Oprah Winfreyisn’t giving a second thought to those who disliked her support of HBO’s controversial documentaryLeaving Neverland.
She continued, “I’d been trying to say it’s not about the moment, it’s about the seduction. The first thing I said to Gayle [King] when we watched it was, ‘Gayle, you’ve got to get those guys [onCBS This Morning].”
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As for thebacklash she experiencedfor interviewing Jackson accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the former talk show host said she hadn’t experienced that much vitriol since she appeared onEllen DeGeneres‘ 1997sitcomEllen, in which she came out publicly.
“It made me think, ‘Thank goodness Ellen’s coming out was before social media because can you imagine?'” Winfrey said, adding people on Twitter claimed she was “a disgrace to the race” for interviewing Robson and Safechuck.
RELATED VIDEO: Inside Neverland: All the Ways Michael Jackson’s Kid-Friendly Ranch Allegedly Hid His Abuse of Boys
“Yeah, the whole race,” she said of the backlash on Twitter. “I decided, you know what? This isn’t going to be healthy for me, so I just didn’t engage with it.”
The Jackson family has filed a lawsuit against HBO and in aCBS This Morninginterview with Gayle King the singer’s brothers, Tito, Marlon, and Jackie Jackson, as well as Jackson’s nephew, Taj Jackson —denounced the filmand Robson and Safechuck’s claims.
Jackson’s estateissued a statement to PEOPLEin January ahead of the film’s Sundance premiere andblasted the documentaryas a “pathetic attempt” to make money off of the singer.
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“This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson,” the statement read.“Wade Robson and James Safechuck have both testified under oath that Michael never did anything inappropriate toward them. Safechuck and Robson, the latter a self-proclaimed ‘master of deception’, filed lawsuits against Michael’s Estate, asking for millions of dollars.Both lawsuits were dismissed.”
Winfrey taped a special with Jackson’s accusers and Reed on Feb. 27, less than a week beforeLeaving Neverlandaired on HBO on March 4.
“I know people all over the world are gonna be in an uproar and debating whether or not Michael Jackson did these things or not, did he do it or not do it, whether these two men are lying or not lying,” Winfrey said during the taping of the specialOprah WinfreyPresents: After Neverland.
RELATED VIDEO: Inside Michael Jackson’s 2005 Molestation Trial — and Why He Was Found Not Guilty
She continued, “But for me, this moment transcends Michael Jackson. It is much bigger than any one person. This is a moment in time that allows us to see this societal corruption. It’s like a scourge on humanity and it’s happening right now. It’s happening in families.”
“We’re all gonna get it, I’m gonna get it, we’re all gonna get it,” she said, before adding that people are going to say to her, ‘You’re letting the black man down.’”
source: people.com
