An Oprah Winfrey interview with two men who say Michael Jackson sexually abused them as boys will air immediately after a documentary on the men.
HBO and the Oprah Winfrey Network announced Wednesday that the special, “Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland,” will air simultaneously on both channels Monday at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. That’s just after the conclusion of the two-night airing of “Leaving Neverland.”
The networks say the pre-taped interview by Winfrey will be with Wade Robson and James Safechuck, and the film’s director, Dan Reed in front of an audience of people affected by sexual abuse.
The family and estate of Jackson, who died in 2009, have denounced the documentary and HBO’s decision to air it, saying it spreads falsehoods about a man not alive to defend himself.
The family of Michael Jackson had a feeling the years-old child molestation allegations against the pop superstar would resurface at some point. So they say they weren’t entirely surprised to learn that a forthcoming HBO documentary would feature two of his accusers.
“I thought, ‘Oh here we go again,’ Jackson’s oldest brother Jackie Jackson said Tuesday of the moment he learned of “Leaving Neverland” while on tour in Australia. “That’s the first thing we said,” Jackie Jackson said during an interview with The Associated Press seated next to his brothers Tito, Marlon and his nephew, Taj.
The documentary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to a standing ovation , will starting Sunday air the abuse allegations of two men , Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who had previously denied Jackson molested them and supported him to authorities and in Robson’s case, very publicly.
“It was going to be the 10-year anniversary,” Taj Jackson said, referring to his uncle’s June 2009 death. “I remember a year ago I was like, ’This is too appetizing for the media. They’re going to do something. This is the time when everyone comes out of the woodwork, the same cast, the same characters that have been discredited throughout the years. They have a platform now to talk about Michael Jackson.”
