Michael Jackson fans will never believe he is responsible for his crimes
Their idol isn’t just one of the most important musicians of all time, he is a god-like figure.
In November 2026, Wade Robson and James Safechuck are finally due to get their day in court more than 10 years after first coming forward to accuse Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them as children.
It’s been an uphill battle to bring their joint suit against MJJ Productions and MJJ Venture (owned by the Jackson estate) to face a jury, accusing the company of failing to protect them from Jackson, even making sure the singer could get them on their own.
For any victim of sexual assault, coming forward is an act of bravery few can ever understand unless they’ve been through it themselves.
For Robson and Safechuck though, they knew full well they would be opening themselves up to levels of abuse typically reserved for serial killers when they spoke in graphic detail about their respective experiences with biggest-selling artist of all time in the two-part documentary, Leaving Neverland.
Because the sad truth is, Michael Jackson’s fans will never believe he is responsible for these crimes, even if they had all the ‘proof’ in the world.
In 2019’s Leaving Neverland, Safechuck described their relationship as being like a ‘married couple’, recalling Jackson hosting a fake wedding ceremony and even producing an engagement ring. He was around 11 years old at the time.
Wade Robson (left), director Dan Reed and James Safechuck (right) (Picture: Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP File)‘He was one of the kindest, most loving, caring people I knew. And he also sexually abused me,’ said Robson.
Robson claims he gave oral sex to Jackson when he was just seven years old after first meeting two years before at a dance competition.
Robson’s family claim they were convinced by Jackson to leave Robson alone in his care, which is when he says the abuse began.
Despite Leaving Neverland’s critical acclaim, Jackson fans took to the streets in protest, with the singer’s family calling it a one-sided ‘tabloid character assassination’, despite turning down repeated attempts to give their side.
The dilemma with most sexual assault cases, particularly ones as historic as this dating back to 1988, is that the evidence is very much one person’s account’s versus another.
Six years after the release of Leaving Neverland, a sequel is about to air on Channel 4 and YouTube, revisiting Robson and Safechuck, who have continued to fight the Jackson estate for justice, capturing the ‘ongoing legal battle, the resulting personal toll and the backlash they faced from Jackson’s global fan base’.
