Michael Jackson, the worldwide sensation known as the “King of Pop,” had several controversies throughout his career. To this day, the public is split on whether they believe the many accusations thrown at him. Since the release of the Epstein files, his name has become relevant once more. But do these files really make him out to be guilty?
From bleaching his skin to behaving inappropriately with children, accusations were thrown at him left and right. Most notably, he was accused of sexual abuse of a child in 1993, which ended in a civil settlement, and a different child in 2003, which resulted in a criminal trial. In 2019, a documentary was released called “Leaving Neverland,” in which two men alleged long-term abuse by Jackson during their childhoods, but these accusations were later dismissed in court.
It’s important to note that while the FBI had an ongoing investigation on Jackson for years, they never found anything that was cause for concern. He was not found guilty and was acquitted of all charges. More recently, a few of the children who he was accused of behaving inappropriately with, including Macaulay Culkin, came out as adults to say that he was innocent. They claimed that their parents had told them to speak out against him, assumedly for the money. In the eyes of the law, Michael Jackson kept his innocence until his death in 2009.
During a wave of Epstein file releases earlier this year, a photo of Jackson and President Bill Clinton on one of Epstein’s properties was revealed, showing the two alongside Diana Ross and a few children, whose faces were redacted from the image. There was also another image released of Jackson standing next to Epstein. Of course, this caused a stir of conversation between Michael Jackson defenders and the people who still believe he was a creep who got away with too much. Why was he on Epstein’s property, and why with children?
While the image was very suspicious, witnesses have come out to explain that Jackson meeting Epstein was a coincidence – he was touring properties to buy in Palm Beach and ran into Epstein. The children featured in the image with Clinton included his daughter, Paris, and his son, Prince, along with Ross’s son. On top of this, Epstein’s crimes were not out of the bag at the time these photos were taken.
One of these witnesses was a victim of Epstein who, under oath, described the high-profile people who went to the island. She testified that she did see Michael Jackson on this day, and when asked if he had done anything inappropriate, she confirmed that he had not.
So, he wasn’t guilty about the release of the Epstein files. Still, this got people talking, and people started speculating that the theme park built on Michael Jackson’s property, called Neverland, was actually some sort of haven used to protect children who were set to be trafficked onto the island. The conspiracy says that Jackson found out about Epstein and wanted to protect the children, even though the corrupt government wouldn’t help. Some even go as far as to say that this may have had something to do with Jackson’s suspicious death in 2009.
While I believe that this would be in character for him, it is simply not true. Michael Jackson was known in Hollywood to be quite a whistleblower. If he saw something, he did not hesitate to say something. Jackson met Epstein briefly in Palm Beach, but they never met aside from that isolated incident. Epstein and his people knew better than letting Jackson know about the island.
Neverland was simply built as a way for Jackson to relive the childhood that was stolen from him as a child star, and to share that joy with children. But whether it was a predator or a protector, there is no link between Michael Jackson and Jeffrey Epstein.