T.I. On Michael Jackson Allegations: 'There's An Agenda To Destroy Our Culture'
It’s safe to say Atlanta trap trailblazer T.I. is on the opposite end of support for HBO’s newly-released Leaving Neverland documentary, which unfolds thehotly- controversial child molestation allegations against late music legend Michael Jackson.
The four-hour two-part documentary included the testimonies of 36-year-old Wade Robson and 40-year-old James Safechuck, two of MJ’s accusers who shared their recounts of alleged sexual and intimate relationships with him from their adolescence into teenage years. The most unsettling of their accusations included an alleged mock wedding, a cardboard cut-out of Peter Pan to practice masturbation to, brainwashing antics and many more. Jackson, who passed away in 2009, vehemently denied all of allegations of any child sexual abuse, which were initially brought on by then-13-year-old Jordan Chandler and played out in a nationally-sensationalized legal spectacle. He was eventually acquitted on all counts of child molestation and related charges and maintained his innocence up until his 2009 death.
For this reason, Tip is one among many others who find the reemerged allegations wrongfully one-sided. The Us or Else rapper aired out his discontent on Instagram accompanied by one particular MJ artifact that wasn’t mentioned in Leaving Neverland.
Conducted by British journalist Piers Morgan, MJ passionately speaks against the child molestation charges in a 1999 interview
“I would slit my wrists before I would,” he begins in the audio recording of the interview titled “Jackson: The Forgotten Interview.”
“I could never—ever.” In the next recorded segment, Jackson proclaims his devout love for children and their role in his life. He argues that his detractors have twisted that passion into something else. “If it wasn’t for children, I would throw in the towel,” he says, “I would killy myself, I wouldn’t care to live. They give me my inspiration, they give me…they inspire me. They try to use it against me and it’s just been so unfair, and I’m very upset about it.”
Tip posted the video with a salute to Morgan as he begin his thoughts on the matter.
First and foremost, he believes that MJ should be able to defend his legacy in response to the allegations instead of the world only lending an ear to one side of it. “Oh that’s right…,” he wrote in the caption. “Dead men can’t speak. So what was the point again?” Tip is also convinced that there’s an underlying motive lingering beneath the resurfaced controversy to “destroy another strong black historical legend,” especially considering that other iconic figures of pop culture with similar pedophilic controversies, like Elvis Presley and Hugh Hefner, don’t receive the same scrutinization. “But WHY US all the time?” he concluded. “There’s an agenda to destroy OUR CULTURE.”
Tip’s sentiments were met with several commenters who sided with his thoughts, while others criticized his way of thinking. “Three sides to every story , yours mine and the truth,” one Instagrammer responded. “This man ain’t here to provide his side. I’m not tryina hear nothing else.” Another questioned the logic. “But what about the people speaking out against him now because they experienced that stuff? Should they be ignored because Hugh Heffner or some other white guy should be checked out first? What kind of ‘logic’ is that?”
Read Tip’s position on Michael Jackson’s 2019 controversy below.
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