Michael Jackson: Corey Feldman says he can 'no longer' defend singer over abuse allegations
'We must consider all sides of this, even as uncomfortable as that may be'
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Your support makes all the difference.Corey Feldman has spoken once more about Michael Jackson, saying he can "no longer defend" the singer.
The actor, who spent time at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch as a child, previously defended the singer following the broadcast of Leaving Neverland, but has since backtracked on the comments.
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.
Feldman previously spoke about Leaving Neverland on Twitter, calling the documentary "one-sided". However, questioned about the comments on CNN, Feldman backtracked.
After asking viewers to imagine themselves in his shoes, Feldman said: "It comes to a point where as an advocate for victims, as an advocate for changing the statutes of limitations to make sure that victims’ voices are heard, it becomes impossible for me to remain virtuous and not at least consider what’s being said and not listen to what the victims are saying — this is very important.
"We must give them their voice. We must allow them to speak. And therefore, we also must consider all sides of this, even as uncomfortable as that may be.”
Feldman added that “absolutely nothing inappropriate” happened between himself and Jackson.
“I don’t want to be perceived as I’m here to defend Michael because I can no longer do that," he said.
"I cannot in good consciousness defend anyone who’s being accused of such horrendous crimes, but at the same time, I’m also not here to judge him because he did not do those things to me and that was not my experience.
"So, therefore, my place is not to be the judge and not to be the accuser and not to be the defender, my job in this is to focus on what’s most important, which is helping to reform the statutes of limitations in every state because if we can reform the statutes of limitations, we can prevent things from ever getting to this point.”
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
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