New Delhi: The estate of Michael Jackson is facing a new sexual abuse lawsuit, with four siblings alleging that the singer brainwashed and abused them years ago.
The siblings have filed a case against the estate, claiming they were sexually abused and that members of Jackson’s entourage “knowingly enabled” the alleged acts.
Although the lawsuit was filed in February, it drew wider attention this week after the accusers spoke to The New York Times, just ahead of the release of the singer’s biopic, ‘Michael’.
The three brothers and a sister, from New Jersey, have alleged that the abuse took place in the 2000s.
According to court filings, they claimed they travelled with Jackson on concert tours and were also abused at their home, which he reportedly visited with his children.
As per the complaint, the siblings first met Jackson through their father, who worked at a luxury hotel the singer frequently visited. It also noted that their parents were unaware of the alleged abuse at the time.
The lawsuit names the Jackson estate, its attorneys John Branca and John McClain, as well as private investigator Herman Weisberg, as defendants.
“Michael Jackson was a serial child predator who, over the course of more than a decade, drugged, raped and sexually assaulted each of the Plaintiffs, beginning when some of them were as yo
ung as seven or eight. Jackson’s attacks on these siblings went on for extended periods, including in locations around the world and when Jackson and his children were guests in Plaintiffs’ family home. Jackson groomed and brainwashed each Plaintiff, without the knowledge of the others or their parents, throughout their childhood years,” read the complaint.
According to Variety, representatives of Michael Jackson’s estate dismissed the lawsuit as a “desperate money grab” and raised questions about why the accusers remained silent for so long.
“This lawsuit is a desperate money grab by additional members of the Cascio family. The family staunchly defended Michael Jackson for more than 25 years, attesting to his innocence of inappropriate conduct. This new court filing is a transparent forum-shopping tactic in their scheme to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael’s estate and companies. The Cascios spent decades defending and affirming Michael’s innocence. Notably, these shakedown attempts come more than 15 years after Michael’s death, thus carrying no risk of being sued for defamation. Sadly, in death just as in life, Michael’s talents and success continue to make him a target,” attorney Martin Singer, who represents the estate, was quoted as saying by the portal.
The lawsuit is drawing attention at the same time as the release of ‘Michael’, a biopic on the life of Michael Jackson, starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film has been backed and approved by the Jackson estate and family.
While early reviews from critics have largely been negative, audience response has been more positive, helping the film achieve a strong, record-breaking opening at the box office.