Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Leaving Neverland
Leaving Neverland is a 2019 documentary television film directed and produced by Dan Reed. The documentary focuses on two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who allege they were sexually abused as children by the American singer Michael Jackson.
Following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019, Leaving Neverland was broadcast in two parts on HBO; a shortened version was broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in March 2019. The film received critical acclaim, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, but mixed reviews from viewers.
Leaving Neverland triggered a media backlash against Jackson and a reassessment of his legacy. However, it boosted sales of his music. Some dismissed the film as one-sided and questioned its veracity; Jackson's estate condemned it as a "tabloid character assassination", while Jackson's fans organized protests. A number of rebuttal documentaries seeking to refute the allegations were released. In February 2019, the Jackson estate sued HBO and later won their case against HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 Jackson concert contract by distributing the film. A sequel, Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson, premiered on March 18, 2025.
Director Dan Reed described Leaving Neverland as a "study of the psychology of child sexual abuse, told through two ordinary families ... groomed for twenty years by a pedophile masquerading as a trusted friend." In the film, Wade Robson and James Safechuck allege that Jackson sexually abused them when they were children–Safechuck from 1988 to 1992 and Robson from 1990 to 1996. They give graphic descriptions of Jackson's alleged sex acts, including masturbation, oral sex and anal sex, which they say took place at his home, Neverland Ranch, and other locations.
Robson and Safechuck claim that Jackson said these acts were "romantic," and that they did not realize they were inappropriate until adulthood. Safechuck also claims that Jackson took him shopping for an engagement ring and later held a mock wedding. Safechuck alleges that around the time of Jackson's criminal trial in 2005, he told his mother that Jackson "wasn't a good person." Safechuck asserts to have begun therapy in 2013, thus recalling his trauma for the first time. Safechuck's mother Stephanie describes feeling elated and dancing upon hearing of Jackson's death in 2009: "'Oh thank God, he can't hurt any more children!' Those were my thoughts." Robson says Jackson told him to distrust women. Both men claimed that Jackson tried pushing them away from their families and "brainwashing" them. Jackson allegedly sent the two men love letters and set up security systems at Neverland to prevent other people from witnessing the abuse.
Safechuck says Jackson eventually replaced him with Brett Barnes; Robson claims he was replaced by the actor Macaulay Culkin, who is two years older, because Jackson preferred prepubescent boys. Robson says he was given Jackson memorabilia as a child, and is photographed burning the items.
In 1993, Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler. Jackson denied the claims and settled the case out of court for US$23 million. No charges were filed after a criminal investigation due to a lack of evidence and testimony from Chandler. In 1996, Jackson made an out-of-court settlement with the mother of another boy, Jason Francia, for more than US$2 million, who, in 1993, previously told police that Jackson never molested him. The Francias never filed a lawsuit. In 2005, Jackson was criminally tried for several counts of child molestation following concerns raised in the 2003 documentary Living with Michael Jackson. In that film, he was seen holding hands with 12-year-old Gavin Arvizo and talked about sharing a bed with him. Jackson was acquitted of all charges.
Robson states in his 2013 complaint that he had suffered two nervous breakdowns in April 2011 and March 2012. In 2013, Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old; the suit was reportedly worth US$1.5 billion. The following year, Safechuck filed a lawsuit alleging he was sexually abused by Jackson over four years, beginning when he was ten years old. Safechuck said he realized he was abused by Jackson after seeing Robson on The Today Show in 2013. A probate court dismissed Safechuck's suit in 2017. Both men had previously testified that Jackson never molested them—Safechuck as a child during the 1993 investigation, and Robson as a child in 1993 and as a young adult in 2005.
Hub AI
Leaving Neverland AI simulator
(@Leaving Neverland_simulator)
Leaving Neverland
Leaving Neverland is a 2019 documentary television film directed and produced by Dan Reed. The documentary focuses on two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who allege they were sexually abused as children by the American singer Michael Jackson.
Following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019, Leaving Neverland was broadcast in two parts on HBO; a shortened version was broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in March 2019. The film received critical acclaim, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, but mixed reviews from viewers.
Leaving Neverland triggered a media backlash against Jackson and a reassessment of his legacy. However, it boosted sales of his music. Some dismissed the film as one-sided and questioned its veracity; Jackson's estate condemned it as a "tabloid character assassination", while Jackson's fans organized protests. A number of rebuttal documentaries seeking to refute the allegations were released. In February 2019, the Jackson estate sued HBO and later won their case against HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 Jackson concert contract by distributing the film. A sequel, Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson, premiered on March 18, 2025.
Director Dan Reed described Leaving Neverland as a "study of the psychology of child sexual abuse, told through two ordinary families ... groomed for twenty years by a pedophile masquerading as a trusted friend." In the film, Wade Robson and James Safechuck allege that Jackson sexually abused them when they were children–Safechuck from 1988 to 1992 and Robson from 1990 to 1996. They give graphic descriptions of Jackson's alleged sex acts, including masturbation, oral sex and anal sex, which they say took place at his home, Neverland Ranch, and other locations.
Robson and Safechuck claim that Jackson said these acts were "romantic," and that they did not realize they were inappropriate until adulthood. Safechuck also claims that Jackson took him shopping for an engagement ring and later held a mock wedding. Safechuck alleges that around the time of Jackson's criminal trial in 2005, he told his mother that Jackson "wasn't a good person." Safechuck asserts to have begun therapy in 2013, thus recalling his trauma for the first time. Safechuck's mother Stephanie describes feeling elated and dancing upon hearing of Jackson's death in 2009: "'Oh thank God, he can't hurt any more children!' Those were my thoughts." Robson says Jackson told him to distrust women. Both men claimed that Jackson tried pushing them away from their families and "brainwashing" them. Jackson allegedly sent the two men love letters and set up security systems at Neverland to prevent other people from witnessing the abuse.
Safechuck says Jackson eventually replaced him with Brett Barnes; Robson claims he was replaced by the actor Macaulay Culkin, who is two years older, because Jackson preferred prepubescent boys. Robson says he was given Jackson memorabilia as a child, and is photographed burning the items.
In 1993, Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler. Jackson denied the claims and settled the case out of court for US$23 million. No charges were filed after a criminal investigation due to a lack of evidence and testimony from Chandler. In 1996, Jackson made an out-of-court settlement with the mother of another boy, Jason Francia, for more than US$2 million, who, in 1993, previously told police that Jackson never molested him. The Francias never filed a lawsuit. In 2005, Jackson was criminally tried for several counts of child molestation following concerns raised in the 2003 documentary Living with Michael Jackson. In that film, he was seen holding hands with 12-year-old Gavin Arvizo and talked about sharing a bed with him. Jackson was acquitted of all charges.
Robson states in his 2013 complaint that he had suffered two nervous breakdowns in April 2011 and March 2012. In 2013, Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old; the suit was reportedly worth US$1.5 billion. The following year, Safechuck filed a lawsuit alleging he was sexually abused by Jackson over four years, beginning when he was ten years old. Safechuck said he realized he was abused by Jackson after seeing Robson on The Today Show in 2013. A probate court dismissed Safechuck's suit in 2017. Both men had previously testified that Jackson never molested them—Safechuck as a child during the 1993 investigation, and Robson as a child in 1993 and as a young adult in 2005.