Oprah Winfrey spoke out about a newly released documentary about singer Michael Jackson, which examines sexual abuse allegations against him.
The “Leaving Neverland” documentary aired on HBO recently across two nights and included interviews with Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who said Jackson abused them when they were boys.
Oprah presented a special on her OWN network titled “Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland” and included interviews of sexual abuse victims, including Robson, Safechuck, and “ER” actor Anthony Edwards.
Oprah said the documentary raised an important issue and that she encourages discussion about sexual abuse.
“In 25 years of ‘The Oprah Show,’ I taped 217 episodes on sexual abuse,” Oprah said. “I tried and tried and tried to get the message across to people that sexual abuse was not just abuse, it was also sexual seduction. But, for me, this moment transcends Michael Jackson. It is much bigger than any one person.”
She said abuse is “like a scourge on humanity.”
“And it’s happening right now, it’s happening with families. We know it’s happening in churches and in schools and sports teams everywhere. So, if it gets you, our audience, to see how it happens, then some good would have come of it,” she said.
While Oprah said she felt compelled to address the issue, she said near the end of the special episode that the Jackson family would likely target her. Negative reactions to the episode flooded YouTube, where a clip was posted, where one user wrote “I’m officially DONE with Oprah” and another added: “When are you going to discuss the documentary about Harvey Weinstein?”
“The FBI investigated MJ for over a decade and they found literally nothing that says he is guilty. Zero evidence,” another user wrote.
Oprah, though, stressed that people needed to let go of an idealistic view of Jackson and do what was needed to address possible abuse.
“I hope we can get past Michael Jackson, the icon,” she added. “Stop staring into the sun and do what is necessary to heal our children and heal ourselves.”
Jackson’s family has slammed the documentary, claiming it is spreading falsehoods about the singer, and his estate sued HBO.
Jackson’s brother Jermaine Jackson took to Twitter on March 4 to issue fresh criticism of the documentary and Oprah’s show.
“So many in media, including @Oprah, blindly taking #LeavingNeverland at face value, shaping a narrative uninterested in facts, proof, credibility.”
Noting that Jackson was exonerated in 2005 of sexual abuse claims, he added: “We faced similar ‘graphic’ claims + trial-by-media in ’05. Jury saw through it all. Trial-by-law proved Michael’s innocence long ago.”
But Robson and Safechuck spoke in defense of their involvement in the documentary and Oprah special, hitting back at assertations that they plotted their stories to eventually sue Jackson’s estate.
So many in media, inc @Oprah, blindly taking #LeavingNeverland at face value, shaping a narrative uninterested in facts, proof, credibility. We faced similar “graphic” claims + trial-by-media in ’05. Jury saw through it all. Trial-by-law proved Michael’s innocence long ago. Fact.
— Jermaine Jackson (@jermjackson5) March 4, 2019
Oprah asked Safechuck whether he knew Robson before the latter made his first claim, reported Vulture.
“I had met Wade twice when we were kids, when we were on the set of the ‘Jam’ video [in 1991] and when Michael had a weekend at Neverland with us and a few other kids,” Safechuck replied. “So, I knew of Wade and he was nice, so I had gotten along with him as a little kid, but that’s it.”
Robson also said the lawsuit, for $1.5 billion and filed in 2013, against Jackson’s estate wasn’t about money.
“The question was, Could I do something good with this bad? Is there a place I can tell this story that would be a credible, powerful platform where they would have to listen, the estate, that they would have to be held accountable?” he said. “I could’ve, I guess, just gone on some TV shows and done some interviews and more than likely it would’ve been sensationalized and over in a couple weeks.”
Addressing why he didn’t testify on Jackon’s behalf in the 2005 trial, Safechuck added: “I was afraid of being caught. It was on the news 24/7. It was too much to handle. When I said no [to testifying], I wasn’t trying to do the right thing. I was just afraid. It was self-preservation.”
Robson said he was brainwashed and couldn’t, at that time, confront what had happened.
“If I was to question Michael and my story with Michael, my life with Michael, it would mean that I would have to question everything in my life, so it wasn’t even an option to think about it,” Robson said. “Michael was good. That was all that existed in my mind.”
