The truth behind the relationship between Macaulay and Michael has often been obscured behind a veil of salacious tabloid rumors, but how true are these rumors?
Rumors surrounding Michael Jackson and his relationship with children have existed long before his tragic death in 2009, including famous child stars such as Corey Feldman and Macaulay Culkin also being called into question. However, to this day Macaulay Culkin has continued to deny there was any wrongdoing on Jackson’s part.
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The Rumors Behind Michael Jackson And Macaulay Culkin’s Relationship
Macaulay Culkin was a child star that defined the 1990s, his monumental rise to fame following the Home Alone films propelled him to superstar status.
This superstar status allowed him to meet a variety of well know celebrities, including non-other than the King of Pop Michael Jackson.
It did not take long after meeting Michael Jackson for the two of them to hit it off and become superb friends, with Macaulay often visiting Jackson’s Neverland Ranch.
Despite how innocent the intentions were, this often led to the press speculating that there was a more sinister reason between this unlikely friendship between the King of Pop and the child superstar.
The pair first became acquainted when Macaulay starred in Jackson’s ‘Black Or White’ music video released in 1991 and became close friends shortly after that.
The large age difference between the two was considered strange by many onlookers, and Jackson was often questioned about his relationship with Culkin and other children during interviews back in the 90s. However, on the flip side, many were also very supportive of Jackson, saying the relationship was purely innocent and was due to Michael’s childlike nature.
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Leaving Neverland
Rumors about Jackson have been circulating since the 1990s when he was at his height of fame, but since his death in 2009 the rumors had considerably died down until a shocking HBO documentary released in 2019 called Leaving Neverland shed light on the rumors that have followed him for decades.
The controversial documentary focused on Michael Jackson and the relationship he had with the two accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck detailing the alleged abuse that took place at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch when they were both under 10 years old.
To say this documentary was controversial is an understatement, this film was so controversial that the film’s director Dan Reed received multiple death threats from outraged fans and Jackson’s estate labelled the film “an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson.”
The aftermath of the film resulted in an avalanche of press resurrecting Jackson’s past scandals and the rumors surrounding them and also created two camps of people – Those who believed the accusers and those who believed this was an attempt to cash in on Michael Jackson’s legacy.
One major player in the whole affair who was not interviewed for the film was, of course, Macaulay Culkin. The film chose not to interview him and instead touched upon the fact that both him and Brett Barnes “categorically deny any sexual contact with Michael Jackson.”
Related: A Look Back At Macaulay Culkin's Relationship With Michael Jackson
Macaulay Culkin Defends Michael Jackson
Macaulay Culkin has a long history of defending Michael Jackson against child molestation allegations, he even testified in court in Jackson’s defence in 2005, when Jackson was charged with intoxicating and molesting a 13-year-old boy but was later acquitted.
Jackson’s defence case was the last time Culkin saw Jackson before his death in 2009 and has been remarkably quiet about the rumors ever since. However, Macaulay Culkin decided to give a surprising interview in February 2020, where he opened up about his relationship with the King of Pop.
Culkin stated: “He never did anything to me, I never saw him do anything. And especially at this point in time, I’d have no reason to hold anything back. The guy has passed on. If anything–I’m not gonna say it would be stylish or anything like that–but right now is a good time to speak up. And if I had something to speak up about, I would totally do it. But no, I never saw anything; he never did anything.”
This highly intriguing statement from Culkin is seen by many to have finally laid the rumors to rest and addressed all the questions aimed at Culkin that were sparked by HBO's Leaving Neverland.
For many, there is still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding Jackson and his relationships with children, but for Macaulay Culkin, he continues to be adamant that his relationship with Michael Jackson was in no way sinister.