It was expected that the explosive details set to be revealed in the recently aired Leaving Neverland documentary would have some requisite fallout. After the broadcast, radios stations around the globe are taking Michael Jackson songs off the air.
CNN reports:
In New Zealand, multiple major radio stations have pulled Jackson’s music from their airwaves, including commercial broadcaster MediaWorks.
“Michael Jackson isn’t currently on any MediaWorks Radio stations’ playlists,” Leon Wratt, the company’s director for radio, said in a statement. “This is a reflection of our audiences and their preferences — it is our job to ensure our radio stations are playing the music people want to hear.”
Rival broadcaster NZME also will not be playing the late pop star’s music. “NZME station playlists change from week to week and right now Michael Jackson does not feature on them,” NZME entertainment director Dean Buchanan told the New Zealand Herald, which is owned by NZME.
A spokesman for Radio NZ, a publicly-funded broadcaster, said it would only play Jackson if it was “part of a news story or to provide color around a commentary piece.”
In Canada, three major Montreal-based radio stations have also stopped playing Jackson’s music, according to Canadian news outlet CBC. Other stations in Canada are reported to be monitoring the situation.
The estate of Michael Jackson has aimed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against HBO for their role in bringing the documentary to prominence.
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Photo: Getty