Commentary
Protests Planned at Screening of Michael Jackson Documentary
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “…in the era of #MeToo and #TimesUp, America’s embrace of “I believe the victims” has intensified. However, Michael Jackson’s family and ultra-loyal fan base, are having none of it.”
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
Kelly’s accusers are having their say and so are those who accused Bill Cosby.
And, in the era of #MeToo and #TimesUp, America’s embrace of “I believe the victims” has intensified. However, Michael Jackson’s family and ultra-loyal fan base, are having none of it.
TMZ reports that police are gearing up for a mob of angry protestors who plan to let their feelings be known during a new blistering documentary about the late King of Pop that’s set to premiere Friday, Jan. 25th at the Sundance Film Festival.
Police are also gearing up for possible confrontations.
Law enforcement sources said the Park City Police Department is aware of an anti-documentary protest being organized on social media, so cops are going to beef up their presence both inside and outside the premiere with uniformed and undercover officers.
The website reported that law enforcement is most concerned about disruptions taking place during the Q&A portion of the screening of “Leaving Neverland,” a six-hour film that features two men who say they were sexually assaulted by Jackson when they were children.
The Q&A portion is when protesters may cause the biggest disturbances, TMZ reported.
The controversial documentary explores the alleged sexual abuse by Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50.
Famous choreographer to the stars Wade Robson and another man, James Safechuck, are reportedly featured in the documentary and both tell stories of lurid behavior by Jackson.
Robson claims that when he was as young as 7, Jackson sexually assaulted him and the attacks continued for several years. Safechuck, who traveled with Jackson when Safechuck was a young boy, said the singer repeatedly molested him.
Jackson was found not guilty of 13 counts involving the molestation of a 13-year-old cancer patient in 2005 and has always maintained his innocence despite acknowledging paying tens of millions of dollars in civil settlements to the family of at least three boys who claimed the singer molested them.
Jackson’s family has slammed the documentary and his fans have bombarded Twitter and other social media pages with protests.
One of Jackson’s nephews even tweeted that he could consider crowd funding to finance a counter-documentary.
Jackson’s estate executors have blasted the documentary, Robson and Safechuck, calling them “liars.” They point out that both gave sworn testimony when Jackson was alive that the King of Pop never touched them.
The estate’s executors, John Branca and John McClain have also lashed out at HBO for planning to show the documentary in the spring. They claim Jackson’s 1992 concert that aired exclusive on HBO, made the network millions and “this is how they show their gratitude.”
HBO officials said they still plan to air the documentary.
Baton Rouge rap star Lil’ Boosie recently gave his thoughts on the Jackson documentary.
The “Ghetto Stories” rapper took to Instagram for the “Surviving R. Kelly” controversy, in which Lifetime’s tell-all documentary on the life, times and sexually deviant crimes of the Chicago crooner were thrusted to the forefront of pop culture at the top of 2019.
Now that a new Sundance film is in the works to spotlight Jackson’s alleged abuse against children, Boosie said believe the victims. “Let’s see what the world has to say this time,” Boosie said.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

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Activism
Remembering George Floyd
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire
“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.
The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”
In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.
Activism
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