Entertainment

Michael Jackson hit back at Leaving Neverland with new documentary 'refuting victims' claims'


The Jackson family have hit out at the alleged sex abuse claims made in the controversial Leaving Neverland documentary – with their own 30-minute film.

Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary comes a month after the two-part film which charted accusations made against the singer by James Safechuck and Wade Robson.

The Dan Reed directed programme shared the stories of both men, who claimed as young boys they were sexually abused by the performer at the height of his fame.

In the new film, directed by Eli Pedraza, it features interviews with Jackson family members as well as his longtime technical director Brad Sundberg, who all deny accusations the King of Pop abused children.

Brandi Jackson speaks about her relationship with Wade Robson

The family have hit out at claims made in Leaving Neverland

According to People , Sundberg regularly stayed at the Neverland Ranch, and tells producer Liam McEwan in the film that he had never witnessed any signs of abuse when he was there.

“Not in a million years did I ever see a child around Michael Jackson that looked like they had been distressed, hurt, abused,” he said.

“[Neverland] was such a peaceful, safe, fun place.”

Wade Robson and James Safechuck spoke about the alleged abuse they suffered as children

Some facts about the Leaving Neverland film have come into question

Michael’s niece Brandi Jackson speaks about Robson in the film, explaining that she met the choreographer as a child before they later went on to date.

She claims they were together for seven years and that he spoke about the alleged accusations to benefit financially: “He has always been a bit of an opportunist.

“He knows how to position himself into different situations that will benefit him in a financial way.”

Producer Liam McEwan speaks with Jackson family members

Brandi adds: “He’s saying that he was in a relationship with my uncle, that they were in love, and that they were having a relationship, if you will.

“He’s saying that my uncle kept him from women, which is not true. We were just talking about how my uncle put us together. It would discredit the things that he’s trying to claim, and I find it fascinating that he thinks he’s able to just erase 10 years of his life.”

In a previous statement to Billboard a lawyer for Robson responded to Brandi’s allegations saying: “Ms. Jackson was not with Wade and Michael Jackson when the sexual abuse occurred, and as such, she has nothing relevant to say about the topic.”

Michael’s nephew Taj Jackson defends his uncle

Before Leaving Neverland aired on HBO in the US in early March, and on Channel 4 in the UK, the Jackson family had filed a $100m lawsuit against HBO and later blasted the documentary for trying to make money off the singer.

Taj Jackson, Michael’s nephew also rebukes the allegations made by Robson and Safechuck in Leaving Neverland, saying in the documentary that Jackson’s generosity made him a target.

“When you have a certain niceness, people take advantage of it.”

Dan Reed has backtracked on some of the facts in his film

The 30-minute Neverland Firsthand comes after documentary-maker Dan Reed, who helmed Leaving Neverland, hit out at claims he made a u-turn on the timeline of the abuse in his film .

He came under fire for his evolving story about the alleged abuse after some fans noted that some of the accusations presented in the film don’t quite ‘add up’.

That included the revelation James said he was abused in the Neverland train station when he was 14, but planning documents show the building wasn’t constructed until he was 16.

Reed, 54, has defended his work and stands by his two interviewees despite saying that some of the facts in his documentary were not correct as he tweeted: “Yeah there seems to be no doubt about the station date. The date they have wrong is the end of the abuse.”

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Michael Jackson’s Leaving Neverland documentary

 





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