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The Michael Jackson Estate has taken legal action against a former sexual assault accuser for allegedly threatening them for a bigger payday amounting to $213 million.
Michael Jackson’s estate has filed a legal action against a former sexual assault accuser for allegedly threatening to resurface abuse allegations in breach of agreement if he is not paid more money.
As reported by the Financial Times over the weekend, Jackson’s estate filed a private arbitration case against the accuser, who remains anonymous to the media, back in 2020 over abuse allegations. The estate allegedly paid the accuser $3.3 million in a settlement in exchange for his signing a non-disclosure agreement. But now the estate claims he’s threatening to speak up in breach of contract if they do not pay him an additional $213 million.
“The associate’s lawyer even said to us, ‘If you don’t meet our demands, we’re going to have to share these allegations with a wider group of people,’” said estate executor John Branca in an interview with the Washington Informer. “It was a shakedown. Enough is enough.”
It’s not yet clear when the arbitration case was filed or what the exact allegations entail. Further details like the name of Jackson’s accuser have also remained undisclosed. The estate also would not confirm the accuracy of reports and declined to respond to media requests for comment.
The Financial Times reports that the estate also referred the matter to the US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Like the estate, a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office declined to comment when asked to confirm the report or whether it had opened an investigation.
Jackson died in 2009, and was never convicted or held liable for any of the accusations of abuse levied against him. The estate has always staunchly denied all such accusations, and point out his acquittal in a 2005 criminal trial.
The unnamed accuser’s alleged threats to go public are, interestingly, timed to coincide with the premiere of the biopic of the singer’s life, Michael, starring his real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson. That film is due to release in April next year, and is directed by Antoine Fuqua.
