"We don't make any allegations about the Jackson family, so why would I go to them?" Reed asked during an interview on British TV. Reed said he did not want to include any comment from anyone who was not in the room when the abuse allegedly took place. No-one else appears on camera, including from Jackson's family, which the estate says shows director Dan Reed's bias. The film is told solely through the voices of Mr Safechuck and Mr Robson and their mothers, wives and siblings. The estate, which is now suing broadcaster HBO for $100 million, says the fact the pair's lawsuits remain on appeal proves they, like the accusers in prior decades, are motivated by money and the film is a ploy to drum up support. Jackson's family, his estate and his most fervent supporters - labelled by some media outlets as truthers - say the fact their stories have changed shows they cannot be considered credible. Mr Safechuck spoke in defence of Jackson when the 1990s allegations emerged. Mr Robson testified under oath for the defence at Jackson's criminal trial, when he was 22. Several years ago, after Jackson's death, Australian-born choreographer Wade Robson and American James Safechuck sued the Jackson estate over sexual abuse they allegedly endured as children. The two alleged victims in Leaving Neverland are different people, but have told their story before. After a 14-week trial, which was covered in great detail by the world's media, he was found not guilty. In 2003, the singer was charged with molesting a different boy, a cancer patient. That lawsuit was labelled an extortion attempt by Jackson's lawyers and was later settled for an undisclosed amount, reportedly millions of dollars, but with no admission of guilt on Jackson's part. Police in California investigated but did not file charges. In 1993, Michael Jackson was sued by a family who claimed the singer sexually abused their son, Jordan Chandler, whom Jackson had befriended and whose family he had invited to his Neverland ranch. Claims of abuse by Michael Jackson go back decades Let's go through what this documentary does and doesn't explore, the impact it has had, and what its ramifications might be. Not literally cancelled (though sometimes that, too) but disowned and boycotted by the gatekeepers of popular culture: fans and consumers, who shift their tastes, and movie and TV studios and radio stations, who shift their investments and endorsements.īut if what's known as cancel culture - a term that has come to prominence since the #MeToo movement emerged - managed to topple Michael Jackson, that would be unprecedented.Ĭould Leaving Neverland, the controversial four-hour film telling the story of two men's alleged sexual abuse at the hands of Jackson, destroy the legacy of one of the biggest icons in the history of music? Musicians, actors, comedians, directors, chefs, novelists, journalists - in the past 18 months, many famous people have been cancelled.
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