MJ: The Musical fails to address child abuse claims which plagued Michael Jackson’s career – as show about the King of Pop’s life arrives in London
A musical about the life of Michael Jackson has arrived in London’s West End, but it makes no mention of the child abuse allegations that plagued the King of Pop’s career.
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and lifelong Jackson fan Lynn Nottage said she wanted to focus on the singer’s music rather than delve into the scandal.
MJ: The Musical portrays Jackson’s life up to 1992, a year before the first allegations of sexual abuse against the singer surfaced.
‘Do I think he was a pedophile? I don’t know if I can say one way or another… It hurts my heart to think about the possibility that it could be true, and I pray that it isn’t true, and that’s all I can do,β Nottage has said.
Jackson’s children Prince, 27, Paris, 25, and Deken, 22, attended the musical’s premiere at the Prince Edward Theater in London on Wednesday evening.
Myles Frost stars as Michael Jackson in MJ: The Musical, which arrived in London on Wednesday night
Michael Jackson died in 2009 at the age of 50. The piece does not address the child abuse allegations he faced
Jackson’s children Prince Jackson, Paris Jackson and Cloth Jackson attend the opening night of “MJ: The Musical” at the Prince Edward Theater
Their father died in 2009 at the age of 50 after suffering cardiac arrest after administering Propofol as a sleeping aid.
MJ first opened on Broadway in 2022 and proved to be a big hit. He won four Tony Awards, including Best Choreography, for British director Christopher Wheeldon. Myles Frost also won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.
It was well received by theater fans and grossed $170.9 million at the box office in January.
But US critics have criticized the failure to address the shocking allegations. Some have described the piece as ‘sanitized’, a ‘monument to wrongdoing’ and ‘very smooth, somewhat criminal’.
A New York Times review headlined, βIn MJ, No One Looks at the Man in the Mirror.β Meanwhile, the New York Stage Review wrote, “Michael Jackson is a credibly accused child molester today, and MJ only succeeds if you can ignore that fact.”
In 1993, Jackson was accused of abusing 13-year-old boy Jordan Chandler. The case was settled out of court for $22 million dollars.
Ten years later, Jackson faced criminal charges after 12-year-old former cancer patient Gavin Arviso also came forward to say he had been abused. But the singer was eventually acquitted after a trial in 2005.
Once the trial was over, Jackson β who could have faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all charges β left the country and moved to the island of Bahrain, located in the Persian Sea.
He eventually returned to the United States and was preparing for his comeback tour in 2009 when he was found unconscious in his Holmby Hills home.
But in 2019, a documentary called Leaving Neverland saw the late pop star face further abuse allegations.
Michael Jackson performing at the Superbowl in 1993. This was the same year that the first allegations of child abuse surfaced
Wade Robson (right) and James Safechuck (left) both alleged child abuse by Jackson
Jackson is pictured with a young Wade Robson in an image seen in Leaving Neverland
The gates of Michael Jackson’s famous Neverland estate are depicted
Wade Robson and James Safechuck both courageously and in detail described how they were allegedly abused by Jackson as young children. This has been categorically denied by Jackson’s estate.
Mr Robson, now a 41-year-old choreographer, met Jackson when he was five years old. He subsequently appeared in three Jackson music videos. His lawsuit alleged that Jackson abused him for seven years.
Mr. Safechuck, now 45, said in his suit that he was nine when he met Jackson while filming a Pepsi commercial. He said Jackson often called him and showered him with gifts before sexually abusing him.
Last August, a California appeals court revived the two men’s lawsuits. The judges ruled that the men can legitimately argue that the two Jackson-owned companies named as defendants in the cases had a responsibility to protect them.
Lifelong Jackson fans Nottage and Wheeldon have both said they want the show to be about Jackson’s music.
After the documentary Leaving Neverland, Nottage initially said she found their stories credible.
Myles Frost will perform at the opening night of MJ: The Musical in London on Wednesday evening
The actor did the splits during the curtain call for the press evening performance
Cast members Philippa Stefani, Mitchell Zhangazha and Myles Frost bow at the curtain call
Paris, 25, looked glamorous for the event as she donned a dark brown midi dress with belt detail
Also attending the event was Marisha Wallace, who looked stunning in a silver off-the-shoulder dress
Former Strictly stars Arlene Phillips and Darcey Bussell both opted for an all-black look
Jeremy Vine provided animation when he came to the show in a navy blue suit and brown trench coat
But in a later interview she said: ‘The men seemed very believable. But here’s the caveat: Did they ultimately tell the truth? I can’t say that 100 percent because I’m not a judge and jury, and it’s not up to me to do that.β
She also said, “There’s so much story to tell about Michael Jackson that you can’t do it in one musical…We felt like we wanted to focus on the music as a musical.”
Wheedon said it was “a very difficult question to answer” if he believed Jackson was a child molester.
The Royal Ballet worker also said he had no thoughts of withdrawing from the project after Leaving Neverland aired.
Jackson has always denied allegations that he was involved in abusing underage boys. His Neverland Ranch, in California, sold for $22 million in December 2020.
MJ is playing at the Prince Edward Theater in Soho. A Michael Jackson jukebox musical, Thriller Live, has also been on the West End stage since 2009.