As soon as it is presented at the Sundance Festival in January, Leaving Neverland aroused many reactions. The shocking documentary produced by HBO gives voice to James Safechuck, 41, and Wade Robson, 36. Both claim to have been sexually abused by Michael Jackson when they were 10 and 7 years old. Wade Robson had testified in favor of the singer in 1993 and in 2003. The same for James Safechuck in 1993. After the death of the singer, change of speech: the two men sue the heirs of Jackson. Two actions dismissed, the facts being prescribed. Charges that bring back previous cases. The star, who died in 2009, has indeed already been confronted many times with justice for acts of pedophilia.
Do not treat me like a criminal because I am innocent. It’s a nightmare, a horrible nightmare
Michael Jackson in 1993
August 1993, year of the album tour Dangerous and date of first case. In August, Michael Jackson was charged with sexual abuse of thirteen-year-old Jordan Chandler. Her father, Evan Chandler, files a complaint. Searches are carried out at the Neverland ranch. The police strip the artist and photographs of his genitals are taken to compare them to a description given by the boy. In December 1993, in a video broadcast live on CNN, the singer proclaimed his innocence. “These statements are completely false,” he explains. Do not treat me like a criminal because I am innocent. It’s a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. ” “If there is anything I am guilty of giving all I have to give to help children around the world,” he adds. In January 1994, the case was concluded amicably for $ 15 million.
Ten years later, in February 2003, the documentary Living With Michael Jackson relaunches the charges against the king of pop. Asked by journalist Martin Bashir, the artist suffering from Peter Pan syndrome, publicly admits to enjoying sleeping with young boys, but without anything happening, he says. During the interview, Michael Jackson holds the hand of Gavin Arvizo, 13. A proximity that questions. The teenager is heard by the investigators and claims to have suffered several assaults from the singer. An investigation is finally opened; the police raided the star’s ranch.
An ultra-mediatized trial
In November 2003, Michael Jackson was arrested, then indicted for sexual touching on minors. The trial begins in January 2004. Justice must examine ten charges in total and the singer faces up to 20 years in prison. At the time, Wade Robson, dancer and choreographer, testified in his favor. He confirms having spent several nights in Neverland but without being attacked by Michael Jackson. After long months of an ultra-publicized trial, the star was acquitted on June 13, 2005. Four years later, Michael Jackson died in conditions that would remain murky for years. But the disappearance of the singer does not extinguish business.
Michael manipulated me, twisted my brain, he called me every day saying if we told people about this sex we would both go to jail
Wade Robson in 2013
In 2013, four years after the death of Michael Jackson, Wade Robson reconsiders his words and accuses Michael Jackson of sexual abuse from his seven years to his 14 years. In an interview given to the American channel Today in May 2013, he explains this change of speech. “I haven’t forgotten anything Michael Jackson did to me, but I couldn’t figure out that it was sexual abuse,” says Wade Robson. When the investigation started in 2003, Michael manipulated me, twisted my brain, he called me every day saying that if we told people about this sex we would both go to jail . ” The complaint is canceled by the American justice, considering that Wade Robson waited too long before coming forward. In 2014, James Safechuck filed a complaint claiming that Jackson abused him a hundred times between 1988 and 1992, especially when he was shooting an advertisement for the Pepsi brand with him. He was then 10 years old. The complaint is also dismissed.
In Leaving Neverland, the two men testify again in front of the camera with their family. They describe a manipulator, a predator who abused little boys. Thursday March 21, M6 will broadcast the documentary. Michael Jackson’s dependents have for their part instituted proceedings against HBO. A 53-page complaint, filed in a Los Angeles court, accuses the television station of violating a “non-denigration” agreement it allegedly signed in 1992, during the King of Pop’s lifetime, and claims up to $ 100 million in damages.
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