Michael Jackson Accusers Speak Out More in 'Leaving Neverland' Sequel
It's been six years since Leaving Neverland premiered, providing a platform for Wade Robson and James Safechuck to reveal their terrifying experiences of alleged child sex abuse at the hands of Michael Jackson. The two men are returning to documentary form to speak out more about their experiences.
New Documentary: Surviving Michael Jackson
A follow-up, Surviving Michael Jackson, will air, continuing where HBO's impactful 2019 documentary left off, Variety wrote on February 20. Robson and Safechuck had described the abuse they claimed to have suffered at Jackson's Neverland Ranch in California as children in Leaving Neverland—allegations that Jackson's estate has flatly denied. The follow-up documentary will be on the screens on March 18 on Channel 4 in the U.K., as the two men reflect on their experience and the mixed response of the public after the original documentary came out, with Dan Reed again directing.
HBO Drops the Project
Unlike the previous season, HBO is not involved in this new series. Jackson's estate sued the network in 2019 for $100 million, claiming the documentary breached a non-disparagement clause in a 1992 concert film featuring Jackson's Dangerous World Tour. The suit was referred to private arbitration in 2019 and remained pending as of September.
The Impact of Coming Forward
Robson and Safechuck have both been frank about the challenges they faced in coming forward as adults with their allegations against Jackson, after a decade of being involved in civil lawsuits. In the initial release of Leaving Neverland, Robson recounted the wide-ranging backlash and challenges he underwent in seeking truth to The Associated Press. He also contributed that despite the challenges, going on camera for the film was a "therapeutic" experience for him.
The two men are merely a fraction of the individuals who have claimed sexual abuse by Jackson, both before and after his death in 2009. However, Jackson was never convicted or found liable for any of these allegations, and he and his estate have continually claimed his innocence.
