Michael Jackson ISN’T innocent despite court ruling against Wade Robson, vows Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed
LEAVING Neverland director Dan Reed has said a court win by Michael Jackson's estate does NOT show the singer was innocent of abuse - as he vowed to continue capturing the unfolding drama on camera.
The Brit documentary maker spoke to The Sun Online after a US court dismissed Jacko accuser Wade Robson's latest lawsuit against the late King of Pop's multi-million dollar empire.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Judge Mark A. Young found no legal basis for Jackson's two entertainment corporations to protect Robson when he was a child.
Robson, a 38-year-old choreographer, has claimed after meeting Jacko as a young boy he was the victim of seven years of sickening abuse - the details of which were later revealed in Reed's shocking documentary Leaving Neverland.
Award-winning Reed revealed he is now working on a follow up film which will follow James Safechuck and Robson's long-running battle through the US courts - and said the legal wrangling will rage on.
He said he was not surprised by this week's court ruling and was in court on Monday to follow proceedings as he works on the sequel to his explosive Emmy-winning documentary.
The Amos Pictures boss told The Sun Online: "We are working on a follow-up documentary and are filming James and Wade's cases as they go through the courts."
Reed’s footage will be used in a follow-up film for Channel 4, in which he captures the legal wars being waged by the pair after their horrific revelations in Leaving Neverland.
And he said this week's court ruling is just another twist in a legal battle that has raged for years and definitely does not mean Jacko is innocent.
There will always be fans that latch on to any piece of news they believe vindicates Michael Jackson but this is not that
Dan Reed
Dan told The Sun Online: "The court had to decide whether a company owned Michael Jackson can be held responsible for turning a blind eye to abuse.
"I was not surprised by the decision. The judge made it clear in court what he could and could not do.
"The decision was not about whether Wade Robson was molested or not."
He also hit out at Jackson fans who continue to insist the singer was innocent of all charges, and cruelly claim Robson has made up all his allegations.
Dan said: "There will always be fans that latch on to any piece of news they believe vindicates Michael Jackson but this is not that.
"The case will go to the appeals court and beyond. This decision does not mean the legal fight is over."
And he said Wade and fellow alleged Jackson victim James Safechuck are more than used to legal setbacks.
"Both have had their cases thrown out of courts before," he said.
"However the law is becoming more friendly to the young victims of abuse and people now realise that these stories can take decades to come to light."
Who is Wade Robson?
WADE Robson is a 36-year-old choreographer and dancer from Brisbane, Australia - he alleges he was repeatedly abused as a child by Michael Jackson.
Robson met Jackson when he was just 5 years old, after winning a dance competition in his hometown of Brisbane, Australia.
Two years after meeting Jackson, Robson was a first-time guest at Neverland Ranch.
He spent more time with the pop star after his family relocated to Los Angeles full-time, and he even appeared in a few of Jackson’s early ‘90s music videos.
And he claims he was molested at Neverland Ranch by Jackson when he was just seven-years-old, with a pattern of abuse lasting for seven years.
In court filings from 2013, Robson revealed how Jackson raped him from the age of seven before "losing interest" in him when he turned 14.
Robson denied he was abused in the King of Pop’s 2005 molestation trial but is now suing the firms in California.
The dancer claims that Michael Jackson ran the most sophisticated child abuse operation the world has ever known.
It is claimed Robson's mum says her son denied being sexually abused by the pop star after she quizzed him repeatedly over abuse allegations.
Dan also revealed there had been no news on his hopes to bring other alleged victims of the oddball singer forward including Jordan Chandler and Gavin Arvizo.
But he pointed out: "When you look at what James and Wade have been through, that's hardly surprising."
Jackson always denied all child abuse allegations and was acquitted of molestation charges in 2005.
His estate has also slammed Leaving Neverland, dubbing it as a ";tabloid character assassination" that the singer had "endured in life and now in death".
DEATH THREATS
Meanwhile fans of the late singer, who died of an overdose in 2009 aged 50, have made death threats to Reed.
He previously said: "What’s puzzling about the case of Michael Jackson is the ferocity of the disbelief, if you like, in the stories of these two young men.
“At the beginning we had a ton of emails that were very hostile, hostile death threats, and people saying awful things about me and my family.
"It certainly hasn't cowed either me or HBO. I stand by every second of the film and so does HBO."
Robson's lawsuit stated that as Jackson's employee, his entertainment companies - MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures - had a legal duty to care for his welfare, similarly to how a school would be responsible for protecting its pupils from staff.
He shared his detailed accusations in the HBO documentary alongside James, 43, who had a similar close relationship with Jackson - that he also claims was plagued by abuse.
But Judge Young found the corporations were controlled by Jackson - and that they had no ability to exercise control over him.
"There is no evidence supporting plaintiff’s contention that defendants exercised control over Jackson," he explained in court docs.
"The evidence further demonstrates that defendants had no legal ability to control Jackson, because Jackson had complete and total ownership of the corporate defendants."
The ruling announced on Monday echoes that of Safechuck's, who launched a similar lawsuit that was dismissed last October on the same grounds by Judge Young.
Safechuck had claimed the two entertainment corporations ""were created to, and did, facilitate Jackson's sexual abuse of children".
But the pair's attorney, Vince Finaldi, vowed to appeal the decision after slamming the ruling for having "fatal flaws".
He said in a statement: "If allowed to stand, the decision would set a dangerous precedent that would leave thousands of children working in the entertainment industry vulnerable to sexual abuse by persons in places of power."
The basis for both Robson and Safechuck's claims was that due to them both working with Jackson when they were minors, the groups - who were set up by the artist to run his career - had a duty of care to protect them.
But the California judge told the claimants that corporations cannot be direct perpetrators and they were not directly responsible for causing emotional distress.
The Jackson estate has vehemently denied the claims that he abused either of the boys, and launched their own lawsuit against HBO for airing the documentary, which is now in private arbitration.
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Jackson's estate attorney Jonathan Steinsapir said of the Robson ruling: "Wade Robson has spent the last eight years pursuing frivolous claims in different lawsuits against Michael Jackson’s estate and companies associated with it.
"Yet a judge has once again ruled that Robson’s claims have no merit whatsoever, that no trial is necessary."
Dan Reed has scooped multiple BAFTA wins and nominations, a Peabody Award, two Emmy Nominations and many more.
He has worked as a producer and director for documentaries for Channel 4, BBC, HBO and PBS.
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The award-winning director has focused on sexual abuse as a theme in the past and was responsible for acclaimed documentary The Paedophile Hunter.