The True Stories of Michael Jackson's Alleged Victims from 'Leaving Neverland'
Leaving Neverland is HBO's two-part documentary about the relationships Michael Jackson had in the '80s and '90s with Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who both claim that the singer sexually abused them as children. At the peak of his career, Michael became very involved in both James and Wade's families, and became a trusted friend and mentor to each boy.
In the documentary, Wade and James (who are now obviously adult men) describe how the sleepovers and play dates that originally seemed innocent turned into abuse. The Jackson family denies the allegations in the doc and is suing HBO for $100 million for breeching a non-disparagement agreement, CNN reports.
In the midst of the controversy surrounding Leaving Neverland, here's what you need to know about Michael, Wade, James, Neverland Valley Ranch, and the molestation cases.
What is Neverland?
Neverland Valley Ranch was Michael Jackson's home in Los Olivos, California. According to MTV, Michael paid $17 million for the 2,500 acre property in 1988. After purchasing the land, he tricked it out with a full amusement park and plenty of attractions.
It had a rollercoaster, ferris wheel, arcade, railroad, movie theatre, horse stables, and a GD zoo. Yes, you read that correctly. There were actually elephants and giraffes.
What is Wade Robson's story?
In 1987, 5-year-old Wade Robson met Michael backstage at one of his shows in Brisbane after winning a dance contest. Three years later, Wade’s mother, Joy, contacted Michael, which resulted in a weekend trip to his infamous home, Neverland Ranch. To further his career in 1991, Wade moved from Australia to Los Angeles with his mother and sister, Chantal.
From there, Wade and Michael developed an extremely close relationship that would allegedly lead to Michael's sexual abuse of Wade. In the Leaving Neverland trailer, he says "He told me if they ever found out what we were doing, he and I would go to jail for the rest of our lives."
What is James Safechuck's story?
In 1986, 8-year-old James Safechuck met Michael Jackson when they starred in a Pepsi commercial together. Apparently, the pair became extremely close in just a few months.
What happened during Michael Jackson's child molestation cases?
In 1994, after a year-long investigation, Michael Jackson reached an out-of-court settlement with a 14-year-old boy who accused the star of sexual battery, fraud, negligence, seduction, willful misconduct and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In December 2003, Michael was charged with seven counts of child molesting and faced up to 20 years in prison. These charges did not involve Wade or James. After a highly public 14-week trial, Michael Jackson was acquitted in 2005.
Although James did not testify at the trial, Wade claimed that Michael had never molested him during any of his (more than 20) visits to Neverland.
When did Wade and James speak out against Michael?
In 2013, Wade sued Michael's estate. The case-which claimed that Wade had been molested by Michael from the ages of 7 to 14-was thrown out for being filed too late.
"This is not a case of repressed memory," Wade told TODAY while he was filing the case. "I have never forgotten one moment of what Michael did to me, but I was psychologically and emotionally completely unable and unwilling to understand that it was sexual abuse."
James actually added his name to Wade's case in 2013, and then filed a suit in 2014. James's suit claimed that he had been abused from 1988 to 1992.
Currently, James and Wade's suits are both under appeal.
('You Might Also Like',)
