New audio footage from before Michael Jackson’s trial more than 20 years ago have revealed shocking remarks the singer made about his relationship with children.
The audio can be heard across the four episodes of Channel 4’s Michael Jackson: The Trial, which launches Wednesday at 9 p.m. GMT (1 p.m. PT).
In the never-before-published audio, Jackson can be heard saying, “If you told me right now . . . Michael, you could never see another child…I would kill myself.” The New York Post reported these remarks over the weekend and Deadline has confirmed they will appear in the second episode of the doc.
The Trial’s trailer, which came out last week, also carries footage of Jackson saying, “Children just wanna touch me and hug me” and “Kids end up just falling in love with my personality.”
Jackson made the remarks to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who he had turned to for spiritual guidance in 1999, a few years before his trial. The audio interviews are used as a device throughout the four episodes and Deadline is told they will cover far more than just these shocking remarks.
The series features unseen archive and conversations with key insiders who have never spoken before, delivering a haunting and disturbing insight into the superstar’s psychology and fixation with children. The doc is balanced and features interviews with those closest to Jackson including a former defense attorney who can be heard in the trailer saying, “The entire accusations against Michael were a scam.”
The doc covers Jackson’s 2005 trial in California for allegedly molesting Gavin Arvizo, who was 13 years old at the time of the reported abuse, at Neverland. Arvizo and his brother testified that Jackson had given them alcohol, showed them pornography, masturbated before them, and made sexual advances. Jackson was acquitted on all counts in the summer of 2005.
The Trial is produced by UK indie Wonderhood Studios, which has made shows about the likes of former MGM boss Giancarlo Parretti and disgraced BBC news anchor Huw Edwards.
Since Jackson died in 2009, multiple documentaries have sought to uncover his relationship with children, including Channel 4-HBO’s Leaving Neverland and its sequel from Dan Reed, which focused on two men who alleged they were sexually abused by Jackson as children.
Jackson content is plentiful at the moment. Antoine Fuqua is preparing the long-gestating Michael movie starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the titular role. The BBC, meanwhile, is teaming with Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story producer 72 Films on a Legacy: Michael Jackson [working title] doc, which will explore his rise and various controversies.
English (US) ·