American rapper Kanye West came to a stark defence of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson, following allegations about his sexual abuse of underage boys in the HBO and Channel 4 documentary series “Leaving Neverland”. Speaking to singer and record producer Pharrell Williams for I-D Magazine, West underlined Jackson’s achievements in the music industry, and said that something needed to be done in order to not “allow any company to tear down our heroes”.
“Not on The Shade Room, not on social media and especially not in documentaries”, the Jesus is King author said.
The record producer and fashionista did not miss a chance to compare himself to the late pop star, by insisting that he has been treated as “Wacko Jacko” by the media from time to time - a derogatory term some tabloids used to refer to Jackson.
“I’m like every time the media isn’t happy with me it’s like, ‘Here they go. They’re gonna come and Wacko Jacko me.’ Which in some ways, they’ve tried to do”, West shared.
The 2019 “Leaving Neverland” documentary, discusses Jackson’s alleged sexual abuse of two underage boys, James Safechuck and Wade Robson. In the two-part film, the two boys detailed their close friendships with the pop star, which began in 1988 and 1990 respectively, as well as instances of oral sex and other alleged sex acts. Many of the viewers slammed the documentary as untrue, with formed child actor Macaulay Culkin, who has also spent a lot of time with Jackson in the past, insisting that the singer “never did anything” to him and he never “saw him do anything”.
Jackson was charged with several counts of child molestation in 2003 but was later acquitted of all charges. He died from a cardiac arrest in 2009.