SARAH VINE: Why DID parents leave boys at Michael Jackson’s mercy?

As a mother of two who watched last night’s chilling Michael Jackson documentary, SARAH VINE asks: Why DID parents leave their poor boys at the King of Pop’s mercy?

There are many disturbing moments in Leaving Neverland, the documentary directed by British film-maker Dan Reed that was broadcast on Channel 4 last night. Amazingly, not all of them directly feature Michael Jackson.

For example, there’s the revelation that the parents of Wade Robson (one of the two men who allege that Jackson sexually abused him as a child) left their seven-year-old son on his own with the star at his Neverland Ranch to go off on a road trip — having spent barely a few hours in the singer’s company.

And the moment when the mother of Jimmy Safechuck — Jackson’s other alleged victim — describes life in the pop star’s entourage with breathless enthusiasm: ‘He flies you first class, you have a limo waiting for you at the airport — it’s amazing!’

This was the point I found myself yelling at the TV: I’m sure that was lovely — but did it never occur to you that there might be some kind of agenda going on? A reason Michael Jackson was flying your very beautiful young boy all around the world first class? A price, perhaps, to pay for all his too-good-to-be-true generosity?’

The documentary Leaving Neverland makes explosive claims against Michael Jackson (pictured) a decade after his death 

That said, I’m afraid there can be little doubt: Jackson’s well-documented interest in children — and young boys in particular — hid a very disturbing truth.

The King of Pop, the man whom millions idolised for his musical genius, was almost certainly a serial paedophile who skilfully groomed not only his victims but also their entire families.

He seduced starry-eyed parents into giving up their precious sons in exchange for a whiff of celebrity and a few nice hotel suites.

As the mother of a teenage boy who, like many, loves Jackson’s music, it makes my blood run cold.


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Of course, we don’t have 100 per cent proof. But even I, someone very much of the opinion that a person should be innocent until proven guilty, and trial by television documentary can never be a substitute for trial in court, cannot deny that these testimonies are very powerful indeed.

They are intense, moving and, at times, deeply distressing. The abuse is described in graphic, unbearable detail, the anguish etched on the men’s faces.

There is no question — in my mind — that they are sincere about every word they say.

Of course, there is no incontrovertible proof that Jackson had sex with these men when they were just boys — in one case aged only seven.


The first half of Leaving Neverland aired on Channel 4 on Wednesday night, in which Jimmy Safechuck (left) and Wade Robson (right) alleged that Michael Jackson abused them

But there is an overwhelming body of circumstantial evidence that can no longer be ignored. In particular, the fact that, like many serial sexual offenders, Jackson had a tried and tested modus operandi.

He chose star-struck children who were in awe of him. He befriended their parents — often themselves fans — and made himself a part of their lives, integral to their existence.

He flattered the boys by appearing to prefer their company over anyone else’s and gave them a tantalising glimpse of his celebrity lifestyle. He promised to help them with their future careers, appealing to their ambitions and those of their parents. And when he had them in his thrall, he made his move.

He did this not only with Safechuck and Robson, but also with a third boy called Jordan Chandler, whose parents brought a case against Jackson in 1993, accusing him of ‘sexual battery’.

At the time, Robson and Safechuck stood up for Jackson, with Robson telling CNN that the ‘sleepovers’ at Jackson’s house were wholly innocent, and Safechuck testifying in his defence.

It is this, Jackson’s defenders claim, that discredits their testimonies and shows they are just money-grabbing fantasists. But that’s clearly not the case. Watching this film, not only is their sincerity palpable, it’s also easy to understand why, as children, they took their abuser’s side.

Michael Jackson fans stage a protest outside the headquarters of Channel 4 on Horseferry Road, London, on Wednesday ahead of the airing of the documentary Leaving Neverland

Like so many victims of sexual abuse, they believed Jackson the abuser loved them. And they loved him. Naturally, they wanted to protect him. Especially from a rival for their affections.

In fact, the way in which Jackson seems to have played the boys off against one another is one of the more distasteful aspects of this sordid tale.

One of the most poignant moments is when Robson talks about the betrayal of seeing Jackson with his ‘new friend’, the child star Macaulay Culkin. ‘He and Michael had all the connection and secret things that Michael and I had,’ he says, the jealousy, hurt and confusion evidently still raw.

Robson’s mother describes how the attention from Jackson dried up after Culkin — who has always denied being abused by the star — came on the scene.

‘It broke my heart to see him waiting for that call,’ she says. ‘After a while, I realised there was a pattern. Every 12 months there was a new boy in his life.’

The boys trusted and adored Jackson, believed him when he said they were special.

But the awful truth is that they were just toys to him — playthings which he used and abused and then tossed aside once he had grown bored of them. 

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