I cannot be more serious when I say this:
Neither the Estate nor the Jackson family should be involved in any future rebuttals.
Ever since Leaving Neverland premiered, every statement and legal pursuit by either of those two parties has been met with dismissals from the anti-innocence lynch mob: "They're only looking to protect their investment. Of course they're not coming forward to accept the truth about Michael; their compliance is the only thing keeping them from being broke!" It's a stupid and absurd myth that everyone, including Dan Reed, has perpetuated.
I understand why we feel they need to have a hand, but this is serious. This is bigger than the 1993 case. This is bigger than the 2005 case. We may have ONE CHANCE to pull this off, and we cannot **** it up.
You know who needs to speak out? The children and families Michael spent time with. The various Neverland personnel who defended him both in '93 and '05. The law enforcement entities that surveyed and investigated Michael for years. Anyone who knows the accusers and can testify to their validity. The people who have no incentive, financial or otherwise, to lie. The people who have insider knowledge that we will never maintain.
Call Anthony Pellicano and Bert Fields, Michael's '93 legal team. Call Barry Rothman, the attorney that left the Chandler case after calling it "extortion." Call Josephine Zohny, who was due to testify against Jordan Chandler had he shown up for the 2005 trial. Call the schoolteacher Gavin Arvizo confessed his lies to. Call Francine Orosco, the maid Adrian McManus roped into a false sexual harassment claim. Call any and all individuals who know Wade Robson and James Safechuck and find out exactly what the general consensus seems to be. Call Brett Barnes, Macaulay Culkin, and Jonathan Spence. Call the several people who Jacobshagen extorted money from with fake signatures.
Pull the '93-'94 court files. Unseal the remaining '05 files. Remind everyone of Daniel Kapon and Joseph Bartucci. Air out the inconsistencies, financial motives, and lies told by every accuser. Clear up the lies around the '94 settlement. Take aim at each and every person currently stepping out against Michael, all of which we have known about for decades, and tear them apart.
Folks, we need to face the fact that Michael's legacy is in critical condition right now. This is worse than '93 or '05; Michael isn't here to defend himself in a court of law, and the public sentiment towards accusers and accusations alike has shifted. Michael will always have a supportive fan base, but future generations are in danger of only knowing him as a pedophile.
Our comeback needs to hit like a ton of dynamite. We can't present anything that would run the risk of ruining it.