Sheryl Crow: 'There was a huge network of people that allowed' Michael Jackson's alleged abuse

3 August 2019

Sheryl Crow says there was "a huge network of people that allowed" Michael Jackson's alleged sexual abuse of young boys.

Sheryl Crow

James Safechuck, 41, and Wade Robson, 36, claimed in the bombshell HBO documentary 'Leaving Neverland' that they were both abused by the late King of Pop when they joined him on tour as children and Sheryl - who was a backing singer on Michael's 'Bad' tour between 1987 and 1989 - admitted that she always felt uncomfortable about his relationship with James.

She told The Guardian newspaper: "I happened to turn on CNN the morning after the first half [of the documentary] aired, and they showed clips of the young man who was on the Jackson tour with us and it made me ... I mean, I still feel really ...

"It's like a death in the family, you know? It's sad. [James Safechuck] was a great kid and the whole time he was with us - which was the better half of an 18-month tour - I always wondered: 'What in the world are his parents doing?', you know?

"Honestly, I think ... I think that there were a lot of exceptions made because of the damage that [Jackson] ... I mean, he didn't intentionally project it, but it was part of his aura - this almost being untouchable and almost alien-like [figure]. And, yeah, I mean, I'm sad, and I'm mad at a lot of people. I feel like there was just a huge network of people that allowed all that to go on. It's just tragic."

Sheryl, 57, went on to reveal that she and Jackson were never close and he never got in touch with her after she made it as a star in her own right.

She said: "I think he actually did not know my name for quite a long while. I saw him at the Grammys and I don't think he ever put together [who I was]."

Robson alleged he was sexually abused by Michael from the age of seven until 14, while Safechuck claimed he was a victim from the age of 10 until he hit puberty.

The movie's director Dan Reed defended his decision to air the movie and claimed that it shows the other side to what he called Michael's "Peter Pan-ish image".