‘Leaving Neverland’ documentary about Michael Jackson will spark RIOTS cops fear as superfans clash with paedophile accusers at screening
COPS fear violent clashes between Michael Jackson superfans and paedophilia accusers at the premiere of a controversial documentary tomorrow.
Featuring fresh abuse claims by former childhood fans of the Thriller singer, authorities say tensions around Leaving Neverland are the highest they have "ever seen".
Accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck say they suffered abuse in Jacko's enormous California mansion he called Neverland.
But 10 years on from the King of Pop's sudden death from a drug overdose, many die-hard fans have defended his reputation against claims of child molestation.
The documentary, which debuts at Sundance festival on Friday before being showcased again a day later in Salt Lake City, has provoked fury from the Jackson family.
Park City Police Captain Phil Kirk told : “Tensions are higher for this movie than anything I’ve ever seen at Sundance before.
"We have increased our staffing out of concerns for the potential for a protest.
Tensions are higher for this movie than anything I’ve ever seen.
Park City Police Captain Phil Kirk
"No one is going to be prevented from exercising their Constitutional rights, but we are not going to allow this to get out of hand, in any way."
Extra security measures and other checks are already in place to prevent fighting between the groups.
Sergeant Brandon Shearer, of Salt Lake City, added: "We are aware of the possibility of protests and our job is to monitor any protests that may occur and give people the ability to let their voices be heard safely."
Law enforcement in the city have prepared a "full force turnout" with a bomb squad on the scene, Deadline reports.
The film could be a moment of final reckoning for Jacko, according to Vince Finaldi, the lawyer representing Jame and Wade's cases.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he said: “The full story of the abuse that Michael Jackson engaged in has never really been told.
“It has been kept under wraps by an army of people.
"This is James and Wade’s way of continuing to get the word out there about how they were abused by such a powerful man.”
Like Wade, James says the abuse stopped when he hit puberty.
Allegations against Jackson first became public in 1993, when Jordan Chandler, 13, sued him for sexual abuse, leading to a criminal investigation.
The two-part, four-hour documentary promises “gut-wrenching” interviews with James, now 40, and Wade, now 36, as well as their mothers, wives and siblings.
Leaving Neverland will screen in the UK on Channel 4 in the spring.
Channel 4 says the film is “a portrait of sustained abuse”, with the boys and their families “entranced by the star’s fairytale existence”.
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