Michael Jackson’s estate released a two-hour concert video on YouTube, Sunday, just as HBO premiered the first part of its explosive new documentary Leaving Neverland, prompting criticism that the late singer’s family was deflecting from horrific allegations of sexual abuse.
Leaving Neverland, a two-part documentary that chronicles allegations from two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who claim Jackson abused them as children, made its television premiere Sunday on HBO.
Jackson’s estate, which has sued HBO and slammed the documentary as “another rehash of dated and discredited allegations,” had other plans Sunday, dropping the concert footage on YouTube at the same time as the premiere.
Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour, which was filmed in 1992, was put on YouTube “for a limited time,” a tweet from the estate read. Its run time is two hours, the same as part one of Leaving Neverland.
The estate also announced that a second show, Live at Wembley July 16 1988, would hit YouTube Monday at 8 p.m., just as Leaving Neverland’s second and final part airs on HBO.
Jackson’s Twitter account had previously teased the concerts, and a tweet Sunday included a trailer for the show, featuring Jackson’s signature dance moves and enthusiastic crowd members.
“Don’t miss the magic from the King of Pop himself!” the tweets read. “Immerse yourself in Michael Jackson.”
Still, many on Twitter found that the concert release missed the mark, and was a last-ditch effort to distract viewers from the shocking allegations made by Robson, 36, and Safechuck, 40.
“That’s a profoundly tone-deaf response to allegations of sexual abuse,” user @tedgesing wrote.
In a response tweet, user @hatergene argued that the response was “perfectly on brand” for Jackson’s estate.
“They know what everyone else is talking about tonight and they hope this move will deflect the trajectory of the asteroid that is plummeting towards them,” he wrote. “Cynical yes but not tone deaf. They hear the tone. They just don’t care.”
Many agreed with the claim that the family shared the concerts as a means of distraction.
Both Safechuck and Robson claim the “Man in the Mirror” singer befriended them when they were children, and that their relationships quickly turned sexual.
Safechuck, who met Jackson when he was cast in the star’s 1986 Pepsi commercial, claims Jackson taught him how to masturbate, while Robson, who met Jackson when he was just 5 years old, says the star performed oral sex on him and kissed him.
“You and I were brought together by God. We were meant to be together,” Robson claims Jackson told him. “This is how we show love.”
Both men allege they were instructed by the star to cover their tracks, with Robson claiming Jackson told him they would “go to jail for the rest of our lives” if anyone found out about their alleged sexual encounters.
Jackson’s family has repeatedly denied all allegations put forth in Leaving Neverland, and said in a January statement the film was “yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson.”
Two co-executors of the singer’s estate and Optimum Productions sued HBO and its parent company, Time Warner, for $100 million in February, claiming that the network’s decision to air Leaving Neverland violated a non-disparagement clause, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, HBO responded: “Despite the desperate lengths taken to undermine the film, our plans remain unchanged. HBO will move forward with the airing of Leaving Neverland. … This will allow everyone the opportunity to assess the film and the claims in it for themselves.”
Meanwhile, Jackson’s brothers Tito, Marlon and Jackie, as well as his nephew Taj, recently appeared on CBS This Morning, where they told host Gayle King they had not seen the documentary, but that the late pop star was “never inappropriate” with children.
“I know my brother,” Jackie, 67, said. “I know what he stood for. What he was all about. Bringing the world together. Making kids happy. That’s the kind of person he was.”
Robson and Safechuck also sat down with King in an interview that aired last Thursday and stood by their allegations.
With King, the men discussed previously denying they had been molested by Jackson in the past. Robson even appeared as a witness for Jackson’s defense during a sexual abuse trial in 2005 in which the pop star was acquitted of child molestation charges.
“Michael’s training of me to testify began the first night that he started abusing me,” Robson alleged. “He started telling me that, ‘If anybody else ever finds out, we’ll both go to jail, both of our lives will be over.’ “
The men also spoke with Oprah Winfrey for a special called Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland, which will air Monday night following the conclusion of Leaving Neverland.
Source: Read Full Article