The Billie Jean singer faces allegations in the HBO documentary Finding Neverland that he groomed young children, even carrying out a fake wedding ceremony with a ten-year-old boy.
Credit Image : REUTERS
Michael Jackson’s songs have been pulled from radio stations in New Zealand and Canada after child sex abuse claims aired in Leaving Neverland
Credit Image : AP:ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wade Robson, left, and James Safechuck, right, made sex abuse allegations against Jackson in the chilling documentary Leaving Neverland, directed by Dan Reed, centre
Broadcasters are now moving to act amid pressure from listeners who have watched the documentary that has torn apart the pop icon’s already questionable legacy.
In New Zealand, two radio stations that broadcast to over half of the population have now removed his music.
State-owned RNZ said their decision is “a reflection of our audiences and their preferences”.
And NZME director Dean Buchanan said, “Playlists change from week to week and right now Michael Jackson does not feature on them.”
Playlists change from week to week and right now Michael Jackson does not feature on them
Dean Buchanan, Director Of NZME
Canadian radio stations have also followed suit.
Media company Cogeco stripped his songs from the playlists of all 23 of its Quebec stations, including its three major Montreal broadcasters CKOI, Rythme and The Beat.
Amsterdam-based Dutch radio station NHRadio and Norway’s NRK have also followed suit.
The BBC was reported by the Times to have quietly dropped his tunes from its Radio 2 playlists, though a spokesperson denied there was an outright “ban” on his music.
It comes after the release of the controversial two-part film, made by British filmmaker Dan Reed, that contains interviews with two former childhood fans of the Thriller singer who claim they were abused by him when they were children in his enormous Nevada mansion dubbed Neverland.
The documentary details fresh abuse claims from Wade Robson, a choreographer who says Jackson began abusing him when he was seven, and James Safechuck, a former child actor who says the singer began molesting him when he was 10.
It was branded a “horror film” after the four-hour film’s debut revealed gruesome accounts from two of Jackson’s alleged victims who are now in their 30s.
Leaving Neverland left audience members shocked with graphic abuse claims including how the singer allegedly gave a young boy jewellery in exchange for sex acts.
Amy Kaufman, LA Times Hollywood writer, said: “Incredibly emotional reaction from the audience after #LeavingNeverland.
“One audience member says he was molested as a child and that Robson and Safechuck “are going to do a lot more f***ing good in the world than Michael f***ing Jackson.”