Michael Jackson was known for a lot of things during his time in the spotlight.
New details have recently surfaced about Michael’s alleged abuse of children, in the explosive documentary Finding Neverland . Among those allegations was the issue that he frequently hosted sleepovers with children at his Neverland ranch.
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Famously, Macaulay Culkin was one of those children invited over for a night at the ranch, and he addressed the controversy.
In 2003, ABC News wrote an article titled “Jacko Still Hosts Child Sleepovers.”
The article detailed times that Jackson would invite children into his home for sleepovers, including Home Alone star, Macaulay Culkin.
Jackson himself revealed that they would sleep in the same bed, but there was “nothing sexual about it.”
Now that many years have passed and Macaulay is an adult, he spoke out about these sleepovers.
It’s safe to say that he was ready to clear the air here.
He spoke for the “Inside Of You” podcast and got quite candid about the whole thing.
He explained that Jackson reached out to him because he was quickly rising to fame as a child star.
“I think he identified with that. At the end of the day, it’s almost easy to say it was weird or whatever, but it wasn’t because it made sense,” he revealed.
Macaulay goes on to defend Jackson, saying that they were friends, and people only thought it was weird because Jackson was “one of the most famous people in the world”.
To be fair, people thought it was weird for a lot of different reasons.
Macaulay didn’t have friends that he could talk to about his rising fame.
“I was a peerless person, nobody at my Catholic school even had this much idea of what I was going through and he was the person who had been through the exact same thing and wanted to make sure I wasn’t alone,” he said.
It was the furthest thing from a “weird” relationship to Macaulay.
“He was [expletive] awesome. He was funny, he was sweet — people didn’t know how funny he was.”
It’s no secret Michael Jackson was denied a childhood, performing as the front man in his family musical group, the Jackson 5.
By the age of six, Michael was thrust into the spotlight as a professional performer.
It’s also no secret Joe Jackson, Michael’s father and band manager, was verbally and physically abusive towards his sons.
“His irrepressible on-stage energy was motivated by fear: he later said that his father, Joe Jackson, a frustrated guitarist, beat him and his brothers frequently and loomed over rehearsals with a belt in his hand” reports The Guardian .
Michael could relate to Macauley. They both experienced intense fame at a very young age.
In response to criticism towards his childlike lifestyle, Michael said “People wonder why I always have children around. It’s because I find the thing that I never had through them. Disneyland, amusement parks, arcade games — I adore all that stuff because when I was little, it was always work, work, work.”
Macaulay Culkin’s statements have been pushed further into the spotlight after the release of the explosive documentary “Leaving Neverland”.
The documentary Leaving Neverland highlights the story of two men Wade Robson and James Safechuck, now in their 30s, who began long-running relationships with Jackson at ages 7 and 10, while Jackson was at the height of his fame.
The 233-minute, two-part documentary that aired on HBO has revealed shocking allegations.
Robson and Safechuck said they had decided to come forward with the truth since recently becoming fathers themselves. Both men have suffered a host of mental health issues, and say it took them years of therapy to come to terms with their alleged abuse.
Jackson was acquitted of all molestation charges in 2005.
The Jackson estate has commented on the documentary, stating it’s “yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson.”
Macaulay recognizes that their relationship was a big deal to everyone else, but he maintains that their relationship was very normal and mundane.
But after watching the Leaving Neverland documentary, former Michael Jackson fans and celebrities like Judd Apatow have come out in support of the accusers.
Have you watched the documentary? Let us know in the comments.
