Abuse accusers of Michael Jackson want trial date before "Michael" biopic

Before the April 2025 release of the Michael Jackson biopic helmed by Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, the two Michael Jackson molestation accusers highlighted in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland have won the right to combine their negligence lawsuits against Jackson's companies into a single case and are pushing for a trial by early next year.  

Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the plaintiffs, were allowed consolidation by a court on Wednesday in a Beverly Hills, California hearing. Following the decision, the couple's attorney stood outside the courtroom and stated he thought the defendants, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, which are both now controlled by the estate, were requesting a trial that would take place much later than his February 2025 objective because the biopic is anticipated to be mostly positive. 

Their desire is for the Michael Jackson biopic to be released prior to the trial. Attorney John C. Carpenter tells Rolling Stone, "That's what I think." "These companies are rewriting history they were the ones who initially enabled the abuse." 

During the hearing, an attorney for Jackson's companies stated that her clients intend to forego the three-year expedited trial rule because they anticipate the case being ready for jurors to consider beyond December 2026. She predicted that with several witnesses, the trial would probably go over twenty days. 

In separate lawsuits filed in 2013 and 2014, respectively, choreographer and director Robson and writer, actor, and director Safechuck claimed negligence, breach of duty, and intentional infliction of mental distress against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures. They won the right to proceed together Wednesday after their previously dismissed complaints were revived by an appellate ruling over the summer. The August ruling found that companies can owe their own separate duty to protect victims even if they’re “solely owned” by an alleged perpetrator of abuse. 

The Los Angeles County Superior Court judge who granted the consolidation set a follow-up hearing for June 5. Lawyers for the Jackson companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

“This case goes back 35 years. There’s been a huge amount of related litigation,” defense lawyer Jennifer L. Keller told the court Wednesday as she argued for the case’s transfer to a new department that handles “complex” disputes. She cited what she called the “highly unusual nature of the pleadings claiming entities of Mr. Jackson should be held responsible for not exercising adequate supervision” and said the court would have to “grapple with” some “very difficult legal issues.” 

“I don’t think the matter is complex. It’s certainly old, but I think we can get this done expeditiously,” Carpenter responded. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Carpenter said his clients are eager for “the truth to prevail.” 

“Most of the discovery has already been done in the Robson case, so I think we’re nearly ready to go,” he said. “They were both children being abused at the same time, so there’s a heavy overlap. With respect to the injuries, that’s where the evidence is different. But liability is the same. These were two boys who were molested.” 

Jackson’s estate has denied the claims in the lawsuit. In a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone, Jackson’s family members claimed Robson and Safechuck are making false claims for financial gain. “It’s about the money,” Marlon Jackson said.