Featured Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian-Pool/Getty Images
Topics: Music, Celebrity, Entertainment
Jen Thomas
Topics: Music, Celebrity, Entertainment
A new four-part documentary series about Michael Jackson that features startling revelations about the high profile trial of the late singer will see him explain why kids 'loved him'.
Michael Jackson was one of the world's biggest pop stars when he passed away on June 25, 2009.
However, his legacy was plagued by several accusations of child sexual abuse - two of which were made before his death - leading to a criminal trial in 2005 where he was ultimately acquitted.
Now, film-makers from Wonderhood Studios have accessed the archives for unseen and unheard interview audio and footage from this trial.
Advert
Michael Jackson: The Trial will air tonight (4 February) on Channel 4 and will take place across four episodes.
It covers the 14-week criminal trial which took place in Los Angeles, and much of the content has not been shared with the public before.
In a promotional trailer for the show, Jackson's distinctively high-pitched speaking voice can be heard, as he talks about how children felt about him, saying many were 'in love' with his 'personality'.
Jackson would often host 'sleepovers', in which he would allow children to sleep over at his house and share beds with him. This is something he publicly admitted and strongly denied that abuse was taking place.
The 'Thriller' star is heard saying in the doc: "Children … wanna just touch me and hug me."
He then confessed: "Kids end up just falling in love with my personality – sometimes it gets me into trouble."
It is also mentioned in the clip that some of the audio recordings 'have no precedent'.
Jackson is also heard saying: "If you told me right now… 'Michael, you could never see another child'… I would kill myself."
The documentary features testimony from several people who were closest to Jackson, including a former housekeeper.
Unseen footage also shows Jackson taking young cancer-survivor Gavin Arvizo on picnics alone on the grounds of Neverland.
It was Arvizo and his family who later brought the court case against Jackson.
Jackson was cleared on all 14 charges, which included four counts of molesting a child, four counts of getting a child drunk in order to molest him, one charge of conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive, and was also cleared of supplying alcohol to the boy.
Executive producer Tom Anstiss told the New York Post: “The unheard audio tapes of Michael Jackson offer a rare and privileged window into Michael’s psyche and his soul.
"They deliver a new understanding of who Michael Jackson really was, what he thought and the seismic moments that shaped his life. The tapes are emotionally raw and very real. At points, you can hear Michael is close to tears.”
The Wonderhood Studios website says The Trial aims to avoid the 'media circus' that surrounded Jackson’s acquittal.
It says they aim to ask 'profound questions about fame, race and the American justice system'.
Jackson was found not guilty on 13 June 2005, and later died after receiving a fatal dose of the painkiller propofol.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.