In an emotionally charged revelation from Beyond The Grave, comedian Paul Reubens shares a tragic message that exposes his pain about the controversies that pursued his life.
In his recorded explanation, Reubens reflects after his arrests in the nineties and 2000s – a label that he says he was shattering his life after finding love in hearts of millions like the whimsical lake Herman.
“The moment I heard someone label like – I'm just going to say it – a pedophile, I knew it would change everything to go ahead and back,” he confesses.
The words, delivered posthumously in the film, now have an extra emotion.
For Reubens, the accusation was more than a blow to his career; It was a decisive scar that reformed his identity in the public eye.
“It was above all the reason that I wanted to make a documentary to show people who I really am and how painful and difficult it was to get something I wasn't,” he says.
Recorded just a day before his death in 2023, the spooky statement reflected in HBO documentary films 'Pee-Wez AS', which premiered on Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival.
The last words of Reubens reflect his painful desire for understanding and redemption.
In an emotionally charged revelation from Beyond the Grave, Reubens loved by millions while the whimsical lake Herman left a heartbreaking message that exposes his pain about the controversies that chased his life
In his recorded statement, Reubens reflects on the destruction of the branded a 'pedophile' after his arrests in the 1990s and 2000s – a label that he says he has smashed his life. Paul Reubens rides on a bike in a scene from the film 'Pee-Wee's Big Adventure' in 1985
'I wanted to talk about what it is like to be labeled a paria, to be afraid of you, or not being sure of you, or not to leave, or to look at what your intentions His kind of filter that is not it is true, “he says.
“I wanted people to understand that occasionally, where there is smoke, there is not always fire.”
The message was recorded without any instructions from producers and saw him stick it alone.
His words serve as both a defense and a plea – and a desperate attempt to rewrite the story of his life after his voice had already been silenced.
The documentary, directed by Matt Wolf, offers an infallible look at the meteoric rise of Reubens for awareness, his crushing fall of grace and his desperate desire for the world to see him as he really was.
The two -part docuseries dive deep into the life of Reubens, helped by more than 40 hours of interviews and his extensive personal archive of photos and videos.
But even when Reubens bare a lot of himself from the filmmakers, he withheld one critical truth – his private struggle against cancer, a diagnosis that he kept secret until his death and even not known to the filmmakers, De La Times reports.
Through candid interviews and archive images, 'Pee-We is himself' the crucial moments that have led to the public shame of Reubens.
In his 1991 arrest, the film dives for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida, depicted in his mugshot above. The film also looks at his 2002 arrest on accusation of the possession of child pornography – charges that were later withdrawn
The film suggests that Reubens became a victim of a homophobic cultural recoil. Shown, Pee Wee's Playhouse 'on CBS was a television program for children with Paul Reubens and John Paragon. Depicted here in 1986
Made for the stage, lake with its white thick loafers and red butterfly tie became a cultural constant in both adult and entertainment of children for much of the 1980s.
In his 1991 arrest, the film dives for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida, and his 2002 arrest on accusation of the possession of child pornography – charges that were later withdrawn.
He was fined, but the damage to his career was unpredictable.
He became the frequent ass of the late-night talk show jokes and the perception of Reubens changed immediately.
'The moment I realized that my name would be said in the same sense as' children' and 'sex', that is really intense, 'said Reubens NBC in 2004.' That was something that I knew from that moment, what then, what then Also beyond that point, there is something in the air that is really bad. '
In both cases, the documentary suggests that Reubens fell victim to a homophobic cultural recoil.
The publicist of Reubens, Kelly Bush Novak, describes the 2002 case as a 'homophobic witch hunt', who then accused – city lawyer Rocky Delgadillo of misleading Reubens' collection of vintage gay erotics as a child pornography.
Although the charges were reduced to a crime of crime obscenity, the damage to the reputation of Reubens was already caused.
For three years he had to register as a sex offender, a punishment that strengthened his alienation from both industry and the public.
For three years, Paul Reubens had to register as a sex offender, a punishment that strengthened his alienation from both industry and the public. Reubens is depicted on location that was filmed in May 2015 'Pee-Big Holiday'
Ever praised as the charming and eccentric star of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Reubens noticed that he had labeled a 'different' and 'pervert'
His earlier arrest in 1991 due to indecent exposure was also catastrophic.
Once praised as the charming and eccentric star of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Reubens noticed that he had labeled a 'different' and 'Pervert' by fellow actors Phil Hartman and Soupy Sales.
The Fall -Out was fast and ruthless: CBS dropped the syndication of his beloved children's program and Reubens became an object of spot in the tabloids.
Furthermore, the documentary explores not only the controversies, but also the artistry that defined the life of Reubens, celebrates its ingenuity and creativity that the public visited for decades, despite the fact that his personal life became the subject of ruthless control.
After his 1991 arrest, he would spend the decade playing mainly non-Pee-Wee characters, including roles in Burton's film 'Batman Returns' from 1992, the film 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and a host stars on TV series' Murphy 'Murphy Bruin.'
He also appeared in the comedian film 'Mystery Men' from 1999 and Johnny Depp's 2001 drug dealer drama 'Blow'.
Reubens that his boyish appearance never lost in his 60s, would slowly re-introduce Pee-Wee and ultimately do a Broadway adjustment of 'The Pee-Weman Herman Show' in 2010, and the Netflix film of 2016.
He made his last on the screen appeared during a cameo in Hulu's Quiz Dame.
