Rapper T.I. has thoughts on HBO’s controversial new documentary Leaving Neverland. The documentary by Dan Reed takes a harsh look at two men who allege that Michael Jackson sexually abused them.
The 38-year-old—whom you may recently recall from that racy music video of Melania Trump stripping in the Oval Office—shared his thoughts on Instagram Thursday night. “Let this man speak for himself to defend his legacy,” T.I. wrote of Jackson. “Don’t just listen to one side and expect to find truth.”
The Instagram tangent was accompanied by clips from a 1999 Piers Morgan interview with Jackson. In it, Jackson said “I would slit my wrists before I would” hurt a child. “Leave me alone and let me do what I want to do, which is share and give and put a smile on people’s face and make their heart feel happy,” Jackson said in the interview.
According to T.I.—whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris—Leaving Neverland aimed to “destroy another strong Black historical legend.” He followed up this statement by listing other iconic celebrities, like Elvis and Hugh Hefner, who he thinks should be examined with the same scrutiny as Jackson. “But why us all the time,” he wrote. “There’s an agenda to destroy our culture.”
T.I. appears to dismiss all of the allegations contained within Leaving Neverland. Several commenters pointed out that regardless of your thoughts on Jackson, some of the behavior outlined in the documentary is inappropriate at best.
Most commenters, however, seemed to agree with Harris. “If they are going to do it then look at everything,” s_club901 wrote. “That’s all we’re asking. We have always been held at a higher standard, therefore as blacks we must rise.” Other commenters echoed the sentiment.
The documentary reports credible, corroborated, and disturbing allegations. Jackson’s legacy this week is being examined more closely than ever, with radio stations banning his music and even his famed Simpsons episode being pulled from the air.
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