Sign up for our Celebrity & Entertainment newsletter. 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. Jackson . Despite the challenges he went through, that did not stop him from being or doing what he wanted to pursue. ", Ultimately, he agreed to spend two days with director Dan Reed recounting his childhood experiences, even though the process was emotionally difficult. "It's all inspired from that level of innocence, that consciousness of purity.". We have to talk about the scary and the nasty stuff. Robson and Safechuck are not being paid by HBO. "I am aware that in light of this documentary the show has caused emotional reactions," Virgil Abloh, the artistic director of menswear at the company, said in the statement. Mr Safechuck (a child at the time) reportedly gave a witness statement defending Jackson when allegations against the singer first emerged in 1993. But in 2005, Jackson was acquitted of criminal molestation charges, which did not involve Robson or Safechuck. UPDATE: This story was originally published March 3 at 2:00 p.m. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark A. "Is this person out to just put together a piece for people to watch because it's Michael? Leaving Neverland is yet to air in the UK but Wade Robson's name is familiar to many. You're lovers, and you're best friends You just feel really connected to someone, and you just love them intensely.". Being born on 28 February 1978, James Safechuck is 45 years old as of todays date 4th March 2023. 4. The estate also argues that HBO has violated a non-disparagement agreement that it made with the singer in order to air a concert special, Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour, back in 1992. The Washington Post quotes Katherine as saying, "La Toya is lying and I'll tell her to her face she's lying," adding that her daughter was "trying to make money off of [Michael's] downfall.". 'Is there anything I can do?'" According to a 2014 Daily Beast article, prosecutors wanted to name Safechuck who had provided a witness statement defending Jackson in the 1993 suit as one of the singer's alleged victims. It was on the set of a 1988 Pepsi commercial that then 10-year-old James Safechuck met Michael Jackson. But changing somebodys mind about Michael is a really unhealthy goal. Young granted the Jackson estate's request to dismiss the suit brought in 2013 by Wade Robson. The men's individual lawsuits were dismissed in 2017, and they are both appealing. robson and safechuck are telling the truth. Additional reporting by NPR's Elizabeth Blair and Colin Dwyer. Apparently, the pair became extremely close in just a few months. 3. Jackson vehemently denied the abuse. He is not only a man with a career but is as well a husband and a father. Safechuck and Wade Robson, who's also accused Jackson of child sexual abuse, recognized that viewers may be skeptical of their claims. Another boy, Jason Francia, whose mother worked as a housekeeper for Jackson, testified under oath that he was molested by Jackson, bringing to five the number of young men whove sworn that Jackson showed them pornography, masturbated them, or introduced them to sex when they were between the ages of 7 and 12. On Sunday, HBO will debut its two-part documentary Leaving Neverland, featuring interviews with two of Michael Jackson's former child companions. When Do New Episodes of 'Mandalorian' Come Out? two sources. 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. The Daily Beast reports in 2013 that after very publicly and repeatedly defending Jackson, Robson now says that Jackson sexually molested him for seven years. Why would anyone put himself through this? Jimmy Safechucks parents got a house. Ill Let the Chips Fall Where They May: The Life and Confessions of Mob Chef David Ruggerio. CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story misidentified the father of one of Jacksons accusers. 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. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal. If you do not know, we have prepared this article about details of James Safechucks short biography-wiki, career, professional life, personal life, todays net worth, age, height, weight, and more facts. At the time, Safechuck was a child actor, only 8 years old, and just . Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Now that the film is out, Safechuck can, hopefully, focus on his needs and feel good knowing he shared his side of the story. Gavin Arvizo is now aged 14, and says on the stand that Jackson masturbated him; Gavin's brother corroborates his claim, and says that Jackson gave them alcohol and showed them pornography. Just because he's "come out" with his story doesn't mean that he's entirely comfortable discussing it publicly, though. According to James's Complaint, "Decedent encouraged Plaintiff to dress like him and grow his hair long like Decedent's. Safechuck was an actor from Southern California then, Robson a little dancer from Australia, when the alleged pedophilia began when both were under 10 years old. It also follows their families, who speak at length about their entanglement with Jackson, in the aftermath of the scandal. This is something special." What sharp-eyed fans have noted is that the story Safechuck told Reed mirrors a myth told by the thoroughly discredited author Victor Gutierrez, who was ordered by a judge in 1998 to pay Michael $2.7 million after he alleged that he seen a 27-minute videotape of Michael Jackson having sex with a minor. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. "The first thing we did was just hug each other for, like, five minutes," Robson recalled. "You have to sort of surrender and pour your heart out and then hope that it gets treated with . In September 1994, prosecutors announce that they are not filing criminal charges against Jackson involving three boys because the "primary alleged victim" declined to testify. "Despite the desperate lengths taken to undermine the film, our plans remain unchanged," the statement read, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After a trial that had a circus-like atmosphere and whose proceedings seemed to sometimes be upstaged by Jackson's antics (including showing up late in pajamas on one occasion), the singer is acquitted of all charges. Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline on (1-800-422-4453) or the American SPCC (www.americanspcc.org). We have had quite a few emails from people asking about James. hide caption. This timeline lays out key dates, known allegations and the main accusations the artist and his estate have faced, going back more than a quarter century. Jordie Chandlers mother got trips to Monaco and Las Vegas, along with a diamond bracelet. It's an assertion she first made at least two years earlier in her 1991 autobiography La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family. The parents were divorced. "This is a sea change moment for me in this healing journey". Information about James is a bit inadequate when it comes to figuring out his net worth. Wade Robson and James Safechuck once defended the pop icon against allegations of abuse, but both men are now the primary subjects of a blockbuster documentary. Joy Robson also acknowledged accepting a car, a $10,000 payment from Jackson, and a $10,000 loan from Jacksons investigator. At that time, James was a child actor who got a chance to meet Michael Jackson during a Pepsi advertisement, which led to many other things that James went through as a child. And thats something that I can do. In 2013, Robson said he was finally ready to come forward with the truth: He was molested by Jackson as a young boy. I think Sundance was a real turning point for him, to have that public validation of his story. The two-part documentary Leaving Neverland, which began airing on HBO on Sunday night, tells the story of two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who accuse Michael Jackson of having sexually abused them for years, beginning when they were respectively about seven and 10 years old. 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. We have had quite a few emails from people asking about James. That is James and wade Robson. When another accuser came forward in 2002, Robson's stance had not changed. Michael Jackson Is Gone, but the Sad Facts Remain. 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 few months later, investigators photographed Jacksons genitalia. The sex symbol confessed that "girls thought I was a jokea happy buffoon," before he met his wife. Or is it somebody who is going to tell the story of survivors and abuse and what that's like? In 1987, Safechuck was . Well, if youre ready, lets start. "I have never forgotten one moment of what Michael did to me, but I was psychologically and emotionally completely unable and unwilling to understand that it was sexual abuse.". Rowe, the mother of two of Jacksons children, made it clear to the Santa Barbara authorities that she never had sex with Jackson. The hallway leading to Jacksons bedroom was a serious security zone covered by video and wired for sound so that the steps of anyone approaching would make ding-dong sounds. When he did the interview back in February 2017 he was perhaps more fragile, definitely more fragile than he is now. "You go out to have a drink with your friend, you're trying to relax and let everything go, and he'll come on. Michael Jackson suffered from the skin discoloration disease vitiligo. "Aye" and "Yea" mean the same thing, and so do "No" and "Nay". According to The LA Times, they came face to face as adults during a lawyer-supervised lunch about five years ago. According to the LA Times, while Safechuck was in a band that "exploded in a spectacular fashion," he later found himself involved in computer programming. In 2017, Judge Mitchell L Beckloff ruled that MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures were not liable for Robsons exposure to Jackson, as "no one other than Michael Jackson had the legal ability or authority to control Michael Jackson". And then Jackson was He's not the boy next door.". In a follow-up interview with the Today show's Katie Couric, La Toya Jackson claims that their mother had shown her such checks as early as "around '84." (Jackson's family claims Safechuck and Robson are opportunists who made up these claims to get money from Jackson's estate.) 2023 BBC. According to Chris Haynes on the #thisleague UNCUT podcast, James' injury won't require surgery, and if need be, he could "probably" play right now, even if he would be in considerable . However, we dont have much information about what he does that is being not a software developer nor being an actor. A handful of Michael Jackson fans turned up at the festival to protest the docu-series, and the Jackson estate has condemned it as a "tabloid character assassination". "This is very difficult for me," she says. "Theres a lot of release happening for me. Wade Robsons father, not Jimmy Safechucks, committed suicide. DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. His estate has sued HBO for distributing the Dan Reed-directed documentary, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January; in its filings, the estate called Leaving Neverland a "posthumous character assassination.". LaToya Jackson also repeats her claim that she and her siblings were abused, including sexually abused, by their parents. More than a decade later, however, Court TV reveals in a 2004 report that Jackson settled the suit for even more than that. Robson and Safechuck say it is because they are fathers themselves now. James Safechuck files a similar suit against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures in 2014, alleging that Jackson abused him on "hundreds" of occasions between 1988 and 1992. I think Sundance was a real turning point for him, to have that public validation of his story. Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.