Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
Unheard audio recordings of Michael Jackson resurfaced this week, reopening one of the most disturbing and polarizing chapters of pop culture history.
The tapes were reportedly obtained for a new UK docuseries, The Trial, capturing Jackson speaking candidly and alarmingly about his emotional dependence on children, his fixation on being around them, and the intense bonds he claimed were often formed.
Highlights
- Newly unheard recordings captured Michael Jackson admitting he would "k*ll himself" if he could never see another child.
- In the tapes, Jackson acknowledged that his closeness to children often caused "trouble," claiming that kids frequently fell in love with him.
- The docuseries The Trial featured unseen footage of Jackson and Gavin Arvizo having private picnics without any other adults present.
- The release followed a recent DOJ photo dump showing a never-before-seen image of Jackson posing with Jeffrey Epstein.
“The unheard audio tapes of Michael Jackson offer a rare and privileged window into Michael’s psyche and his soul.”
“They deliver a new understanding of who Michael Jackson really was, what he thought, and the seismic moments that shaped his life. The tapes are emotionally raw and very real. At points, you can hear Michael is close to tears,” noted executive producer Tom Anstiss.
RELATED:
An unheard audio recording showed Michael Jackson’s “intimate” thoughts on children
Image credits: Evan Agostini/Getty Images
The recordings were secured by Wonderhood Studios for Channel 4’s four-part docuseries, which airs next week in the UK.
In the tapes, the pop star can be heard speaking in deeply personal terms about children and the emotional void he claimed would exist without them.
“If you told me right now… Michael, you could never see another child… I would k*ll myself,” Jackson said in one recording.
Image credits: Rita Barros/Getty Images
In another moment, he appeared to acknowledge that his closeness to children frequently crossed emotional boundaries.
“Kids end up falling in love with my personality,” he said, adding, “Sometimes it gets me into trouble.”
Jackson’s bombshell audio revelations were quickly defended by his fans
Image credits: lucasdimos
An insider who listened to the tapes described them as “extremely unusual and eerie,” explaining that hearing Jackson discuss children this way, “especially those who are not his own”, raised troubling questions in light of the accusations he had faced.
“To hear his voice discuss children in this manner, given he had been accused of molestation, raises many questions about his mental health, mindset, and sadly, intentions.”
“These are very uneasy phrases and language to hear from a single man in his 40s.”
Image credits: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
Image credits: Nilly905
As soon as the insights from the recordings spread online, Jackson’s supporters quickly defended his legacy.
“He is innocent,” one commenter wrote. Another insisted, “This article is a cunning plan used to stop people from watching the new Michael movie.”
Others criticized the media for revisiting the accusations after his passing.
“Why mention this after MJ is gone and cannot defend himself?” one fan asked, while another added, “Oh no, MJ slander will be tolerated here!”
The bombshell docuseries focuses on the events leading up to Jackson’s 2005 criminal case.
The resurfaced audio tapes reframed Jackson’s relationship with the then-13-year-old boy at Neverland Ranch
Image credits: MICHAELBiopic
Image credits: DOJ
The recordings and newly uncovered footage also revisited Jackson’s relationship with Gavin Arvizo, a cancer survivor who later accused the singer of s*xual abuse.
Unseen material reportedly highlighted Jackson spending time alone with Arvizo on the grounds of Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, California, including private picnics without other adults present.
“Michael described how he told Gavin he looked like an angel to him. The way that these could have been interpreted is fascinating,” stated an insider.
Image credits: GroyperGreg
Jackson’s closeness to Arvizo became the basis of the 2005 criminal trial held in Santa Maria, California.
Prosecutors accused Jackson of molesting the boy, supplying him with alcohol, and conspiring to falsely imprison Arvizo and his family at Neverland.
The charges also stemmed in part from Jackson’s own statements in the 2003 documentary Living With Michael Jackson, where he admitted to sharing his bed with children.
Image credits: DOJ
“The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone,” Jackson said during the interview, a remark that ignited public outrage and triggered the investigation that followed.
After a four-month trial, Jackson was acquitted of all 14 charges on June 13, 2005.
Despite the verdict, the case irreparably damaged his public image, and he never again lived at Neverland Ranch.
Interestingly, Arvizo’s trial wasn’t an isolated case, as Jackson was allegedly accused of child molestation several times
Image credits: LawOfAt27180945
The 2005 trial was not the first time Jackson faced such accusations. In 1993, 13-year-old Jordan Chandler accused the singer of s*xual abuse.
The case was settled out of court for a reported $20-30 million, with Jackson maintaining his innocence and no criminal charges filed.
Reflecting on the first-ever child molestation case against Jackson, a maid shared, “His whole life changed after 1993 when he had to pay that boy off. I’m telling you, he was the dirtiest, most unsanitary person in Hollywood.”
Image credits: DOJ
During the 2005 proceedings, jurors heard testimony about the Chandler case to assess whether there was a pattern of behavior.
Other accusers also came forward. Jason Francia, the son of a Neverland Ranch maid, testified that Jackson had abused him between the ages of seven and ten.
He alleged that “every time I was being tickled, there was some sort of exchange of money.”
Image credits: KGYEG
Francia later noted he initially denied the abuse because he was embarrassed and afraid of backlash at school.
Despite the testimony, the jury found Jackson not guilty on all counts.
However, years later, former defense witnesses Wade Robson and James Safechuck reversed their positions, alleging posthumously that Jackson had abused them as children.
Their claims gained widespread attention in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.
Beyond child molestations, Jackson was pictured with Jeffrey Epstein in the DOJ’s document release
Image credits: jakonian
In December 2025, the DOJ released a massive photo dump from the Epstein files, which included a never-before-seen photograph of Jackson posing with Jeffrey Epstein.
The undated image marked the first time the two men were visually linked.
Another photo released by House Democrats circulated, showing Jackson alongside Bill Clinton and Diana Ross.
Image credits: meidastouch
While the image was later clarified as a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Ross’ own children, its inclusion in Epstein-related files fueled online speculation.
Jackson was never charged in connection with Epstein, who passed away by su*cide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting federal s*x-trafficking charges.
Jackson was never convicted of child abuse crimes and remained a towering musical figure until his passing in 2009 due to cardiac arrest.
“Not MJ, I thought he was innocent,” wrote one netizen
Image credits: Boozerdanno
Image credits: PengPantheress
Image credits: MJDoggoneLover
Image credits: TheDefiApe
Image credits: Quote31490249
Image credits: SarahSa78994238
Image credits: Inhumansoflate1
Image credits: KimIfYaNasty
Image credits: JuliaBerkowitz1
Image credits: Vox_Oculi
Image credits: neil_on_sea
Image credits: f4denz
Image credits: nushaposts
Poll Question
Total votes ·
Thanks! Check out the results:
Total votes ·
Newsletter
Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls
By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!
What do you think ?
TonjaLasagne 4 hours ago
OH please. Michael Jackson was a pervo. It doesn't matter that he MAY or MAY NOT have been s*e*x*u*a*l*l*y a****d when he was younger. Yes, yes, yes, I know that his father was a tyrant but not all kids who have had b******d Dads turned out to be pervos! The Osmonds had a MONDO b******d father but you haven't seen none of those milk drinking Mormons from Utah accused of the same things that MJ has been accused of AND MJ's father USED to make the J5 watch the Osmonds on the Andy Williams Show because the Osmonds were perfection. The One Take Osmonds. MJ had a freaking amusement park...he groomed those kids. I believe the kids and you don't pay somebody off if you're innocent.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 11 hours ago
IMO, MJ was emotionally stunted and immature and very childlike himself, due to the horrible ábuse and éxploitátion his father did to him and his siblings when they were children. Once he was successful and rich, MJ could have all the toys, fun things, and friends that he never got to have when he was an actual child. Remaining "childlike" emotionally into adulthood is also a sign of childhood ábuse and you have to really work on it to change this. It's a survival mechanism. My own situation is similar, just less extreme - I've got the emotional maturity of a 13/14-year-old mostly. I don't think MJ had THOSE kind of relationships with children - I believe he truly saw them as the friends he never had as a child. He didn't seem very interested in séx at all - he may have been aséxual. Plus, he's dead. Maybe let's focus on the still-living pédomonster: Trump.
Multa Nocte 8 hours ago (edited)
Lakota, while I agree that we should focus on Trump, Michael Jackson does indeed have the sort of profile that fits with a child sexual abuser. I know some people love him because of his music and his dancing, but he came from an extremely abusive background, Please see this article by an expert in child sexual abuse, Dr. Nadia Wager, Reader in Forensic Psychology at the University of Huddersfield. (Article posted below in hidden entry because BP is still sucking at fixing this,.)
Load More Replies...
TonjaLasagne 4 hours ago
OH please. Michael Jackson was a pervo. It doesn't matter that he MAY or MAY NOT have been s*e*x*u*a*l*l*y a****d when he was younger. Yes, yes, yes, I know that his father was a tyrant but not all kids who have had b******d Dads turned out to be pervos! The Osmonds had a MONDO b******d father but you haven't seen none of those milk drinking Mormons from Utah accused of the same things that MJ has been accused of AND MJ's father USED to make the J5 watch the Osmonds on the Andy Williams Show because the Osmonds were perfection. The One Take Osmonds. MJ had a freaking amusement park...he groomed those kids. I believe the kids and you don't pay somebody off if you're innocent.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 11 hours ago
IMO, MJ was emotionally stunted and immature and very childlike himself, due to the horrible ábuse and éxploitátion his father did to him and his siblings when they were children. Once he was successful and rich, MJ could have all the toys, fun things, and friends that he never got to have when he was an actual child. Remaining "childlike" emotionally into adulthood is also a sign of childhood ábuse and you have to really work on it to change this. It's a survival mechanism. My own situation is similar, just less extreme - I've got the emotional maturity of a 13/14-year-old mostly. I don't think MJ had THOSE kind of relationships with children - I believe he truly saw them as the friends he never had as a child. He didn't seem very interested in séx at all - he may have been aséxual. Plus, he's dead. Maybe let's focus on the still-living pédomonster: Trump.
Multa Nocte 8 hours ago (edited)
Lakota, while I agree that we should focus on Trump, Michael Jackson does indeed have the sort of profile that fits with a child sexual abuser. I know some people love him because of his music and his dancing, but he came from an extremely abusive background, Please see this article by an expert in child sexual abuse, Dr. Nadia Wager, Reader in Forensic Psychology at the University of Huddersfield. (Article posted below in hidden entry because BP is still sucking at fixing this,.)
Load More Replies... You May Like
Related on Bored Panda
21
11