Nude photos of Michael Jackson could be shared with the world after two men who claim he abused them when they were children attempted to release court records.
Wade Robson, 41, and James Safechuck, 46, claim Jackson repeatedly raped them when they were young children in the 1980s and 1990s at his Neverland ranch and elsewhere.
The couple failed in lawsuits against the singer’s production companies, which since his death in 2009 have been owned by his estate, but the lawsuits were revived last year.
As part of the case, which could go to trial next year, they are seeking access to sealed police records from Jackson’s 2005 pedophilia charges.
Lawyers for MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures believe the real target is “photographs of Michael Jackson’s genitals and naked body taken by police.”
Michael Jackson’s lawyers are trying to stop an attempt by two men who claim he sexually abused them to gain access to nude photos of the pop icon. He appears in a suggestive publicity photograph taken during the filming of the video for his 195th song, You Are Not Alone.
No further details have been shared about what the photos show and when or why they were taken.
Police investigating sexual assault allegations sometimes ask accusers for detailed descriptions of their alleged attacker’s private and body parts in an attempt to uncover unique characteristics that could corroborate their claims.
The motion to quash the four subpoenas was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday and noted that the images were sealed by a protective order issued by the court, according to People Magazine.
“Beyond the invasion of privacy issues, available records indicate that the photographs that (the) plaintiffs now seek are also subject to a strict protective order agreed to by Michael Jackson and Santa Barbara authorities and filed by the Court Superior of Santa Barbara,” the motion says. read.
The subpoenas were addressed to the county sheriff’s offices and the district attorneys of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.
The attorneys wrote that Jackson did not take the photographs voluntarily, as they “were the result of a court-ordered search based on a false statement in what became a discredited criminal investigation.”
“Allowing (the) plaintiffs to exploit that set of circumstances to their advantage by obtaining those photographs now adds a second contamination to the first.”
Robson and Safechuck’s allegations were detailed in the controversial 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland.
Wade Robson (pictured with Jackson and an unidentified man) claimed that Jackson sexually abused him as a child at his Neverland ranch and elsewhere.
James Safechuck claimed that Jackson took him shopping for an engagement ring and held a mock wedding between them, sending them both ‘love letters.’
Safechuck claimed he was abused between 1988 and 1992, when he was about 11 years old, and Robson, between 1990 and 1996, when he was about eight years old.
Leaving Neverland included graphic descriptions of the alleged abuse, including oral and anal sex, which they said Jackson led them to believe were romantic relationships.
Safechuck claimed that Jackson took him shopping for an engagement ring, held a mock wedding between them, and sent them both ‘love letters.’
Robson strongly supported Jackson when the pop star was accused and testified at his trial that he was never sexually abused during his visits to Neverland.
“His music, his movement, his personal words of inspiration and encouragement and his unconditional love will live within me forever,” he said after Jackson’s death.
However, in 2013, he changed his mind and filed his first lawsuit against Jackson’s estate alleging that he defended the singer due to “complete manipulation and brainwashing.” Safechuck gave similar reasons.
Robson, now a choreographer and director, brought his case in 2013, and Safechuck, a writer, actor and director, did so in 2014, both for negligence, breach of duty and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Robson, now a choreographer and director, brought his case in 2013, and Safechuck, a writer, actor and director, did so in 2014, both for negligence, breach of duty and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Robson and Safechuck’s allegations were detailed in the controversial 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland (archive footage pictured).
The lawsuits were dismissed and a judge concluded that the production companies had no duty to prevent Jackson’s sexual abuse of children.
However, they won the right to continue, this time together, in an appeal ruling in August that found that companies may have their own separate duty to protect victims, even if they are “solely owned” by the alleged abuser.
They would have to prove not only that Jackson abused them, but that the production company’s staff were complicit.
The duo want to go to trial before the Michael Jackson biopic, which is expected to be largely flattering, is released next year.
‘They want the Michael Jackson biopic to come out before the trial. That’s what I think,” said his attorney John Carpenter. Rolling Stone.
“These corporations that facilitated the abuse in the first place are rewriting history.”
Leaving Neverland included graphic descriptions of the alleged abuse that they said Jackson led them to believe were romantic relationships.
Carpenter disagreed with the production companies’ claims that the matter was complex and “they plan to waive a three-year speedy trial rule because the case will not be ready for juries until after December 2026.”
‘They were both children who were abused at the same time, so there is a lot of overlap. Regarding injuries, that’s where the evidence is different. But the responsibility is the same. “They were two children who were sexually abused,” he stated.
Jackson’s estate said in August that they were disappointed with the court’s decision to allow the lawsuit to proceed.
“Two distinguished trial judges repeatedly dismissed these cases on numerous occasions over the past decade because the law required it,” he said.
‘We remain fully confident that Michael is innocent of these allegations, which are contrary to all credible evidence and independent corroboration, and which were first made years after Michael’s death.
“We are confident that the truth will ultimately prevail with Michael’s vindication once again.”