Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Michael Jackson: Corey Feldman defends singer following Leaving Neverland documentary

'All I know is what I experienced, and yes, every experience was the same right up to the sex part'

Jack Shepherd
Tuesday 05 March 2019 04:58 EST
Comments
Trailer for new HBO documentary about Michael Jackson abuse victims Leaving Neverland

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Corey Feldman has defended Michael Jackson following the broadcast of Leaving Neverland on HBO in the United States.

The documentary features extensive interviews with two men who accuse the singer of molesting them as boys, Wade Robson and James Safechuck. The four-hour long film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah earlier this year and left audience members shocked by the details of the allegations.

The Jackson estate has reacted furiously to the documentary and is suing HBO, the US network that co-produced the film with Channel 4.

Feldman, who spent time at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch as a child, has defended the singer, saying he “never touched me inappropriately”.

“All I know is what I experienced, and yes, every experience was the same right up to the sex part,” the actor tweeted. “That is where it becomes La La Land, instead of Neverland for me.”

Robson and Safechuck have both claimed that Jackson molested them. Feldman added: “I wasn’t there when those boys were. But i was there around the same time as Jimmy and I saw many kids around (girls included) who I am still friends with to this day and none of us were ever approached by him in a sexual way at all.

“So as much as those two men deserve to have their voices heard, so do the thousands of kids who hung around him, that don’t agree!”

Feldman also implied the two men may have felt abandonment by Jackson. “Given the opportunity which he certainly had with me and others, being alone, with no parents around, how did he control those urges so well, while so blatantly sexual with those two boys? It doesn’t really fit the profile,” he wrote. “But what motive besides $ do they have? Abandonment is a strong one.”

He also took issue with “this whole thing” being “one sided”, with Jackson having no chance to defend himself.

Feldman has spoken previously about being molested as a child, but not by Jackson. He previously accused his former assistant and co-star Jon Grissom of sexually abusing him.

Jackson’s estate has criticised the documentary, calling it a “public lynching”. Following the broadcast, Robson and Safechuck spoke with Oprah Winfrey about the documentary.

“Michael drilled in you, ‘If you’re caught, we’re caught, your life is over, my life is over,’” Safechuck claimed. “It’s repeated over and over again, it’s drilled into your nervous system. It takes a lot of work to sort through that.”

Leaving Neverland airs in the UK as two parts, on Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 March at 9pm on Channel 4

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in