‘The mums who let their children stay in a bed with Michael Jackson were as guilty as he is’, says mother after watching Channel 4 documentary Leaving Neverland

THE Channel 4 documentary Leaving Neverland centred on the allegations of two men - James Safechuck and Wade Robson - who claim that they were sexually abused by Michael Jackson when they were children.

Millions of viewers were left asking the question why mothers Stephanie Safechuck and Joy Robson ever allowed their children to be in harms way and share a bed with the star?

Presenter Sarah Cawood - mum to Hunter, seven, and Autumn, five - says if abuse took place the parents should share the blame.

I watched Leaving Neverland with a mixture of curiosity and complete horror.

Whilst of course, Michael Jackson's not around to defend himself, James Safechuck and Wade Robson seems heartbreakingly plausible.

I was intrigued and horrified that the mums of both boys allowed their very young sons to share a bed with a grown man – even if he was arguably the most famous man alive on the planet at the time.

So star struck, it would seem, that they unwittingly sacrificed the safety of their children for a taste of the showbiz lifestyle.

That makes them as accountable as he is guilty, in my book.

Wade with his sister Chantal, parents Joy and Dennis Robson and Jackson

How delusional do you have to be as a parent to turn a blind eye to the obvious warning signs?

Hello! Your kid is sharing a bed with a grown man with a penchant for hanging out with little boys on his ranch that is essentially one, big theme park.

I have a seven-year-old son myself (the same age as Wade Robson when he alleges that the abuse started).

I have tried to put myself in the position of Stephanie Safechuck and Joy Robson and imagine how I would feel to have a global megastar lavish all that love and affection on my boy.

Of course it would be extremely flattering but I still can’t see any excuse.

There is just no way I would be so blinded by the glamour that I would let my little boy Hunter go off alone with them, let alone share a bed with them.

Did they not think for one second about how incredibly odd it was that Jacko wanted those kids in bed with him? It's just downright WEIRD.

Yet somehow, those mums normalised their little boys spending so much time away from their family and being alone with a grown man.

It struck me that Jackson made the whole family of these boys feel so special, wanted, needed and loved that they were blinded as to what was actually completely inappropriate behaviour.

I guess those mothers were on some kind of amazing journey themselves. By their own admission they lived the high life with Jackson – loving the first class travel and limo rides – and were completely star struck.

It makes me wonder how different things would have been if Jacko had surrounded himself with pre-teen girls….

I worked in kids TV for many years and I often came across the parents of kids who are so invested in their children's interests and in their children having a great time, that sometimes, the basic safeguarding gets a bit lost.

The world of celebrity is fabulous for everyone and it's easy to get caught up in the glamorous trappings but is it EVER OK to forget what is normal and appropriate behaviour around our children?

We learnt the hard way with Jimmy Saville that blindly trusting anyone with our kids just because they seem like such great, upstanding guys is sheer folly.

One particularly uncomfortable moment in the documentary was when Stephanie Safechuck laughs while she admits she used to listen at the door of Jackson’s room to see what her son, James, and Michael were getting up to.

She said she didn't suspect anything untoward for a second and yet somehow, she felt moved to check up on them. I'd say that was subconscious maternal alarm bells ringing, right there.

There also didn't seem to be any real regret shown by either of the mothers in the documentary.

Had it been my boy who had had his innocence ripped away from him when he was seven, I would never forgive myself.

Perhaps things were all a bit more carefree back in those days. Parenting has changed irrevocably in the last thirty years, and we are not as trusting or as innocent as we were back then.

Child abuse was probably the last thing on those parents’ minds. It is a sign of the times we live in that we would never hand over our children to be the playthings of megastars today.

Fame does not make someone a trustworthy and decent human and that has been proved time and time again. Hopefully now, we've learnt our lesson.