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Why you won't hear Michael Jackson on NZ radio stations any more

Author
Newstalk ZB, NZ Herald ,
Publish Date
Wed, 6 Mar 2019, 5:44PM
A new documentary has cast new light on abuse allegations about Michael Jackson. (Photo / Getty)

Why you won't hear Michael Jackson on NZ radio stations any more

Author
Newstalk ZB, NZ Herald ,
Publish Date
Wed, 6 Mar 2019, 5:44PM

Disgraced pop star Michael Jackson will no longer be played on New Zealand radio stations.

NZME, which owns ZM, The Hits, Flava and more - including Newstalk ZB - will no longer play Jackson's songs on air.

Dean Buchanan, group director of entertainment at NZME says: "NZME station playlists change from week to week and right now Michael Jackson does not feature on them".

Mediaworks' stations, which include The Breeze and More FM, will also not be playing the artist's songs.

This comes after the shocking documentary Leaving Neverland aired in the US, in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck outline the abuse allegedly inflicted upon them by Jackson when they were children.

The revelations in the documentary series are said to be so upsetting, mental health professionals had to be on hand when the film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January.

Entertainment reporter Sam Rubin told Larry Williams that radio stations across the US have also banned Jackson's songs in the wake of the documentary. 

He says it is gaining a lot of attention across the country.

"It's HBO highest viewed documentary ever. The fact that Oprah Winfrey has led her celebrity to a follow up interview with the accusers has also got a lot of attention."

Rubin says that the documentary is very damning and has sparked a conversation around Jackson's legacy.

"There's a lot of us who are fans and admire the considerable talents of Michael Jackson's, and this is a sad realisation and recognition that a man who had extraordinary talent also had extraordinary demons."

However, he says that it seems "feckless" to ban Jackson's music. 

On Tuesday, the documentary's director Dan Reed spoke out in a no holds barred interview with the Telegraph.

He said: "We're going to have to re‑evaluate the way we see Michael Jackson...

"People will have to listen to his music in the knowledge that he was a prolific child rapist.

"If they're comfortable doing that, fine. If they're not, well perhaps listen to something else for a while."

He later added: "He was raping those children night after night after night in the next room to their mothers. Spending days and nights in little boys' homes. It's the most appalling depravity covered up by this facade of angelic childlike purity – that lie was staring us all in the face for so many years."

Jackson's family has hit back against the documentary, filing a $100 million lawsuit against HBO and the documentary filmmakers.

Rubin says that it would likely be because there is still financial value to Jackson's songs and brand. 

"We've seen certain songs used for commercial purposes, and this sullies that."

Leaving Neverland is set to air in New Zealand on March 10 and 11 on TVNZ1.

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