evidence they have or what’s been vetted by these award-winning documentarians, whom I would venture to guess take this project quite seriously.