Netflix Canceled Release of Controversial Prince Documentary

A documentary on Prince made by O.J.: Made in Americacreator Ezra Edelman for Netflix was cancelled in February.

In a report from Variety, the streaming service said in a statement to the outlet that it would no longer be moving forward with Edelman’s project, and would instead be working with Prince’s estate on a film.

“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,” Netflix said. “As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released.”

Last year, a New York Times magazine article was published that included details of the Edelman-led documentary. The story noted that the project included interviews with Prince’s ex-girlfriends, some of whom accused him of physical and emotional abuse. According to the Times, the documentary also touched on abuse he faced during his childhood.

Edelman’s project was a six-part docuseries; he had been given extensive access to Prince’s archives after he was enlisted to take on the documentary after replacing Ava DuVernay, who was the original director, according to Variety.

However, in June last year, the outlet, citing news publication Puck, reported that the docuseries was “dead in the water” after representatives for Prince’s estate deemed a cut of the project featured “dramatic” factual inaccuracies and other issues.

Earlier this month, Edelman snapped back about the comment in an interview on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, saying, "It's a joke... They came back with a 17-page document full of editorial issues, not factual issues. You think I have any interest in putting out a film that's factually inaccurate?"

Variety also noted that Edelman’s cut came in at nine hours — three hours over the six-hour deal for the documentary — which violated “the agreement that presumably enabled the estate to withhold music rights,” the outlet reported.

“Although Netflix and Edelman maintain final cut of the film, a Prince documentary without his music would face daunting, if not insurmountable, creative and commercial obstacles,” Variety added.

In the Times’ 2024 report, Netflix had said of the project at the time, “This documentary project has proved every bit as complex as Prince himself. We have meticulously archived Prince’s life and worked hard to support Ezra’s series. But there are still meaningful contractual issues with the estate that are holding up a documentary release.”

Editor's note: This post was originally published in February 2025 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.