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Artist News Awards
Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame has no plans to remove Michael Jackson from its museum
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 26 March 2019
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame museum in Cleveland, Ohio has confirmed it will not remove any Michael Jackson memorabilia from its displays as the fall out of the ‘Leaving Neverland’ documentary continues.
Some in the music and media industries have sought to distance themselves from Jackson since the airing of the HBO programme, in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck allege that the late king of pop abused them as children. Jackson’s family and estate, of course, have hit out at the documentary, its subjects and its director, dismissing Robson and Safechunk’s allegations and criticising HBO for airing the programme.
Some radio stations have stopped playing Jackson’s music following the show’s airing, and much attention has fallen onto how Sony Music – which signed a new deal with the Jackson estate in 2017 – will mark the tenth anniversary of the musician’s death later this year. It’s thought that, prior to the airing of ‘Leaving Neverland’, the anniversary would likely have been marked with some reissues or the release of some archive recordings.
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame was another organisation questioned about its position regarding the allegations made against Jackson, which aren’t new, but have been much more widely debated of late. Jackson was celebrated by the music industry institution twice during his lifetime and is therefore a feature of its Cleveland museum.
A spokesperson for the exhibit made no reference to the allegations in their statement, but confirmed to TMZ and Pitchfork that no changes were being planned.
The spokesperson said: “Michael Jackson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Jackson 5 in 1997 and as a solo artist in 2001. As with all of our inductees, Jackson was recognised for musical excellence and talent as well as having a significant impact on rock n roll, and was elected by a diverse voting body of historians, fellow musicians and music industry professionals”.
They concluded: “Original artefacts and memorabilia from many artists’ lives and performances are on display in our exhibits. There are no plans for this to change”.
