According to reports, radio stations around the world have started to drop Michael Jackson’s songs from their rotation. Per CNN, stations in New Zealand and Canada no longer feature the late King Of Pop due to child abuse claims discussed in the newly-released HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland.
“In New Zealand, multiple major radio stations have pulled Jackson’s music from their airwaves, including commercial broadcaster MediaWorks,” CNN writes. “In Canada, three major Montreal-based radio stations have also stopped playing Jackson’s music, according to Canadian news outlet CBC. Other stations in Canada are reported to be monitoring the situation.”
Additionally, MediaWorks’ rival broadcaster NZME dropped Jackson from their weekly playlists, which the broadcaster’s entertainment director Dean Buchanan detailed in an interview with the New Zealand Herald.
The documentary features two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who allege that they befriended Jackson when they were children and were subsequently molested after the musician implemented grooming tactics towards them and their families.
The two-night, four-hour doc received mixed reviews from social media users, and Michael Jackson fans reportedly harassed Oprah Winfrey for conducting an after-show interview with Robson and Safechuck.
“I tried and tried and tried to get the message across to people that sexual abuse was not just abuse, it was also sexual seduction,” Winfrey said on her decision to conduct the interview. “But, for me, this moment transcends Michael Jackson. It is much bigger than any one person.”