Channel 4 reveals first look at Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland
The trailer features testimony from two men accusing Jackson of sexual abuse
Channel 4 has released a first trailer for its Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland, which features interviews with two men in their thirties who allege that the late pop star sexually abused them as children.
The two-part documentary has faced legal threats from the Jackson estate, who outlined their grievances in a 10-page letter to US co-producer HBO, denying the allegations and criticising director Dan Reed for not talking to any members of his family or his legal team.
Leaving Neverland centres around the testimonies of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who first met Jackson when they were seven and ten years old respectively.
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"Everybody wanted to meet Michael or be with Michael, and you're just starstruck – and then he likes you," Safechuck says in the trailer.
"He was one of the kindest people I knew, and he also sexually abused me," Robson says. "I was seven, seven years old."
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Watch the Leaving Neverland trailer below.
A release from Channel 4 claims that both men chose to break their silence after having sons of their own.
“If there’s anything we’ve learned during this time in our history, it’s that sexual abuse is complicated, and survivors’ voices need to be listened to," director Reed said in a statement. "It took great courage for these two men to tell their stories and I have no question about their validity. I believe anyone who watches this film will see and feel the emotional toll on the men and their families and will appreciate the strength it takes to confront long-held secrets.”
In 2005, Jackson was acquitted of four charges of molestation of a minor. Robson, one of the subjects of the documentary, testified at the time that the singer had not molested him.
Jackson passed away in 2009.
Leaving Neverland begins on Channel 4 on Wednesday 6th March 2019
