Photo: Getty
He said the abuse started when he was 7.
By Emily Blackwood — Written on Mar 04, 2019
The latest Michael Jackson documentary has arrived and with it, comes a few bombshell allegations.
"Leaving Neverland" directed by Dan Reed debuted at Sundance at Park City, Utah's Egyptian Theatre on Friday. The four-hour film follows two men — Wade Robson and James Safechuck — who claim that the legendary pop singer sexually abused them when they were children. Festival director John Cooper even told the audience that due to the "explicit descriptions of sexual abuse" in the documentary, health care providers were standing by to offer counsel.
Throughout his life, Jackson always denied the rumors of child abuse and said he would never hurt a child. Now, Robson and Safechuck are telling their sides of the story, describing the sexual acts Jackson committed against them and the acts he coached them to commit on him.
During an interview with Reed prior to the film's opening, Oprah asked him how many people knew.
“I think a great many people knew,” he said.
So who is Wade Robson? Here's everything we know about the Michael Jackson accuser.
1. The abuse started when he was 7.
Wade Robson originally met Michael Jackson when he was 5 years old after he was called up on stage during a concert in Australia. While on stage, he did the "Smooth Criminal" dance for the crowd.
After the show, Jackson invited Robson and his mom up to his hotel room. While Robson said nothing happened on that particular night, the singer told them they should reach out to him if they ever came to America. They did, when Robson was 7, to visit Disneyland.
His mom, Joy, found the number to Jackson's personal assistant. Jackson reportedly remembered Robson and invited the family to his infamous Neverland Ranch for the weekend. The years of abuse began when Robson stayed behind with Jackson while his family visited the Grand Canyon.
2. Robson thought he would go to jail if anyone found out about their "friendship."
The cops talked to Robson about his relationship with Jackson multiple times through the years but the first time was when dentist Evan Chandler accused the singer of molesting his 13-year-old son, Jordan.
“As soon as the cop started asking me these questions, the first thing that came to mind was everything Michael started telling me when I was 7,” Robson says in the documentary. “If anyone ever found out that we were doing these sexual things that he and I would go to jail for the rest of our lives. It was terrifying.”
3. He testified on Jackson's behalf.
During that trial — which was settled out of court for $25 million — Robson gave testimony on the singer's behalf and said they were never abused by him. Then in 2005, when Jackson was accused of molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo, he was asked to testify again. This time, he wasn't as sure he wanted to.
“I did not want to testify. At some point, I worked up the courage to tell Michael that I don't want to testify. I remember silence on the phone for a while,” Robson said in the film. “He said, 'I understand it’s really hard and it's tough to go through this with all of the media and everything, but we can’t let them do this to us. We can't let them take us down. Us, us, us."
4. He bought him a fax machine.
Jackson bought Robson a fax machine, which he would use to send him messages that sounded a lot like love notes.
“I love you little one,” one faxed note allegedly read. “Make me happy and be the best.”
The faxes were often sent rapidly one after another and would include drawings.
“The living room would be covered in faxes,” Joy Robson said in the film.
5. He was asked to destroy evidence of the abuse.
After the 1993 trial, Robson and Jackson reconnected. He was 14 and had grown to be as tall as the singer. The last episode of abuse while Jackson was rehearsing for his 1997 world tour.
Jackson invited the pre-teen to an L.A. hotel and attempted to anally penetrate him but it became too painful, and the singer relented. The following day, his private secretary demanded that Robson come to the studio where Jackson was. When he arrived, Jackson allegedly asked him what happened to the underwear Robson was wearing that night.
He said that if there was any blood on it, he needed to get rid of it. There was, and Robson threw the garment away in his condo's dumpster.
6. He said having his son made him want to come forward.
In 2010, Robson and his wife welcomed their son, Koa.
"I start to have these images of the kind of sexual stuff that happened between Michael and I happening to Koa and seeing Michael doing it to Koa what he did to me,” Robson said in the film. “And my immediate emotional reaction to having those images is just this rage and disgust and violent feeling. Like, I would kill anyone who did anything like that to Koa. What I started thinking was, how can I have such clear feelings — negative, horrible feelings — about the idea of that sexual stuff happening to Koa but when I think about me and Michael, I don’t feel anything.”
He said hours after he told his therapist about his abuse, his brother told him that his wife had a dream that Robson was abused by Jackson. For the first time in front of his wife, Robson said it was true.
Emily Blackwood is a writer and editor living in California. She covers all things news, pop culture and true crime.