Michael Jackson

I wonder how many people who are posting actually watched the documentary at all? Charges were brought against him when Jordan Chandler's family complained to the police in 1993, but it was "settled out of court" by a $23m payoff. When he was accused again, and it went to trial in 2005, it's clear in the documentary that one of the men was pressured by his family to give evidence on MJ's behalf - he still hadn't told them at that point and had no intention of doing so, and the other one refused when MJ rang him to ask for help - he says that MJ got very angry and threatened him with his powerful lawyers. Previous victims may have been silenced with payoffs (including the signing of non-disclosure agreements). MJ's staff all had to sign iron-clad NDAs - 5 of them were prosecuted for breaking them and fined $1.5m (enough to make sure that none of the others dared to). A jury can only make up its mind on what is put before it, and in another country it would probably have ended up as "not proven" rather than not guilty.

If you believed someone had sexually abused your children would you really settle out of court?

Wouldn't you want proper justice - and also avoid the same happening to others.

Why aren't there many others coming forward?

It's a sad fact that one child in every class in the country is sexually abused usually by someone they know and often this is someone from their own family. We must all have unknowingly had some interaction with a paedophile.

I think Michael Jackson was an amazing performer. He could sing, he could dance. I never tire of watching his music videos. He was very talented. He was brilliant. His addiction to plastic surgery ruined his once beautiful face. I do wonder whether the stories about him abusing children are true. He’s not here to defend himself. Why do these stories only come out when the person is dead?

Very true rizlett
My GP said it’s very rarely ‘stranger danger’.
The abused often bury the memories for years.
A coping mechanism.

That's the whole nature of sexual abuse of children, surely?
There is a reason why we teach our children that adults should never ask them to keep secrets, because we know that is how they operate.

Many children of paedophiles only begin to deal with it once they are grown; pupils only after they've left school, Jimmy Saville's victims only after his death.

Anja I totally agree with you. One of these guys was helped through his career by MJ, he was introduced to producers and directors and got into the industry with MJ's help and contacts but when he failed at this type of career again and again over years and was getting no work and suddenly he comes out with these accusations against Jackson. Another director in the industry who knew the situation is convinced the guy persuaded the other one to agree to co accuse Jackson of the acts. Coincidence or What? When you read the full article MJ's children and brothers are suing the two in the documentary. I was never a fan of Jackson's music but no one can deny he was a successful artist albeit a strange young man which really is no surprise in his family business. I honestly believe he has been used over the years by people he genuinely loved in his childish way.

I always believe in the old saying, there is no smoke without fire.

I always enjoyed his music and dancing but, as a person, he was certainly an odd-ball. If you compare pictures of him as a child with those as an adult, he scarcely seems like the same person. How can someone who is full-blooded negro change their skin colour? Apparently his nose was falling apart because of the plastic surgery done on it. He obviously hated being black, and did his best to metamorph into a white person.

Wade and jimmy swore under oath, that they were never sexually assaulted by Michael, on 2 occasions. That the relationship was never inappropriate or sexual, and maintained this under rigorous cross examination.
Wade repeatedly praised Jackson as his idol after death, until he was rejected as the lead choreographer in a Jackson themed Las Vegas tribute show in 2011. With well known financial troubles he claimed repressed memories led to him “remembering” the abuse. An initial book deal attempt was unsuccessful there after. In 2013 and 2014, wade and jimmy hired the same lawyer and filed multi million dollar civil lawsuits against the MJ estate, these were thrown out of court in 2017 with a judge commenting “no rational fact finder could possibly believe Robson’s sworn statement”. They now owe the MJ estate over 100,000 dollars in legal fees.
Robson referred to himself as the master of deception in his 2016 court deposition, and both him and safechucks stories have changed multiple times during the course of proceedings, revealing a large number of inconsistencies, contradictions and outright lies.
Director dan Reed has admitted he made no attempt to interview anyone who could provide a counter view to the narrative, in the leaving neverland documentary nor does he corroborate the claims with any form of evidence. As such, the documentary violates all standards for responsible journalism.
Any shocking claim can be made about MJ, without challenge or penalty, as there are currently no laws to protect a deceased person from defamation or slander.
After an FBI investigation spanning 10 years, a 70 man police raid on his neverland home and a lengthy trial that included evidence from prior cases, Jackson was found innocent on all charges of sex abuse.
Safechuck said in his lawsuit he was abused by MJ after the Grammys in 1989, in New York after he’d performed. Fact, the Grammys were in LA that year, and MJ didn’t even perform there in 89 !!
One of them also said that Michael had performed an oral sex act on him, whilst asleep, but he didn’t wake up ??! How do you know anyone’s done that when you were asleep

Oh dear Ellan, after the Amber Rudd affair this week, no one is supposed to say ‘coloured’ though to be honest, I think it was all a storm in a teacup.

After watching the documentary on t,v,, I am now convinced he was a paedophile.

But it’s a bit late now for those two men to come forward.
They should have done so when he was alive.

If it’s money they are after, then No, it’s not acceptable.

Only DNA evidence will prove that MJ was or was not the children's biological father. However I know black people married to white people and their children very often look completely white, with light eyes and blond hair. The white gene is very strong. My husband was dark skinned, Indian, both our children are darkish but they married white people and all the children look white. All the thousands of black slaves once in Britain disappeared as they intermarried and there is now little evidence of them ever having been here.

Because Michael told him he had done it, according to what he said in the documentary.

Regardless of MJ lifestyle I will continue to enjoy his music. He used a surrogate to have children. If she was white then this could be the reason his children are white Another reason may be they were adopted and not biologically his .

Paddyann "these two men" were small boys when they testified for him. Both if them had been groomed by a manipulative paedophile.

I watched both patrs of the Leaving Neverland documentary, and i certainly believe he was paedophile,,i also watched a video of the 2 boys interview with Oprah Winfrey after the Doc. was seen, the maker of it was also their ,i wanted to cry after seeing it, neither of the boys [men now] have forgiven their mother, and are still working on it, but it seems it really hit them when they had their own children
I believe them, and cant understand why anyone can not see that his friendship with these boys and others was in any way normal, and sleeping in his bed
Just because others say he didnt abuse them doesnt mean he didnt abuse these two, most paedos dont abuse every child they are in contact with,
Apparently 11 more have come forward
These men were not paid for their part in this doc.and i believe what they say happened,
Some people are blind even to facts. sleeping with children as an adult man is never right in itself
Would anyone on here who doesnt believe this really let their children sleep with a grown man comfortably, and without any qualms, i doubt it

Looking back, we regularly saw MJ on TV holding hands with, and posing for photos with these boys. I for one never thought anything of it really, just accepted the 'he likes being with children as he didn't have a childhood' line. We can be hoodwinked just because they are famous.

Nailed it MissA

OK - I was a massive MJ fan & saw him live many times. I find it hard to believe all these accusations although I know he was probably a very damaged albeit gentle soul due to the way his father treated all the family.
If you are brought up in such a dis-functional family with a bully & sexual pervert for a father then you are going to be damaged. This is not condoning anything but I can see the reasons why he was not 'normal'.
A very sad case but I am not totally convinced by the stories these men are telling now. I suspect making money is behind it all.
Very sad all round.

To all those people who say MJ is innocent - would you let your young grandson stay overnight in MJ's bedroom, and if not, why not if you believe he is innocent?

They were children when the first testified and MJ told them they would both go to jail for life if they told the truth. They loved and believed him, so of course they lied. I thought he was a brilliant artist and bought his LP"s back in the day, but listening to those men I have absolutely no doubt they are telling the truth.

I had no intention of watching the films but when my TV came on the program was on and I was captivated by how compelling the men talking were.
I had never thought it was true that MJ was an abuser until I listened and watched the men tell their story. I believe both of them.
It was when they became fathers to their sons that the repressed reality of what had happened really hit them. And that they had lied before to protect MJ. Also that he had scared them by telling them that if people found out what they did together they would both go to prison forever.
In the part of the film I haven't seen MJ apparently also twisted their young minds against their own mothers.
Now I believe that no matter how terrible his own childhood had been, he was a monster and he has damaged other young people for his own deviant sexual urges. Not nice.
Those two men were not lying. Their pain was evident in their faces, expressions and voices. They were dancers, not actors and they were just so young. I believe one of them was just 7 years old when the abuse began. so sad.

I did like MJ when he was young but in later years he seemed to think he was some kind of Saviour, I remember Jarvis Cocker being really annoyed at one time by MJ's posturing. MJ wanted to save the children and ironically he was the monster they needed saving from.

No. I haven't and don't plan to watch the docu.
I like the music which is a separate thing together.

Gizmogranny, these accusations did not just comeo out after he was dead. Read CarlyD7's post, 2 posts above yours.

I have never had any interest in Michael Jackson or his music, all just noise to me, but even I was aware of the persistent rumours and very dangerous behaviours he indulged in and can remember wondering what on earth these boy's parents though they were doing.

Other people have used MJ's abusive childhood as an excuse for his behaviour. But nothing excuses paedophilia. From all I hear he was an intelligent man, he knew what he was doing was wrong. He should have sought help, those round him should have encouraged him to seek help or shopped him.

Totally agree MOnica