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In the next HBO documentary Leave NeverlandWade Robson and James Safechuck explain in detail the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Michael Jackson as children. But in an interview for a special show that should be aired after the documentary, Oprah interviewed director Dan Reed on a subject that is not at the center of the film: who in the inner circle of the pop star allowed the abuse or closed your eyes?
"How many people knew about it?" Asked Oprah when recording Wednesday at the Times Center in New York.
The hearing was filled with over 100 survivors of sexual abuse in childhood and their supporters who had recently finished watching the four-hour movie.
"I think a lot of people knew that," said Reed.
Robson, who was 7 years old when he said that Jackson initiated their sexual relationship, told Oprah that it was "very rare that Michael was alone" and that the star "always had a machine around him. him".
"The secretaries have organized most of my phone calls and would arrange cars to pick me up and bring me to him," Robson said. "The security guards were still there outside the door."
Oprah recalled a point raised in the documentary that parents often slept in separate rooms and sometimes separate floors while their children spent the night with Jackson.
"Yes, in the film, we see that mothers are farther and farther away. First of all, you are next. Now, there is no continuation on this floor, "Oprah said. "I mean, someone has to fix that."
Robson said that he did not believe Jackson, who died in 2009, "could have abused him the same way as him," without the people around him being complicit. When he was alive, Jackson denied allegations of sexual abuse against him.
Robson and Safechuck had already defended Jackson when he was charged with sexual misconduct with a minor in 1993 – a case that had been settled amicably. In 2005, while Jackson was being tried for sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy, Robson testified on behalf of Jackson; Safechuck, who claims that Jackson began to assault him at the age of 10, declined to testify. Jackson was acquitted of all the charges and Winfrey asked if the men thought of the boys against whom they had testified, even though, as the host said, "many other people have looked away. ".
"Well, they look on the other side and we, on the other side, I think these are two different things," Safechuck said.
"We have been trained and prepared for this," he said. "So we approach things differently. Not comparable. "
Robson echoed a similar point, saying he could not think of anyone else because he had been "trained to be a Michael soldier and protect him".
"I would have liked it to be different. I would have liked to be ready at 11, "he said. "I would have liked to be ready at age 22 to validate, give a sense of justice, to be able to play a role in Michael's arrest at that time." I would have liked that to either, but it simply could not. "
Earlier this week, four members of Jackson's family defended the singer CBS this morning in an interview with Gayle King.
"It's still a question of money," said Jackson's nephew Taj, to the question of why he thought Robson and Safechuck had decided to present their allegations. "I hate to say it. When it's my uncle, it's like seeing a blank check. "
Howard Weitzman, estate attorney Jackson, sent a 10-page letter to HBO in early February condemning the documentary, calling it a "sensational and unilateral program."
Both Robson and Safechuck deny the monetary gain as a motive, and Reed defended them against those who repeat this claim.
"Going to court is a well-established way of holding an entity to account," he said. "What Wade and James allege is that many people working for Michael Jackson have turned a blind eye when they get raped and why should not these people be held accountable?"
Part 1 of Leave Neverland premieres on Sunday, March 3 at 8 pm ET on HBO, and Part 2 is on the air the next night, March 4, at the same time. Immediately after Part 2, Oprah's one-hour special Oprah Winfrey presents: After Neverland, is broadcast simultaneously on HBO and OWN at 22 hours. AND.
Adam B. Vary contributed to the reports.
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