Michael Jackson was the focus of a lot of controversy during his lifetime, the most famous (and awful, if true) of which were the multiple sex abuse charges for molestations he allegedly committed against underage boys. While many of the witnesses and defendants were found to be unreliable or flip-flopped on their stories, the sheer volume of “victims” was enough to cast doubts in the mind of much of the public, and it unfortunately tarnished what was an incredible musical legacy.
Of course, Jackson has been dead now for several years, so it seemed that all of the uproar would have faded away… but of course it hasn’t. In fact, there are now new charges against Jackson by now-36-year-old James Safechuck, who claims he was molested by Jackson when he was 10-years-old during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in which they both appeared.
From People:
After multiple visits to Jackson’s home (some of which were chaperoned by his parents) and several all-expense-paid cross-country trips, Safechuck joined the pop star on his “Bad” tour, which is when he alleges the first incident of sexual abuse occurred.
Though specifics of the abuse claims are redacted in the papers, Safechuck says it first happened at the Hotel de Crillon during the Paris portion of Jackson’s tour.
The papers allege Jackson gave Safechuck jewelry as a “reward” for sexual favors and taught him code words so others wouldn’t learn about their sexual activities.
Of course, the Jackson family has denied this and gave a statement to E! News on Wednesday, refuting the claims.
“Mr. Safechuck’s request to file a late claim against the Jackson Estate so he can recover money from Michael’s beneficiary will hopefully be rejected,” says the statement. “This is a person that made his claim five years after Michael died, more than 20 years after the incidents supposedly happened and has given sworn testimony that Michael never did anything inappropriate to him.”
But uh, back to Safechuck and his fuckery:
Claiming he was the first to stay at Jackson’s famed Neverland Ranch after it was built, Safechuck states in the papers that the pop star “installed chimes in the hallway to his bedroom” so he could be warned of people approaching and had a “secret closet” in his bedroom where he engaged in sexual activities with Safechuck.
During the four years that Safechuck claims the abuse took place, Jackson engaged in sexual acts with him “hundreds of times – on tour, at Plaintiff’s home, at DECEDENT’s apartment/condominium … at DECEDENT’s … Condominium … and at Neverland,” the papers say.
When Safechuck hit puberty at 12 years old, Jackson began “grooming him for separation [that] spanned several months” and focusing his attention on a younger boy named Brett, Safechuck claims. Eventually, Jackson stopped sexually abusing Safechuck but continued supporting him financially and put him in touch with industry people to guide his career, he adds.
There’s actually going to be a case (against whom, I’m not exactly sure, considering the defendant is not only not there, but uh… not alive?) in September surrounding these charges.
I’m not sure what to think, to be honest. I certainly don’t think it’s completely impossible that Michael Jackson was a child molester, but I also don’t 100% buy into it. On the one hand, I feel absolutely awful denying any potential victim’s experience, especially if the abuse is true. On the other hand, it’s an unfortunate fact that famous people are the victims of shit like this often because it’s easy money for awful human beings who see nothing wrong with ruining someone’s life and reputation by accusing them of unthinkable things.
What do you guys think?