As if the multiple bomb threats aimed at the premiere weren’t enough (including a pack of bomb-sniffing dogs, increased security and the dispatch of a SWAT team), director Dan Reed’s shocking documentary Leaving Neverland, which investigated the child molestation allegations against pop legend Michael Jackson by Wade Robson and James Safechuck, galvanized an online army of rabid MJ followers and flooded social media with mentions of people alluding to it. movie.
“The evidence is that many of the Twitter accounts and emails that we were receiving death threats and abuse from were created the day before and had strings of numbers and letters in their handles,” Reid told Variety. “This was clearly a bot operation. There were some real fans who emailed me and made threats, but most of them were fake.”
And sure enough, when Variety published my in-depth interview with Reed the other day discussing the box office success of the Jackson biopic Michael, social media mentions (and mine) were flooded with Jackson truthers rushing to their hero’s defense. But in the midst of the miasma of slander and aimless projection was a rather bizarre slander against Reed.
Many Jackson supporters’ Twitter accounts shared photos of Reade and the late Jeffrey Epstein, a pedophile, sex trafficker and friend of the rich and powerful, in deep conversation aboard the private plane Epstein used to transport his victims, known as the Lolita Express. Only the photo is fake. The real images contained in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department are of philosopher Noam Chomsky and Epstein.
Ministry of Justice
This is a common tactic used by pro-Jackson supporters to baselessly brand those who seek to investigate child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson as sexual abusers themselves. But considering what we know about Jackson and Epstein, accusing Reid of colluding with Epstein is an odd tactic.
This is a photo of Jackson posing with Epstein at Epstein’s Palm Beach home, released in 2024 as part of the Epstein Files.
Ministry of Justice
The unearthing of photos of Jackson and Epstein prompted a furious reaction from Matt Fiddes, a member of Jackson’s security team at the time, who denied any relationship between the two.
“I was his bodyguard when the photo was supposed to be taken with Epstein. We were just looking at houses because Michael wanted to live in Palm Beech so he could be near Barry Gibb. Our real estate agent took us a week to set up viewings. We didn’t even know who Epstein was at the time. He wasn’t famous at the time,” Fiddes wrote on Instagram. “Like the other homeowners we saw that week, he too wanted a photo with Michaels. I was there with another bodyguard and the Michaels. And then the Dr. That’s it!” in 2003! Epstein’s home was for sale, so it was one of many homes lined up to see it. Michael had no idea who he was or who the other property owners we met were. ”
He added: “Epstein was not in his financial circle. It’s all nonsense!”
The file also included an undated photo of Jackson, Bill Clinton, and Diana Ross posing together on what appeared to be a boat.
Ministry of Justice
The file also included testimony from two Epstein accusers alleging a relationship between Jackson and Epstein. On January 13, 2021, FBI documents included in the release revealed that the bureau interviewed an Epstein accuser who “started seeing Epstein around the age of 15 and stopped seeing him until he was 16 or 17.” The accuser, whose name was redacted, claimed that Epstein gifted her Incubus tickets for her 16th birthday, then “asked her who her favorite singer was” and made her answer “Michael Jackson.” So, according to FBI documents, “Epstein had Jackson call her on her birthday (redacted).” Witnesses interviewed by the FBI on June 22, 2021 corroborated the Epstein accuser’s story.
Unsealed court documents included in Epstein’s files reveal that another Epstein accuser, Johanna Sjoberg, interviewed as part of Virginia Giuffre’s case against Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015 and claiming to be a victim of Prince Andrew, responded when asked if she met any celebrities while she was with Epstein: “I met Michael Jackson… at Jeffrey’s house in Palm Beach.” When asked if she had “massaged him,” Sjöberg replied, “I didn’t.”
Finally, as part of a series of Epstein files released by the Justice Department, Jackson was named as part of Epstein’s contact list, along with other celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Alec Baldwin, and Bill Clinton. However, Epstein was known for exaggerating the truth when it came to his relationships with A-listers.
So far, Jackson has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. And Jackson’s estate has not yet responded to Variety’s request for comment.
