Michael Jackson responded to HBO’s Leaving Neverland documentary with a lawsuit.
The estate claimed the network was breaching a 27-year-old defamation contract which was inked for HBO to air the singer’s documentary connected to his Dangerous album. The King of Pop’s heirs filed a notion to invoke an arbitration clause
As a result, the network moved the case from state to federal and claimed the deal was outdated, and the estate counter-filed a notion to get the case back to the state.
HBO stated that Michael Jackson’s Estate legal motion was a “transparent effort to bolster their publicity campaign against the documentary.” The network assured that there are no existing contracts that will affect the controversial docu-series.
HBO’s lawyers argued for a federal judge to determine the “gateway issues of validity and arbitrability.” An act, Michael Jackson’s estate called “classic tautology.”
Ultimately the judge denied both notions and HBO took home the W. But U.S. District Court Judge George H. Wu called for both parties to bring in evidence on the issue of arbitration.
The theme for Louis Vuitton’s FW19 presentation at Paris Fashion Week Men’s, which originally wowed the fashion industry in all the right ways, is now causing the brand to completely backtrack and remove it altogether. It’s an act that truly has us wondering one thing: is this truly the beginning of the end for Michael Jackson’s legacy?
As unfortunate as it is to report this, both for the nature of the crime in question and the one being accused of it, the luxury fashion house and its recently-appointed menswear creative director Virgil Abloh are the latest to face backlash brought forth by the scathing Leaving Neverland documentary. Backed by a premiere at Sundance, a two-night airing on HBO and an after show special hosted by media maven Oprah, the doc depicts the disgraced King of Pop being accused of extreme acts of child sexual abuse by two of his former prepubescent associates. The reactions have been split — loyal MJ fans stand by his innocence while abuse survivors are denouncing the mere mention of his name — which has now put Virgil and LV in a tough predicament, seeing as the FW19 show was completely dedicated to him down to the “Billie Jean”-inspired set design.
Here’s what Louis Vuitton’s chief executive officer Michael Burke told WWD in an official statement regarding the doc:
“We find the allegations in the [Leaving Neverland] documentary deeply troubling and disturbing. Child safety and welfare is of utmost importance to Louis Vuitton. We are fully committed to advocating this cause.”
— Michael Burke, Chairman/chief executive officer, Louis Vuitton
Abloh followed with similar sentiments, addressing the controversy in the same statement by saying, “I am aware that in light of this documentary the show has caused emotional reactions. I strictly condemn any form of child abuse, violence or infringement against any human rights.” According to WWD, the brand has made the decision to remove all MJ-focused themes from the FW19 offering. While specific items weren’t named, we can assumed that it will include the sparkly gloves (seen above), T-shirts depicting MJ’s signature tip-toed dance move and quite possibly the Jackson 5-inspired sweaters. What lingers are the range of items inspired by The Wiz. While Michael Jackson did in fact star as Scarecrow in the 1978 retelling of The Wizard of Oz, he alone doesn’t embody the entire significance of what that movie means to Black culture and cinema in general. We’ll just have to see when the collection starts hitting retailers in later months.
Image: Louis Vuitton
Image: Louis Vuitton
Let us know whether you agree or disagree with this decision to remove MJ from the Louis Vuitton FW19 Collection by sounding off over on Twitter and Facebook. Take a look below to reminisce on better times and watch the full runway show:
In wake of the controversial Leaving NeverLand documentary centered around Michael Jackson’s alleged child molestation, Drake takes a stand with the accusers.
The Toronto rapper axed the Scorpion cut record featuring the King of Pop from his Assassination Vacation tour set.
Although the song wasn’t released as a single in the United States, it was charting in the UK.
Drake hasn’t made any public comments in regards to the omission of the song from his set, but the change comes fresh off the heels of Michael being accused of molesting Wade Robson and James Safe when they were young boys.
Grammy-winning rapper T.I. isn’t here for the Michael Jackson bashing. The King of the South has defended the King of Pop amid backlash shot his way following a controversial Leaving Neverland documentary.
Tip went to Instagram Wednesday to speak up for the late pop icon and question his motivation behind allegedly molesting children.
Last weekend, HBO aired its controversial Leaving Neverland documentary which features two men suggesting Jackson molested them.
The film, broken into two parts, detailed allegations of sexual abuse leveled against the late music icon, and featured interviews with accusers James Safechuck and Wade Robson. In the documentary, Safechuck and Robson — now married adults with sons of their own — claim they engaged in sexual relationships with Jackson that started when both were underage, 10 and 7 years old, respectively. Through on-camera interviews, they recall how they each first met the music icon and later, became closer and closer with the pop star. (ET Online)
A few weeks ago, Michael’s family weighed-in on the controversial doc and sexual abuse allegations.
Appearing on CBS This Morning in late February, Jackson’s brothers Tito, Marlon, and Jackie, and his nephew Taj discussed the documentary and the claims featured in it. Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the accusers at the centre of the film, say Jackson sent them “love letters”. Taj showed host Gayle King some of the notes he had received from his uncle, which featured sentiments of love and pride. “My uncle gave letters like that all the time to people that he cared about,” he explained. “There’s nothing salacious about it.” (NME)
Louisiana rapper Boosie BadAzz wants to see if people are going to keep it 100. The hip-hop star reacted to buzz about an upcoming Leaving Neverland tell-all documentary coming out with sexual abuse allegations against late pop icon Michael Jackson.
Boosie went to Instagram last night (January 10) to share strong words toward people currently bashing singer R. Kelly following last week’s Lifetime Surviving R. Kelly docuseries.
According to reports, there’s an upcoming documentary called Leaving Neverland aimed at exposing Jackson’s alleged relationships with kids.
Directed and produced by Dan Reed, Leaving Neverland follows the long-standing accusation of sexual abuse by the crowned King of Pop, Michael Jackson. At the height of his stardom, Jackson began long-running relationships with two boys, aged 7 and 10, and their families. Now in their 30s, they tell the story of how they were sexually abused by Jackson, and how they came to terms with it years later. Leaving Neverland will screen in the special events category. (Deadline)
Representatives for the Jackson estate issued a one-sentence statement in response to Wednesday’s announcement: “This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson.” (Variety)
A new documentary aimed at telling the story of two alleged Michael Jackson sexual abuse victims is set to premiere this month. New reports claim Leaving Neverland will be featured at the Sundance Film Festival.
According to reports, the controversial documentary focuses on a couple of men telling about their childhood experiences with the late King of Pop.
Directed and produced by Dan Reed, Leaving Neverland follows the long-standing accusation of sexual abuse by the crowned King of Pop, Michael Jackson. At the height of his stardom, Jackson began long-running relationships with two boys, aged 7 and 10, and their families. Now in their 30s, they tell the story of how they were sexually abused by Jackson, and how they came to terms with it years later. Leaving Neverland will screen in the special events category. (Deadline)
Representatives for the Jackson estate issued a one-sentence statement in response to Wednesday’s announcement: “This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson.” (Variety)
Despite hefty accusations, Jackson survived a serious criminal case in the mid-2000’s.
“Neverland” refers to the Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County, Calif., where Jackson lived between 1988 and 2003. The property was raided by law enforcement in 2003 in connection with molestation accusations against Jackson by a 13-year-old boy. Jackson was acquitted by jurors of all 14 criminal counts against him in state court in 2005. (Variety)
In addition to airing at the Sunday festival (January 24-February 4), it’s also expected to land on HBO later this year.
The film is made by Amos Pictures and produced by Dan Reed, who created the BAFTA award-winning documentary The Paedophile Hunter as well as From Russia with Cash. Channel 4 has not confirmed a date for the documentary to air, but said that it will be broadcast in spring. The documentary will be shown in the United States on HBO in the same week. (BuzzFeed)
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