Updated OP from @MirnaMinkoff
HBO just finished a four-hour documentary focusing on Michael Jackson's grooming and rape of two boys. These boys were just two of many.
The boys, James Safechuck and Wade Robeson, were molested by Michael Jackson over a five year period from the ages of seven to twelve.
Here's a story with some of the highlights. Here's another.
Both boys discuss how they didn't think of their rapes and molestation as "abuse" until they became fathers. Michael had so instilled in them the idea that what he was doing to them was "love" all the while instilling terror as to what would ever happened if they told anyone. It also details how Michael courted their parents, bought them things, took them on vacations, etc.. while at the same time taking steps to alienate the boys themselves from their families and their esp. their mothers.
But what I wanted to focus on with this thread is not just on the documentary but the fallout online and the campaign his estate will undertake to try and whitewash a child rapist to keep the money rolling in. There are obviously lots of totally insane MJ fans who will never believe Jackson was anything less than a saint, but there is also a billion dollar celebrity estate at risk here. There are many people who have deep financial interest in maintaining Jackson's legacy so that his music, videos, images and merch keeps making piles of money. Jackson's empire was pretty much ruined by his child raping before his death, but after his death it seems a lot was forgotten and suddenly his death and better money managers free of MJ's insanity made the MJ brand very profitable again.
Now all that money is in grave danger thanks to this brutal documentary detailing exactly what a sick fuck Michael Jackson was and how many lives he ruined and destroyed. I've already noticed an insane number of bot and paid accounts declaring siege warfare on every article about the documentary's comment section. There are countless FB and Twitter accounts working shifts to defend and deflect for this child rapist and trying to defame and drag through the mud the people he raped.
Watching a multi-billion dollar machine go into full gear to try and protect a child rapist in real time, because their investment is threatened, is interesting. I'd be curious about the opinions of the more tech savvy posters here about their insights into how this campaign is being waged online. I'm curious where they might be contracting out this work too and how it will play out.
Is it possible to spend enough money on social media to spin public opinion about an serial child rapist? Time will tell.
On the non-tech side I'm actually fascinated by what MJ's own Frankenstein kids might react to all of this. The kids have no biological relation to MJ, he literally bought eggs, sperm and a woman's body to create cute moppets for himself. (The bio father, at least of Paris Jackson, was the child actor Mark Lester from the 1960's film Oliver, who MJ obviously thought was the sexiest child ever and he asked him to donate sperm.) Michael started creating children right after his child abuse settlement in the early 1990s, almost as if he decided he needed to start creating his own child victims because raping other people's children had proved to be so dangerous to his career and freedom.
MJ creepy brothers have been doing interviews defending MJ and smearing his victims. They indicated in interviews that the documentary had been "hard on his kids" but that they expected the kids to come out and defend MJ sometime in the near future. So obviously the estate and Jackson family has been putting pressure on the kids to publicly defend MJ, but they haven't been willing thus far. This makes me curious how his children really feel about their father, and what they might start revealing now that entering adulthood and slowly getting away from the insane Jackson family. (The Jackson family kept them firmly under thumb as minors.)
Original post by @samuraicrack below:
Watched the first episode, was pretty good. Wondering what everyone thought of the doc.
HBO just finished a four-hour documentary focusing on Michael Jackson's grooming and rape of two boys. These boys were just two of many.
The boys, James Safechuck and Wade Robeson, were molested by Michael Jackson over a five year period from the ages of seven to twelve.
Here's a story with some of the highlights. Here's another.
The documentary is very well done and really gives insight into how predatory pedophiles groom children, and even their families. I highly recommend the documentary, it's terrifying and haunting to watch. Even Oprah has stepped into the fray to support the victims and interviewed them after the doco aired on HBO.It only takes about two minutes into the four-hour documentary Leaving Neverland to realise that Michael Jackson’s legacy is never going to be the same again. After a brief introduction, praising him for his indisputable talent, one of his accusers looks into the camera and lists the ways in which the singer helped him. He then states: “And he sexually abused me for seven years.”
Ever since it was announced as a late addition to this year’s Sundance film festival, controversy hasn’t been far behind. The singer’s estate labelled it “an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson” while fans have reportedly levelled threats against the film’s director, the Bafta winner Dan Reed. Protests had been teased online, leading to an increased police presence, but on a frosty morning here in Utah, only a small group of the late singer’s die-hard obsessives showed up.
For those inside the Egyptian theatre on Main Street, resistance wasn’t futile, it was utterly impossible. Over four hours, set to be shown in two portions on HBO and Channel 4, Reed shared the detailed testimonies of two men accusing Jackson of graphic and extensive sexual abuse when they were children. Before it started, we were informed that healthcare professionals were on hand for those who might need it, the explicit descriptions potentially causing difficulties for those who might feel triggered. While prior court cases might have buckled and previous accusers might have been labelled delusional opportunists, it’s difficult to imagine this sensitively crafted and horrifically detailed film being quite so easily denied.
In a decision justified in a post-screening Q&A, Reed limits the focus to the two accusers and their families, insisting quite rightly that their stories remain powerful without any extraneous material. Their accounts contain many similarities: they were both younger than 10 when they got to know Jackson, they both possessed a keen interest in performing and they were both allegedly groomed then abused for an extended period of time.
The first accuser, whom we hear from at the outset, is Wade Robson, who at a young age developed an intense fandom for Jackson, his “walls plastered” with posters. Described as “a sensitive boy”, he preferred dance over basketball and was soon emulating Jackson’s moves at the age of five in a local contest. The prize was meeting the man himself and the pair developed a deep friendship, one that was encouraged by an over-eager, self-described stage mother, spellbound by Jackson’s celebrity.
Wade Robson, Dan Reed and James Safechuck. Photograph: Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP
The second accuser, James Safechuck, encountered Jackson after nabbing a key role in a Pepsi ad. Similarly, the two developed a friendship at a young age and by 10 he was accompanying him on tour, followed by an equally starstruck mother, who saw Jackson as another son.
It’s James who first describes his recollection of their friendship turning sexual with Jackson allegedly introducing him to masturbation. He saw it as a form of “bonding” and it kicked off what he describes as a “sexual couple relationship” when the two were left alone, allowed to share hotel rooms by James’s unaware mother. The stories progress into even darker territory as she would find her hotel rooms being booked on different floors, Jackson making sure to prevent any potential discovery. James recalls that he woke on one occasion to find Jackson saying that while he was asleep, he had performed oral sex on him. He also told the boy that he was Jackson’s first sexual experience and that this was just an “acceptable way of experiencing your love”.
When Neverland Ranch was built, it became easier to ensure privacy. “It sounds sick but it’s kind of like when you’re first dating somebody,” James explains, after listing the many, many spaces at the complex where Jackson would allegedly abuse him. He claims that Jackson would tell him that his mother was mean and that women were evil, pushing him away from his family and further into Jackson’s life.
Wade claims that his abuse started at an even younger age, when he was just seven. The family stayed at Neverland and after Jackson convinced Wade’s mother, he was allowed to be alone with the boy for five days. “You and I were brought together by God,” Jackson said to Wade as he would allegedly engage in a number of anal and oral activities with him. He told Wade, too, that women weren’t to be trusted and warned that if anyone were to find out, they would both face jail.
Michael Jackson with James Safechuck in 1988. Photograph: Eugene Adebari/REX FEATURES
In one of the most chilling scenes, James recalls the mock wedding the pair had, complete with a wedding ring which he still owns and shows to the camera. He claims Jackson would reward him with jewelry for engaging in sexual acts. “It’s still hard for me to not blame myself,” he says, with his hands shaking as he holds the many trinkets.
But the tenderness soon wore off as Wade, still just seven, was allegedly shown hardcore porn, while James was introduced to alcohol. The two were slowly phased out of Jackson’s life as younger boys were introduced. “You’re no longer special,” James says. Macaulay Culkin replaced Wade in Jackson’s music video for the song Black or White, and Wade and James dealt with feelings of jealousy and resentment. Before the documentary premiered, Culkin denied any impropriety. “For me, it’s so normal and mundane,” he said. “I know it’s a big deal to everybody else, but it was a normal friendship.”
In 1993, Jackson was publicly accused of sexual abuse by Jordan “Jordy” Chandler, which led to him reinserting himself into the lives of both boys, allegedly coaching them on how to respond to any questions. The case was ultimately settled out of court.
“Secrets will eat you up,” James says while detailing the long term damage of the alleged abuse. Both he and Wade have suffered from depression, self-loathing, and anxiety and have struggled with familial relations. At one point, bleakly, James adds: “I don’t think time heals this one. It just gets worse.”
Michael Jackson at his 2005 trial. Photograph: Aaron Lambert/AP
The film also delves into the responsibility of the parents, with both mothers explaining their decision-making processes. Both were horrified when, as adults, their sons shared their stories and both sons have found forgiveness difficult. It also examines the complex reasoning for their decision to stay silent for all these years, including Wade’s appearance at Jackson’s 2004-5 trial, when the singer was accused of abusing Gavin Arvizo, as part of his defence.
“I want to speak the truth as loud as I spoke the lie,” Wade says near the end of the film, determined to make up for the lost years spent grappling with the experience alone.
After the film ended, an ashen-faced crowd rose to their feet to applaud Wade and James, who arrived on stage, both visibly moved by the response. They had met briefly as kids but have recently found support from each other as a way of feeling less isolated. They pointed out, for those who might question their motivations, that there was no compensation for appearing in the documentary. “We can’t change what happened to us,” Wade, now 36, said. “The feeling is what can we do with that now.”
They’ve both received death threats from Jackson fans, who today have flooded Twitter with attempts to discredit the pair. “I understand that it’s really hard for them to believe because, in a way, not that long ago, I was in the same position they were in,” Wade said. “Even though it happened to me, I still couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that what Michael did was a bad thing up until six years ago. So I understand. We can only accept and understand something when we’re ready, and maybe we’ll never be ready. Maybe we will. So that’s their journey.”
Both boys discuss how they didn't think of their rapes and molestation as "abuse" until they became fathers. Michael had so instilled in them the idea that what he was doing to them was "love" all the while instilling terror as to what would ever happened if they told anyone. It also details how Michael courted their parents, bought them things, took them on vacations, etc.. while at the same time taking steps to alienate the boys themselves from their families and their esp. their mothers.
But what I wanted to focus on with this thread is not just on the documentary but the fallout online and the campaign his estate will undertake to try and whitewash a child rapist to keep the money rolling in. There are obviously lots of totally insane MJ fans who will never believe Jackson was anything less than a saint, but there is also a billion dollar celebrity estate at risk here. There are many people who have deep financial interest in maintaining Jackson's legacy so that his music, videos, images and merch keeps making piles of money. Jackson's empire was pretty much ruined by his child raping before his death, but after his death it seems a lot was forgotten and suddenly his death and better money managers free of MJ's insanity made the MJ brand very profitable again.
Now all that money is in grave danger thanks to this brutal documentary detailing exactly what a sick fuck Michael Jackson was and how many lives he ruined and destroyed. I've already noticed an insane number of bot and paid accounts declaring siege warfare on every article about the documentary's comment section. There are countless FB and Twitter accounts working shifts to defend and deflect for this child rapist and trying to defame and drag through the mud the people he raped.
Watching a multi-billion dollar machine go into full gear to try and protect a child rapist in real time, because their investment is threatened, is interesting. I'd be curious about the opinions of the more tech savvy posters here about their insights into how this campaign is being waged online. I'm curious where they might be contracting out this work too and how it will play out.
Is it possible to spend enough money on social media to spin public opinion about an serial child rapist? Time will tell.
On the non-tech side I'm actually fascinated by what MJ's own Frankenstein kids might react to all of this. The kids have no biological relation to MJ, he literally bought eggs, sperm and a woman's body to create cute moppets for himself. (The bio father, at least of Paris Jackson, was the child actor Mark Lester from the 1960's film Oliver, who MJ obviously thought was the sexiest child ever and he asked him to donate sperm.) Michael started creating children right after his child abuse settlement in the early 1990s, almost as if he decided he needed to start creating his own child victims because raping other people's children had proved to be so dangerous to his career and freedom.
MJ creepy brothers have been doing interviews defending MJ and smearing his victims. They indicated in interviews that the documentary had been "hard on his kids" but that they expected the kids to come out and defend MJ sometime in the near future. So obviously the estate and Jackson family has been putting pressure on the kids to publicly defend MJ, but they haven't been willing thus far. This makes me curious how his children really feel about their father, and what they might start revealing now that entering adulthood and slowly getting away from the insane Jackson family. (The Jackson family kept them firmly under thumb as minors.)
Original post by @samuraicrack below:
Watched the first episode, was pretty good. Wondering what everyone thought of the doc.
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