Michael Jackson's Boyhood Friend Defends Singer Amid 'Leaving Neverland' Claims

A man who was friends with Michael Jackson when he was 10 years old — and has testified that nothing sexual ever happened between them — is defending the pop icon following the release of the documentary "Leaving Neverland."

Brett Barnes, who traveled the world with MJ in the early 90s, lashed out against the film on Twitter, mocking the fact people have been accepting the allegations made as if they are fact.

"So people are getting their facts from a movie now?" Barnes wrote. "I wonder how they feel about the documentary showing the great alien invasion of ‘96. I think it was called Independence Day."

!twitter-embed(https://twitter.com/IAmBrettBarnes/status/1089394021770752000)

When Robson came forward with his claims in 2013, Barnes made vague mention of the allegations, writing, "I wish people would realise, in your last moments on this earth, all the money in the world will be of no comfort. My clear conscience will."

Barnes is referred to in "Leaving Neverland" but he was not interviewed for the film.

In 2005, Barnes testified at Michael Jackson's child molestation trial in Santa Maria, California. Barnes said that while he did sleep in the same bed as Jackson, nothing sexual ever happened between the two.

According to reports, during his testimony, when asked if Jackson ever molested him, Barnes responded, "Absolutely not. And I can tell you right now that if he had, I wouldn’t be here right now."

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As The Blast previously reported, the estate for Michael Jackson believes the film is a “tabloid character assassination.”

In a statement, the estate told The Blast, "The film takes uncorroborated allegations that supposedly happened 20 years ago and treats them as fact. These claims were the basis of lawsuits filed by these two admitted liars which were ultimately dismissed by a judge."

The estate also took issue with director Dan Reed on the topic of not interviewing people like Barnes who have said Jackson never molested them, saying, "By choosing not to include any of these independent voices who might challenge the narrative that he was determined to sell, the director neglected fact checking so he could craft a narrative so blatantly one-sided that viewers never get anything close to a balanced portrait."

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