Leaving Neverland: everything we know about the new Michael Jackson documentary as part two airs on Channel 4
A troubling trailer for Leaving Neverland - the explosive new Michael Jackson documentary - was released two weeks ago, offering the first look at the two-part testimonial of two men alleging Michael Jackson sexually abused them as children.
Despite legal threats from Michael Jackson's estate, the four-hour film shows James “Jimmy” Safechuck and Wade Robson sharing intimate details from their time spent with the superstar and - as images of Robson fighting back tears in the trailer might suggest - their stories are unsettling.
The first episode aired in the UK on Wednesday night, on Channel 4. It was shown on HBO in the US on Sunday, March 3 and Monday, March 4.
When is part two of the Michael Jackson documentary on TV?
The second part of Leaving Neverland aired at 9pm on Channel 4 on Thursday. You can read our review of the documentary here, and our comment piece by Neil McCormick here.
What is the Leaving Neverland documentary about?
Leaving Neverland explores the separate but parallel experiences of two men who were both befriended by Jackson as young boys - Safechuck, at age 10, and Robson, at age seven.
The interview-led documentary with the pair, now in their 30s and 40s, recalls stories from trips to the singer’s fairy-tale Neverland Ranch to confronting their experiences at that time.
After years of therapy, both men decided to speak out and face the inevitable wrath of fans and lawyers who believe they're betraying the legacy of an icon.
The estate of Michael Jackson has issued a statement denouncing the film as "yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson."
In a series of photos, videos and interviews, the documentary shows different moments the young boys spent with Michael Jackson.
Over shots of the singer's Neverland Ranch, Safechuck says: "Everyone wanted to meet Michael or be with Michael and you're just star-struck, and then he likes you."
Robson recalls: "I was seven years old. Michael asked, ‘Do you and the family want to come to Neverland?'
"The days were filled with magical childhood adventure experiences, playing tag, watching movies, eating junk food, anything you could ever want as a child."
After flashing a picture of Robson with Jackson as a child, it cuts to him as an adult - eyes filled with tears.
A separate birthday message shows Michael smiling as he says: "Hello Wade. Today is your birthday. So congratulations. I love you. Goodbye."
Robson then says: "He told me if they ever found out what we were doing, he and I would go to jail for the rest of our lives."
Who is in Leaving Neverland?
The documentary focuses on the stories of James 'Jimmy' Safechuck and Wade Robson, who both formed friendships with Michael Jackson as children. Other known interviews include their family members and partners.
Who directed the Michael Jackson documentary?
Dan Reed, who claims his reputation is built on “forensically researched, exhaustively documented” stories, is the creator and director of Leaving Neverland.
Reed studied Russian at Cambridge University before joining the BBC as an assistant producer to celebrated film-maker Adam Curtis.
In an interview for The Telegraph he told Chris Harvey he asked both men to go into explicit detail for Leaving Neverland, saying: "We can’t draw a veil over it… because for so many years the contention has been that he just liked children and a kiss and a cuddle, and this wasn’t.
“I was never going to hang [my] reputation on some dodgy story about Michael Jackson that wasn’t true.”
What happened to James Safechuck and Wade Robson?
Wade Robson and James Safechuck filed a civil action lawsuit against the Jackson estate in 2015, claiming both had been sexually abused by the eccentric celebrity.
Safechuck met Jackson, age nine, when they appeared in a Pespi commercial together. He went on to accompany the singer on most of his Bad tour and, almost 30 years later, accused the singer of molesting him nearly 100 times.
In court filings, Safechuck claimed that he took part in the secret ceremony in which he received a wedding certificate and a ring as confirmation of their 'undying love.'
In one particularly horrifying scene in the documentary, Safechuck also takes the audience on a virtual tour of Jackson’s extensive Neverland Ranch - through the model train station, the movie theatre, the 'castle', the teepees and the swimming pool, saying "we would have sex there" at each location.
"It would happen every day. It sounds sick, but it was like when you are first dating someone - you do a lot of it."
Australian-born choreographer Wade Robson was five years old when he met Michael Jackson and actually testified in his defence after Jackson was charged with child sexual abuse in 2005.
Robson said he had slept in Jackson's bedroom several times but had never been molested. He later went on to claim Jackson had abused him for the seven years following his family's move to America.
In explicit parts of the documentary Robson details “a grown man’s penis in my seven-year-old mouth” and drops of blood on his underwear after Jackson tried to penetrate him.
Following the star's death, Robson approached the Jackson estate for a job to direct The Immortal World Tour in 2011. He was not selected.
During the Safechuck and Robson's 2016 legal proceedings, a motion to compel Robson suggested he had begun to shop a book deal in 2012 that would claim he was sexually abused by Jackson.
After the civil lawsuit that followed, Howard Weitzman - lawyer for Jackson's estate - called Robson's accusations "outrageous and pathetic".
The men also allege regular abuse took place during "sleepovers" at Jackson’s other properties, including the "Hideout" in Century City, Los Angeles.
In the documentary, their intimate and devastating testimonies are illustrated with archive photographs of them, as boys, with the pop icon off-duty and seemingly relaxed, recordings of messages from Jackson, and - in Robson’s case - hundreds of faxes filled with love and affection for the boy he called "Little One".
Are the stories in Leaving Neverland true?
There has been endless controversy surrounding the documentary since it first aired in January.
Jackson supporters question the motivation of Robson, in particular, claiming he has been trying to make money from his allegations - first by attempting to sell a "tell all" book and second d then by suing Jackson's estate for millions of dollars.
Fans say the striking similarity of the sex acts in the testimonies of Safechuck and Robson can be explained by the fact that they share a legal team and that other former childhood friends of Jackson such as Brett Barnes, Jonathan Spence, Emmanuel Lewis and Macaulay Culkin deny any abuse.
Director Dan Reed has said he and his team spent months cross-checking the pair's stories: “If we’d caught them out in a lie or if we’d found any major inconsistencies in their accounts, even in the last two weeks, we would have canned the film.
"Jackson was prepared to go to pretty much any lengths to destroy and discredit a child who claimed that he’d been hurt by him and the estate is doing the same thing today. Their first response to news of this documentary was to say, ‘They’re after money and it’s all lies’.”
With many people refusing to listen or stream Jackson's music in the wake of new allegations, BBC Radio 2 have dropped Michael Jackson songs from their playlists altogether, saying: “We consider each piece of music on its own merits and decisions what we play on different network are always made with relevant audiences and context in mind.”
How do Macauley Culkin and Brett Barnes fit into the story?
In the documentary, Wade Robson and James Safechuck describe being “pushed out” of Jackson’s affections after a few years and archive images suggest two boys replaced them: Macauley Culkin and Brett Barnes. Both of whom testified in Jackson’s 2005 trial in support of the singer, alongside Robson.
Culkin, of Home Alone unanimity, has denied any sexual contact with Jackson over many years of trials and public questioning.
Barnes, of less notoriety, has defended Jackson in equal - or arguably greater - measure.
According to Diane Dimond's 2005 book Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case, Barnes met Jackson in 1987 when he was five years old. Soon afterwards Barnes began to make trips to the Neverland Ranch both with and without his family present.
When the family of Jordan Chandler first accused Jackson of abuse in 1993 an 11-year-old Barnes, with Robson, appeared in front of the media. Barnes said that Jackson “kissed you like you kiss your mother…it’s not unusual for him to hug, kiss and nuzzle up to you and stuff.”
Barnes has since shunned the limelight and is believed to reside in Australia.
Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed told Business Insider that he gave “serious thought” to approaching Barnes, but decided not to:
“In the end I knew that Macaulay and Brett had made statements consistently rebutting allegations that were made. I'm not in the business of outing anyone.
“I think we make it very clear in the film that they deny to this day that anything sexual happened and I'm not about to try to change their minds about that.”
An unverified Twitter account (@IAmBrettBarnes) believed to belong to Barnes often tweets in defence of Jackson, denies any sexual contact with the singer and criticises Leaving Neverland.
According to TMZ, Barnes is also considering a lawsuit against HBO, for his portrayal as a victim of sexual abuse. The disclaimer that ends the film – “Macaulay Culkin and Brett Barnes have consistently said they never had any sexual contact with Michael Jackson” – is, in Barnes’s view, not sufficient.
Neverland now: does Michael Jackson's house still exist?
In a bizarre turn of events, Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch - which has been deserted for years - has been re-listed on the property market just says after the documentary aired in the US.
Though it was originally listed for $100m in 2015, the late singer’s 2,700-acre California property has just been listed at a drastically reduced price of $31m (￡23.5m).
The enormous retreat nestled in the wilds of California’s Santa Ynez valley became an integral part of Jackson’s image as an extraordinarily talented lost boy, a showbiz titan without a childhood who grew up to share his absent youth with the more needy.
There were a petting zoo and fairground rides; a 45ft-long train that pulled into a station before chugging around the gargantuan site; sweet stalls and arcade machines proliferated in landscaped grounds that were filled with statues of happy children.
Read more about how Michael Jackson created Neverland here.
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