Michael Jackson’s family is speaking out against the long-awaited documentaryLeaving Neverland, whichpremiered at the Sundance Film Festivalon Friday.
The four-hour exposé, which will premiere on HBO this spring, centers around claims from James Safechuck and Wade Robson, both of whom say they endured years of Jackson’s inappropriate behavior and manipulation.
Since the film’s premiere, Jackson’s nephew Taj Jackson, 45, has repeatedly and vehemently denounced the allegations made in the documentary.
“My family and I have known Wade and his family since he came to America. Don’t tell me a 4 hour one sided hit job that you watched is more reputable than people who actually knew him and saw his interactions,”he wrote on Saturday. “This is all about money and the desperate need to be relevant again.”
A rep for filmmaker Dan Reed did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The previous day, Taj claimed Robson and Safechuck were “acting” in the film and criticized the media for “condemning an innocent man.”
“After years of coaching and studying for these roles, I’m sure Wade (self proclaimed “Master of Deception”) and Jimmy both gave Oscar winning performances today,” he wrote. “Media, please do a 10 minute google search before you condemn an innocent man who is no longer here to defend himself.”
He has also created aGoFundMe pagein support of his uncle, with the aim of creating a new documentary, which plans to “conclusively destroy decades of salacious myths which have been told and sold about Michael Jackson.” The campaign has since raised over $28,000 of its $777,000 goal.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Jackson’s estate has also spoken out against the film, calling it “tabloid character assassination.”
“Tellingly, the director admitted at the Sundance Film Festival that he limited his interviews only to these accusers and their families. In doing so, he intentionally avoided interviewing numerous people over the years who spent significant time with Michael Jackson and have unambiguously stated that he treated children with respect and did nothing hurtful to them. By choosing not to include any of these independent voices who might challenge the narrative that he was determined to sell, the director neglected fact checking so he could craft a narrative so blatantly one-sided that viewers never get anything close to a balanced portrait,” the statement continued.
“For 20 years, Wade Robson denied in court and in numerous interviews, including after Michael passed, that he was a victim and stated he was grateful for everything Michael had done for him. His family benefitted from Michael’s kindness, generosity and career support up until Michael’s death. Conveniently left out of Leaving Neverland was the fact that when Robson was denied a role in a Michael Jackson themed Cirque du Soleil production, his assault allegations suddenly emerged.
RELATED VIDEO: Choreographer Wade Robson Claims Michael Jackson Ran the ‘Most Sophisticated Child Sexual Abuse’ Operation in History in New Complaint
The emotional film was only halfway through when viewers began sharing their thoughts on the “sickening” allegations.
“It’s halftime at the four-hour Michael Jackson doc and I’m already gonna need 400 showers to ever feel clean again. #Sundance”David Ehrlich, a senior film critic at Indie Wire tweeted after the doc’s first two hours.
In response, fans argued back that there was “no evidence” and that people “never tried to understand Michael and see who he really was.”
“You are falling for the wrong stuff & you are being played and you will see that pretty soon! Wait on it,”wroteanother.
Despite the passionate reactions from viewers, family, and fans alike, Robson, 36, and Safechuck, 40, reportedly received a standing ovation at Sundance after the film had ended, according toTMZ.
In 2017, a California judgedismissed Robson’s caseagainst Jackson’s estate and two companies it controls, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, and ruled that it is not liable for Jackson’s alleged childhood sexual abuse of the celebrity choreographer.
Robson first sued in 2013, claiming that Jackson abused him for nearly a decade. He later said in an amended complaint to his 2013 lawsuit that MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures were operations “specifically designed to locate, attract, lure and seduce child sexual abuse victims.” A probate court in 2015 rejected his claim against the estate itself, which left the two business entities as defendants.
At the time of the ruling, Jackson’s estate said in a statement, “In my opinion Mr. Robson’s allegations, made 20 plus years after they supposedly occurred and years after Mr. Robson testified twice under oath — including in front of a jury — that Michael Jackson had never done anything wrong to him were always about the money rather than a search for the truth.”
He claimed the abuse continued for seven years and ended only when he “began showing signs of puberty” and Jackson was “no longer as interested in him sexually.”
Robson had previously appeared as a witness for Jackson’s defense during a separate sexual abuse trial in 2005 in which the pop star was acquitted of child molestation charges.
Jackson was 50 years old when he wasfound deadon June 25, 2009, in his L.A. mansion.
source: people.com
