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It has been more than five years since Wade Robson and James Safechuck detail their sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson in Leaving NeverlandBut they still deal with the outcome of going public.
Both men opened for their continued battle for justice in the new documentary Leaving Neverland II: Surviving Michael Jacksonwhich shows for the first time on Tuesday, March 18. Since the original documentary Performed for the first time on HBO in 2019, the two have continued their efforts to bring their cases to trial – and has been a steady battle up the hill.
(HBO is not about Leaving Neverland II After a judge ruled that the first film broke the Nondisparagement clause in a contract in 1992 for a special HBO concert on Jackson’s Dangerous journey.)
“When I started talking about the abuse of my first therapist, one of the early things that started to come to me was, ‘This is what happened to me, this is Michael, what do I do with this now?'” Robson, 42, said in the new documentary. “I went to the beach (in June 2012) and burned items – Michael items, personal items, memorabilia items. As those items were burning and I was looking at them melting and breaking down in the fire, I started talking to the spirit of Michael. (I said), ‘Michael, somehow I’m going to turn your wrong into a right.’ “
While Hollywood may appear as glitz and glam on the surface, the industry has seen its fair share of scandals over the years. The New York Times and the New Yorker first published investigative pieces in 2017 accused the dissatisfied film producer Harvey Weinstein of decades of sexual assault and harassment. Shortly after, weinstein stood trial and was (…)
According to Robson and Safechuck, 47, they not only fight for themselves younger but for the ability to protect other children from the threat of sexual abuse. Initially, the duo tried to bring their cases against Jackson to court in 2013 and 2014, but their legal proceedings were thrown out due to the statute of restrictions.
In 2020 they were able to try their cases again after the Governor of California Gavin Newsom Sign a new law extending the statute of restrictions for child sexual abuse cases. While their cases were dismissed in 2021, an appealing court ruled in 2023 that they could go to trial. A trial is currently set for November 2026.
Michael Jackson.
Kevork Djansian-Pool/Getty ImagesThe new documentary is primarily about their struggle to be heard in court. Jackson died in June 2009 at the age of 50, but Safechuck and Robson’s lawyers argue that his company can be held accountable for the alleged abuse.
“Although Mr Jackson certainly takes a lot of responsibility for this, like all other pedophile cases I have ever encountered, pedophiles do not operate in a vacuum – especially successful ones,” attorney John manly he said in Leaving Neverland II. “What we have to show is that MJJ Productions, his company he owned, were aware of and knew. People there were aware of it and knew it. “
According to Robson, his alleged relationship with Jackson was facilitated by adults in his employment.
Riley Keough was blind to the allegations made against Michael Jackson when he was short of her court. “I have never been told anything. It’s not really something I ever asked as an adult, ”Riley, 35, shared during her appearance on Wednesday, January 15, on the” Call Challenge Daddy “podcast. “I think that was what it was. (…)
“From how I met Michael in the first place to how we met again and then after we became friends, all my interactions with him were organized by people who worked for him and worked with him,” he claimed. “There were so many times (when) working for Michael (was) outside the door when abuse was happening, whether that was in Neverland or in trailers, in a recording studio. People around worked for him always. There was information that something strange was happening. And it seems that no one in the organization had done anything about it. “
Safechuck made similar comments, saying to the camera, “People must have known. It’s hard to imagine being right with the constant circle of children coming in and out. I can’t imagine how they didn’t know. “
Jackson’s estate and attorneys did not take part in Leaving Neverland II. A title card read, “We repeatedly made requests over a six year period for an interview and commented from the legal team representing the Michael Jackson and MJJ Productions estate. They rejected every opportunity to participate in this documentary. “
As detailed in the first Leaving NeverlandRobson and Safechuck claimed that Jackson had been sexually abused as children for a period of seven and four years, respectively. Jackson’s estate The film was called “Tabloid Character Murder” and Slamio Robson and Safechuck were like “admitted liars,” noting the fact that they initially did not claim that it never happened with Jackson before reversing their statements.
Michael Jackson left more than an extensive musical legacy and his former Neverland ranch behind when he died at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009 – the pop king also had three children. Michael’s first child, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., was born to musician and nurse Debbie Rowe, I (…)
Robson specifically tackled that criticism in Leaving Neverland IIclaiming he never wanted to testify on behalf of Jackson. (The pop star was arrested and accused of molesting children in 2003 but was acquitted two years later.)
“Michael called him and called and called and called him and continued to beg him and begs him,” a attorney Vince was final He said of Robson, who detailed some of those alleged conversations.
“He said, ‘You know we can’t let them do this to us. We can’t let them take us down, ‘Robson claimed that Jackson was saying. “We, us,. Certainly, I was a real fear of what he said about if anyone had ever discovered that he and I would go to prison. “
Don’t stop ‘until you get enough! Since the death of Michael Jackson in June 2009, his estate has kept his legacy alive by treating supporters to a number of post -death projects. Over the past decade, the estate-the entertainment lawyer John Branca and the music executive John McClain is supervising her-have released two albums of unchanged material (…)
Robson claimed he eventually told Jackson that he would not testify, but Subpoena soon received. “So that’s it,” he said. “I had no choice, that’s what I do.”
The choreographer said he felt “he had not been able to tell the truth” during the 2005 trial. Just years later – after he got married and got his own son – he felt ready to go public with his allegations.
Ron zonenThe prosecutor said in Jackson’s criminal case, who was asked over the years that would prosecute Robson for inadvertence, and has always said no.
“I said, ‘This is one of those things where very few people have any control over what happens, the least of them – believe it or not – (is) the person who is experiencing it,'” he explained. “This is not something within its emotional control.”
Now, after more than a decade of legal back and forth, Robson and Safechuck are both ready to stand.
Hold on to memory. Janet Jackson broke her silence following the allegations of child abuse after death that her late brother Michael Jackson faces by addressing the future of his legacy. The singer acknowledged “What have you done to me recently”, 53, the impact of her brother in society in the years since he passed in June 2009. “Yes (…)
“Whatever the end result, I don’t see how I really lose,” said Robson. “If I get the chance to get back in there and go on the stand really so I didn’t succeed for decades, that’s a victory for me.”
Meanwhile, Safechuck described the process as “difficult” but said he was looking forward to speaking his truth.
“Part of me, like, is a kind of construction of this strength and this shield to go through,” he explained. “Imagine myself in the trial, in the seat, find the strength and fight for Little Jimmy. When it comes, I’ll be ready. “
Leaving Neverland II: Surviving Michael Jackson Premières on the real stories of YouTube channel on Tuesday, March 18, at 8 pm et.
If you or someone you know have sexually assaulted you, please contact the National Sexual Assault Wire at 1-800-656-Hope (4673).
