The Fight Over Leaving Neverland and Michael Jackson's Legacy

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The circumstances of Michael Jackson‘s death almost 10 years ago couldn’t have been more strange.

Not in that we don’t know what happened to him—although that, too, was bizarre—but in that Jackson had been existing for years in a state of celebrity limbo, still as one of the most famous people on the planet and a revered artist, but also as a punchline, someone whose oddities had largely overtaken his genius in the public eye.

As soon as he was gone, the inexplicable behavior, the outlandish money trouble and the lingering accusations—and fast-held beliefs, by some—that he had abused children, despite being found not guilty of molesting a boy at a criminal trial in 2005, was not all of a sudden was erased from everyone’s memories. And no truly discerning account of the latter half of his career left all that out. But his rich musical legacy fairly instantaneously took center stage once again, with artists who hadn’t publicly been seen with Jackson in who knows how long showing up to pay tribute at all-star musical events and award shows and his contribution to pop music ripe for endless odes and appreciations.

For countless people, bringing up the Jackson molestation allegations counts as a slur against one of the greatest artists of all time. But the whitewashed version of Jackson’s legacy has never sat well for plenty of others, and there has literally been no time like the present to explain why.

At a screening on Friday morning, an audience at the Sundance Film Festival applauded Leaving Neverland, a raw, unsparing, four-hour documentary detailing alleged abuse suffered by Wade Robson and James Safechuck at the hands of Jackson when they were children. Counselors were on hand to speak to anyone upset by the film’s “explicit depictions of sexual abuse involving minors,” Sundance director John Cooper informed them beforehand. Multiple journalists tweeted during a break midway through the movie that what they had seen so far was extremely disturbing.

Outside, meanwhile, law enforcement was on high alert, in case the protesters who believe the film is trafficking in exploitation and lies got out of hand.

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“This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson,” read a statement released by his estate earlier this month in response to the film, which is premiering on HBO and the U.K.’s Channel 4 this spring. “Wade Robson and James Safechuck have both testified under oath that Michael never did anything inappropriate toward them. Safechuck and Robson, the latter a self-proclaimed ‘master of deception,’ filed lawsuits against Michael’s estate, asking for millions of dollars. Both lawsuits were dismissed.

“This so-called ‘documentary’ is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations. It’s baffling why any credible filmmaker would involve himself with this project.”

The film festival issued its own statement, saying, “Sundance Institute supports artists in enabling them to fully tell bold, independent stories, stories on topics which can be provocative or challenging.”

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In response, Michael’s cousin Taj JacksonTito Jackson‘s eldest son, has started a GoFundMe to finance a documentary series that, he says, “will conclusively destroy decades of salacious myths which have been told and sold about Michael Jackson ad nauseum.” The proposed series will be “the definitive historic record of the most discussed aspects of Michael Jackson’s private life, placing the most controversial stories under the microscope, tracing their origins and dissecting how and why the media’s narrative diverged from the truth.”

As of last night, he had raised more than $32,700, out of a $770,000 goal.

In response to the supportive tweets that piled up over the weekend after Leaving Neverland‘s premiere, Taj tweeted Sunday, “I’ve been sitting here reading all your messages & I hear U & feel U. My uncle would be so proud of us. I thought now would be a good time for an update because a lot of you are feeling helpless. Please don’t. Hold your head up high & stay proud. Show the world your love for MJ”

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In a Q&A after the screening Friday, asked what he had to say to those who think he’s lying, Robson said, “I don’t feel like there’s anything that I need to say to them except that I understand that it’s really hard for them to believe. Because in a way, not that long ago, I was in the same position that they were. So I understand, and we can only accept and understand something when we’re ready. Maybe we’ll never be ready, maybe we will. So that’s their journey.”

“From the get-go,” Safechuck said, “there was no money ever offered [to do the movie] and we never expected anything. It was really trying to tell the story and shine light on it, to give people the same connection and comfort [Wade and I have] got going through this.”

MSNBC

Asked if his parents were happy that he was spending time with Jackson at Neverland, Gavin said, “Yeah, my mom is very, very, very happy. And I know they’re happy because I was happy.” His parents would go with him to visit Jackson “most of the time,” but he “was mainly with Michael.”

Jackson, who said he had let Bashir into his life in part because the journalist had convinced him that his 1996 sit-down with Princess Dianahad helped people better understand her (Diana ultimately regretted doing the interview), stated after the special aired in Britain in February 2003 that he felt deceived by the finished product, that it was edited to make his relationship with Gavin look inappropriate. Even in the pre-Twitter era, his loyal fans were particularly unkind to Bashir as well. 

Jackson responded by handing his tapes from his time with Bashir over to Fox and Maury Povich, which resulted in the special The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant To See.

But spurred on by demands to investigate Jackson’s actions in the wake of the Bashir interview, in November 2003, Santa Barbara authorities again searched Neverland. 

Photo by Jacques Langevin/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images

In April 2004, Santa Barbara District Attorney Thomas Sneddon obtained a 10-count indictment against Jackson for behavior that allegedly occurred between Feb. 20 and March 12, 2003, all of which was after the Bashir special aired. He tacked more charges on later.

Ultimately Jackson was tried on 14 counts: four charges of child molesting, one charge of attempted child molesting, one charge of conspiracy to hold the boy and his family captive at Neverland and eight counts of providing alcohol to a minor with the intent to molest him.

He pleaded not guilty to all.

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