RadioOnFire.com - The highly controversial Leaving Neverland documentary premiered last week at the Sundance Film Festival, alongside the Harvey Weinstein documentary Untouchable, only weeks after the media frenzy that took place during Surviving R Kelly. The latest film aims to provide a platform for two of Michael Jackson's most notable accusers, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who after once testifying under oath that MJ was innocent, now maintain that the King of Pop did sexually abuse them after all.
Robson and Safechuck had previously testified that while they often slept in Jackson's room, they had never experienced assault of any kind. Then years after Jackson had
passed away, the two men claimed the exact opposite, filing separate lawsuits as alleged victims of child molestation.
Those lawsuits were ultimately dismissed on a technicality, yet in the new documentary, Robson and Safechuck are interviewed alongside their friends and family, who detail the convoluted circumstances that led to the alleged abuse. Additionally, the two men suggest that they testified in Jackson's defense because they were scared of potential repercussions if they told the truth. It should also be noted that court documents reportedly show evidence of $1 million paid to Safechuck to keep quiet about a rumored mock wedding ceremony that occurred when the alleged victim was 9 years old. Elsewhere, it's otherwise been reported that Jackson paid off approximately 20 victims nearly $200 million during his lifetime.
Since it was announced that Leaving Neverland would premiere at Sundance, the Jackson estate publicly denounced the screening, stating that "this is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson," later addressing the two accusers directly by adding that "Wade Robson and James Safechuck have both testified under oath that Michael never did anything inappropriate toward them. This so-called 'documentary' is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations." In another statement, they called the film a "public lynching."
Nonetheless, the documentary has premiered and naturally has a lot of people talking, while recently both Robson and Safechuck received a standing ovation on a night they were in attendance.
Despite the controversy, Leaving Neverland is set to air on HBO this upcoming Spring.
Source: Instagram
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