This morning, I watched Leaving Neverland. It’s a film that highlights the relationships Michael Jackson had with two male children and their families. These, now grown men, allege that Michael Jackson sexually abused them.

This is what I took away from the film:

Australian, Wade Robson claims that Michael began sexually abusing him in 1989 when he was only 7 years old. It began with Michael teaching him how to masturbate and escalated from there with pornography and more. This abuse occurred up until the time Wade as 14 years old.

American, James “Jimmy” Safechuck alleges that, like Wade, Michael began his sexual molestation by first introducing him to masturbation. Once things had gone further and they were sleeping in the same bed every night, Michael would make him go through drills and get dressed very quickly in case they ever heard someone coming. Eventually, Michael would introduce alcohol (wine) and pornography while they were in the bathtub.

Around 1990, Macaulay Culkin and Bret Barnes were two other male children who spent a lot of time with Michael.  Both claim that nothing sexual ever happened.

In 1992, another boy had been spending lots of time with Michael. 13-year-old Jordan “Jordy” Chandler’s father, Evan, accused Michael of sexually abusing his son. Michael said that these people just wanted fame and money and that’s why they made the claims.

At this point, Wade and Jimmy had denied any sexual misconduct by Michael. They had been groomed for years and told by Michael that they could never tell anyone about what was happening or both of their lives would be over.

Jimmy testified in favor of Michael. He wasn’t ready to admit what had happened. Wade even said that he didn’t understand that it was abuse because he loved Michael and Michael loved him.

Jordy’s dad ended up settling for 23 million dollars. Not long after this, Michael bought a house for Jimmy’s parents. (In my opinion, Michael saw this as payment for Jimmy’s testimony.)  

In 2003, Michael was arrested and charged with molesting, 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo. (Eerily, Michael looks very much like Momo in his November 2003 arrest photo.) After an 18-month trial, the jury delivered the verdict of not guilty.  

Michael died June 25, 2009.

I remember at the time of his death, we were attending a church in Lexington. The choir sang one of his songs, Man in The Mirror. I felt that it was highly inappropriate to sing the song of a man accused of pedophilia in church. You see, years ago, when he was first accused, I believed he was guilty. I have never waved in that belief and this film just further confirms those feelings. I do believe what he told some people about his marriages to Lisa Marie Presley (94-96) and Debbie Rowe (96-99); that they were just for appearances. I think he was foolish enough to believe that no one would think he was a pedophile if he was married and having sex with a woman.

People who believe Michael to be innocent to this day are trying to argue that Wade and Jimmy have an agenda. I don’t believe that though. I don’t believe that anyone wants to be looked at differently in this world. I don’t believe they would put themselves and their families on display in this way only to be berated if their allegations were not true. I believe them and apparently so do 3 major Montreal radio stations who have stopped playing Michael’s songs. I call that progress.

After watching the film, if you are still having a hard time believing, read this interview from his maid, Adrian McManus: https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/110859941/michael-jacksons-maid-reveals-sordid-details-on-life-at-neverland