Diana Ross Defends ‘Magnificent’ Michael Jackson Amid Child Molestation Allegations

Diana Ross has spoken out in support of Michael Jackson in the wake of the documentary Leaving Neverland, in which two men accused Jackson of sexually abusing them as children.

On Sunday, the singer used Twitter to share her thoughts on the film, referencing a song by her former band, The Supremes, to make her point.

“This is what’s on my heart this morning,” she tweeted. “I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is A magnificent incredible force to me and to many others. STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE.”

Ross and Jackson were friends for years, first connecting during the beginning of their Motown careers in the ’70s and eventually becoming so close that Jackson named Ross in his will as the secondary caregiver to his children ahead of his death in 2009.

The HBO two-part documentary Leaving Neverland saw Wade Robson and James Safechuck detail years of grooming and abuse they allegedly suffered at Jackson’s hands, beginning when they were young boys. Jackson was acquitted during sexual assault trial in 2005 and his family has slammed the documentary and is suing HBO for breach of contract.

Both Robson and Safechuk initially denied being abused by Jackson in 1993 when the singer was accused by Jordan Chandler. During Jackson’s 2005 trial in which he was accused of sexually abusing Gavin Arvizo, Robson took the stand to again say that Jackson did not abuse him, with his testimony speculated to be one of the major reasons Jackson was acquitted in the case. Robson said that the reason he initially denied the alleged abuse was because Jackson had been training him to do so.

“Michael’s training of me to testify began the first night that he began abusing me,” he said. “He started telling me, ‘If anybody finds out, we’ll both go to jail.’”

Along with Ross, Barbra Streisand made headlines for her comments in regards to the documentary, telling the Evening Standard she believed the allegations before seemingly deflecting the blame from Jackson.

“[Jackson’s] sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has,” she said. “You can say ‘molested’, but those children, as you heard say [Robson and Safechuck], they were thrilled to be there. They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.”

The 76-year-old later walked back her statements with an apology, saying she was “profoundly sorry” for her choice of words.

Photo Credit: Getty / Jason LaVeris