Michael Jackson’s accusers, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, are back in court as part of their ongoing legal battle over alleged abuse by the late pop star, as the biopic about his life faces delay, In Touch can exclusively report.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, Wade, 42, and James, 47, told a Los Angeles Superior Court judge they do not agree with the proposed protective order submitted by Michael’s companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, who are the defendants in the lawsuit.
As In Touch previously reported, Wade filed his lawsuit in 2013, and James filed his case the following year.
The cases were recently combined, and the parties are preparing for trial.
In court documents, James claimed he met Michael when he was cast in a Pepsi commercial in 1986. He alleged Michael asked him to hang out months later, which led to many other hangouts.
He claimed Michael first sexually abused him on his 1988 Bad Tour, when he was 10 and the singer was 29. Wade claimed Michael sexually abused him when he was 7 and it continued on for years.
Both accuse the defendants of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims.
The defendants denied all allegations of wrongdoing in both Wade and James’ case.
In response to James’ suit, the defendants pointed out that James waited “almost four years after Michael Jackson had died before he made his scurrilous and frivolous allegations.”
The attorney for Michael’s companies added, “The nature of these false allegations necessarily makes it impossible for the Corporations to fully defend themselves without the assistance of Michael Jackson himself.”
They added, “The impossibility of fully and completely defending against [James’] false allegations is further magnified by the fact that [James] himself steadfastly denied these allegations during the entirety of Michael Jackson’s life.”
Further, lawyers for the companies argued they could not possibly have been on notice, before the singer’s death, that James would “bring frivolous claims like those here and that they should have been prepared to defend against such frivolous claims.”
The lawyer continued, “In particular, and by way of example only, when Michael Jackson was frivolously accused of wrongdoing in 1993 and investigated by authorities regarding such wrongdoing, [James] defended Michael Jackson and rejected the allegations of wrongdoing out of hand, including false allegations that Michael Jackson had engaged in wrongdoing with [James] himself.”
The defendants demanded the suit be tossed.
As In Touch first reported, Wade and James were shut down in their effort to obtain sensitive photos of the pop star and other evidence via subpoenas sent to the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
A judge granted a motion by the defendants to shut down the subpoenas.
Michael died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50.
A high-profile biopic about Michael’s life, directed by Antoine Fuqua, was scheduled to be released in April.
The release date was pushed due to an issue with one of Michael’s accusers, Jordan Chandler.
The third act for the script of the film, which had completed production, references the 13-year-old’s accusations that Michael molested him.
After filming wrapped on the $150 million movie, producers discovered the estate had signed a $23 million settlement with Jordan’s family in 1993.
The alleged settlement prohibited Michael or his team from dramatizing Jordan or the situation. As a result, the script reportedly had to be reworked and reshoots had to take place.
At the time, a source close to the film told People, “The Michael Jackson biopic is not in total chaos. The inflammatory headlines about the moving halting are simply not true. The film is moving forward, and reshoots are happening in March.”
The film was scheduled for release on October 3, but it was announced this week the film will likely be split into two films and the release date postponed.
