Mark Ronson forced to “re-examine” experience of meeting Michael Jackson as a child after sexual abuse allegations
Mark Ronson has said he was forced to “re-examine” his experience of meeting Michael Jackson as a child, following the sexual abuse allegations which later surfaced about the pop star.
The DJ reflected on the experience in his new memoir, Night People, which was released on September 16th. As part of this, he said he was “obsessed” with the idea of breaking into the music industry as a young boy, and was subsequently invited to an afterparty of Jackson’s following one of his Bad concerts, via Sean Lennon, the son of John Lennon.
Recalling the “crazy” event from when he was 13 years old (per The Sun), Ronson claimed he wanted to get a “hook from Michael Jackson to take back” to create a potential song, before adding: “I wouldn’t say it’s a highlight of my childhood, but it was certainly one of the most memorable experiences.”
However, he then countered this by noting: “Obviously, with allegations that came later, of course, it made me re-examine that event too many times. I was like, for whatever reason, there was nothing weird or untoward on that night.”
Jackson was first accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy in Los Angeles in 1993, in a case that was eventually ended in a financial settlement the following year. However, in 2013, four years after the star’s death, these allegations resurfaced via two other men who also accused Jackson of sexually assaulting them as children, as stated in the documentary Leaving Neverland. Jackson’s estate has repeatedly denied all of these accusations.
However, the allegations have once again faced further scrutiny in light of the upcoming biopic Michael, which is slated for release next year. With his real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson playing the King of Pop, Jackson’s daughter Paris previously said she has “zero per cent involvement” with the project.
Elsewhere in Ronson’s new autobiography, he also revealed that he was “deeply unnerved” by meeting Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in the 1990s, who similarly had sexual abuse allegations made against him in later years.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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