Debbie Rowe, the ex-wife and mother of two of Michael Jackson’s children, has strongly criticized choreographer Wade Robson who claimed he was sexually abused by the singer.
In an interview with Today, Robson, 30, labelled Jackson ‘a pedophile and a child sexual abuser’ and said he chose to finally break his silence about the alleged molestation after having his own son two years ago.
An enraged Rowe, 54, called the choreographer ‘opportunistic’ and said he was seeking publicity.
She told TMZ on Thursday: ‘It will be quickly forgotten, and will do nothing, nothing to tarnish Michael’s extraordinary legacy.’
Robson claims the abuse at Jackson’s hands lasted for seven years and that the King of Pop told him he’d go to jail for the rest of his life if he told anyone about it.
Robson claimed from the age of seven to around 14, Jackson ‘performed sexual acts on me and forced me to perform sexual acts on him’ and said during the first criminal investigation into the star in 1993, he would get daily calls to ‘role-play’ about what he told the then-11-year-old was ‘an expression of love.’
Robson told TodayJackson convinced him that ‘both of us would go to jail for the rest of our lives’ if he told anyone about what they had done together.
The serious claims, which the Jackson’s estate calls ‘outrageous and pathetic,’ are a change of tune for Robson who took the stand as the first defense witness at a trial in 2005, where Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor.
Robson, now a top music choreographer who has worked with Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, met Jackson when he five years old and the singer was in his late 20s or early 30s.
The pair bonded over a love of music and he repeatedly slept over at the Neverland Ranch and spent nights in the same bed as the much-older Jackson.
But Robson played a pivotal role in defending Jackson in the 2005 trial, when the King of Pop, who passed away in 2009, faced 14 counts relating to child molestation and conspiracy to molest minors.
He adamantly denied that he had ever been molested or inappropriately touched by the singer, even when a former maid at Neverland testified that she had seen Jackson grope the young boy in the shower. In turn Jackson was found not guilty on all of the charges.
This morning, he explained to Matt Lauer that he wasn’t lying back then but hadn’t yet come to terms with what had happened to him.
‘I said what I understood and I said what I was able to say,’ he explained. ‘From seven years old, from day one of the abuse, Michael told me that we loved each other and this was love, this was an expression of our love. And then he would follow it up with “but if you ever tell anyone what we are doing both of our lives and careers would be over.”‘
But he said he was never offered money to deny the abuse during the trial.
‘There was no money, there was no “you must lie.” Michael, when he would talk to me before these things were going on, and he would call me everyday… it was complete manipulation and brainwashing. It wasn’t any sense of the truth on the phone, he would role play with me and train me for these scenarios.’
He is now fighting for money from the Jackson’s estate and asking a probate court to allow him to file a late creditor’s claim against the estate, even though the deadline has passed for creditors to file such claims.
The estate’s lawyer, Howard Weitzman, has dismissed Robson’s claims.
In a statement to Today, Weitzman said: ‘This is a young man who has testified at least twice under oath over the past 20 years and said in numerous interviews that Michael Jackson never did anything inappropriate to him or with him.
‘Now, nearly four years after Michael has passed, this sad and less-than-credible claim has been made.’
But Robson told Today that his speaking out about the alleged abuse is not for fame or fortune.
‘This is not a case of repressed memory,’ Robson told Today. ‘I have never forgotten one moment of what Michael did to me, but I was psychologically and emotionally completely unable and unwilling to understand that it was sexual abuse.’
He said having his own child two years ago made him face up to the truth, as he said he couldn’t help thinking about how he’d feel if a stranger molested his little boy.
‘I’m a father and I became a father two and a half years ago to this beautiful baby boy and during the first 18 months of his life I collapsed into two nervous breakdowns, terrifying nervous breakdowns,’ he told Lauer.
‘At that point, I had no idea what was going on. And for the first time in my life, I began to realize that my completely numb and unexplored feelings about what Michael did to me might be a problem and maybe I need to speak to somebody about it.’
When Lauer referred to a comment made by Jackson’s brother Jermaine Jackson that Robson was ‘full of s***,’ he replied: ‘The idea that I would make all of this up and put myself, my wife, my son, my entire family through this extremely stressful and painful experience all for money is incomprehensible.’
In the past eight years, Robson has made a name for himself in the entertainment world, becoming one of the most sought-after choreographers.
He has worked with Usher, Britney Spears, and NSYNC. His name hit the gossip columns in 2002 when Britney Spears’ relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after she allegedly cheated on the NSYNC star with the choreographer.
Since then, Robson has worked on the show So You Think You Can Dance, and is currently in charge of Demi Lovato’s choreography.
But he told Today he simply couldn’t live in silence about the alleged sexual abuse anymore.
‘I’ve lived in silence and denial for 22 years and I can’t spend another moment in that… I’m never going to go away with this for the sake of money. I’m never going to be silenced for money. That’s not going to happen.’
In a later statement to the program, Robson went on to say that he hoped his actions would help other child sexual abuse victims.
‘There are millions of survivors of child sexual abuse out there who are suffering in silence and/or denial, as was I,’ he said. ‘If my coming forward and speaking my truth can help even one victim gain the courage to speak their truth and begin the healing process, that would be more than I could ever ask.’
We said he wanted to assure victims that under no circumstances was the abuse their decision or fault and encouraged them to speak about it so they could begin to heal.
Robson’s TV appearance comes as the high profile trial of the Jackson’s tour promoter, AEG, continues. The trial is brought by the singer’s mother and children who claim AEG shares blame in his death for neglecting to vet and supervise Jackson’s doctor, Dr Conrad Murray.
===
THEN
Wade Robson, who was then 22, testified in the Santa Maria courtroom that he was five when he met Jackson for the first time in his hometown, Brisbane, Australia.
Two years later, he was a guest at Jackson’s Neverland ranch for the first of some 20-plus overnight visits. He told jurors he shared a bed with Jackson on numerous occasions from the ages of seven to 14, at Neverland, as well as apartments in Los Angeles and at hotels in Las Vegas and LA.
When asked by Jackson’s lead lawyer, Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., whether he’d ever been molested by the singer Robson replied: ‘Absolutely not,’ before also denying strongly that Jackson had ever touched him in a sexually explicit way.
When senior deputy district attorney, Ronald J. Zonen, questioned Robson’s account, he replied: ‘I’m telling you, nothing ever happened.’
Zonen then said, according to a New York Times article at the time: ‘You’re saying nothing ever happened when you were awake,’ to which Robson responded: ‘I think something like that would wake me up.’
However, a former maid at Neverland who testified at the trial as a witness for the prosecution, said she had seen Jackson groping Robson in the shower at the ranch. But Robson denied ever having a shower with the star.
NOW
But now Robson is claiming Michael Jackson did in fact molest him, over a period of seven years.
In an interview with Today, Robson, now 30, labelled Jackson ‘a pedophile and a child sexual abuser’ who from the ages of seven to around 14 ‘performed sexual acts on me and forced me to perform sexual acts on him.’
He said that Jackson told him the alleged abuse was ‘an expression of our love.’
Robson added, explaining why he gave what he claims now was a false testimony: ‘This is not a case of repressed memory. I have never forgotten one moment of what Michael did to me, but I was psychologically and emotionally completely unable and unwilling to understand that it was sexual abuse.’
But he said he was never offered money to deny the abuse during the trial.
‘There was no money, there was no “you must lie.” Michael, when he would talk to me before these things were going on, and he would call me everyday… it was complete manipulation and brainwashing. It wasn’t any sense of the truth on the phone, he would role play with me and train me for these scenarios.’
Source: Daily Mail / MJ-Upbeat.com
Thank you Debbie, we very much appreciate your love and loyalty for Michael! Wade Robson is a pathetic opportunist and a cheap, nasty piece of work into the bargain!!! A vicious parasite that talked about and defended Michael until as late as 2009 - who’s paid him to say this garbage because there is NO way he should be believed! Though it doesn’t surprise me whatsoever that the likes of your tabloid crap media would believe this little creep - anything for ratings/$$$$$!!!!
Debbie you are a strong person and your goodness is shining through!
The real facts of Michael Jackson’s life style or sexual preference our these and only these… Michael really and truly loved woman and always dreamed in following in his parents foot steps in starting his own family,
It was his dream before we sold him the Neverland Ranch and one he wanted to happen that he use to talk about when looking for Neverland and even for years before hand with us as well,
Starting from his Early teens there was Tatum O’Neil who he totally adored and even chased her around at one party here in west L A in the mid 70′s and asked her out etc.
From his days growing up in Encino where he spent the most part of his life with us growing up my Mother Gloria Rhoads Berlin remembers a girl working at the Gelson’s Market with red long hair that Michael kept after and would also ask her out a few different times but the girl was a very shy one and a freshman in a local college here in the mid 70′s she told my Mother, .
Then of course Brooke Shields would follow and he was also truly in love with her for a number of years. After that My Mother Gloria and I both knew Michael was crazy about Liz Taylor as he use to ask Gloria and i about her many times when he found out Gloria had shared the same talent agent with Liz Taylor for over one decade and I was going to party’s with her kids every other weekend for a while.
A man with this kind of history does not pose a pedophilia life style what so ever. Sure he may of slept in the same bed with kids but that was what a parent figure does right? Well that goes along with him wanting to have kids and at times Maybe Michael treated some of these kids as his own and changed them into fresh clothing after playing all day at Neverland running around etc.
IT WAS HIS GOOD WILL NATURE OF LOOKING AFTER KIDS AS IF THEY WERE HIS OWN THAT HAS NOW PUT HIM BACK IN THIS BAD SPOT LIGHT OF WRONGFULNESS….
FROM DANCE INSTRUCTOR WADE’S TV INTERVIEW YOU COULD TELL HE WAS ON A TYPE OF PROZAC MEDICATION AND WAS AS NUMB AS A ROCK TRYING TO FOOL US ALL IN BELIEVING HIM,
HIS SHOW OF LIES DIDN’T WORK ON ME FOR ONE TICK OF THE CLOCK.
THIS IS MONEY DRIVEN GREED IS ALL HE IS AFTER.
IT WAS ON THE NEWS HIS DANCE BUSINESS DUE TO THE RECESSION BAD TIMES AND OR JUST LESS INTERESTED PARTYS CALLING HIM HAS HURT HIM FINANCIALLY AND HE HAD THIS BREAK DOWN AND TRIED TO MIX IT UP AND IN WITH LIES OF EVIL THAT MR.JACKSON WOULD NOT AND DID NOT HAVE ANY PART OF HIS IDEAS.
THE ONLY TRUE PART MICHAEL JACKSON HAD FOR THIS WADE CREATURE WAS FATHERLY LOVE AND LOVE THAT OF A FATHERLY FIGURE WHICH WADE HAS TWISTED INTO HIS OWN IDEAS OF GREEDY LIES TO NOW TRY AND COLLECT FROM THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL.
Trust me I knew MICHAEL 37 years off and on and was not one of Celebrity life style friends either. .I went to school with his youngest brother and can honestly say today almost 4 years in his passing he didn’t have one flake of Evilness or child abuse in him what so ever, He would give a kid his jacket if it was cold out, he would give you money if he felt you needed it, He would never bow to the evil side of life out of loneliness or other reasons. Lets remember he had millions of Woman who still our Hart broken all over the world who love him even today.
He had it all and would not waste it on touching a young person for the wrong reasons inappropriately. Rest In Peace Michael! You were always a good man a role Model to the very end and beyond as well!
Will Berlin
wwww.insearchofneverlandthebook.com
I believe you Will , and the courts will see through Wade. Michael was very lucky to have a friend like you. What Wade is doing is only another extortion attempt to get money. I can not help but notice that even some of the haters are not believing Wade. And I believe that Michael was a good man too! Take care of yourself Will!
Thank you very much.