Didn’t watch. I knew he was a monster when I read the children had detailed knowledge of the birthmarks on the underside of MJ’s genitalia. I wish they were all prosecuted-the parents, his staff, every one of them.
The MJ estate had made noises to the effect that they intended to file for an injunction to prevent the showing. Perhaps the secrecy was necessary to avoid just that kind of legal action. But I don’t know if that was the case at the time, or if the threat of legal action referred to the widespread release by HBO.
I do wonder if he molested his own children as well, or just other people’s. Not that it really matters now, I suppose.
I do not care about celebrities and what they buy, how they dress, or their political/social justice opinions.
I do not tolerate any celebrity getting a pass on breaking any laws. DUI, assault, abuse, it matters to society to arrest and convict and sentence law breakers of any kind. When we give celebrities community service instead of jail time, it cheapens the whole system.
I will not watch the movie since i am highly sensitive and it will break my heart to know details (if they are true).
My point in posting is to submit a question to ponder. How does this possible abuse situation differ from others in the #MeToo movement? Was Michael Jackson in the same league as Harvey Weinstein? Can boys be abused just like girls? And is it possible that boys lied under oath due to money, grooming, or an emotional bond to their abuser? And yes, sadly there are people who fake it to get noticed in the press. So how do we choose who to believe?
I am not pushing any agenda, just honestly looking for discussion.
Interesting that someone brought up the birthmarks. Yes, you read about that on its own and it is damning and repulsive. Unfortunately, people make judgements very quickly. If you really want to get to the meat of a case, you dig a little deeper.
I believe the only way to find truth is to review all the information. This documentary is only one piece.
Did anyone watch the whole thing and not find them credible?
@PetraMC sorry to derail this serious topic, but I just adore your doggy photo. Is this your pet, or did you just find a great photo online?
Sometimes judgments are warranted. I can not conceive of any situation in which it would be ok for an adult to share the details of genitalia marks with a child. None.
@powercropper I just found it online, but I’d take him in an instant! He looks like my childhood dog.
I have two pups but they are NYC apartment-sized.
Totally believable (but I didn’t watch it; just saw a portion of Oprah.). I do remember seeing an interview with MJ when he was talking about wonderful and innocent it was to have the boys have sleepovers in his bed. I was immediately creeped out and wondered why the prosecutors/police didn’t step in immediately!
I think the important part of the show is that parents need to recognize grooming behaviors in predators. I had a volunteer helper twenty years ago whose granddaughter had been sexually abused by a close family friend for years. They were all devastated when they found out and couldn’t understand how they had not seen the warning signs. It’s so important for this to be out there for discussion so that parents, teachers etc can become aware.
So much of this is similar to Sandysky’s grooming and looking for vulnerable, impoverished boys and families to groom. Ick! When is it ever proper for grown adults to seek out kids to sleep with—not in my universe!
He did not share information about “genitalia marks” with anyone. In 1993 a child who it was deemed was most likely coached by his father said something about being able to identify marks on the genitalia. As a result, photos were taken. It has since been concluded that the photos didn’t back up the story.
The man was bizarre. A grown man sleeping with children is a huge red flag. The families of these boys were beyond negligent. But for me that doesn’t make him a pedophile. When the police raided his home long ago they found adult pornography, nothing related to children.
Now I do plan to watch it; I read a lot about it , but it’s been years.
I happened to walk through the family room when DH was watching it and I ended up seeing about 1/2 hour. It happened to be the 1/2 hour where one of the boys described in detail what had been done to him. I agree if you think it might upset you don’t watch it - it is much more detailed than you might imagine. I found him to be incredibly believable - there wasn’t even a doubt in my mind after hearing him that this happened.
I did read an article with the producer about why he didn’t interview Jackson family members. He said something about not wanting to interview people who dd not have direct involvement with the situation. I can’t find it now but if i do I will link it on here.
I actually subscribed to HBO just to watch it yesterday (well, and I’ve been wanting to start watching Game of Thrones as well). It was heartbreaking and entirely believable. I felt like Oprah’s interview was especially well-done… the fact that she focussed not so much on MJ in particular but on grooming behaviors in general and how this movie’s importance was not that it dragged MJ’s reputation down but that it shows people just what pedophile targeting and grooming looks like and why victims often won’t come forward for years and years.
I think the family may regret a lawsuit against HBO based on the non disparage clause. If the testimony of these men is considered relevant ( it will depend on the exact language of the clause) having these men testify could in my opinion easily lead to a finding that M.J. engaged in the abuse.
Can I nudge the PC boundaries and say I’m glad that Oprah is the one to take this on? It eliminates the “race card” defense for showing the film. I’ve always had issues with MJ, clearly he had mental health issues but I’ve always followed his fascination/desires with children, thus Neverland, and never a fan of Oprah so there’s that too.
I watched the full four hours (it was an excellent documentary), and if Safechuck and Robson are liars, then they should share the next Best Actor Oscar. They are obviously two broken men. I’ve always thought Jackson was a pedophile, and I’m astonished that his die hard fans are still in denial.
Ditto MommaJ. It makes me sad though, because I loved his solo music and the music of the Jacksons.
I didn’t watch it. I don’t have HBO and I didn’t want this on in my house because my H was a childhood victim of abuse and I didn’t want to trigger him. He and I did watch excerpts on the news of the men’s testimony and H felt that they were credible, so I am choosing to go with his opinion on this. Even though one of them testified for MJ in the molestation trial years ago, my H pointed out that he was still relatively young and not likely recovered enough to take on both his parents and the MJ machine by telling the truth. It took my H years of knowing me before he confided the details of what happened to him - and it was two occasions, not over years.
I still maintain that the boys’ parents bear a huge amount of the blame for this, grooming, schmooming. We were talking about this at work the other day and the consensus, which cut across age, race, ethnicity and SES, was what the heck kind of parent allows their kid to sleep with a grown man?
@techmom99 I think that’s the right call. It was specific and graphic and would absolutely trigger someone who went through anything similar, IMO.
Totally agree about the parents.The men clearly have very strained relationships with their moms.