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Who is Alexandra Dean? Director of Peacock's Casey Anthony documentary receives huge backlash

After Casey blamed her father for the disappearance and death of Caylee, the series and Peacock faced backlash for providing a platform for a 'liar'

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WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA:  On Tuesday, Peacock released a new documentary featuring the once-accused Casey Anthony. Casey was allegedly accused of murdering her daughter, Caylee Anthony, after the child’s decomposed remains were found in a forested area near the Anthony household. Before the discovery, the toddler had been missing for many weeks, but Casey had failed to notify authorities. Casey’s alleged irresponsibility as a parent was held accountable when authorities accused the mother of murdering her own child. But due to a “lack of evidence,” Casey was acquitted of her murder charges. Although the jury found her guilty of providing false information, Casey was released for “good behavior," reported ET Online.

Now, over a decade after she was acquitted, the mother of the slain Caylee decided to speak up about her side of the events, as per the outlet. With the help of director Alexandra Dean, Casey was given a platform by the streaming giant Peacock to express her point of view to the world. But after the defamed mother blamed her father, George Anthony, yet again for the disappearance and death of Caylee, the documentary and Peacock received heavy backlash for providing a platform for a “liar.” Even the director has come under fire for "promoting" a supposed killer. Netizens all over are calling out Peacock and Alexandra Dean for their insensitivity by creating a documentary that has been termed “garbage” by the internet.

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Who Is Alexandra Dean?

Alexandra Haggiag Dean is a reputed documentary director, writer, executive producer, and editor. According to her LinkedIn profile, Dean has a Bachelor of Arts in history and literature from Harvard University, a Master of Sciences in history of art and visual culture from the University of Oxford, and a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard and with High Honors from Oxford. After such a remarkable educational journey, Dean’s professional career shone even brighter as she worked for many reputed publications and platforms. She had a stint at Bloomberg as a print reporter and producer. Dean has also directed the Netflix documentary ‘Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story’ and was the showrunner, director, and executive producer for A&E Network’s ‘Secrets of Playboy.’ Dean even directed and produced the Paris Hilton documentary, 'This Is Paris,' for Youtube. Currently, she is a showrunner, director, and executive produced at BlueAnt for Peacock. 

Most recently, the director has worked on Peacock’s new three-part docu-series, ‘Casey Anthony: Where The Truth Lies’. The documentary features the infamous Casey explaining her side of the story involving her daughter Caylee’s disappearance and death. Casey, who did not testify for her own trial, opened up after over 13 years of silence. “So far everyone has heard one side of the story,” said Dean about the docu-series. Adding, “So, of course, they believe that’s the only truth, and the outrage is understandable. I think when they watch the documentary, and they hear the other side of the story, they’ll realize there are a lot of questions that haven’t been answered," reported USA Today.

Why did Alexandra Dean create the controversial docu-series?

Dean revealed the truth behind her motive to give Casey a platform to USA Today. She said, “Casey’s been through 10 years of therapy, and she felt she had started to realize a lot of things about what had happened to her and what had happened to Caylee that she hadn’t been able to understand before, and she wanted to tell the world.” Adding, “Dozens of other documentaries say Casey was probably guilty. What viewers haven’t heard is why so many of those pieces of evidence were dismissed in court, and I think we explained that pretty well.” Explaining what she wanted people to gather from the new series, Dean said, “I want people to judge a little less quickly when they hear a complicated story like this one.” She continued, “I want people to realize that the media can create a circus around a person or try to create a reality television villain or a hero out of somebody because it’s good television.” She expressed that she felt Casey’s story was not completely heard and said,  “But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve heard the whole story of their life.”

But the move backfired after the Internet lashed out at Alexandra Dean and Peacock

Dean’s attempt to relay the once-accused mother’s story backfired after Casey continued to blame her father for Caylee’s death. Her claims of being allegedly sexually abused by George and accusing him of doing the same to her daughter resulted in netizens calling out Casey and the documentary for being full of lies. Many even criticized Dean for taking up the project as one user wrote on Twitter, “Director Alexandra Dean: “public opinion of Casey Anthony has been largely shaped by the media convinced of her guilt...I believe the result (of 6 months of interviews) will surprise many and cause the American public to look at this story in a new light.” Not likely.” While another added, “Casey Anthony documentary will call GEORGE a pedophile and accuse him of killing Caylee. Maybe George will sue Casey, Clint House, Peacock network Director Alexandra Dean, and producers.”

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