Michael Jackson Allegations Return as Biopic Breaks Records

Michael Jackson is back in the news 20 years after his death after new allegations from members of the Cascio family resurfaced just as the singer's blockbuster biopic Michael continues dominating worldwide, reports the New York Times.

The claims are resurfacing at a complicated time for Hollywood and Jackson's estate as the film has become one of the most successful music biopics of all time. It has reportedly earned hundreds of millions globally while re-igniting fascination about the King of Pop's life and career.

The four Cascio siblings spoke to 60 Minutes Australia, claiming that Jackson groomed and s-x---ly abused them while they were children. Eddie, Dominic, Aldo, and Marie-Nicole Cascio filed a lawsuit against Jackson's estate earlier this year.

They talked about how they met the singer after their father worked at the New York Helmsley Palace Hotel. Soon, they were taking trips with Jackson and visiting Neverland.

“My parents were young. For them to have such a big celebrity want to be friends with them … they definitely felt special, and so did we,” Eddie Cascio said during the interview. “He made us feel like we were his family, his kids, his everything.”

Dominic Cascio claimed that Jackson emotionally manipulated his family, but the world thought that he was compassionate and misunderstood.

“He’s a monster, he’s evil, what he did was evil,” Dominic said. “And he’s tricked the whole world to think he’s this innocent, perfect human being, and he’s not.”

The allegations against Jackson are largely avoided in Michael, which has left critics debating. The film ends during Jackson's "Bad" era in the late 1980s — before the first public child abuse allegations. Of course, it begs the question if a sequel will address the 1990s when those claims first started.

It seems as if there may be a sequel to Michael as Lionsgate executives have openly discussed a second film, especially after the success of the biopic.

“We absolutely have more story to tell,” Lionsgate film chair Adam Fogelson told The Hollywood Reporter during the movie’s premiere rollout. Still questions about how future films could handle these allegations remain.

While he was alive, Jackson denied the claims, and in 2005 he was acquitted after a high-profile criminal trial.

After his death in 2009, more accusers — such as Wade Robson and James Safechuck — stepped out in the documentary "Leaving Neverland." But, Jackson never had the chance to defend himself from these claims either.

The Jackson estate has continued to deny all these allegations. In fact, the attorney representing the estate, Marty Singer, dismissed the Cascio's claims calling it "a money grab."

“Notably, these shakedown attempts come more than 15 years after Jackson’s death, thus carrying no risk of being sued for defamation,” Singer said.

The timing of these allegations has led to conversations about celebrity biopics and their legacies. Critics point out how Michael avoids his later years when the abuse allegations began, while supporters of the film argue that Jackson's influence is still historically significant.

And in the meantime, the movie is cashing in at the box office.