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Alanis Morissette Criticizes HBO’s ‘Jagged’ documentary, says it “includes implications and facts that are simply not true”

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Alanis Morissette Criticizes HBO’s ‘Jagged’ documentary, says it “includes implications and facts that are simply not true”

Alanis Morissette slammed the documentary “Jagged,” before it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday, calling it “reductive” and “salacious.”

Morissette has blasted the picture about her life, claiming it contains “implications and facts that are simply not true.” She has stated that she would not be supporting the HBO documentary, which is about her ascent to prominence and the release of her groundbreaking album “Jagged Little Pill.”

Morissette said in a statement, “I agreed to participate in a piece about the celebration of ‘Jagged Little Pill’s’ 25th anniversary and was interviewed during a very vulnerable time (while in the midst of my third postpartum depression. I was lulled into a false sense of security and their salacious agenda became apparent immediately upon my seeing the first cut of the film. This is when I knew our visions were in fact painfully diverged. This was not the story I agreed to tell.”

Morissette participated in the documentary, which tracks the Canadian pop star’s rise to fame and raises challenging issues about the music industry.

Morissette appeared in the film, which was directed by Alison Klayman, and sat for long interviews. However, in a statement released by her publicist, the Canadian artist stated that she would not be supporting the film, which is titled after her breakout album from 1995, “Jagged Little Pill.”

She has stated that she would not be attending any events related to the film’s release, which had its world debut on September 13 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

She continued: “I sit here now experiencing the full impact of having trusted someone who did not warrant being trusted. I have chosen not to attend any event around this movie for two reasons: one is that I am on tour [“Jagged Little Pill” 25th-anniversary tour] right now.

Morissette is known for her album “Jagged Little Pill,” which has inspired a Broadway musical. Getty

“Not unlike many ‘stories’ and unauthorized biographies out there over the years, this one includes implications and facts that are simply not true,” says the musician. Morissette does not specify which aspects of the film are false in her assertion.

The documentary  features an interview with the singer-songwriter and focuses on her early career.

“Of course, it would have been great if she could be here with us but I’m so grateful for all the time that she did put into making this film,” Alison Klayman told Deadline on Monday.

“It’s a really hard thing, I think, to see a movie made about yourself,” Klayman continued. “I think she’s incredibly brave and the reaction when she saw it was that it was a really – she could feel all the work, all the nuance that went into it. And again, she gave so much of her time and so much of her effort into making this and I think that the movie really speaks for itself.”

Morissette did not elaborate on her concerns with “Jagged,” which will air on HBO on November 19th. However, Morissette discusses sexual events when she was 15 that she refers to as “statutory rape” in the film’s most delicate content. The Washington Post has previously reported on that scene in the film.

In the film, Morissette explains, “It took me years in therapy to even admit there had been any kind of victimization on my part. I would always say I was consenting, and then I’d be reminded like ‘Hey, you were 15, you’re not consenting at 15.’ Now I’m like, ’Oh yeah, they’re all pedophiles. It’s all statutory rape.”

The age of consent at the time was 14, but the legislation indicated that it may be greater “when there is a relationship of trust, authority or dependency,” according to The Washington Post. Morisette does not identify the persons she claims molested her, but she does indicate she has tried to notify others in the past.

“I did tell a few people and it kind of fell on deaf ears. It would usually be a stand-up, walk-out-of-the-room moment,” the Grammy Award-winning singer says in the movie, according to the Post.

“While there is beauty and some elements of accuracy in this/my story to be sure – I ultimately won’t be supporting someone else’s reductive take on a story much too nuanced for them to ever grasp or tell.”

Jagged is part of the Bill Simmons-produced Music Box series, an anthology of music-focused documentary films that includes TIFF title Listening to Kenny G and the previously released Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage.

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