New Michael Jackson Diddling Documentary Premieres At Sundance, And His Fans Are PISSED
LA Times- The instant “Leaving Neverland” was announced, controversy ensued. The 236-minute documentary series, set to premiere with a one-time-only screening Friday at the Sundance Film Festival, features two adult men who allege they were the victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Michael Jackson when they were boys.
Jackson was first accused of child sexual abuse in 1993 by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. While he was investigated, he was never indicted, though he did pay Jordan and his family $22 million to settle a related civil case in 1994.
There’s a four-hour documentary about Michael Jackson’s alleged pedophilia premiering at Sundance Film Festival right now. They’re only doing one showing, but the doc will be available on HBO this spring. And I, for one, cannot WAIT. OHHHHHH BUDDY. People went fucking nuts over the R Kelly doc on Lifetime. It was the talk of the town! R Kelly is a pretty big singer in his own right, sure. But he doesn’t hold a candle to Michael Jackson.
A few similarities between these two cases are eery. Both guys were so talented and beloved by their fans that even in the face of (what I consider to be) compelling testimony from their (alleged) victims, their fans simply refuse to believe it. Beyond that, Michael Jackson’s fans appear to be gathering their glittery pitchforks and donning one glove to go to war against the documentary and anyone who believes it. They started a twitter page just to have a safe space for their anger.
My question is, how fucking stupid would you have to be, in this age, to go to war on behalf of someone accused of child sex abuse? Unless you’re a member of his direct family, or you have tangible evidence to prove otherwise, SIT IT OUT, FOLKS. Don’t be the moron immortalized by a viral photo, holding a sign that says “justice for Michael!” once we all realize that yes, he did it. Remember how much we hated the Penn State students for rioting on behalf of Paterno, once the truth came out? I get that you love him. But sometimes, it’s possible to be one of the greatest artists in history and also be a complete sicko who deserves to have his legacy destroyed. I’m not saying that’s the case for sure, I’m just saying it’s possible. I, like any rational human, will reserve judgement for now.
Most of the stories from this documentary are already public. But that was the case for R Kelly and Bill Cosby, too, and nobody was talking about them until Hannibal went viral and the R Kelly doc came out. That’s why I’m excited for this documentary on MJ—everyone will be talking about it. The nation will divide, families will be torn apart, and Willie and I will nearly come to blows on radio before I remember that he could pulverize me into garlic dust with one hand (he’s a huge MJ fan and vehemently disavows any talk of Jackson’s proclivity towards children).
The documentary centers around interviews with Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two guys who claim they were molested by Jackson. You may remember Wade Robson from the Wade Robson Project on MTV. Hand up, I never knew he was part of the Michael Jackson-diddling conversation. These are the kinds of details that I’m JACKED UP to learn when the documentary hits HBO.
The next night, Robson says, his sister didn’t want to sleep in Jackson’s bed again, so he and Jackson stayed there alone. That night, the alleged “sexual activities” began — abuse that Robson says continued for seven years.
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I knew that children slept in Jackson’s bed because of that Chappelle sketch. But check out some of the allegations from this other guy Safechuck:
In 1988, Safechuck and his mother joined Jackson on his “Bad” tour for six months. This is where Safechuck says the first sexual abuse occurred. When Jackson was 29 and Safechuck was 10, Jackson allegedly introduced the boy to masturbation at Paris’ Hotel de Crillon. Jackson demonstrated how to masturbate and then told Safechuck to try and “his penis swelled up,” the complaint says. Jackson guided Safechuck “in putting his penis into a glass of water so the swelling would go down and allow him to urinate,” the document continues.
Safechuck alleges they would go on to engage in sexual acts “hundreds” of times. At another point on the tour, Safechuck says, Jackson kissed his genitals. The documents also claim that Jackson once inserted his finger into Safechuck’s anus, that he had the boy rub and suck his nipples as he masturbated, and that he asked Safechuck to “bend over on all fours … grab his butt cheeks and spread them open with one hand, and masturbate himself with the other.” This, the complaint says, was called “selling me some,” because Safechuck would then receive jewelry as a “reward.”
The two established code words for sexual activity: “bright light, big city” meant erection, while semen was “duck butter,” Safechuck says.
Oh. My. God.
Can’t wait for spring.