Michael Jackson remains one of the most celebrated entertainers in history. His influence on music, dance and popular culture is undeniable and has endured well past his death in June 2009. But as the biopic Michael prepares to bring his story back to the forefront of public conversation, so too returns the part of his legacy that no amount of artistry has been able to erase decades of serious sexual abuse allegations that stretched from the early 1990s all the way into the present day.
What follows is a close look at the key moments in a timeline that has shaped, and in many ways overshadowed, everything Jackson built.
The first friendships that raised alarms
Jackson’s pattern of forming close relationships with young boys began drawing attention in the late 1980s. In December 1986, he met James Safechuck, then 10 years old, while filming a Pepsi commercial. The two developed a friendship that Safechuck would later describe as involving grooming and inappropriate contact during shared vacations and private time together.
Then in May 1992, Jackson met Jordan Chandler, a 13-year-old fan. What began as another close friendship would soon become the first major public crisis of Jackson’s career.
The Chandler lawsuit and a $15 million settlement
By August 1993, the Los Angeles Police Department had opened an investigation into Jackson following molestation claims made by Chandler’s family. The case became one of the most-watched legal stories of the decade. In September 1993, the Chandler family filed a civil lawsuit seeking $30 million, alleging sexual battery.
The situation grew more complicated in December of that year when Jackson’s sister LaToya publicly stated she believed the allegations were true a rare moment of family dissent that added further fuel to an already explosive story.
In January 1994, Jackson settled the civil suit for $15 million, without admitting any wrongdoing. The criminal investigation was eventually dropped after Chandler declined to testify, but the damage to Jackson’s public image had already taken root.
Neverland raided, criminal trial begins
Nearly a decade later, the scrutiny returned with new force. In February 2003, a documentary titled Living with Michael Jackson aired and reignited concerns about his relationships with children, particularly his habit of sharing his bedroom at the Neverland Ranch with young boys.
By November 2003, law enforcement had raided Neverland, and Jackson was arrested and charged with multiple counts of child molestation. The criminal trial that followed, beginning in February 2005, was a global media spectacle. Celebrities including Macaulay Culkin testified in Jackson’s defense.
On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. He left the United States shortly after and never fully returned to the public life he had once commanded.
 New voices after his death
Jackson died on June 25, 2009, but the allegations did not die with him. In 2013, Wade Robson a choreographer who had testified on Jackson’s behalf during the 2005 trial came forward to say he had been sexually abused by Jackson for seven years beginning when he was a child. Robson said he had not understood what had happened to him until years after Jackson’s death.
James Safechuck filed his own lawsuit against Jackson’s estate in August 2014, claiming he had been abused on more than 100 occasions during his childhood years with Jackson.
Leaving Neverland and the legal fight still underway
In 2019, both Robson and Safechuck shared their accounts in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, a four hour film that split public opinion sharply and prompted radio stations around the world to pull Jackson’s music from their playlists.
California’s passage of new legislation in 2020 extending the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors gave both men a renewed legal path forward. As of 2023, Robson and Safechuck are together seeking approximately $400 million from Jackson’s estate.
Jackson‘s representatives and estate have consistently denied all allegations. But as Michael the biopic moves closer to release, the question of how to hold both the music and the man at the same time remains one that audiences and critics alike are still working through.
