Wade and James Fan Myths – Busted

Wade has consistently said that one of the main aims of his lawsuit against the Estate is to encourage and support other victims of child sexual abuse to come forward.

Fans say:

The lawsuit was originally filed under seal and Robson tried to extract a settlement from the estate with zero publicity. Only when the estate refused to pay a bean did he go public.

This is untrue. From the very start, when Wade’s lawyers filed on May 1, 2013, the lawsuit was public. His lawyers submitted legal documents asking for permission to file a late creditor claim against the estate over childhood sexual abuse.

Wade’s filing appeared as normal in the public list of documents available on the LA Court website. It was not hidden.

https://www.lacourt.org/paonlineservices/civilImages/searchByCaseNumberResult.aspx?casenumber=BP117321

Only Wade’s complaint which detailed the abuse was filed under seal, which meant that its contents couldn’t be seen by the general public. This is because the complaint contained explicit and graphic descriptions of sexual abuse as well as details on Wade’s mental health. However, it’s general contents weren’t a secret and the premise behind the lawsuit wasn’t a secret.

Gradstein filed a motion seeking permission to file a late creditor’s claim against Jackson’s estate on 1 May, nearly four years after the singer’s death, court records show. Most of the documents are sealed pending a June court hearing, but a summary of the documents states the choreographer includes a declaration from a psychiatrist and an “Unfiled Complaint for Childhood Sexual Abuse.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/fresh-michael-jackson-child-molestation-accusations-dancer-wade-robson-claims-the-singer-abused-him-8608857.html

Anyone checking the documents on the LA Court website could easily verify this.

https://www.lacourt.org/paonlineservices/civilImages/preview.aspx?id=1695755721&ct=PROBATE

When Judge Beckloff held a hearing in early June 2013 to decide which sections of Wade’s pleadings to release to the public, News Limited reported that the Estate wanted the entire complaint remain sealed.

On Thursday, Mr Beckloff presented attorneys with possible redactions of Robson’s sworn declaration and said it should serve as a roadmap for what information can be made public.

The judge believes some of the material could be made public, even though attorneys on both sides would like the case sealed in its entirety.

Some of Robson’s private and personal information, including a paragraph that detailed his allegations of abuse by Jackson, should be sealed, Mr Beckloff said.

He also said portions of the records that deal with mental health issues also should not be released.

“There aren’t a lot of redactions,” Mr Beckloff said of his suggestions.

Attorneys for Robson and Jackson’s estate will review the suggestions by the judge and report back at a hearing on June 25, the fourth anniversary of Jackson’s death.

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/jackson-accuser-wade-robsons-case-to-be-opened/news-story/d98ad285e8550246926f86b4b6b8580

That the Estate attempted to have Wade’s complaint remain under seal is evidenced in Judge Beckloff’s ruling on June 25 2013:

The court does not seal the additional material for which sealing was requested in the Further Brief of the Executors of the Estate of Michael J. Jackson Regarding the Sealing of Certain Documents Submitted in Connection with Wade Robson’s Petition to File a Late Claim and Related Civil Complaint filed June 24, 2013 by the Executors of the Estate.
After considering and balancing the proposed redactions, the  resumption of open court records, and the factors contained in CRC Rule 2.550(d), the court finds that the justification offered for the sealing is outweighed by the right of public access to the record.

http://ww3.lacourt.org/api/documents/v2/open/preview/1547249234(1).pdf

(FURTHER BRIEF OF THE EXECUTORS OF THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL J. JACKSON REGARDING THE SEALING OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS – https://www.lacourt.org/paonlineservices/civilImages/preview.aspx?id=1695751001&ct=PROBATE)

It is clear that the lawsuit was public, that Wade’s accusation of child sexual abuse against Jackson was public, and it is clear Wade only wanted his complaint to be sealed due to the sensitive nature of its contents, not to “extract a settlement from the estate”.

It is also clear that it was the Estate that was trying to keep the details of Wade’s claim from the public. Fans have twisted things on their head in an attempt to discredit Wade. It didn’t work.

 

Wade does say this in his deposition when he is talking about writing a book about his abuse. Alone the statement looks very incriminating however put into context it is far less so. Here is the actual quote from his deposition in context:
Q. You refer to yourself as “a master of deception”; correct?
A. Here, yes, in the writing.
Q. Do you believe that you’re a good liar?
A. I believe Michael Jackson taught me how to lie really well about the abuse that I suffered at his hands.
Q. And you did consistently, you’re claiming now, lie about the abuse from when it started when you were 7 years old until May 8th, 2012; correct?
A. Say that one more time.
Q. Sure. You consistently lied, it’s your claim now that you consistently lied about the abuse from the time you were 7 until May 8th, 2012; correct?
A. Yeah. I told the story that Michael taught me to tell until May 8th, 2012.
Q. And when people pressed you on that story or asked you questions, you consistently said that Michael had not abused you; correct?
A. Correct.

Jackson fans claimed that the documentary was edited to remove parts of the allegations because the timeline has been proven false somehow. This wasn’t the case.

Essentially the UK version needed to make room for adverts. With adverts every 15 minutes for 2 hours i.e. 7 adverts around 4-5 mins each, they had to reduce each part of the documentary by 30 minutes. The documentary is already very long and people probably wouldn’t want to watch for nearly 5 hours.

[Edit: While Channel 4 in the UK only has the short version available to stream, both the original and shorter versions are available to stream in Australia on TenPlay, so it clearly wasn’t shortened to hide ‘false’ info]

Reddit user orangesky3 went through all the footage and compared the HBO and UK versions, then made a list below of all the differences they could find.

TDLR summary of the list: only things they could afford to were removed in order to reduce the time but also tell the story. Things removed include descriptions not necessary for the main story (i.e. how magical Neverland was), repetition, stuff about Wade’s father, all the sections with Wade’s grandmother etc. The majority of removed footage in part 2 is TV news footage and Wade’s family. orangesky3 honestly didn’t know what else they could have removed instead to reduce the time by 55 minutes.

All the timestamps are approximate and refer to the HBO timings.

Part 1 (about 30 mins shorter)

· Introduction to James’s mother reduced. Whole bit about meeting his father and the vasectomy etc was removed.

· After Wade’s first concert, section where he goes into MJ’s room for 2 hours while he was editing Moonwalker footage is removed (bearing in mind this comes right when the first advert break happens, and unlike some have suggested, the doc clearly says this is when the Moonwalker was edited not released and there were no claims of molestation in this instance regardless)

· 25:14: James saying MJ was becoming more like a person, how he gave him attention

· 25:30: James’s family driving MJ + being followed by paparazzi

· 28:30: James’s mother on choosing whether he should do commercials, MJ praying for a friend

· 30:10: James’s mother saying she kept her distance during the day on the trip

· 37:20: Few secs cut of James’s mother talking about life being crazy on tour

· 47:57: James’s mother talking about being served food + wine at Neverland

· 50:51: James’s mother talking about the cinema room door being locked, some of James describing locations of abuse (again before an ad break)

· 53:50: James saying that MJ’s popularity helped him believe he was good

· 57:05: Whole section with Wade’s grandmother removed

· 59:05: Few seconds removed of Wade’s sister meeting MJ for the first time

· 59:20: Few secs removed of Wade saying they were having a photoshoot

· 1:01:07: Whole section with Wade’s grandmother removed.

· 1:01:43: Wade’s family saying how magical Neverland was.

· 1:02:20: Wade’s mother describing cinema and candy store at Neverland

· 1:03:25: Few secs cut of Wade saying the main house was across from guest rooms

· 1:05:18: Few seconds cut of Wade’s sister just repeating what Wade said about MJ inviting them to stay in his room. Again the section with Wade’s grandmother removed.

· 1:05:40: Wade saying he, his sister + MJ had pillowfights

· 1:07:20: Wade saying there were loads of toys, MJ liked watching him have fun

· 1:07:50: Wade describing fairground and animals

· 1:11:00: Wade’s grandmother again. Wade’s mother couldn’t get in contact.

· 1:18:56: Wade talking about MJ calling him son

· 1:21:56: Wade saying he doesn’t remember anyone making a comment about him staying in MJ’s room. His mother saying she spent a lot of time with his sister going shopping.

· 1:24:10: James’s mother continuing to say how amazing it was that MJ loved spending time with the family because he was a big star

· 1:28:58: Wade’s sister saying she’d sometimes say hello to MJ on the phone but he only wanted to talk to Wade. His mother saying they’d be on the phone for several hours

· 1:29:50: Wade saying he found it hard to concentrate at school because of MJ, said they’d call each other Apple Head.

· 1:30:45: Whole section about fax messages, Wade’s grandmother talking. Wade describing clothes MJ gave him.

· 1:35:15: When Wade says how relationship became intertwined with what sexual relationship was, the words ‘and what our love was’ is cut off

· 1:35:35: Wade’s mother talking about happy memories at Neverland, how she could tell MJ + Wade were avoiding her

· 1:39:30: Wade’s mother saying she fought with MJ over Wade staying with him for a couple of hours

· 1:40:10: Wade’s brother confusion when he was told they’d stay with MJ a bit longer

· 1:42:20: Wade’s grandmother, Wade discussing his father’s bipolar disorder

· 1:43:40: Wade talking about father’s mental health again

· 1:44:40: Some of Wade’s brother talking about family situation

· 1:45:15: Wade’s grandmother

· 1:46:35: Wade’s brother talking leaving dad, Wade’s grandmother again

· 1:50:00: Wade’s mother talking about when they arrive in LA, doing music video

· 1:51:20: A few seconds of Wade saying Macaulay was where he was

· 1:52:10: Wade’s mother saying it was obvious Macaulay took place as MJ’s best friend

· 1:55:10: James’s mother saying they went up for the weekend and MJ showed up with another family

· 1:58:20: Newsclip footage

· 1:59:15: Wade talking being upset that Brett was Australian

Part Two (25 minutes shorter)

· 01:10: News footage of Wade dancing on TV

· 02:55: Sentence removed “Michael and Jordy would disappear a lot”. Only this sentence is removed, Wade still says that they went into the bathroom and he knew what they were doing.

· 3:58: small part of news clip where presenter says MJ hasn’t been seen since the allegations

· 6:50: All of footage of Gloria Allred (Jordan Chandler’s lawyer) talking to the media. Asking why MJ would sleep with boys, reminding us that child victims will look to Jordan’s trial to see how they’d be treated if they came forward.

· 9:28: Wade saying he wouldn’t hear from MJ for months at a time, then when the trial happened it was every day. Call from MJ is gone, as is Wade saying the calls were to coach him.

· 11:00: Today Show clip where MJ’s lawyers are asked about MJ inviting kids to live with him, sleeping with boys.

· 11:40: James saying MJ used the ‘they want fame and money’ card, his parents believed MJ

· 14:50: News clip showing deposition document, chauffeur saying he’d drop boys off for overnight visits, staff member saying they saw things happen

· 16:10: Small part of Wade’s TV interview defending MJ where he says MJ is a kind person and wouldn’t hurt anyone. After this it does show the second clip of Wade’s TV interview, it isn’t completely removed.

· 21:10: The UK version does have James saying MJ convinced his parents to get him out of school but removes some of the extra detail. Also removed is MJ telling him he’d be a little Spielberg, James describing the films he’d made.

· 29:45: Quick clip of Wade in a car park(?) removed, as is a drone shot and news clip of MJ’s honeymoon

· 30:30: Wade saying he had a building desire to connect with his dad more, his phone calls with his dad in Australia. (The stuff about his dad’s mental health is kept in though)

· 31:00: Wade’s brother talking about staying in Australia and his dad.

· 36:55: Few seconds at the end of the clip where Wade rehearses with NSync

· 37:25: News report cuts off before newscaster says ‘NSync’ after Britney. News report about Wade working with Britney removed. But it includes the part where Wade talks about MJ’s obsession with Britney.

· 40:20: Few seconds cut from James’s wife describing his band.

· 41:24: James’s wife talking about moving in together, watching Harry Potter

· 44:25: James talking about using substances to cope.

· 46:45: Personal footage of Wade and his wife with Wade describing his wife.

· 54:05: It includes footage of MJ giving a statement to the media after the court case, but cuts off the end part where he thanks people and talks about his community.

· 54:35: Wade telling MJ he doesn’t want to testify + MJ’s reaction.

· 1:02:40: MJ walking into court and section where Wade, his mother + sister describe dinner at Neverland the night before.

· 1:06:10: Part of news clip cut that reports a question Wade answered in court (along the lines of ‘Did MJ ever molest you?’ ‘No’)

· 1:08:40: When Wade is saying he wishes he told the truth in court, it cuts a little bit where he says it could have stopped MJ + saved other children

· 1:09:05: One sentence where Wade says that he didn’t understand that it was abuse. It doesn’t completely remove him saying this, it includes what he then says about not feeling harmed by it and not understanding it was bad.

· 1:09:55: Drone shot, TV news clip about MJ doing a Las Vegas comeback. Wade choreographing in Las Vegas. MJ telling him to bring wine. MJ + Wade having dinner, MJ drinking heavily.

· 1:14:37: Wade saying the first thing he saw on the news when MJ died was the ambulance leaving and how the news said he had cardiac arrest.

· 1:15:20: Hollywood TV clip of fans in the streets after MJ dies. Wade’s sister learning about death on the news.

· 1:15:50: Wade’s sister’s shock when MJ died because he was such a big part of her life.

· 1:17:20: Wade’s sister grieving.

· 1:17:55: Wade didn’t know how to feel when MJ died, didn’t want to talk about it to anyone. Wade being told he had to make a statement.

· 1:19:20: News clip of MJ’s dad saying he helped people.

· 1:23:05: It includes Wade saying he stopped enjoying work, but removes a little bit where he says it wasn’t fun anymore and becoming more famous brought more pressure.

· 1:23:30: Wade’s sister talking about his depression (but rest of section about his depression is still there)

· 1:25:50: First sentence of Wade’s wife on the demands of directing a film .

· 1:26:45: Wade saying he was barely talking to his family.

· 1:27:30: James’s mother saying she could see he was having a rough time, suggesting he sees a psychiatrist, he wouldn’t talk about it.

· 1:28:30: Part where James’s wife talks about his breakdown is reduced slightly

· 1:30:15: Wade’s wife saying that he felt terrified all the time, she was trying to keep it together.

· 1:40:45: Wade’s grandmother talking.

· 1:46:25: Wade’s grandmother talking.

Fans suggest that because testimony from prosecution witnesses related to any alleged abuse of James was barred from the trial, then that means James could not have testified at the trial at all. They use this as proof that James lied about being contacted to testify.

Let’s look at what James said in his claim:

In 2005, DECEDENT contacted Plaintiff, and asked him to testify on his behalf in the criminal trial against DECEDENT in Santa Barbara for criminal sexual abuse. Plaintiff was approximately 27 years old at the time. DECEDENT started out the telephone call by saying that he wanted to help Plaintiff with his music and directing. He then asked Plaintiff to testify at trial on his behalf. When Plaintiff said no to the request, DECEDENT got angry and threatened him.

Note that this is in 2005. Details of prior sexual abuse of boys was known to Jackson’s legal team in December 2004 and the trial commenced on February 28, 2005, so this claim is easily verifiable. Further adding credibility to James’ story, he does not appear on the pretrial witness list.  James went on to claim:

DECEDENT’s lawyers, together with Evvy Tavasci, DECEDENT’s executive personal secretary and an employee of MJJ PRODUCTIONS, contacted Plaintiff and told him that he needed to testify and deny anything that the cooks at Neverland said that they saw happen between Plaintiff and DECEDENT. Plaintiff told them that he did not want any further involvement with DECEDENT.

This is also verifiable and would have occurred before the following event took place, when evidence was planned to be presented about the alleged abuse of James.

On March 28, 2005 the court discussed 1108 evidence which would be admitted (1108 evidence is prior bad acts evidence which could establish a pattern of behaviour of the accused). The discussion starts around page 61 but here are the pertinent parts related to James (Jimmy):

THE COURT: The arguments presented by both sides here were very good arguments, and they’re arguments bringing up the law and the factors that I’ve been working with trying to reach a decision in this matter, which is of such great importance in this case for both sides.
The arguments didn’t really bring up new material, but they definitely emphasized the concerns that I’ve had. You know, the weighing of the case as I’ve heard it, the remoteness of the alleged charges that would come under 1108. But ultimately the decision I’ve reached, and which I’ll now announce, is that I am going to permit the testimony with regard to the sexual offenses, and the alleged pattern of grooming activities, which is 1101 material, leading up to the sexual offenses against Jason Francia, Wade Robeson, Macaulay Culkin, Jordan Chandler, and Brett Barnes.
The witnesses that would be permitted to testify under this order would be Jason Francia, Blanca Francia, Charlie Michaels, Phillip LeMarque, Adrienne McManus, Ralph Chacon, June Chandler, Bob Jones, and Charmayne Sternberg. The evidence of alleged grooming of the other children will not be permitted. Evidence as to Jimmy Safechuck and Jonathan Spence will not be permitted. The witnesses that would be precluded under this ruling would be Jolie Levine and Mary Coller. And there was only one part of Bob Jones’ testimony that I would consider admissible, that relating to the one physical act that he observed. And some of the testimony of Blanca Francia and June Chandler and Charmayne Sternberg would not be admissible. But I think if you can see the way I’ve divided that up, the grooming testimony is limited to those cases where there’s actual physical sexual conduct that’s been observed by somebody. That really is where I’ve drawn the line. And just to give you an example, Mr. Jones’ observations over a long period of time were conclusionary and opinions that I wouldn’t allow based on what he didn’t see.

The judge rules on two important matters here. He tells us what evidence will not be permitted about James Safechuck by the prosecution witnesses. He names the two witnesses who are barred (Jolie Levine and Mary Coller). 

This ruling does not preclude James Safechuck from testifying for the defence about other matters, such as Jackson’s character or to rebut evidence about abuse of Wade or Brett – remember James spent time with both of them and would be able to confirm “nothing happened”.

James continues:

After the call with DECEDENT’s lawyers and Ms. Tavasci, DECEDENT called Plaintiff again. This call was towards the end of the criminal trial. DECEDENT told Plaintiff that that he “was sorry for not being there for [the Plaintiff].” The words that DECEDENT used and the tone of his voice appeared to Plaintiff to be rehearsed, as if the call were being tape recorded. Plaintiff feared that this was a possibility, as he knew from the past that DECEDENT often taped telephone calls on a regular basis. Plaintiff wanted to get off the telephone call as quickly as possible, as the very sound of DECEDENT’s voice made him very uncomfortable and put him into a panic mode. DECEDENT continued to pressure Plaintiff to testify and told him that Gavin Arviso (the victim in the criminal prosecution) was just trying to get money. Plaintiff told DECEDENT not to call or try to talk to him ever again, and then ended the call.

Some fans believe that James said that Jackson’s lawyers called him towards the end of the criminal trial. As you can see that is untrue, he claims Jackson acted alone. Why Jackson would make this call is uncertain, but it’s possible he was using the request to testify as a ruse to call James to gauge his loyalty. Even if Jackson was calling James to probe his willingness to testify as a character witness there would have been no impediment. James was not barred from testifying.

Category: General

Fans claim Wade changed his Hawaii Community Foundation website because Amanda said in Leaving Neverland that she had very little knowledge of child sexual abuse but the website said otherwise.

This is false.

The old version of the website stated:

The Robson Family Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation was established in 2019 by Wade and Amanda Robson. Wade Robson, a survivor of child sexual abuse, along with Amanda Robson, his wife, mother of their child and also a survivor of child abuse, wanted to create a powerful way to contribute towards the healing from and prevention of child abuse.

Note the difference between child sexual abuse and child abuse.

The new version is:

The Robson Child Abuse Healing And Prevention Fund is a Donor Advised Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation dedicated to supporting the healing and prevention of child abuse, nationwide. It was established in 2019 by Wade and Amanda Robson with a personal donation.

Whatever reason the website was changed it wasn’t because of any discrepancy between what was said in the documentary and what appeared on their charity website.

Category: General

This is totally false.

The FBI:

  • DID NOT follow MJ, ever;

  • DID NOT tap his phone;

  • DID NOT put surveillance on MJ;

  • DID NOT search his residence (neither Hayvenhurst, Century City, the Hideout nor Neverland);

  • DID NOT open an investigation into molestation against him; and

  • DID NOT do anything that they would normally do in a federal case.

The FBI never, ever investigated Michael Jackson for child molestation.

The FBI was not involved in investigating MJ. The FBI merely assisted local law enforcement with resources when requested. So they helped interview people outside local law enforcement’s jurisdiction, or analyze a video or computer for local law enforcement as they had proper technology available.

There was never an “FBI investigation”, it was always the FBI helping local police departments on specific tasks requested of them. Even on the FBI website they say:

The “FBI didn’t investigate Jackson, the files now available show the FBI working with other agencies.”

On the page containing the actual FBI files they say:

Between 1993 and 1994 and separately between 2004 and 2005, Jackson was investigated by California law enforcement agencies for possible child molestation. He was acquitted of all such charges. The FBI provided technical and investigative assistance to these agencies during the cases.

Even with this disclaimer by the FBI fans still insist that somehow the files prove something. The Jacksons too are spreading misinformation about the FBI files. Taj Jackson, someone who has recently made somewhat of a crusade against “lies”, repeats this falsehood in interviews:

When asked if he found any of the child molestation accusations to be true, the vocal nephew of the pop legend spoke in Jackson’s defense as the allegations being false and went on to reveal that the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the Thriller singer for 10 years….

When Truthers say “they inspected all of MJ’s computers and every page has NOTHING written on it,” this is also false. The relevant FBI file with a page dedicated to each computer is missing 3 pages – page 4, 5 and 6. There are another 120 pages redacted from this file. That is not to say MJ had child porn on his computers – he would have been arrested for that if there was – but it is impossible to say whether there was anything shady on his computers or not as we cannot view the complete, unredacted file.

There wasn’t much information in those files anyway

Of the 679 pages in the FBI’s Michael Jackson file, only 333 were released, and of those released 196 related to extortion threats against Michael Jackson and others in 1992; 8 pages related to a videotape which only related to Michael Jackson because the title was “Michael Jackson’s Neverland Favourites, an All Boy Video Anthology”; and 18 pages related to a request made of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group to provide advice and assistance to local authorities concerning the Arviso investigation in 2004.

That leaves 111 pages directly related to MJ, and most of those are heavily redacted so as to become meaningless or contain public information. If anything, the remaining pages raise more questions rather than absolving MJ. For instance, in this file is a handwritten note which reads:

“P/R called from Toronto Canada. She and her husband work in Children’s Services.
On Sat 3-7-92 they took train from Chicago to Grand canyon. Train
continued to CA. They had a compartment in car that Jackson had
four compartments.
Jackson had a male juvenile 12/13 with him along with adult staff. Boy was ID’d as Michaels “cousin”.
Jackson was very possessive of boy. At night, P/R heard questionable noises through wall.
She was concerned enough to notify the conductor of her suspicions.”

Remember this is in 1992, before allegations of pedophilia about MJ became public.

The FBI had nothing but a passing interest in Michael Jackson, and preferred to leave investigations of him to local law enforcement. To bring up the FBI files as proof that he wasn’t a pedophile or a child molester is absurd.

Category: General