And you still have a positive view of Michael. I do. But You don’t believe the stories? No. But there have been many occurrences in my life and in my relationship to Michael that have created a question of doubt. All they cared about was trying to find something on Michael Jackson. said by the way did not abuse you. Who Michael was innocent. He showed you pornography. He showed you images of genitalia with sexual diseases.
What was he doing? Was he grooming you? What I was the first and the only celebrity at the time in 1993 to come out and say absolutely not. Mhm. Absolutely not. He never touched me. He never touched anybody as far as I know. It all began with this powerful obsession I developed. I simply had to meet Michael Jackson. It was one of those quintessential childhood dreams. You know the kind you have when you’re sitting there staring at a teen magazine and you point to a picture and declare to the universe, one
day I am going to meet that guy. The difference was I truly deeply believed it was my destiny. Then when I found out I was going to be in The Goonies, things started falling into place. I had just finished Gremlins with Spielberg and I was even supposed to have a part in E.T. But for one reason or another it didn’t pan out. So by the time we were getting The Goonies off the ground, I already felt quite comfortable with him. We had established a bit of a relationship at that point. On the very first day I saw
my story and the pieces started to click. I thought, wait a minute. Michael collaborated on the E.T. storybook album and they’re obviously close friends. I see them photographed together all the time. So Spielberg must be connected with Michael, right? Shiggy, what’s one more? So I approached Steven and said something like, hey I was wondering if you could possibly help me. I know the Jackson Victory Tour is about to happen and I know you’re friends with Michael. Is there any conceivable way you could
get us tickets to one of the shows? And just like that we had tickets for the concert. But then disaster struck, the show was canceled. They eventually rescheduled it but for a while we were in limbo, completely unsure if we’d still get to go. Then one day a package arrived at the trailer. Inside were seven or eight pristine satin Jackson Victory Tour jackets. Each one addressed to one of The Goonies. It was the official 1984 Victory Tour jacket. The one with the majestic eagle emblazoned on the back,
Michael embroidered on the front and an ’84 patch on the sleeve. As we opened that box, we were just floored thinking, wow, look at this. He actually came through for us. Shortly after that, we received the new tickets to attend the show and then eventually he came to visit us on set. We all became fast friends. I can tell you he was a true magic man, that’s for certain. There was an undeniable energy that filled the space the moment he walked into a room. You didn’t even need to look up. You just knew he had arrived.
You could physically feel his presence. I asked him, how long are you staying? He replied, I’m not sure, maybe an hour or so. I can’t stay for too long. So I took my chance and said, well listen, I would really love to talk with you more. Do you think that if I gave you my phone number, you might actually call me? And he just smiled and said, sure, I’ll call you. In that moment, I knew this was something I absolutely had to make happen. I can’t explain why it felt so critical at the time but I am a firm
believer that everything on God’s green earth happens for a specific reason. In the years that followed, Michael and I developed a genuine regular friendship. So one day Michael and I were just hanging out and I was feeling bored and wanted to do something exciting. The first thing that popped into my head was, hey, let’s go to Disneyland. And he was a bit hesitant saying, well, you know, I don’t have my security detail with me tonight. So we ventured into his closet which was just this incredible massive array of
costumes. He grabbed a huge afro wig and a mustache for himself while I picked out a fake mustache and this cool FBI hat he owned. I tied my hair back in a ponytail, threw on these big aviator glasses and we drove ourselves to Disneyland. But when we arrived, we quickly realized that a group of die-hard fans had tailed us the entire way from his apartment in Westwood all the way to Anaheim. As we pulled into the parking lot, these fans jumped out of their cars, came rushing up to our vehicle and they were like,
aren’t you Michael and Corey? And we just had to admit it. Yeah, that’s us. They immediately asked, can we take some pictures, Michael? Can we please have some autographs? Interestingly, they didn’t ask me for my autograph at all. Their focus was entirely on Michael. He graciously signed the autographs, we posed for the pictures and that was that. We then went about our merry day spending a few wonderful hours just walking around the park like normal people. Eventually we decided we wanted to stay
at the Disneyland Hotel. Michael possessed this exclusive black card that simply said, Michael Jackson Disneyland. With that card, he could literally get anything he desired. So we walked up to the front desk at the Disneyland Hotel and the staff told us, we’re completely sold out, I’m so sorry. There’s nothing available. And here’s this guy disguised in an afro just saying, but we really need a room. And they repeated, sorry sir, we are completely sold out. Then you know he discreetly slides them the
black Michael Jackson card. Their eyes went wide and they stammered, oh, we’ll be right back. They returned about 5 minutes later and said, look, we don’t have what you’re, you know, accustomed to. I we don’t have a Michael Jackson style suite but we do have a regular standard room if that’s all right. And Michael, the biggest superstar on the entire planet asks, you got a cot? Here he is a global icon and here I am just a film actor and he is perfectly willing to accept a cot just so I could have the
bed. He was a total gentleman, far more than I would have been in that situation. I mean, I’d probably be like, sorry kid, you get the cot. But that wasn’t Michael at all. He was genuinely like, no, you sleep in the bed, I’ll take the cot. We’re cool. And can I tell you how much fun it was at Neverland? We’d be on that gigantic pirate ship ride just sitting out there with absolutely nobody else around. And he’d let out one of his famous whoop pow who sounds and I’d just laugh and say, who
are you whooping the man? There isn’t another soul here. We would get on those bumper cars. He had he had this amazing bumper car setup and he’s blasting his own music like Black or White at full volume. He gets out of his bumper car, literally leaps from the vehicle onto the center island and just starts dancing. Can you imagine? There were smoke machines and professional lights. It was like my own private concert right there inside his bumper car pavilion. Now those are the moments you never
forget. Michael also had a full-scale movie theater at Neverland where when you would come up for a visit and generally the visits were for 3 days. That was the standard. That was the typical period of a stay. So during that 3-day visit you’d have these incredible dinners and lunches and his personal chefs would prepare anything you wanted. And obviously there was a huge arcade. There was so much to do on the property including a massive zoo where he had giraffes and elephants. But the movie
theater was special. On one particular trip we arranged to screen my movie Dream a Little Dream so that Michael could experience it on the big screen with us for the very first time. And what was Michael’s reaction? He absolutely loved it. He thought the dance scene specifically was a brilliant tribute. He really saw it as a wonderful homage. Yes, he was incredibly influential on me. I mean, I was privileged enough to be in the studio with him. I got to watch him dance and rehearse for hours
and I was on the set of his iconic music videos. I was there for The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal and Liberian Girl. I was actually in the Liberian Girl video, you know. So I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by his genius all the time. I watched him during tour rehearsals. He once offered to personally walk my song What’s Up With the Youth into CBS Records and get me a number one hit. He said, Corey, that’s a number one song. That song can literally go to number one. If you let me, I will
walk it into Tommy Mottola at CBS Records right now and I will personally make that song number one. And I was just like, thank you, Michael. I truly appreciate that offer more than you know. But no, I’m good. For one, I was a real friend to him and the last thing I wanted was for him to think I was just another leech sucking off his fame to get something for myself. The other part of it was a matter of principle. If I’m going to achieve success in the music industry, I have to earn it. I have to earn it the hard way.
I have to play the crappy clubs, get paid $150 for a gig, sweat it out on stage and have beer bottles thrown at me and endure all the stuff that I had to go through for decades, probably way longer than most artists have to, I’m sure. But for decades, I literally went through this process taking gigs at the bottom of the barrel, toughing it out and proving to people that I was like profoundly serious about my art. I just didn’t want to be known as Michael Jackson’s protege even though ironically
people sometimes kind of treat me that way anyway. But just imagine if I had accepted his offer. That’s all my career would ever have been. I could say, well, me and Michael are friends but he didn’t help me. All the stuff I do is on my own. But it wouldn’t matter. When people see my work and say, when you’re dancing all those little moves you make, it’s just like Michael Jackson. And I’d say, well, I suppose that’s a good compliment. He must be a good influence on you.
Yes, he is a good influence. But then you’re stuck in a box. You become Michael Jackson 2 or mini Michael or white Michael. You and me, I do, however you want to frame it but that would have been my identity forever. That would have been my entire story and that is incredibly limiting. I just thought, you know what? No. I think I need to be known as my own entity.” Recently, I found something that I now have in my possession, something from 30 years ago. And what it was is an audio cassette of
Michael and I riding in the back of a limo for 40 minutes just talking about everything and nothing. It captures a moment in time right between his Thriller and Bad albums. And for me, between Stand by Me and The Lost Boys. He was quite honestly the big brother I never had. As a kid, he meant everything to me. He taught me uh so many profound things. He taught me about loving animals, about vegetarianism, animal rights, and critical environmental issues. He taught me how to care for your fans and how to treat them with
respect. He explained that the moment you meet a fan may just be a fleeting instance for you, something that happens while you’re in the middle of a hundred other things. Uh but for them, they are going to remember that single moment for the rest of their entire life. He stressed how critically important that exchange is and how you treat them in that brief interaction. Michael understood all of my pain because he was going through the exact same thing. I remember one time specifically, we were driving back from
Disneyland and I looked in the mirror and saw zits all over my face. I just said, “Oh, I’m so ugly.” He immediately said, “Don’t you ever say that you’re ugly.” And I argued, “But I am. I look terrible. It’s disgusting.” And he insisted, “You are not disgusting. Don’t you ever say that about yourself.” I endured a very cruel childhood. It was profoundly cruel. It often seemed like wherever I was, uh it was always hell. But with Michael, we discussed
everything. You know what I mean? It was literally a big brother little brother relationship where we could talk about any subject, no matter how difficult. I would talk about the abuse that I endured. The book I wrote details the horrendous abuse I suffered, not just at school, but also at the hands of my own parents. And it explores the deep-seated difficulties that came with being forced to work every single day when I should have been allowed to play. You see, Michael and I connected on that
profound level. We shared that common tragedy. Our childhoods were effectively stolen from us. We were never given the chance to experience simple joys like having sleepovers with friends or just blowing off steam at the local arcade. We couldn’t just hop on our bikes and ride down the street with the other kids embracing the freedom of youth. That kind of world simply was not part of our existence. It was a foreign concept to us. Our reality was a stark contrast, a relentless cycle of being shuttled from
one formal meeting to the next where we’d have to sit for hours in rooms packed with adults enduring their constant judgment and having them relentlessly scrutinize every single thing we did. It was in every sense of the phrase a life lived under a microscope which grants you a perspective so radically different from what most people will ever comprehend. Everyone is familiar with Michael’s iconic dancing and the entire world knows the public persona he so carefully crafted and presented. That was the
image he wanted everyone to see. But the part that remains a mystery to so many people is the truth of Michael as a human being. And the fundamental reason that so few people ever got to know that side of him is because he deliberately kept it guarded. When you grow up in a fractured home, you’re desperate for someone to look up to, a role model, a big brother figure, something I desperately craved. In that void, Michael became everything to me. He stepped into that role and fulfilled it completely. He would patiently listen to
every problem I had, no matter how small. He would actively inquire about my struggles wanting to understand what I was going through. He would talk me through my issues offering genuine guidance. Crucially, he cherished doing these things in private, far from the public eye. He deeply valued having a personal secluded life. The primary reason for this was simple. When your entire existence is perpetually on display for the world to see, when you are always being examined under a microscope and
every moment is exposed for global consumption, you absolutely must reserve some parts of yourself for your private life. That’s the essential truth that so many people fail to grasp about Michael. Underneath it all, he was just a normal guy. When all was said and done, he put his shoes on one foot at a time the very same way as every other person on this planet. if Michael Jackson saved my life, the answer is yes, in countless ways. Absolutely. In a very real sense, he saved my soul. I truly believe that
without the love he showed me, I would have likely spiraled into becoming a very dark, bleak, reclusive, and resentful person. But despite all that, what truly mattered was that when Michael was with me, he made me feel as if I was the most important person in the world. He was the protective older brother I never had the privilege of having. As someone who has personally been a victim of molestation, I understand the psychological turmoil you’re describing. I know precisely what you’re talking
about. You’re consumed by guilt. You feel absolutely disgusting and you believe that somehow it was all your own fault. Let me be unequivocally clear, the person who did molest me, if that had been Michael, this would be an entirely different conversation. I would have been at the forefront shouting from the rooftops and doing everything in my power immediately to ensure that man face the justice he deserved. In fact, if anyone cares to look back to 1993 during my interview with the Santa Barbara Police Department, the records
will show what happened. I sat right there in that room and I gave them the actual names of the people responsible. It is all documented. They possess all of this information. But their focus was exclusively on Michael Jackson. Their only objective was to dig up something, anything they could use against Michael Jackson. You specifically stated, by the way, that he did not abuse you, that Michael was completely innocent. And that was the entire purpose of my interview with the police back in 1993.
I told them directly, “He is not that kind of person.” Their response was dismissive. They said, “Well, maybe you just don’t truly understand your friend.” And I shot back, “No, I absolutely know the difference between a predator and someone who isn’t because I have been a victim. Here are the names of the real culprits. Go investigate them.” “However, the information that we received suggested that a man named John Grissom was your assistant. The narrative we were told was that when
Michael began to show you a great deal of attention and you started spending a lot of time with him, this assistant became enraged and intensely jealous. Essentially, because your time and attention were now focused on Michael and not on him.” “I’m not sure what source you’re hearing that from. First and foremost, I had known Michael for a very long time before I ever met John Grissom. And to be perfectly clear, John Grissom was the individual who molested me. So, I have no idea where
that version of the facts originated, but it is completely twisted and incorrect. To reiterate, John Grissom was the man who abused me. And I am quite certain he was probably deeply jealous of the immense respect I had for Michael and the amount of time I spent with him. In fact, if he imagined that something improper was happening with Michael, I can only guess at the kind of depraved conclusions a sick person like that would jump to. But nothing of the sort ever happened with Michael. What you are
about to hear is a segment from an interview between actor Corey Feldman and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department recorded in December of 1993 and obtained exclusively for this broadcast. In this recording, Corey states not just once, but on numerous occasions that his friend Michael Jackson, with whom he spent a great deal of time, never did anything improper with him whatsoever. If there was some dark secret that I had been concealing for all these years, then I would want nothing more than to
finally bring it into the light right now to guarantee that Michael received the professional help that he would so clearly need. My primary concern about this situation is that if something did in fact occur and you are withholding that information from us, you wouldn’t tell us because of your loyalty. I simply cannot place myself in the hypothetical position of thinking about whether I would or would not say something because the fact is nothing ever happened. But Corey repeatedly and firmly insists to the
skeptical officer that nothing happened back then. And this isn’t just about that one particular time he had a sleepover at Jackson’s sprawling Encino estate. We were up for the entire night just talking, hanging out, and doing various things before we finally turned in to sleep. We even prayed together. He was dressed in pajamas. Specifically, he was wearing a pair of my own pajamas. As Corey recounts, it was an incredibly surreal experience, but absolutely nothing improper took place. Yes, I
believe he had an extra pair of shorts or something that he brought along. However, Sergeant Lyndon, who was investigating the case, appeared thoroughly unconvinced by Corey’s account of the events. It felt a bit strange when I brought this up with him. I did press Corey again about it, and he was firm stating he never once did anything inappropriate around me. I mean, absolutely nothing. The closest he ever came to anything physical was perhaps a light slap on my leg one time, you know, while mentioning
that I had lost some weight. Your connection with Michael Jackson was without a doubt a profoundly significant relationship in your life. It was a turbulent bond marked by incredible highs and deeps lows. There were periods where you had a falling out and then other moments where he served as a guiding mentor. In reality, the true story, as detailed in my book, reveals there was an unmistakable moment when our friendship came to a conclusive end. And the decision to terminate that friendship was driven far more by my own
feelings than by his. Why Corey, you might ask? Well, it was because he began saying some things to me that were deeply unsettling. He started to challenge the very foundation and integrity of our entire relationship. Michael was suffering from a paranoid delusion, convinced that I harbored some sinister intention to author a tell-all book about him, a notion that was completely and utterly false. What transpired next, at least from my perspective, was that he issued a threat against my life. The very following day, Jackson
completely cut him off. In the aftermath, Feldman released a song that was a raw expression of his profound anger over being cast aside by his once celebrated friend. You have to understand, my entire life, my entire identity has been construct- -ed on the principle that I am a man of integrity. I am a person who, regardless of anything else, wants people to remember me after I’m dead and gone and say, “That man was never a liar. That man was truthful. He was a man who stood by his commitments.”
If he gave his word, you could count on it as fact, period. It doesn’t matter if it’s making plans with someone or giving a promise. Whatever the arrangement is, if I attach my name and my word to it, I ensure that it is delivered as absolute unshakable truth. End of story. People simply cannot grasp the immense emotional toll it takes to maintain a friendship with someone of Michael Jackson’s stature. You are forced to spend your entire existence defending this person against endless speculation. No, he isn’t gay.
No, he isn’t some kind of freak. But then I began to meticulously examine every piece of the puzzle, and with that scrutiny came the gut-wrenching realization that there have been numerous incidents throughout my life, and specifically within my relationship with Michael, that have planted a serious seed of doubt. Let me be perfectly clear, Michael Jackson never laid a hand on me. He never caused me any physical harm, nor did he ever harm any other children in my presence. When Michael and I would discuss the
idea of him sleeping over at my house, he would ask a peculiar question. He’d say, “Do you have any of those books at your house?” I’d ask, “What are you talking about? What kind of books?” And his reply would be, “You know, the magazines like Playboy, Penthouse, things of that nature.” He then stated, “As long as you have those books there, then I’ll agree to come and sleep over.” Now, you can interpret that for what it is. On its own, that anecdote doesn’t definitively
prove anything correct. It doesn’t prove that Michael Jackson was a predator. No, it doesn’t prove he ever abused anyone. So, why does it bother you so much now? It’s because when I step back and look at the mountain of evidence, and I see that one of the recurring allegations is Michael Jackson viewing pornographic materials with a young boy, and that boy is 13 or 14 years old, the same age I was, it forces me to stop and think. The fact that I experienced that exact same scenario in my own life at that precise
age gives me profound reason to pause. It makes me say to myself, “If this exact thing happened to me, and this other kid is describing the same event, then it’s impossible for this all to be a fabrication. It can’t all be lies because, and at the very minimum, that one specific detail I know for a fact is 100% accurate. You were given his focused attention. I was given his focused attention. He discovered you had an unhappy home life, which was true. He then whisked you away to Disneyland and declared you
could purchase anything your heart desired, also. He was showing you graphic photographs of genitalia afflicted with venereal diseases. What was his intention with that? Was he attempting to groom you? My immediate reaction is to deny that possibility, to believe it wasn’t the case. But when I’m forced to be honest, is it conceivable that this was exactly what was happening? Of course, that’s a possibility. And that leads to the larger, more horrifying question, is it possible that Michael Jackson was, in
reality, a predatory individual targeting children? That, too, is devastatingly possible. As for how I’m handling the loss of my friend, honestly, it’s layered on top of so much other grief. I’ve experienced an overwhelming amount of loss in the last year or so. It’s not just about losing him. My entire world has been turned upside down. Within this past year, I’ve had to bury two of my brothers, I mourned the loss of my grandfather, and I went through a painful divorce. So, with all that weighing on me,
I came to New York to support Michael for his 30th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden. I had no idea at the time that it would turn out to be our final encounter. In fact, a major reason I felt it was crucial for me to be there was because his family had personally called me. Their request was urgent, “We need you to fly in and help us stage an intervention with him.” They were deeply concerned about his reliance on pain medication and the whole array of prescribed drugs he was
taking, a struggle that is now a matter of public record, of course. Back then, however, this was all kept under wraps. It was a huge family secret. So, my specific purpose in flying to New York was to join them in this intervention effort, and tragically, that intervention is what fractured our friendship. From that moment on, we had a complete falling out with an effect so stunning, we never spoke again. When people ask if I was ever using drugs around Michael Jackson, the answer is an emphatic no, never once. To be clear, I
might have tried smoking weed a few times, but that was honestly the absolute extent of it. But when you ask what Michael was like, did he indulge? Absolutely not. It’s not even a question. The idea he’d smoke even a little is ridiculous. Despite some rumors I’d heard, he was the most straight-laced person you could ever meet. He never swore. You couldn’t discuss sex around him or anything remotely risqué. There was zero tolerance for any dirty language. In fact, after I was arrested, I was
genuinely terrified that he would never speak to me again. His image was so immaculately clean that I fully expected him to just say, “You’re on your own,” and cut ties completely. And you know what? That experience was what truly revealed the depth of his character and the kind of person he genuinely was. Despite my arrest, and with his own reputation being so pristine, he had every reason to distance himself from me. He could have justifiably stepped back to protect his own image. But he did the opposite.
He reached out to me. I came home to find a message from him on my answering machine that said, “Hi Corey, it’s Michael. Is everything okay? Call me if you need me.” He wasn’t just a casual acquaintance, he was a genuine friend. He was deeply concerned and had been trying to get in touch with me for a considerable amount of time. Reaching him was never easy. It was like trying to get a hold of the president. When we finally connected, he made it clear he just wanted to know that I was
all right. I asked him, “Do you want to talk about what’s happening in the news?” But he dismissed it saying, “No, I don’t want to discuss any of that. I just wanted to make sure you’re doing okay. I needed to hear your voice.” What I didn’t realize at the time was that he was already on his own downward spiral into addiction. We did end up discussing that later on after I had achieved sobriety. There was a time I had to be hospitalized and was on medication, and
he called me in the hospital just to check on my well-being. He asked me, “What medications do they have you on?” And then he asked if I liked them, which I found to be a very strange and telling question. That’s when I suspected he was indulging in those prescription drugs a bit too much himself. By that stage, I had gone through sobriety training and felt equipped to try and help him. I vividly remember meeting Conrad Murray here in New York City at Madison Square Garden all those
years ago. He handed me his business card and introduced himself as Michael’s personal doctor. It immediately struck me that Michael now had a physician, much like Elvis’s, one who follows him everywhere with a so-called bag of tricks. People had mentioned this parallel to me before. That very night he gave me his card and said, “I’m Michael’s doctor. Give me a call if you need it.” So, from my personal experience, I know that he had been a part of Michael’s inner circle
for a much longer period than the press has ever portrayed. And frankly, it’s a profound tragedy that they left Michael alone in a room with that unhinged individual. So, do I believe he’s responsible? I think he is absolutely and unequivocally responsible. He’s the one who pulled the trigger, metaphorically speaking. I mean, let’s be honest, nobody is claiming that Michael administered the dose himself. Therefore, it’s your professional duty to ensure that a tragedy like this
doesn’t occur. Whether it was deliberate, whether it was at Michael’s request, or against his wishes, we can’t be certain. All I know for sure is that it seems to me there’s a massive, glaring issue that everyone is ignoring. Ultimately, whether it was done intentionally, whether he was compensated by Michael or someone else to do it, is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if it was a suicide, an assassination, or a tragic accident. At the end of the day, that man administered the fatal dose, so he bears
the full responsibility. Michael was working on a movie, and what was being billed as a concert series called This Is It. To me, that title was a very public declaration. Okay, this is it. This is my farewell performance. You know, it was a final curtain call in front of a giant red curtain. I don’t think you need a more explicit uh broadcast to signal that you’re saying goodbye. But it seems no one has connected those dots yet. Again, whether that theory is accurate or not, doesn’t really matter. It’s just
my interpretation, and who knows if I’m correct. What I do know with certainty is that regardless of Michael’s wishes, whether it was on purpose or accidental, this man is the one who took the final action. He is responsible. Period. Even if someone paid you an enormous sum of money to do it, even if Michael himself paid you, it makes no difference. The bottom line is you carried it out. My new album is called angelic to the core and Michael Jackson is one of the individuals to whom I’ve dedicated
it. Now, I don’t recall if you remember, but when the accusations of pedophilia first surfaced against him, I was the first and at that point the only celebrity in 1993 to publicly come forward and state that it was absolutely not true. Completely untrue. He never laid a hand on me and as far as I know, he never inappropriately touched anyone else. And yes, my positive view of Michael remains unchanged. I do not believe those stories, not for a second. What I experienced was a man who was a
perfect gentleman, who was unfailingly respectful to me and to every single child I ever saw him interact with. You see, there was a whole circle of kids and we all shared a unique bond with Michael. We were all his friends. I’ve since spoken with each of them about their experiences and every single one described the exact same respectful and innocent friendship that I had. Look, this was a man who adored children. That was his entire focus, but not in a sinister way. He genuinely loved children. He cared deeply for their
well-being and dreamed of making the world a better place for them. That’s the message he championed. That’s the cause he fought for. He was captivated by the magic and wonder of childhood. So, if you take a person like that and let’s just assume for a moment that this is his true essence, that there is no dark hidden side, that this is the complete picture. Now, try to imagine what that must feel like deep in your soul when your greatest love and your life’s passion is twisted and used
against you. They tried to paint you as the very monster you stood against, as a sicko. Can you even comprehend what it would be like to wake up to that reality every single morning? The situation with Michael Jackson was a witch hunt, plain and simple. Let me be clear. I don’t have all the facts because I wasn’t present in every room at every moment. I am not aware of everything that transpired during the years I wasn’t around him, but what I can speak to is the character of the person I knew intimately, the man who
was my close friend and who was like a brother to me. He simply was not that kind of person. He was a man who was so profoundly innocent and sheltered that you couldn’t even swear in his presence. You couldn’t talk about drugs. You couldn’t bring up nude women or the topic of sex. You couldn’t discuss anything of that nature because he was a deeply religious man. What we know for an absolute fact is that Jordan Chandler, the first boy to accuse him, later came forward after his father
passed away and wrote an open letter admitting that the stories were fabricated. He stated it unequivocally in his own words in a public letter. So, that part is confirmed. We also know that the second trial was dismissed and the claims were proven to be false. He was facing 10 counts and he was acquitted on all 10. So, why are we still having this conversation? The man is gone. Every time the issue was legally addressed, it was resolved in his favor. Regarding my relationship with Michael, no, I didn’t confide in
him about the abuse I experienced. He wasn’t someone I could have that kind of conversation with. I was far too embarrassed to bring it up. It just wasn’t that type of open forum, if you understand what I mean. I did talk to him about being bullied by other kids at school and I I I discussed the abuse I suffered from my parents and he was very supportive about those things, but the other abuse, absolutely not. I couldn’t even bring myself to talk to my own parents about it, let alone anyone else.
It remained a deeply buried secret until I got sober around the age of 21. I haven’t read much about the documentary and I have no desire to watch it. While I have my own private feelings on the matter, I believe that when you make accusations like that so long after the fact, it becomes incredibly difficult to lend them credence. This is especially true when the accuser has a long history of publicly defending the person, repeatedly backing them up and even sought employment from them
just a few years prior. It’s a challenge for me to believe that this entire perspective has suddenly and drastically changed. The narrative just doesn’t feel authentic to me. After the Leaving Neverland documentary aired, Michael Jackson’s friend, Corey Feldman, shared his thoughts on Twitter stating, “He never touched me inappropriately and never ever suggested we should be lovers in any way. I feel like if people could hear our conversations, they would hear the complete innocence
within them. There was never a hint of perversion. I have an audio tape I’m considering releasing, which could offer people a genuine insight into what a 30-year-old man-child and a 13-year-old boy would talk about so everyone could hear the purity of our friendship. Again, I wasn’t there when those other boys were. I was a close friend of Michael’s. I don’t know anyone from our group of friends who ever perceived him in that light. To then hear these sudden allegations, which seemingly materialized out of thin
air, especially after Michael had essentially given this person a life, providing him with everything, it just feels like a massive betrayal. No, I didn’t watch any more of the film than a few clips. I don’t want to delve too deeply into that because it’s an extremely sensitive topic that I’ve addressed before. However, I will state that I am maintaining a neutral stance on the matter. Although Feldman had initially criticized the film, labeling it as one-sided and lacking evidence and
reaffirming that his own friendship with Michael Jackson was never inappropriate, the actor is now clarifying some of his earlier comments. He stated, quote, “Michael was my friend, but that does not mean I condone any harmful behavior, physical or mental. This is new information for me. It will take me time to absorb and process it. As I articulated in my official statement, this is clearly a very emotional period for me. It’s an intensely emotional process for any survivor of abuse, for
anyone who has endured these kinds of traumas. First and foremost, I would ask that people try to put themselves in that position. You have to try and put yourself in my shoes. Here I am a kid who has survived the trauma of sexual abuse and and during that incredibly vulnerable period, I’m searching for a stable positive figure in my life. I looked to someone like Michael Jackson to be a friend, almost like a protective big brother and he genuinely filled that role for me. However, while you’re in
this friendship, things start to shift. Suddenly, you begin hearing more and more of these deeply unsettling accusations. These accusations were being leveled against him by various individuals and for me, it reached a critical juncture. My life’s work is centered on being an advocate for victims, on fighting to change the statutes of limitations to ensure that survivors’ voices are no longer silenced. Given that commitment, it becomes a matter of integrity. It is simply impossible for me to maintain my
principles and not at the very least give serious consideration to what is being alleged. I had an obligation to listen to what these accusers were saying. This is a crucial point. We must give them their voice. We have to create a space for them to speak. That also means we have a moral duty to consider all sides of the story, even when it’s incredibly painful and unsettling. As I was taking all this in, a part of me was just screaming, “This makes absolutely no sense to me. This is completely at
odds with the man that I knew and trusted.” So, what my own painful past demonstrates is that I am not the most reliable judge of character. It proves that I can be deceived and for that reason, I cannot and should not be the arbiter in this situation, especially considering how close I once was to him. Let me put it this way. If it were my own brother, my own flesh and blood and all of these terrible nightmarish accusations were being made against him, I wouldn’t be in any position to judge
him fairly. My only choice would be to step back and say, “Okay, I am obligated to examine every single piece of this.” And if the evidence showed that my brother was guilty of something so heinous, I would never condone it. On the contrary, I would actively oppose it because the single most important thing is that we safeguard the innocence of our children. The children must always be our primary concern. Their safety and well-being have to come before anything else. It is our most fundamental, almost sacred
responsibility to do the difficult work of protecting the children on this planet.
