", The documentary, reported by journalist Martin Bashir, includes footage of Jackson holding hands with and cradling a young teenager, then identified as a cancer survivor, and says that they share a bed. Wade first crossed paths with the multiple Grammy Award winner in 1987 at the age of just 5. However, information about him being sexually abused by Michael Jackson has led to the evolution of documentaries that he has been participating in and engaging most of his time in it. The Johnny DeppAmber Heard Defamation Trial: The Makings of a Remarkable Moment in American Celebrity. During the trial, the New York Times reports that Murray, who had been hired as Jackson's personal physician, "had stayed with Jackson at least six nights a week and was regularly asked and sometimes begged by the insomniac singer to give him drugs powerful enough to put him to sleep.". "Theres a lot of release happening for me. In an interview on All Things Considered, filmmaker Dan Reed says that two different threads drew him to telling the two men's stories. The police find no incriminating evidence at Jackson's Neverland ranch, nor at his Los Angeles condominium. In a statement shared exclusively with WWD, the company's top executives said they were unaware of the documentary and its "deeply troubling and disturbing" allegations at the time of their own show. In Leaving Neverland, his mother recalls that she had said no at first but, after getting to know Jackson and feeling that he was like another son to her, she eventually conceded in good faith. Digital Spy participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. "However the law is becoming more friendly to the young victims of abuse and people now realise that these stories can take decades to come to light." Robson, now a 38-year-old choreographer, met Jackson when he . for me robson and safechuck are more credible. He's not the boy next door.". His friend wade has been at higher profile careers in show business, but James it completely unknown information as far as his career is concerned. Dan Reed said on the podcast Reality Life With Kate Casey. Years later, Robson claims he lied at the 2005 trial. They had to come to grips not only with what happened to them but also with the complicity of those closest to them. Safechuck told Vanity Fair in February that he can't even listen to a Jackson song in public without feeling overwhelmed. There is no dispute that, at age 34, Michael Jackson slept more than 30 nights in a row in the same bed with 13-year-old Jordie Chandler at the boys house with Chandlers mother present. He said I was his first, but even as kid you don't know what that means. What struck me most, as someone who spent more than a decade reporting on allegations against Jackson, was how closely Robsons and Safechucks stories mirrored those of Jordie Chandler and Gavin Arvizo, the 13-year-old whose allegations prompted the 2005 trial in which Jackson was acquitted on 10 felony counts, including four counts of child molestation and one of attempted child molestation. "Michael is my brother. Jonathan Steinsapir and Howard Weitzman, representing MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, told the BBC: "We are pleased that the court agreed that Mr Safechuck had no grounds to pursue his lawsuit.". ), They are described as "special friends" of Jackson who have slept with the singer in his bed. As for relatives, James was born to Shane Safechuck and Stephanie Safechuck. He had posters of his hero plastered all over his bedroom walls and spent hours perfecting his MJ-inspired dance moves, rewinding and studying the big music video dance numbers over and over. In the 236-minute documentary, two adult men, James Safechuck and Wade Robson, allege sexual abuse against Michael Jackson when they were young boys in the '80s and '90s. LaToya Jackson also repeats her claim that she and her siblings were abused, including sexually abused, by their parents. "Its strange to hear people clap," Safechuck, who is now 40 years old, told The LA Times. Though times are still tough, Safechuck said he feels supported by his family and that he's grateful for (if not surprised by) the kindness some viewers have shown him. Before long, Michael had somewhat inserted himself into the Robson family, and young Wade, along with his parents, was touring with the star and visiting him at the now-famous Neverland ranch. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodwards Daughters Appreciated the Fuck Hut Detail Too. He had just gotten through to his wife and now he wanted to change his story and give me a quote praising Jackson. It was this budding dance talent that became his ticket to meet Jackson when he won a local competition. On Sunday, HBO will debut its two-part documentary Leaving Neverland, featuring interviews with two of Michael Jackson's former child companions. It all started when in 1987 when Michael Jackson and James met during the Pepsi advertisement commercial. Those two things coexist.". How Jackson Accuser James Safechuck Is Doing Now, 2019, American History Has Been Whitewashed, But, Black Teen Girls On TV Are A Mess Finally, Safechuck shared detailed allegations in HBO's 2019, Dan Reed said on the podcast Reality Life With Kate Casey, the standing ovation he and Robson received, tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey on March 4, Jackson's family claims Safechuck and Robson, he was initially hesitant to participate in. At a young age, James was a child actor in which he has taken his acting skills up to this age to earn himself a living. Period.". Safechuck did defend Jackson when he was accused of molestation for the first time in 1993 (although he declined to testify at Jackson's 2005 trial). Safechuck, who came forward with his allegations after Jackson died in 2009, has kept a relatively low profile throughout his adult life; though, as he explained in a February 2019 interview with CBS This Morning, Safechuck's desire to warn people about the dangers of child sexual abuse was more important to him than staying out of the spotlight. Within a few years, Robson had moved with his mother to Los Angeles with Jackson's encouragement. ", Safechuck, who also spoke to the magazine, says he "didnt set out to change minds. Both men won an appeal in California earlier this. By Nicole Sperling February. Two years later, in May 2015, a judge in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Mitchell L. Beckloff, dismisses Robson's suit against the estate, saying that he waited too long to file his claim. At the time, he was young, impressionable, and vulnerable traits Safechuck claims Jackson used to manipulate, groom, and sexually molest him for years. Wade Robson has a page dedicated to child abuse prevention and healing on his website. Robson testified at the trial, saying he had slept in Jacksons room many times and nothing happened. Both men testified on Jackson's behalf in 1993, after another child, Jordan Chandler, accused the singer of molestation. Their individual legal battles against the Jackson estate also meant that they could not communicate with one another. These days, Bautista is keener to explore his acting range.Now, fans may have seen glimpses of this in the past with the actor fighting James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Spectre and portraying replicant and combat medic Sapper Morton in Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049.. Now, Bautista is ready for more, especially after starring in Rian . It gets easier, but it's still hard.". Where Did the 'Perfect Match' Couples End Up? DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. Although he wasn't a self-proclaimed Michael Jackson fan at the time of meeting him, he too was swept up in the excitement of becoming friends with one of the world's most famous entertainers. "You go out to have a drink with your friend, you're trying to relax and let everything go, and he'll come on. In the filing, a family whose child is ostensibly the 13-year-old boy referred to as "Jamie" by Vanity Fair alleges that Jackson had "repeatedly committed sexual battery" on their son. By that time, Jackson had six solo albums including Thriller on the shelves, securing his place as one of the world's biggest music icons. The Jackson family, for its part, has filed a $100 million lawsuit against HBO, trying to prevent the documentary from being aired. The company had showcased the collection at a show on Jan. 17, or just over a week before the documentary was screened publicly for the first time at the Sundance Film Festival. Every time. ", Ultimately, he agreed to spend two days with director Dan Reed recounting his childhood experiences, even though the process was emotionally difficult. Forensic experts with experience in the Secret Service found the fingerprints of boys alongside Jacksons on the same pages. Robson was a success in his own right and yet he walked away from it all just when he was reportedly offered the opportunity to direct Step Up 4 in 2011. This content is imported from Instagram. "It's still really hard for me. So far, five boys Michael Jackson shared beds with have accused him of abuse: Jordie Chandler, Jason Francia, Gavin Arvizo, Wade Robson, and Jimmy Safechuck. That's our argument.". "It was tough. You're lovers, and you're best friends You just feel really connected to someone, and you just love them intensely.". "We were like this married couple," he said. To have people believe him and stand up and give him an ovation instead of standing up and shouting at him and calling him a liar. Both were estranged from their sons at the time. So when I heard about the new two-night HBO documentary Leaving Neverlandand the fact that Oprah was going to be interviewing Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the two men in the film who accuse Jackson of sexually abusing them as childrenI had a similar reaction to the rest of the world: Disbelief.. And that was my sentiment walking into Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverlanda . Beckloff, who is also the presiding judge in this suit, rejects Safechuck's suit in June 2017 on the same grounds he gave Robson. It has been transformational for both Wade and James.". For years, the former child actor has alleged that Jackson kissed him, taught him how to masturbate, performed oral sex on him, and forced him to perform oral sex. 'Is there anything I can do?'" That kind of stress can and does destroy families. Gavin's mother, Janet Arvizo, also appears as a witness; the BBC describes her testimony as "combative and rambling." One is 10-year-old Wade Robson, an Australian boy who first met the megastar five years earlier, when he won a Michael Jackson dance contest in Brisbane. In the new HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, both men accuse the late singer of sexual abuse. Safechuck told the Associated Press earlier this year that he was initially hesitant to participate in Leaving Neverland. Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office/Getty Images James is known to be an actor and a software developer. James has not kept his relationships private, and there it is easy for us to account for his personal life, which James seems to not be bothered if it is known to the public. A child actor from Simi Valley, California, Safechuck landed a coveted role in a Pepsi commercial alongside the pop star in 1987. According to James's Complaint, "Decedent encouraged Plaintiff to dress like him and grow his hair long like Decedent's. (Jackson's family claims Safechuck and Robson are opportunists who made up these claims to get money from Jackson's estate.) He also slept in the same bed with Jordie Chandler at Chandlers fathers house. . However, Safechuck declined to participate in the 2005 trial, and the prosecution excluded him as a potential victim. A post shared by Wade Robson (@waderobsoncreations). Afterwards, Safechuck and Jackson formed a friendship and at age 10, Safechuck appeared in Jackson's Bad Tour as a Mini-Me performer. Being born on 28 February 1978, James Safechuck is 44 years old as of today's date 4th February 2023. "Really, it's just, 'I love this person, and we're trying to make each other happy.' From that point onwards, the family claims, Jamie slept with Jackson nearly every night for the next several months. And I don't think a day goes by where I don't hear a song," he said. We regret the error. During their stays, Michael and James would stay together in "the big house" while the rest of the family would stay in one of the guest rooms. What Really Happened During the Making of. According to The LA Times, they came face to face as adults during a lawyer-supervised lunch about five years ago. As soon as James was done with high school, he graduated from Artcenter College of design, and now he holds a degree in graphic design. "The first thing we did was just hug each other for, like, five minutes," Robson recalled. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. But all that success in the kitchen belied the double life he was leading as a rank-and-file member of the Mob. His drawings were sealed in an envelope. But we argue that Leaving Neverland really isn't the documentary you might think it is, and viewers are left to come to their own conclusions. While he now recognizes the trauma Jackson's alleged actions caused him, Safechuck explained to CBS that he didn't realize how harmful the relationship was at the time. Michael Jackson and 10-year-old James Safechuck in 1988, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal. During a televised interview on Today, in May of that year, Wade claimed that Jackson had "performed sexual acts on [him] and forced [him] to perform sexual acts". Why make me feel so bad? James was both an idea-generator during that . At the time, Safechuck was a child actor, only 8 years old, and just . HBO Max Comedies Thatll Put You in a Good Mood, Everything to Know Ahead of 'Mando' Season 3. To have people believe him and stand up and give him an ovation instead of standing up and shouting at him and calling him a liar. In it Wade Robson and James Safechuck discuss at length the abuse they claim they suffered at Jackson's hands. It can be something as simple as a song. Leaving Neverland will air on Channel 4 in the UK on Wednesday, March 6 and HBO in the US on Sunday, March 3. In 2005, Jackson was found not guilty on all charges. "I just set out to talk to other survivors. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. We have had quite a few emails from people asking about James. It's no secret that, before and even after his death in 2009, Jackson was the subject of multiple sexual abuse accusations and police investigations as well as civil and criminal lawsuits. And more! Wade Robsons mother testified in the 2005 trial that she funneled wages through Jacksons company and was given a permanent resident visa. How exactly did the alleged illegal activity go down? Jackson took him on stage during the "Bad" tour and let the boy moonwalk beside him on stage. "It's the complexity that drew me into wanting to really tell the story," Reed says, "which is that in an abusive pedophile relationship there is both love, affection, mentoring, friendship, caring and there is sexual abuse. In 2011, in a second autobiography called Starting Over, La Toya Jackson retracted her allegations against both her brother Michael and her father Joe, saying that she was forced to make them by her husband at the time, whom she accused of being abusive. Or is it somebody who is going to tell the story of survivors and abuse and what that's like? Apparently, the pair became extremely close in just a few months. 6. A court ruled in 2015 that Robson had filed his lawsuit too late to get any of Jacksons estate, leaving two remaining defendants: MJJ Productions, Inc., and MJJ Ventures, Inc. Two years later, a judge found that MJJ Productions, Inc., and MJJ Ventures, Inc., both Jackson-owned corporations, were not liable for Robsons exposure to Jackson. Jackson vehemently denied the abuse. But in 2005, Jackson was acquitted of criminal molestation charges, which did not involve Robson or Safechuck. Despite the backlash, Safechuck and Robson, who are both now married with their own children, said they felt they needed to come forward not to regain favorability in the public eye, but to help others and heal themselves. The sex symbol confessed that "girls thought I was a jokea happy buffoon," before he met his wife. His height is 178cm tall, and his weight is 75 kg. On two other occasions, Jackson was hit with lawsuits alleging abuse. He knows that, but he is strong. Michael Jackson, leaving the Santa Barbara County courthouse during his 2005 criminal trial. And he said Wade and fellow alleged Jackson victim James Safechuck are more than used to legal setbacks. "In producing this fictional work," the suit continues, "HBO ignored its contractual obligations to Michael and his companies by disparaging both him and the Dangerous World Tour that HBO had previously profited from immensely." Safeshuck is now the Director of Innovation and Technology at a digital advertising agency. Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. The singer is found unresponsive at his home in Holmby Hills, Calif. At the time of his death, his family releases a statement saying that it is believed that he died of cardiac arrest. James Safechuck's life changed forever after he met Michael Jackson at age 8. I naturally wanted to know if Jackson had befriended any other young boys, and it wasnt long before I heard the names Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck. 4. According to the Neverland staff interviewed by the Santa Barbara authorities, no one ever saw or knew of a woman spending the night with Michael Jackson, including his two spouses, Debbie Rowe or Lisa Marie Presley. This psychological manipulation provides context and an explanation as to why they each protected their abuser for the time that they did. Robson and Safechuck are not being paid by HBO. "My greatest inspiration comes from kids," Jackson says to Bashir indignantly, while holding onto the child. "Despite the desperate lengths taken to undermine the film, our plans remain unchanged," the statement read, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Safechuck, who appeared in the recent documentary Leaving Neverland, alleged in a 2014 lawsuit that Jackson had abused him from 1988 until 1992. What's the least exercise we can get away with? Forty years later, JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson tell all about the horror classics secrets, tragedies, and controversies. The two-part documentary, which premieres on HBO this Sunday, gives Robson and Safechuck, together with their surviving family members, the opportunity to tell their stories of being first befriended and then seduced, emotionally andthey allegesexually, by Michael Jackson. The judge did not rule on the credibility of Robsons allegations. Wade Robson and James Safechuck have both testified under oath that Michael never did anything inappropriate toward them, the statement said. But it came at a cost. Safechuck, who came forward with his allegations after Jackson died in 2009, has kept a relatively low profile throughout his adult life; though, as he explained in a February 2019 interview with CBS This Morning, Safechuck's desire to warn people about the dangers of child sexual abuse was more important to him than staying out of the spotlight. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. hide caption. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 (www.nspcc.org.uk). Unfortunately, James is well recognized for being Michael Jacksons accuser of sexual assault. hide caption. Strictly's Karen Hauer teases future judging role, Creed 3 star talks building intimacy with co-star, EastEnders reveals big twist in Eve and Suki story, Emmerdale star shares future of Paddy's dark story, Sims 4 Growing Together 28% off in pre-order deal. How did it come to this? A 10-year-old California boy, James (Jimmy) Safechuck, is hired to appear in a Pepsi commercial alongside Michael Jackson.