Michael Jackson's estate issued a statement on the day Leaving Neverland premiere at Sundance Film Festival, criticizing the documentary as a "character assassination." Since then, one of the singer's brother sat down with Good Morning Brittain to supplement the family's defense against the allegations of sexual abuse explored in the film.
Jermaine Jackson focused on the credibility of Wade Robson, one of the men who claim to have been molested by Michael. “Wade changed his story that he maintained before and after Michael's death," Jackson noted in reference to Robson's denial of having any sexual contact with the entertainer.
Robson had given this original testimony under oath during the 1993 trial initiated by Evan Chandler, the father of an alleged victim. The matter was settled financially in 1994, after which Chandler committed suicide. Jermaine links the man's death in 2009 to guilt stemming his supposed false allegations. The deceased had received over $15 million to place in a trust fund for his son in addition to $1.5 million for himself.
According to Jackson, Wade seems to have opted to participate in the documentary when his career trajectory proved to be dissatisfying. “He tried to shop a book deal (to publish accusations against Jackson in 2012). He even sued the estate for $1.5 billion but it was thrown out of court," he noted. “He was turned down as the head of choreography for Cirque du Soleil." Jermaine cites these events as the reason for Robson's recent recanting. “The only thing that was left for him was to take part in this documentary and spew out this nonsense.” The singer also revealed that the accuser had maintained a close relationship with the family before this happened and even dated two of his nieces.
Ultimately, he wishes these allegations would halt."The family are very tired. Let him rest," Jackson asked. "Let this man rest. "