Michael Jackson’s estate is engaged in a campaign of adverts, lawsuits and interviews in an attempt to salvage his image after the screening of Channel 4’s documentary Leaving Neverland, which details years of alleged grooming and child abuse.
The documentary, shown on Wednesday night and continuing on Thursday, features detailed testimonies from Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who allege the pop star abused them for years while they were children. It prompted a campaign to shore up Jackson’s legacy and save the multimillion-pound empire he left behind.
Jackson’s estate – which has made $2.1bn (£1.6bn) since his death in 2009 and is run by John McClain, a co-executor with Jackson’s former lawyer John Branca – originally tried to block the release of the documentary by contacting Channel 4 and issuing a $100m lawsuit against HBO, which broadcast Dan Reed’s film last weekend in the US.
The estate said the documentary, which premiered at Sundance in January, is “the kind of tabloid character assassination Michael Jackson endured in life, and now in death”, and added that “the film takes uncorroborated allegations that supposedly happened 20 years ago and treats them as fact”.
Eamonn Forde, a music industry expert, said the estate was engaged in an unprecedented containment and damage-limitation exercise to attempt to preserve the most lucrative posthumous fortune in the history of music.
“This is a new era for artist estate management, because this is about containment rather than maximising the profile of a deceased artist,” said Forde. “To an extent, estate management is about building a narrative around an artist; they are the directors of the narrative.”
The estate’s response to the documentary has been to question the credibility of Robson and Safechuck – claiming they are “opportunists” and “admitted liars” – and to offer alternative Jackson content. It released two concert films, Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour and Live at Wembley July 16, 1988, on YouTube at the same time as Leaving Neverland aired in the US.
(August 18, 1993) LAPD investigation
After Jordan Chandler makes allegations during a police interview that Jackson has abused him, an investigation begins. Jackson had met the 12-year-old boy the previous year.
(August 25, 1993) Barnes and Robson press conference
Teenagers Brett Barnes and Wade Robson hold a press conference stating that they had shared a bed with Jackson on multiple occasions, but that nothing sexual had happened.
(September 14, 1993) Chandlers sue Jackson
A lawsuit from the Chandler family alleges sexual abuse by Jackson and seeks $30m.
(December 22, 1993) Jackson video statement
Jackson describes being strip-searched and photographed by the LAPD two days earlier as “the most humiliating ordeal of my life”. He states: "I am not guilty of these allegations, but if I am guilty of anything it is of giving all that I have to give to help children all over the world.”
(January 25, 1994) Jackson settles lawsuit
Jackson settles out of court with the Chandlers for $22m – $15m goes to Jordan Chandler to be held in a trust fund until he turns 18.
(September 15, 1994) LAPD investigation fails
After two grand juries fail to indict, and Jordan Chandler tells authorities he will not testify in court, the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara district attorneys end their investigation.
(May 31, 1995) Scream released
The lead single from Jackson’s album HIStory is released. A duet with his sister Janet, the song angrily addresses media coverage of the child sexual abuse allegations against him.
(February 6, 2003) Bashir documentary
Jackson discusses regularly having sleepovers with children, including a young cancer patient named Gavin Arvizo, in Living with Michael Jackson – a documentary fronted by the British journalist Martin Bashir. "It's not sexual," said Jackson on-screen. "We’re going to sleep. I tuck them in. It's very charming." The film rekindles police investigations.
(November 18, 2003) Police raid and arrest
Jackson's Neverland estate is again searched by police, and a week later Jackson is arrested.
(December 18, 2003) Jackson charged
Michael Jackson is formally charged with committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14.
(February 28, 2005) Trial begins
During Jackson's trial, Arvizo and his younger brother testify that the singer showed them pornography and made them drink "Jesus juice" – wine. Both say Jackson masturbated in front of them and molested Arvizo on multiple occasions. Blanca Francia, one of Jackson's former housekeepers, testifies she saw Jackson showering with Wade Robson. Witnesses for the defence, including Macaulay Culkin and Robson, say that Jackson never molested them.
(June 13, 2005) Not guilty verdict
The jury finds Jackson not guilty on all 14 charges brought against him.
(June 25, 2009) Jackson dies
In the run-up to This Is It, a planned residency at London's O2 Arena, Jackson dies age 50 of a cardiac arrest.
(May 15, 2013) Wade Robson sues
Wade Robson takes legal action against the Jackson estate, alleging that Michael Jackson molested him over a seven-year period between the ages of seven and 14.
(November 15, 2014) James Safechuck sues
Safechuck alleges Jackson abused him on more than 100 occasions after the pair met when Safechuck appeared in a Pepsi commercial alongside the singer.
(January 25, 2019) Leaving Neverland
Dan Reed's four-hour documentary Leaving Neverland opens at the Sundance film festival. In it Wade Robson and James Safechuck discuss at length the abuse they claim they suffered at Jackson's hands. It is described as "a public lynching" by Jackson's surviving family.
(March 3, 2019) Television screenings
Leaving Neverland is shown on the HBO network in the US, with a UK screening on Channel 4 on 6 and 7 March. The Jackson estate sue HBO for $100m, claiming the network is in breach of a non-disparagement clause in a 1992 contract.
(March 6, 2019) Radio ban
Radio stations around the world, including in New Zealand and Canada, begin to pull Jackson's music from the airwaves.
The Jackson family has also been vocal in support of the pop star and his legacy. Taj Jackson, one of the singer’s nephews and a member of the 90s boyband 3T, headed a crowdfunded advertising campaign that bought bus stop ads in London for the website MJinnocent.com, with the tagline: “Facts don’t lie. People do.” Taj Jackson also appeared with Tito, Marlon and Jackie Jackson on CBS to defend their brother’s legacy, claiming that despite not watching Leaving Neverland, there was “not one piece of evidence” to support its claims.
Reed compared Jackson’s fans, who he claims have sent him dozens of emails denouncing his film, to religious fanatics. The pop star’s supporters held a small protest outside Channel 4’s headquarters in London on Wednesday before Leaving Neverland was broadcast.
But they have not been able to prevent a backlash, as Jackson’s music has already been pulled from dozens of radio stations in Canada and New Zealand, and does not feature on the playlists of BBC Radio 2. Last summer, the station celebrated Jackson as one of its “legends of pop”, along with Madonna and Prince.
A new Jackson biopic-musical, Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, due to start a Broadway run, was postponed last month, but there are no plans to scrap the jukebox musical Thriller Live, which is in its 10th year at the Lyric Theatre in the West End of London.
Forde believes Leaving Neverland will inevitably affect the Jackson estate’s revenues, but the long-term prognosis depends on the reaction of casual fans. “With this stuff, it comes down to the consumer,” he said. “Will they want to keep on listening to his music?
“There will be the loyal fans who think everything is a smear campaign, but will the casual fan be willing to see a musical? There are only so many hardcore fans who will ignore what this documentary is saying. It’s the floating punters who make these things profitable.”
