The sex abuse lawsuit filed against the late Michael Jackson by one of the two subjects of the Leaving Neverland documentary has been dismissed. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles County court found that the accuser could not sue the two Jackson-owned corporations named as defendants in the lawsuit, MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc.
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Who Is Michael Jackson’s Accuser?
James Safechuck, 42, originally filed his lawsuit back in 2013. It was dismissed by a judge in 2017, but revived by an appeals court earlier this year thanks to a new California law giving sex abuse victims more time to file a suit. A similar lawsuit filed by fellow Leaving Neverland star Wade Robson, 38, remains active.
Both men were subjects of the powerful 2019 HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland. Throughout the course of the film, which garnered significant attention and rave reviews, Safechuck and Robson recounted the repeated sex abuse they suffered at the hands of the legendary pop star.
Is Michael Jackson Guilty or Innocent?
Michael Jackson has been plagued with allegations of child abuse, both while he was alive and after his shocking death in 2009. The first accusations came against Jackson in 1993, and while he vehemently denied the allegations, the “Thriller” singer settled with the accuser’s family out of court. Criminal charges were dropped by prosecutors when the accuser refused to cooperate with the state.
In 2005, the music icon was indicted on numerous sex abuse charges, including four counts of molesting a minor, four counts of intoxicating a minor to molest him, one count of attempted child molestation, and one count of conspiring to commit extortion and child abduction. The trial lasted four months and ended when the jury returned a not guilty verdict against Jackson.
Safechuck and Robson’s lawsuits revived the sex abuse allegations a few years after Michael Jackson’s death and garnered additional attention after Leaving Neverland’s release. Jackson’s estate continues to deny all abuse allegations and is suing HBO over the documentary.