Dave ChappelledefendedMichael Jacksonagainst the sexual abuse allegations made in the HBO documentaryLeaving Neverlandduring the comedian’s newest Netflix stand-up special,Sticks & Stones.
InLeavingNeverland, two men — Wade Robson and James Safechuck — allege that the late music iconsexually abused themwhen they were children. The Jackson estate hassued HBOandslammed the documentary, calling it “another rehash of dated and discredited allegations.”
Chappelle, 46, spoke out against the documentary as he joked about “celebrity hunting season” and spoke about the careers ofR. KellyandKevin Hart.
“Michael Jackson has been dead for 10 years and this n— has two new cases,” Chappelle said, adding that the documentary was “f—ing gross … really nasty s—.”
“I’m gonna say something that I’m not allowed to say,” the comedian added, referring to Jackson’s accusers, “but I gotta be real. I don’t believe these mother f—ers. I do not believe them.”
Shareif Ziyadat/WireImage; Carlo Allegri/Getty
Chappelle continued, calling himself a “victim blamer” and saying that if someone told him Jackson was “molesting children,” he would respond, ” ‘Well, what were those kids wearing at the time?’ ”
“I know it seems harsh, but somebody’s gotta teach these kids,” Chappelle continued. “No such thing as a free trip to Hawaii. He’s going to want to look at your butthole or something.”
Chappelle then spoke about Kelly — who has recently beencharged with sexual assault and abuse, amongother charges— but said the musician was “different” than Jackson because, Chappelle believes, “he did that s—.” (Kelly, 52, has pled not guilty to the charges.)
The comedian then explained why he didn’t agree to take part in thedocumentary seriesSurviving R. Kelly, saying, “I don’t know this n— at all. I don’t know anything.”
Speaking about Hart, whose past homophobic tweets caused him tostep down from hosting the 91st Oscarsa mere two days after being given the job last year, Chappelle called the comedian “damn near perfect.”
“As close to perfect as anybody I’ve ever seen. In fact, Kevin is precisely four tweets shy of being perfect,” he said.
Dave Chappelle.Mathieu Bitton/Shutterstock
Leaving Neverlandpremiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. In the documentary, both Robson, 36, and Safechuck, 41, detail their alleged inappropriate experiences with Jackson.
Safechuck met Jackson when he was cast in the singer’s 1986 Pepsi commercial. He said the pop star took him and his family on tour, where their relationship allegedly turned sexual when Jackson taught Safechuck how to masturbate.
“He set it up like I’m going to show you something that everybody does and you’ll enjoy it,” Safechuck said. “It felt like you were bonding, in a way. The tour was the start of this sexual, like, couple relationship.”
Michael Jackson and Wade Robson.HBO
Safechuck alleged the singer trained him to cover their tracks early on.
“He would run drills with me where we’d be in the hotel room and he would pretend like somebody was coming in and you had to get dressed as fast as possible without making noise,” Safechuck said.
Similarly, Robson claimed Jackson told him if anyone “ever found out what we were doing about the sexual stuff, that he and I would be pulled apart and we would never be able to see each other again. And that he and I would go to jail for the rest of our lives.”
Chevaz Clarke/CBS
“This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson,” the Jackson estate said aboutLeaving Neverlandin a statement in January.
source: people.com
