Wade Robson and James Safechuck — two of Michael Jackson’s accusers — are the stars of the upcoming incendiary HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland, which made countless headlines when it debuted at Sundance.
Robson, now 36, and Safechuck, now 40, have both accused Michael Jackson of sexual abuse on two separate occasions. Prior to their claims, both men defended Jackson against other sexual abuse claims. However, in 2013, Robson filed a civil suit against the singer’s estate; a year later, Safechuck did the same thing. While Jackson’s estate denied the accusations and the suits were eventually dismissed, the cases remain under appeal as of this writing.
Today, however, the surviving members of the Jackson family have released an equally incendiary statement condemning the film, and its stars.
“The creators of this film were not interested in the truth. They never interviewed a single solitary soul who knew Michael except for the two perjurers and their families. That is not journalism, and it’s not fair, yet the media are perpetuating these stories,” the family said in an official statement received by HipHopDX.com from their official press agent. “But the truth is on our side. Go do your research about these opportunists. The facts don’t lie, people do. Michael Jackson was and always will be 100% innocent of these false allegations.”
The Jackson family went on to say that Jackson has been the subject of “vulture tweeters” who have never met the legendary singer, but “go after him” based on the allegations propagated in Leaving Neverland.
it’s halftime at the four-hour Michael Jackson doc and I’m already gonna need 400 showers to ever feel clean again. #Sundance
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) January 25, 2019
LEAVING NEVERLAND (PART 2): Focuses on the aftermath of the alleged sexual abuse from #MichaelJackson on the lives of the now grown men, their never-ending psychological upheaval & trauma, plus the effect on their torn families. Shocking, sad, disturbing, devastating. #Sundance pic.twitter.com/1fZU5nLJ2Z
— Scott Mantz (@MovieMantz) January 25, 2019
Incredibly emotional reaction from the audience after #LeavingNeverland. One audience member says he was molested as a child and that Robson and Safechuck "are going to do a lot more f–king good in the world than Michael f–king Jackson." #Sundance
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) January 25, 2019
Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, was arrested in 2003 and charged with seven counts of child molestation. He repeatedly denied the charges and was ultimately acquitted of all seven counts. In 2004, Jackson paid approximately $25 million to settle a civil suit by an alleged victim who claimed that he’d been molested by the singer over a five-month period in 1993.
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