A bodyguard who worked for Michael Jackson for the final ten years of his life, named Matt Fiddes, has decided to speak out on the child abuse accusations leveled at his former employer. Wade Robson and James Safechuck both alleged in HBO's Leaving Neverland documentary that Jackson molested them as children. Many people who had personal ties to the late King of Pop have expressed their strong convictions that he would never have done such things. Fiddes is the latest person to come to MJ's defense.
In an interview with Metro.co.uk, Fiddes listed several reasons for why he believes it is "impossible" that Jackson is guilty. Fiddes explains that he has a deep understanding of Jackson's character by pointing out that he "became friends first" with the artist before taking on the bodyguard position. "We knew the guy, we knew him so well, he spent time with my children, he’s not the man he’s portrayed as by James and Wade." Fiddes argues that the public perception of Jackson was severely skewed: "unless you knew him" you had no idea the kind of person he was.
Fiddes cites Jackson's romantic and sexual relationships with women as evidence that he would have no interest in young boys. "This whole pedophile thing is complete nonsense," he said. "The guy had girlfriends and had a legitimate marriage to Lisa Marie [Presley], that was the way he lived his life... We were the people sneaking the girls into his room." However, it goes without saying that being involved with women does not inherently preclude the possibility of being a child molester.
Fiddes' insistence on Jackson's innocence also stems from the fact that he was "hardly" ever at the Neverland ranch, where the incidents of assault were alleged to have taken place. "They say there were boys around, that was not the case at all," Fiddes explained. "He made Neverland how it was so he could have it for the Make-A-Wish foundation; something he could give back on. We had a running joke he was never there. He had to be in Los Angeles to conduct business, it’s about four hours’ drive from the mountains and he hated the drive, so he was very rarely there. He was there to make public appearances. He was much more comfortable at the Beverly Wiltshire in a suite."
Finally, Fiddes asserts his position by claiming Jackson would never have had the time or privacy to commit these acts. "If he was doing what he was doing to young kids he would never get any work done. He was already recording, performing and rehearsing, for him to be messing around with young kids would be impossible because of the security that was in place. It’s impossible."