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Jackson family post response doc to Leaving Neverland on YouTube

By | Published on Monday 8 April 2019

Michael Jackson

The Jackson family have uploaded a new half hour documentary to YouTube responding to the allegations contained in HBO’s ‘Leaving Neverland’ programme, which focused on two men who claim they were abused by Michael Jackson as children.

The HBO programme has put a new spotlight on abuse allegations against Jackson just as the tenth anniversary of his death approaches. The Jackson family and estate have been highly critical of ‘Leaving Neverland’ since before it even aired, in particular hitting out at its director Dan Reed who – they say – failed to get the input of any people who would dispute the allegations made in the programme by Wade Robson and James Safechuck.

The YouTube upload presumably aims to provide that input. It includes interviews with Jackson’s nephew Taj, his niece Brandi and a former employee of the pop star, Brad Sundberg, who spent some time working at the musician’s Neverland ranch home, where the abuse is alleged to have taken place.

The latter says in the video: “Not in a million years did I ever see a child around Michael Jackson that looked like they had been distressed, hurt, abused. [Neverland] was such a peaceful, safe, fun place”.

Meanwhile, Brandi Jackson claims that she dated Robson for seven years when they were younger. She adds: “He has always been a bit of an opportunist. He knows how to position himself into different situations that will benefit him in a financial way”.

Those allegations link into the Michael Jackson estate’s long running claim that Robson and Safechuck are financially motivated and opted to participate in the HBO programme only after legal action against the estate ran into complications.

Legal reps for the two accusers dispute those claims, while an attorney working for Robson has told reporters that Brandi Jackson’s claims are not relevant because she “was not with Wade and Michael Jackson when the sexual abuse occurred, and as such, she has nothing relevant to say about the topic”.

You can watch the Jackson family’s video here:



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