For almost ten years, choreographer Wade Robson has accused Michael Jackson of having subjected him to sexual acts as a child.
He poignantly detailed his accusations in
Dan Reed's
chilling documentary
Leaving Neverland which
aired worldwide in early 2019 and won an Emmy Award.
To read also: Michael Jackson: James Safechuck, one of the witnesses of
Leaving Neverland,
suffers a legal setback
Accusations that refute the family of the star, his succession and obviously his fans. The king of pop having died on June 25, 2009, Wade Robson attacked the Estate of Michael Jackson in May 2013. He found a bias in assuming that the companies of the singer MJJ Productions and MJJ still exist, that they are managed by the singer's estate. He believes that the employees of these companies, in particular the star's personal assistants, served as intermediaries between the families of the little boys and Michael Jackson.
The legal battle turns for the moment in favor of the Estate of the singer. In the very last judgment of this late April 2021, Judge Mark A. Young of the Los Angeles Court of Appeal once again ruled in his favor. He believes the estate is unrelated to Wade Robson. But also that the Estate did not have legal power over Michael Jackson because the latter owned 100% of his companies. The State therefore did not have the means to protect him as a child. In a first instance decision in December 2017, Judge Mitchell Beckloff was of the same opinion. Wade Robson was nevertheless able to appeal because California law has changed in the meantime: the age limit for filing a complaint against sexual abuse against a third party has been increased from 26 to 40 years.
"It's been three times that Wade Robson has lost in court," said
Jonathan Steinsapir, lawyer for the Estate of Michael Jackson. He had to give three dozen statements and produce hundreds of thousands of documents to prove his claims and yet a new judge again rejected his request. For Vince Finaldi, California lawyer for Wade Robson, these companies managing the rights of Michael Jackson have failed to protect the alleged victims of the singer and are therefore at fault. This last judgment, he adds, is based on exactly the same conclusions as the previous one.
"This allows us to appeal, to the Supreme Court if necessary," he
explains.
If we leave it there, this decision would set a precedent and would be very dangerous for the thousands of children working in the entertainment industry and victims of sexual abuse by powerful people.
We will stop fighting only when every child is safe. ”
The legal battle has now been going on since 2003.