[ad_1]
Dance professional Wade Robson, who has accused the late Michael Jackson of molesting him when he was a child, is set to head to trial with the late singer’s corporation MJJ Productions, Inc..
TMZ reported Monday that the California Court of Appeal approved a suit Robson, 40, has brought against the late singer’s corporation over the allegations of molestation – which Robson said occurred from when he was seven to 14 at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch.
The legal team for MJJ Productions, Inc. said in previous proceedings that the corporation had no liability in the situation, as it was not able to control the late pop star.
The Court of Appeal overturned a Los Angeles County trial court’s April 2021 dismissal of the case, and issued a tentative ruling that the case will be redirected to trial.
In court documents, Robson said that he moved from Australia to the U.S. as a child, at which time he crossed paths with Jackson, who he made friends with, but eventually sexually abused him.
The latest: Dance professional Wade Robson, who has accused the late Michael Jackson of molesting him when he was a child, is set to head to trial with the late singer’s corporation MJJ Productions, Inc.. Jackson was pictured in March of 2009, months before his death at 50
TMZ reported Monday that the California Court of Appeal approved a suit Robson (pictured in 2019) has brought against the late singer’s corporation over the allegations of molestation – which Robson said occurred from when he was seven to 14
Jackson in November of 2003 was arrested in Santa Barbara, California – two days after Neverland was raided – and indicted on 10 counts including lewd conduct with a minor, conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment, and extortion (involving a separate minor).
The criminal case went to trial in February of 2005, attracting ample media attention with more than 130 witnesses taking the stand, including Robson, who said that he had slept in the bed alongside Jackson but that the singer had not tried to molest him.
Jackson was ultimately found not guilty of all of the charges June 14, 2005.
Robson altered his account of the events eight years later, when in 2013, he sued the company representing Jackson’s estate, saying that his previous testimony in support of the musical artist was the result of ‘complete manipulation and brainwashing,’ the outlet reported.
Robson’s name was in the headlines four years ago with his participation in Leaving Neverland, an HBO documentary released in 2019 in which he said that Jackson initially sexually abused him in 1990 (when he was seven-years-old) and that the singer continued the behavior for seven more years.
James Safechuck, who has also made molestation allegations against Jackson and appeared with Robson in Leaving Neverland, currently has a case circulating before the Court of Appeal, which is expected to proceed to trial in the wake of the latest ruling in Robson’s case, the outlet reported.
Robson and Safechuck had previously had suits against Jackson’s estate dismissed in 2017 due to the statute of limitations. Their case was revived two years later after California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a law giving a longer timeframe for litigation for people who claim they were sexually abused as children.
Insiders close to the Jackson estate’s legal team told the outlet that they are confident their side will win in trial, as the appellate ruling is immaterial to the case’s legal merits.
Jackson and a young Robson were pictured together decades back in the documentary
Robson’s name was in the headlines four years ago with his participation in Leaving Neverland, an HBO documentary released in 2019 in which he said that Jackson initially sexually abused him in 1990
Jackson in November of 2003 was arrested in Santa Barbara, California and indicted on 10 counts including lewd conduct with a minor, conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion; Robson testified on his behalf in the resultant trial
The Jackson estate has denied claims from both Robson and Safechuck, and sued HBO over the documentary.
‘Wade Robson has spent the last 8 years pursuing frivolous claims in different lawsuits against Michael Jackson’s estate and companies associated with it,’ a rep for the estate said in 2021.
Sunday marked the 14th anniversary of Jackson’s 2009 death at the age of 50 as result of a cardiac arrest following an overdose of the surgical anesthetic drug Propofol.
In the years since his death, Jackson has remained a relevant pop culture figure – celebrated for the body of work he left behind, amid a legacy complicated by controversies.
Jackson in 2003 said he felt there was nothing inappropriate about sleeping in the bed with children who weren’t his, in a controversial interview with journalist Martin Bashir in the TV documentary Living with Michael Jackson, which aired months before his arrest later that year.
Asked about sleeping in the bed with kids who weren’t his, Jackson said it was ‘a beautiful thing’ and labeled critics of his ‘ignorant’ to that.
He said in the special, ‘There’s some guy trying to heal a child … I have slept in a bed with many children.’
When asked if he thought his stated actions were right, he replied, ‘It’s very right – it’s very loving, that’s what the world needs now, more love, more heart.’
[ad_2]