Akon says child sex charges against Michael Jackson was 'propaganda’ to steal his multi-million music catalog
Akon has said that all child sex allegations against Michael Jackson were part of a “propaganda” to paint the ‘King of Pop’ in a negative light and "steal" his multi-million dollar music catalog. The 47-year-old also claimed that Jackson had nothing to do with the accusations and was innocent.
Elaborating more on his claim, Akon said that several parties wanted a cut of the ‘Billie Jean’ singer’s catalogue. Their eyes were also on the Sony ATV catalog, which featured The Beatles hits. The rapper said that when in 1985, MJ spent $47M to outbid Sir Paul McCartney for the Fab Four's music rights, everyone in the record industry was jealous. Also, when ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ singer grabbed the huge music portfolio, many people wanted to take that opportunity from him, Akon stated as reported by The Sun.
The statement from Akon has come as his former friend’s legacy has been tarnished by two men. James Safechuck and Wade Robson have accused Jackson of abuse. In a Netflix documentary, titled ‘Leaving Neverland’, the duo have detailed their alleged grooming and abuse. Safechuck has alleged that the ‘Thriller’ singer sexually abused him for years after meeting him in 1987 when he was just nine. Reportedly, he was filming a Pepsi commercial at the time. The other man also accused Jackson of preying on him as a child.
But their allegations were denied by representatives of Jackson, who died in 2009. They also condemned the 2019 documentary. Now, in an interview with Vlad TV, Akon has defended his former music collaborator. “All that was propaganda because Mike was doing so much big things in the publishing world. I always felt like in the music side he was buying out a lot of great real estate. And he would not sell it back or would not offer no options for it to be sold. Then of course his own catalog... there was a fight around that. What Michael was more about is power because he was super smart and understood what real value meant to America,” he said.
Akon continued: “So he had access to a lot of American value, and he owned it. And if he did not own 100 per cent he owned it fifty per cent. And at some point they are gonna want to have the option to buy it back or control it to an extent, and Mike would not just allow it. And that is when a lot of propaganda and all these whispers started coming out about him, that is clearly not true."
Describing Jackson as "super funny, cool , cool to the fans”, the ‘Smack That’ singer said he was heterosexual. He stated, “Mike liked women. We had some real conversations and I got to know his type - he liked models, tall and slim models - you know what I am saying?" as he added: “The only thing I really react to is that the world never saw Michael as his true self. They always see the choreographed Mike - the Mike he wanted you to see. He choreographed everything about himself as an artist."