Corey Feldman Defends Michael Jackson: He “Never Touched Me Inappropriately”

Corey Feldman is stepping in to defend Michael Jackson from the child abuse allegations levied in HBO documentary Leaving Neverland. In a lengthy Twitter thread, Feldman, who was friends with Jackson when he was a young child star, said that the pop star “never touched [him] inappropriately” during their years-long friendship, and he blasted the doc for being “1 sided” with “no chance of a defense from a dead man.” The actor, who has spoke openly about suffering abuse as a child, went on to challenge the claims of accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck, saying that money or “abandonment” may be their true motive for speaking out.

Feldman first sounded off on Leaving Neverland early Monday morning. “All I know is what I experienced, & yes every experience was the same… right up 2 the sex part! That is where it becomes La La Land, instead of Neverland 4 me,” he wrote in a series of all-caps tweets. Feldman noted that he and Jackson “never spoke about sex other than a few warnings about how sex was scary & dangerous” before vehemently defending the pop star against Robson and Safechuck’s allegations. “MJ never once swore in my presence, never touched me inappropriately, & never ever suggested we should be lovers in any way!” he said.

In Leaving Neverland, Robson and Safechuck claim that they were sexually abused and assaulted by Jackson for years, beginning when they were between seven and 10 years old. Jackson’s family and the Jackson estate have denied the abuse claims, calling the doc “tabloid character assassination” and slamming it as “just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations.” The Jackson estate is currently suing HBO for $100 million for violating a non-disparagement agreement that they claim was included in the contract for Jackson’s 1992 Michael Jackson in Concert in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour.

While Feldman admitted he “wasn’t there when those boys were,” he did say that he was there “around the same time as Jimmy,” and he saw many other children around during this period. “None of us were ever approached by him in a sexual way at all!” he wrote. “So as much as those 2 men deserve 2 hav [sic] their voices heard, so do the thousands of kids who hung around him, that dont agree!” He went on to say that if Jackson only abused Robson and Safechuck, despite the dozens of other children around, that “doesn’t really fit the profile” of a pedophile who lacks “self control” and is a “serial offender.” Added Feldman, “But what motive besides $ do [Safechuck and Robson] hav? Abandonment is a strong 1!”

The actor wrapped up his thread by calling out Leaving Neverland. “However I do take issue with the fact that this whole thing is 1 sided w no chance of a defense from a dead man, & no evidence other than the word of 2 men who as adults defended him in court,” he wrote.

Read Feldman’s entire Leaving Neverland thread below.

Watch Leaving Neverland on HBO