Leaving Neverland
I've wanted to make this blog post for a while now, but decided to wait till I had seen the HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland" by Dan Reed before making any personal comments. The 4 hour long documentary features Wade Robson and James Safechuck who in detail talk about their experiences with Michael Jackson as childen and how he sexually abused them for years.
It's no secret that MJ has been accused of sexual absuse towards children before, and I believe the first allegations date back to the 90's and then he also went to trial in 2005, but was acquitted of all charges. I was a huge MJ fan (who wasn't?) , and I even made a post about his death on this blog in June 2009 and how sad I was when he passed, but that he will live on through his music - which he has. I never believed any of the hoffifying accusations against him because in my head he was the greatest entertainer of all time who had a rough childhood and only wanted to do good in this world. This was the image he created and portrayed to not just me, but to millions of fans all over the world, therefore naturally we all defended him when anyone tried to put him down or shame his name and legacy. It brings me great pain and sorrow to say that I can no longer see MJ in the same light as I always have after watching "Leaving Neverland" and all the interviews with Wade and James. I simply cannot unhear what I have heard or unsee what I have seen, and I found myself crying floods of tears at the end och the film but didn't know why. I still don't know why I cried so hard, but it's clear that something inside me broke and I just couldn't keep it together. Of course there is always two sides to a story, but when the same allegations and detailed descriptions of the abuse from multiple men arise decade after decade I feel that I don't have a choice anymore but to listen to the victims - they deserve that.
To falsely accuse someone is unfortunately very common in our society and many innocent people end up going to prison for a crime they didn't commit. This works the other way as well, a lot of (probably even more) guilty people walk free due to "lack of evidence" or "not enough witnesses", etc...but just because they were found 'not guilty' in court, it doesn't mean they didn't do it. Regardless of how good we want our legal system to be, there are many cases where rape and any form of assault cannot be proven (unless reported straight away - this increases the chances) and it becomes a word against word scenario that does't hold much weight in a court of law.
MJ has been dead for almost 10 years now and is not here to defend himself or provide any comments surrounding the new allegations towards him made by Wade and James, and I would agree that their timing sucks, but is there ever a good time to talk about something as horrible and torturous like this? I wish they would have come out when MJ was still alive, but I understand they didn't because they weren't ready at that time. These two boys along with probably countless others were severely brainwashed by MJ for years and he engraved so much fear into them that no one can ever find out what they were doing or they would all go to jail for life. That's a terrifying thing to hear for a child, therefore naturally they kept their mouths shut in the same way many other victims do. MJ's death might have been the trigger they needed in order to be able talk about their abuse because he could no longer control them? But what do I know, I'm only speculating and I don't want to think about it too much as it's all very disturbing and difficult to comprehend.
I believe Wade and James and am at present disgusted with MJ. I cannot listen to his music anymore as it only brings me pain and I won't support a predator of any kind, regardless if they are famous or not.
Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and beliefs and I undestand why his family and a lot of fans are outraged by this documentary and try to discredit it to save the memory of MJ. I don't blame them or judge them for that, in fact I understand why they are because I used to be one of them. However, I cannot turn a blind eye anymore.
Writing this post has made me think that perhaps the reason why I've been sad and upset is because I'm now properly mourning the death of MJ. I was groomed by him too as a fan, but now the bubble has burst and he is officially dead to me.
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