With only five months to go before fans mark the 10th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, his eldest nephew is fighting to protect his legacy.
Taj Jackson, 45, is using social media to blast a new documentary and is also raising funds to make a docu-series of his own.
Leaving Neverland, which premiered Friday at the Sundance Film Festival and will be broadcast on HBO, focuses on the stories of James Safechuck and Wade Robson – two men who claim they were sexually abused by the King of Pop for years. Jackson's estate has dismissed it as "tabloid character assassination."
Taj Jackson, the son of Michael’s brother Tito, hopes to raise $777,000 U.S. via GoFundMe to make "the definitive historic record of the most discussed aspects of Michael Jackson's private life."
He dismisses Safechuck and Robson as “self-confessed liars” with “large legal debts to the estate they tried and failed to extort” making “bogus abuse allegations” and “fraudulent claims.” (Safechuck and Robson said Friday they were not compensated for their participation in Leaving Neverland.)
Taj writes: "Michael Jackson died an innocent, vindicated man. The world needs to understand this most important and basic fact.”
In less than a week, the GoFundMe campaign has raised a little more than $27,500 U.S.
Taj wants to create “a documentary series that exploded the myths once and for all” and shows his late uncle’s “indisputable innocence.”
He promises his “explosive documentary series will conclusively destroy decades of salacious myths which have been told and sold about Michael Jackson ad nauseam. In doing so, we will shine a light on the corruption within the media and entertainment industries which conceived and perpetuated them.”
MORE: Documentary Details Sex Abuse Claims Against Michael Jackson
On Twitter, Taj targets the media covering the allegations in Leaving Neverland.
“I wonder if all these journalists will be willing to admit they got duped after the truth comes out,” he tweeted Saturday. “Will they tell the truth as loud as they are yelling the lie?
“Media, please do a 10 minute google search before you condemn an innocent man who is no longer here to defend himself.”
Taj appealed to Jackson’s fans to make a list of journalists “who stated or tweeted matter of factly the words..pedophile, or his crimes. Or anything else without the word ‘alleged’. Make sure to take screenshots too. I will be looking into any legal actions I can take.”