Michael Jackson child abuse scandal leaves Paul McCartney stunned and very sad
Sir Paul McCartney was reportedly shocked on seeing his close pal Michael Jackson's dark side in the controversial HBO documentary, 'Leaving Neverland', but he says that he will still remember their good times. The Beatles legend, who worked with the late King of Pop in the 1980s, said he never knew about the singer's secret private life.
"I think it’s sad," McCartney said while in conversation with Radio Futuro in Chile, where he has been performing. "Obviously Michael was a great singer, a great artiste, and a great dancer. For years we’ve loved that. Nobody knew about the other side that’s shown in that movie."
The 'Beatles' star further added, "When I knew him he was a really nice guy. I didn’t know about the dark side. It makes it very difficult to look back on the memories which were good memories, to think, oh boy, there was other stuff going on."
However, McCartney says he will continue to remember the happy memories he still has of the disgraced star, reports the Sun. "For me, I’m OK to just stay with the personal memories I had of him. The other side is the other side. I don’t know about that. I can understand why people are very disappointed in him and angry that he had the dark side."
McCartney also admitted that he sympathized with all the people who are having trouble with Jackson’s music after claims of child sexual abuse were leveled at the late superstar. Jackson covered McCartney’s song 'Girlfriend' on his 'Off the Wall' album in 1979.
'The Girl Is Mine' duet was the first single from Jackson’s 'Thriller' album. The pair also recorded 'Say Say Say' together in 1983. But McCartney wasn't the only one to react over Jackson's child sexual abuse allegations most recently.
Over the weekend, musical legend Diana Ross defended Jackson over the child sex abuse claims, which sparked massive outrage amongst her fans. The Supremes singer called Jackson a "magnificent incredible force" and asked his accusers to "stop in the name of love" in an impassioned tweet.
She tweeted: "This is what’s on my heart this morning. I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is A magnificent incredible force to me and to many others." She finished the tweet by quoting one of The Supremes most famous hits, writing: "STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE."