Alanis Morissette criticized the upcoming documentary Jagged, saying it “includes implications and facts that are simply not true” in a statement to Rolling Stone.
Jagged was directed by Alison Klayman and is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this week. Although, as The Washington Post reported last Friday, September 10th, Morissette seemed unhappy with the film and did not plan to attend the premiere.
In her statement, Morissette explained her involvement in the film, and why she no longer wishes to support it. “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 during lockdown). 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. I sit here now experiencing the full impact of having trusted someone who did not warrant being trusted.”
Neither Klayman nor HBO (where the doc will air later this year) immediately replied to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
Morissette said she would not be attending any events around the film both because of her issues with it — she compared it to other “‘stories’ and unauthorized biographies” that have been released over the years — and because she is currently on tour.
“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,” Morissette said.
Speaking with The Washington Post last week, Klayman declined to speculate on Morissette’s feelings about the documentary, but did say, “Of course I wish Alanis could be [at the premiere]. It was a privilege to make this film and I’m really proud of it. Hopefully there will be other opportunities in the future for her to come to film events.”
With additional reporting by Simon Vozick-Levinson
From Rolling Stone US