‘Leaving Neverland’: 8 Horrifying Facts From Part 2 of HBO’s Michael Jackson Documentary

There’s really no other way to watch Leaving Neverland than in pure horror. If you believe Wade Robson and James Safechuck’s scathing stories of sexual abuse at the hands of the late Michael Jackson, the music icon can only be seen as a predatory monster. Even if you don’t, Jackson is still far from blameless.

That was certainly true about Part 1 of director Dan Reed’s shocking documentary on HBO. And Part 2 is even more taxing. Whereas the first installment of the documentary chronicled Robson and Safechuck’s allegations of sexual abuse in graphic detail, Part 2 completely revolves around the emotional impact of this abuse and how Robson and Safechuck’s stories were used during Jackson’s trials. If Part 1 was enough to enrage fans, Part 2 should hit even harder. Both parts of the explosive documentary are currently available to watch on HBO.

Here are eight big takeaways from the second part of the doc:

1. Wade Robson remembers Michael Jackson spending time alone with Jordan Chandler, who would later accuse him of child molestation.

The first boy to accuse Jackson of inappropriate sexual behavior was Jordan Chandler. In 1993, Chandler’s father accused the pop star of sexually abusing his 13-year-old son. Though Chandler’s case was later settled outside of court, many of Jackson’s young friends during this time testified that Jackson was innocent. Wade Robson was one of those boys, claiming that Jackson was completely innocent even though he felt certain that Chandler and Jackson had a sexual relationship.

At the beginning of Part 2, Robson recalls a sleepover he had at Neverland Ranch with Macaulay Culkin and Chandler. “I remember this particular moment when all of us kids and Michael were hanging out in Michael’s bedroom in Neverland. All of sudden Michael and Jordy were gone. They had gone in one of his bathrooms. And the door was closed,” Robson says in Part 2. “I used to be the boy who was in there with Michael. I just knew in my gut that is what they were doing when they were disappearing.”

2. Michael Jackson’s attorneys allegedly coached Robson and Safechuck about their testimony in the 1993 case.

Robson and Safechuck claim that after not hearing from Jackson for months, both were contacted by the music idol after Chandler’s allegations. Both men say that they were extensively trained by Jackson on how to lie about their time together and not get caught. But with the Chandler case, actual attorneys coached them through what to say.

“I was excited by the idea of being able to defend him and being able to save him,” Robson said.

3. After Robson testified in 1993 that Jackson was innocent, they allegedly had sex again.

Robson testified for Jackson both times he was accused of child molestation charges. Robson claims he saw Jackson again after both testimonies, but it’s their reunion after his 1993 case that’s the most horrifying. After legally swearing that Jackson was completely innocent of molesting underage children, allegedly at the instruction of Jackson’s attorneys, Jackson brought Robson back to Neverland Ranch. There they reportedly engaged in sexual activities, again.

4. Michael Jackson asked Robson to dispose of his bloody underwear after sex.

One of the most horrifying stories of sexual abuse in the documentary happened when Robson was 14 years old. According to Robson after he testified on Jackson’s behalf, he and Jackson became intimate again. This time instead of only engaging in oral sex and masturbation, Jackson attempted to have anal sex with the underage boy.

The following day Robson recalls Jackson bringing him back to his dance studio and instructing Robson to throw away his underwear. There were flecks of blood on the garment that Jackson didn’t want Robson’s mother to see.

5. After Safechuck’s testimony in 1993, Jackson gave his family a home.

Safechuck’s mother Stephanie is very careful not to say that Jackson bought her and her family’s testimony. According to her, Jackson only gave her family a loan. But she’s acutely aware of the visuals around the house they purchased during this time. “He did buy us a house. It’s just coincidental, he wasn’t buying us off. But the timing’s right there. It just sounds bad”,” Stephanie Safechuck says.

6. Michael Jackson encouraged Safechuck not to get an education and later “dumped” his family.

According to Safechuck, Jackson encouraged his parents to pull him out of advanced math in high school, stating that because Safechuck had him he didn’t need to worry about pursuing much of an education. In the wake of his marriage to Lisa Marie Presely, Jackson later “dumped” the Safechucks, as his mother puts it. After he pulled away from Safechuck’s life, that support went away.

“He’s very much like making you depend on him. Like don’t go get an education,” Safechuck says. “And then when he went away if was kind of derailed and I was pretty lost.”

7. Safechuck didn’t testify in the 2003 trial because he said Michael Jackson was an “evil man.”

Though Safechuck testified on Jackson’s behalf during Chandler’s 1993 case, he didn’t testify for either side during Gavin Arvizo’s 2005 case against the pop star. Safechuck said he told his mom that Jackson wasn’t a good person and that he didn’t want to be involved in the trial. Stephanie Safechuck remembers her son calling Jackson an “evil man.”

8. Michael Jackson was obsessed with Britney Spears.

In the grand scheme of Leaving Neverland‘s gut-wrenching scope, this is a relatively minor detail. But it’s still pretty surprising. While talking about his career as a choreographer, Robson says, “Michael had some sort of obsession with Britney.” He would also allegedly talk about how sexy Spears was and use that to get Robson to discuss his own sex life.

Watch Leaving Neverland on HBO Go and HBO NOW