Almost 10 years after his sudden death, Michael Jackson’s legacy is under fresh scrutiny in a documentary about alleged child sex abuse that has been met with outrage by the singer’s family.
“Leaving Neverland” features two men now in their 30s and 40s who say they were befriended by Jackson and sexually abused by him starting from when they were 7 and 10 years old. It will be aired on U.S. channel HBO on March 3 and 4 and on Britain’s Channel 4 on March 6 and 7.
Jackson’s family has attacked the film and the “Thriller” singer’s estate last week filed a lawsuit against HBO saying the documentary breached a 1992 agreement that the cable channel would not disparage him. “Michael Jackson is innocent. Period,” the estate said in the lawsuit.
HBO said in a statement however it would go ahead with the four-hour documentary and “allow everyone the opportunity to assess the film and the claims in it for themselves.”
After the broadcast, HBO will air a conversation hosted by Oprah Winfrey with the director and the two men in front of an audience of sexual abuse survivors.
