When I heard, "Leaving Neverland" was coming out, I knew I wanted to watch it. The Mrs. went back and forth about whether she wanted to because she worried it would make her not want to listen to his music anymore. In the end, we both chose to watch and were both...underwhelmed. Having heard all the hype about it, we expected it would provide at least a hint of a smoking gun. But no. It was just two accusers and their mothers telling their stories. Horrific stories, yes. But no different from the accuser that took him to trial in 2005. And these accounts in LN have the same problem that that case did - no real evidence and questionable parents. Michael Jackson's trial jury acquitted him largely on the basis of no smoking gun and an intense dislike for the accuser's mother. At least one juror has since admitted he believes MJ was guilty of molestation, but that there was not enough evidence to show he was guilty of molesting this particular boy. Part of the reason for that was that one of the LN accusers testified in defense of MJ, which he now says happened because his mom guilted him into it and because he did not know at that time that what had transpired in his youth was abuse. And that's possible. There is no blueprint for how sex abuse victims behave or cope with their trauma. I lean towards believing the other man in the documentary, you can see how what he went through just completely fucked him up. But I don't know if I believe the second one 100%. There's still so much grey area to everything MJ-related, because he was so secretive.
The descriptions of abuse in LN are no doubt twisted and difficult to listen to. No child should have to go through something like that. But what was actually shocking to me was how stupid the families were. There's a lot of, "Oh, but he was the biggest star in the world/he wasn't a normal adult man, he was very childlike". It is rare that someone denied a childhood has the means to build one for themselves as an adult. But, childlike or not, at the end of the day he is an adult man who prefers the company of children. And that would be fine, if not for the fact that he preferred boys to be separated from their parents and behind closed doors with him. I recall the enormity of MJ in his hey day, how larger than life it all was. But my mother would never have allowed us alone with a grown ass man, no matter how famous or childlike he was. Hell, one LN accuser's mother broke up her entire family on half-assed promises that MJ would make her son a star, which fell by the wayside once they moved from Australia to America. Both mothers mention being increasingly isolated from their sons as these "friendships" with MJ grew, yet they never gave a second thought to letting them sleep with him. MJ did the deed, yes, but the mothers get an assist. He didn't even have to groom them or wine and dine the families, he only had to turn on his childlike demeanor. I'd be pissed at my mother if I was either of those dudes.
Although I didn't watch LN until a week after it aired, I did go on Twitter the night it premiered to see what was going on. And it was sad. Most of what was trending were people defending MJ and slamming the accusers. His talent was so great, there's no way he could've hurt children and so on. So many people unable to separate the talent from the actual person that possessed it. No could ever say he was not talented or that his music didn't shape generations of people. But talent does not, or at least should not, be an excuse to do illegal activities. I love MJ's music and will continue to, but I separated the man from the music a long time ago. Do I believe he had a thing for young boys and abused them? Yes. You can't go through the evidence list of things found at Neverland in 1993 and think he was harmless. You don't put ten locks on your bedroom door or have a bell that alerts you when someone is approaching it because you're afraid of a home invasion. There's only one reason for that. I think the accusers in 1993 and 2005 were failed by their parents on an even grander scale than the LN pair. Not only did their parents willingly hand them over, they also were just crap people when it came to getting justice for their kids. I also think people take the childlike part of MJ too far. There was another side there, a calculating side that knew just what he was doing. And it is for this reason that I believe he did not molest every boy he came into overnight contact with. I think if he saw value in certain boys beyond his compulsion, say one who was famous and could be a believable voice that nothing sexual ever happened, he would not abuse them. No one but the alleged victims knows what really happened. And no one will ever move the hardcore fans to believe anything remotely bad about their idol. I just hope those that were victimized are able to find peace someday.
