Michael Jackson's Brothers and Nephew Defend Him Against Leaving Neverland's Molestation Allegations

If ever a conversation did not call for a “Gotta hear both sides!” interjection, surely it is the one about the years of sexual abuse that Wade Robson and James Safechuck say they suffered at the hands of Michael Jackson. The late pop star’s side has always been clear, and is reiterated in the documentary Leaving Neverland, in which Robson and Safechuck describe their allegations of abuse in meticulous and nauseating detail. We know his side. He says he didn’t molest kids. People who weren’t in the room when the abuse supposedly occurred don’t have a side, only opinions (and inexpert ones at that).

Nonetheless, three of Jackson’s brothers—Jackie, Marlon and Tito Jackson—as well as his nephew Taj Jackson appeared on Wednesday’s CBS This Morning to tell their side of this story. They have not seen Leaving Neverland and say they are not interested in watching it.

Regarding Robson, Marlon asked, “If Neverland was so horrifying for him, why would you keep going back?,” but if in fact he had seen Leaving Neverland, he would know the answer to that question: Robson and Safechuck both say they felt like they were in love with Jackson, that he had convinced him that his abuse of them was a natural expression of their love for each other. They claim that it was so seductive that it took them years to come to consider it abuse at all.

When asked how they know these allegations are false, Marlon told interviewer Gayle King, “Michael wouldn’t do anything like that.”

They alleged that the motivation behind Robson, Safechuck, and filmmaker Dan Reed is money. When King pointed out that others might suspect their defense of their brother is also motivated by money, Marlon claimed that they don’t receive anything from the estate.

In a second segment, Jackson’s nephew Taj said he attended some of his uncle’s slumber parties and saw no untoward behavior.

At least half a dozen people now have claimed publicly that Michael Jackson molested them as children.