Michael Jackson’s estate has once again denounced the child sex claims made in Leaving Neverland after the doc premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday.
The statement reads:
“Leaving Neverland isn’t a documentary, it is the kind of tabloid character assassination Michael Jackson endured in life, and now in death. The film takes uncorroborated allegations that supposedly happened 20 years ago and treats them as fact.”
As we reported, the film tells the story of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who both allege the King of Pop groomed and sexually abused them when they were children in the ‘90s.
Related: Macaulay Culkin Defends His Friendship With MJ As ‘Normal’
But MJ’s estate says the film’s subjects are “admitted liars,” noting that their claims were already dismissed by a judge after they were brought forth in lawsuits. The statement continued:
“The two accusers testified under oath that these events never occurred. They have provided no independent evidence and absolutely no proof in support of their accusations, which means the entire film hinges solely on the word of two perjurers.”
The estate also condemned the film’s director Dan Reed for only interviewing the accusers and their families, explaining:
“In doing so, he intentionally avoided interviewing numerous people over the years who spent significant time with Michael Jackson and have unambiguously stated that he treated children with respect and did nothing hurtful to them… By choosing not to include any of these independent voices who might challenge the narrative that he was determined to sell, the director neglected fact checking so he could craft a narrative so blatantly one-sided that viewers never get anything close to a balanced portrait.”
The statement went on to take aim at Robson, who the estate claimed previously denied the molestation claims, adding:
“Conveniently left out of Leaving Neverland was the fact that when Robson was denied a role in a Michael Jackson themed Cirque du Soleil production, his assault allegations suddenly emerged.”
The estate also claimed “we are extremely sympathetic to any legitimate victim of child abuse” but insists that the film “does those victims a disservice.”
Thoughts??
[Image via WENN]
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