![]() ![]() Even if you refuse to believe Jackson was a molester, it was well documented that the King of Pop would often let his young fans sleep with him, either in his bedroom at his Neverland estate, or in hotels on tour. There are some things that cannot be disputed. Because not only did Jackson allegedly abuse these children, he also used his power to manipulate their families. Instead, Leaving Neverland paints him as nothing short of monstrous. ![]() The portrait of Jackson here is not that of a misunderstood man-child, or a clueless, harmless weirdo. But as Robson and Saefchuck detailed their sexual abuse at Jackson's hands, I found myself growing sicker and sicker, to the point where if I ever hear a Jackson song on the radio again, I might have to quickly snap it off before I vomit. I grew up loving Michael Jackson's music, and there are still several of his songs I'm a fan of. There's no way to sugarcoat a story like this, but it cannot be overstated how exhaustingly horrifying much of Leaving Neverland is. Jackson apparently had certain sexual rituals he liked to engage in, and hearing Robson and Saefchuck describe them similarly, but separately, paints a damning portrait. What makes this extra horrifying, and all the more believable, is that the two men describe Jackson's sexual proclivities in almost identical ways. After a set-up that seems carefree, light-hearted, and even amusing – the boys meet Jackson, become awed by his stardom even as Jackson becomes something akin to a family friend – Robson and Safechuck both then begin describing, in graphic detail, the sexual activities Jackson forced on them. One of the most jarring elements of the film is the way it so casually dives into the molestation claims. Leaving Neverland lets Robson and Safechuck tell their stories in harrowing detail. Both say they were not only molested by Jackson, but that they entered into what they thought of as a full-blown romantic relationship with the man. Robson, who grew up in Australia, came to the attention of the King of Pop when he won a Michael Jackson dance contest. Safechuck appeared in a commercial with the superstar. Both are grown men now, but when they met Jackson, they were very young. Reed's doc – which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and airs on HBO in March – focuses on two of Jackson's alleged victims, Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck. Was Michael Jackson a pedophile? When the four-hours of Leaving Neverland ended, it became nearly impossible for me to think that he wasn't. ![]() But as Reed's brutal, unflinching, and often sickening doc unfolds, it's nearly impossible to draw any other conclusion. In the eyes of the legal system, he's still an innocent man, and to proclaim him to be 100% guilty of the charges in Leaving Neverland is above my pay grade. ![]() Before we go any further, a disclaimer: as I mentioned above, Jackson was acquitted on a charge of child molestation. ![]()
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