Michael Jackson: the verdict on Netflix

[Meredusoleil]

Has anyone watched this 3 parter yet?

I watched it yesterday and am still struggling to understand how he was found not guilty on all charges!

Yes some of the witnesses were discredited and shown to be unreliable (Gavin's mum), but the information the children had all matched up (including the physical description of MJ's genitalia). How would they have managed to get that right otherwise?

I have watched lots of things about MJ and always thought there's no way they could have made this all up just for money.

However, I have also read that some of the things that were claimed did NOT match up (like the physical description of the genitalia).

So now I'm even more confused!

I have just finished watching this and I genuinely don’t know what to make of it.

He was found not guilty of everything, millions of people seem to believe he’s completely innocent….

A huge part of me thinks he must be guilty though?

i look at it as if a grown man was living next door to you, an ordinary man, when you knew he had boys sleeping in his bed and he admitted yes he does..but then said nothing happened, it’s innocent…would you believe him? Because it seems his fame and status seems to make the whole situation untrue and he’s innocent to people 🤪

The interviews with the juror were exasperating. She was clearly starstruck and in denial.

Yes. I agree.

I also read somewhere (might be in Jermaine's book) that Michael often slept on the floor (whether alone or with boys).

I also read that some of the boys' sisters sometimes stayed over, but all we have ever heard mention of is boys!

Still don't understand why he would need that much security leading up to his bedroom area, if there was nothing going on that he would need a warning for 🤨

Plus, the number of staff working at Neverland who said they saw suspicious activities.

There's just too much smoke for there to have been no fire imho.

As a fan of his music, I would love to really believe MJ was not guilty of these awful acts. But I just can't ignore the overwhelming testimonies and other evidence that point more towards him being guilty!

Back then he was one of the most powerful and influential people in the world. Think about how hard it is now to have someone convicted of such crimes when they have as much fame and notoriety as he did, back then it was worse, we believed what we saw on the news because there was nothing else, no social media, no insider information etc.

I've always been on the fence about him, but after the last 2 docs I've seen there's no doubt in my mind that he is incredibly guilty.

He reminds me of Jimmy Saville. Preying on vulnerable children in cancer wards and picking children with the most vulnerable family set ups. Grooming the parents and siblings. Even McCaulay Culkin, I would hope nothing happened to him as he says but I don't buy it, he also had a vulnerable family set up. It's all incredibly sickening and so sad.

Agree about MC. He went seriously off the rails for awhile (drug addiction I think). Although some may argue that was due to his childhood fame.

I have no doubt at all that he was a prolific child sex abuser and I feel very sad for all the victims who are accused of being liars by MJs fans. I’ve also watched 60 minutes Australia about the Cascio children x 4 and it’s clear there was a pattern to the grooming and abuse. There’s already a number of children who are now adults who have spoken out but in truth there will be many many more victims.

I think he was guilty. I also think he was very mentally unwell. I watched the most recent documentary. All it took was for one juror to have reasonable doubt. If he had been a ‘normal’ man he’d have gone to prison. I didn’t know that his ex wife had given evidence (or that she banged her statement). Where was MJ’s kids during all this and when he ran away to evade arrest they said he was in a room with teen boys- why wasn’t anything done about that?

I’m watching it now, absolutely enraged, I can’t stop shouting at the TV. He was clearly a prolific sex offender, abused his power, wealth and fame to abuse numerous boys.

I hope they’re all doing well in life now.

Having gone down a rabbit hole after watching the film recently there's so much that the Netflix series left out. It's very biased and one sided. If it was balanced I'd think they'd done a good job but they're just jumping on the bandwagon in order to make a few quid.

I thought he was guilty for years. I never really delved deeper than what the media reported. But since watching the film I've watched almost every documentary there is, and I'm now more than 99% certain he was innocent.

What does 'banged her statement' mean?

@Meredusoleilsorry typo meant ‘changed’

If you actually had looked into this properly and not just taken the headlines as gospel you’d know that what is described as his “bedroom “ is actually an entire wing of his house that’s basically another house inside the house and NOT a bedroom!

This man is dead. He’s got children and siblings and parents still alive though. all of you deciding having watched a heavily biased tv programme that this person who’s a total stranger to you is guilty when he was found not guilty in court — and the police didn’t have evidence to charge him when he was alive - why don’t you just leave him alone?!?! 🤷‍♀️ is it anything to do with any of you???

On what grounds?

Can I just ask, how do they explain away the pornography in the black suitcase that Gavin knew about and the detectives found?

Yes. I thought that too 👏

We are talking about our opinions on a TV programme that was made about him. He was (and still is) in the public domain afterall 🤷

He was a prolific paedophile and he got away with it because of his fame and wealth.

Janet Arvizo was known for making assault claims in order to get money, she’d previously accused a security guard at Target of sexually assaulting her when her son was caught stealing. She sued them and the case was thrown out.

She didn’t go the police about Gavin’s alleged abuse until after Michael asked them to leave Neverland because she was frequently asking for more and more money.

Jordy Chandler consistently said Michael hadn’t abused him until his father (a dentist) sedated him and kept asking him what Michael had done to him. He then revealed the “abuse” to a psychiatrist who had to report it by law. He divorced his parents when he was 16 and never spoke to either of them again. He refused to testify at all in the 2005 trial. His mum, did testify for the prosecution.

Wade Robson testified for the defence in 2005. He didn’t allege that he’d been abused until 2013, after Michael had died and the estate was now worth a lot of money. This was also after he’d been sacked from the Cirque De SoIeil tour (which was run by Michael’s estate) instead of going to the police he filed a claim. Same with James Safechuck. He decided to file a claim instead of going to the police. I find both of them completely unbelievable in the Leaving Neverland documentary.

That both Macaulay Culkin and Corey Feldman (especially Corey Feldman) have said he never touched them. In fact in 1993 Corey Feldman went to the police about his abuse by CS and several other Hollywood bigwigs and they didn’t want to know. He says they questioned him extensively about MJ and he had to keep repeating that MJ never touched him. He said they lost interest in him when he wouldn’t accuse MJ.

That the media hounded him and were convinced of his guilt before the trial. There was no money in it for them if he was found innocent.

The way he behaved after the trial. A predator who has been found innocent on all charges would feel emboldened and relish in it. MJ didn’t. He was devastated, never returned to Neverland, left the States completely and then died 4 years later after so many health problems caused by his chronic insomnia and addiction to prescription meds.

That’s probably why I’m not 100% certain he was innocent. That’s never been explained. It’s possible he found it, if he spent so much time there. But obviously, we can never really know.

Not to mention the Jackson family backing him up.

guilty as sin

And the wing had a bedroom with a bed that he shared with children.