Michael Jackson’s Leaving Neverland accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck ‘to sue singer’s estate in fresh legal bid’
MICHAEL Jackson’s sex abuse accusers may have their day in court months after claiming the star molested them in the Leaving Neverland documentary.
Wade Robson and James Safechuck claim to have been sexually abused as children at Jackson’s Neverland ranch in California, but their cases went cold in 2017.
They separately sued Jackson’s estate about six years ago and both lawsuits were dismissed in 2017 – but TMZ announced a tentative ruling has now been issued by the California Court of Appeal.
Due to a change in California law, the statute of limitations for sex abuse cases has been extended, allowing Jacko’s accusers to sue.
Robson, 37, and Safechuck, 41, opened up about their story in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, which first screened at the Sundance film festival in January.
Safechuck, who met Jackson at nine-years-old during a Pepsi commercial filming in 1987, accused the King of Pop of molesting him about 100 times.
Robson started staying with Jackson at seven-years-old and was allegedly allowed to sleep in the same bed as the singer.
Vince Finaldi, Robson’s lawyer, claimed Neverland ranch was: “Nothing but a well-orchestrated trap.”
Jackson, who unexpectedly died at the age of 50 in 2009, has three children who are unhappy with how he was portrayed in Leaving Neverland.
Earlier this year, Jackson’s children Prince, Paris, and Blanket felt their privacy had been violated and sought an apology from Robson and Safechuck.
Their representative told Page Six: “All they want is to preserve their father’s musical legacy.
“They feel that the ‘documentary’ was one-sided and the two men have made numerous claims that aren’t true.”
Leaving Neverland’s director and producer, British filmmaker Dan Reed, previously stated accusers Robson and Safechuck had no “financial interest” when they decided to take part in the documentary.
The arguments for Robson and Safechuck’s case can be heard as early as this week.
