Reading Time: 2 minutes
If you’re headed to the movies this weekend, there’s a good chance that you’ll be seeing Michael, the controversial biopic of pop icon Michael Jackson.
The film is on track to become one of the year’s biggest box office hits, but not everyone is thrilled about its projected success.
Critics have savaged Michael for glossing over the scandals and accusations that plagued Jackson throughout his adult life.
And now, one of Jackson’s many accusers is breaking his silence on the subject.
Along with Wade Robson, James Safechuck appeared in the 2019 HBO’s 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland and alleged that he had been sexually abused by Jackson.
Through his attorney, John Carpenter, he posted this week addressing the Michael controversy.
“The Michael movie’s coming out and it’s getting a lot of promotion,” says Safechuck, 48, in the clip below.
“There’s billboards and commercials and just people praising Michael and it can be triggering for survivors who have their own Michael in their lives, whether it’s the priest who’s close to God or the sports coach who’s just helping the kids or the step-parent who’s supporting the family.”
Safechuck went on to note that accused abusers often, ironically, subjects of praise:
“Our abusers are praised sometimes, even after we come out and tell the truth,” he continued, adding:
“And I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone and that there’s other survivors out there that understand what you’re going through and that are there with you.
“And that if you’re feeling all the feels, then lean into people that are close to you, lean into people that support you and that give you love and know that you’re not alone. … [T]elling the truth and telling what happened is a good thing and that it’s part of your healing.”
Safechuck is one of several plaintiffs involved in an ongoing civil suit against Jackson’s corporate entities, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures.
Dan Reed, the director of Leaving Neverland, told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview that “people don’t care that [Jackson] was a child molester. Literally, people just don’t care.”
Sadly, it sounds like this weekend’s box office receipts will only corroborate Reed’s assertion.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thehollywoodgossip.com
