Last month, Netflix shelved a nine-part Prince documentary directed by Ezra Edelman in favor of a new, estate-approved project. Now, Edelman has gone on the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out to blast the streaming giant and Prince’s estate for their “short-sightedness” and being “afraid” to show his flaws.
“It’s a joke… I can’t get past this — the short-sightedness of a group of people whose interest is their own bottom line,” Edelman told Torre. “They’re afraid of his humanity.”
He also said that Prince’s team sent a list of editorial changes rather than checking the film for historical accuracy. “You think I have any interest in putting out a film that is factually inaccurate?” he said, while noting the actions were similar to Prince’s own reputation as a control freak.
Edelman called the docuseries “a gift,” saying it was “a nine-hour treatment about an artist that was, by the way, fucking brilliant.” He added, “Everything about who you believe he is, is in this movie. You get to bathe in his genius. And yet you have to confront his humanity.”
However, Edelman admitted to not shying away from Prince’s flaws: “People had issues with how he treated people — he was emotionally abusive, he was physically abusive.” Watch clips of the podcast episode below, followed by the full thing.
Edelman, who is best known for directing O.J.: Made in America, spent five years working on the documentary, which included footage from Prince’s archive alongside interviews with many of his friends, collaborators, business partners, and lovers.
Before Netflix announced in February that the project was being shelved, The New York Times Magazine published a lengthy report, revealing it alleged physical and emotional abuse committed by Prince. However, writer Sasha Weiss ultimately described its whole as “an act of witness and a kind of accompaniment for a lonely musical genius.”
Still, Prince’s estate believed the doc “misrepresented” his legacy after seeing an early cut, triggering a “protracted battle” with Netflix that resulted in a new documentary touting “exclusive content from Prince’s archive.”
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time details have emerged about Prince’s darker side. In a 2021 interview with The New York Times, Sinéad O’Connor recalled a terrifying confrontation with Prince at his Hollywood mansion and said he was “a violent abuser of women.”
The new Prince documentary isn’t the only project about the late artist in the works. Last year, it was reported Ryan Coogler is set to produce a jukebox musical movie featuring Prince’s music.
Oscar-winning director Ezra Edelman speaks for the first time about Netflix and Prince’s estate mutually agreeing to not release his documentary.
“It’s a joke. … I can’t get past this — the short-sightedness of a group of people whose interest is their own bottom line. They’re… pic.twitter.com/Q8xsIsuRsY
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) March 4, 2025
“There’s multiple people who told me that, based on Prince’s brain, he basically almost felt that he was being punished for his sins. People had issues with how he treated people — he was emotionally abusive, he was physically abusive.”
Director Ezra Edelman explains the complex… pic.twitter.com/6ypTAX1AL1
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) March 4, 2025
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