Macaulay Culkin Opens up About Relationship With Michael Jackson Amid Sexual Abuse Allegations

In a new interview with Esquire, Macaulay Culkin continued to open up about his relationship with the late Michael Jackson, again stating that the late singer never behaved inappropriately toward him.

"I'm gonna begin with the line — it's not a line, it's the truth: He never did anything to me," Culkin said. "I never saw him do anything. And especially at this flash point in time, I'd have no reason to hold anything back. The guy has passed on. If anything — I'm not gonna say it would be stylish or anything like that, but right now is a good time to speak up. And if I had something to speak up about, I would totally do it. But no, I never saw anything; he never did anything."

The sexual abuse allegations against Jackson, which were initially made in the '90s and continued in the years following, received renewed attention last year when Wade Robson and James Safechuk appeared in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland to discuss the abuse they allegedly suffered at Jackson's hands when they were children.

Culkin, who is godfather to Jackson's daughter, Paris, also recounted a story in which he declined to discuss the documentary with actor, James Franco.

"Here's a good Michael Jackson story that doesn't involve Michael Jackson at all: I ran into James Franco on a plane," Culkin recalled. "I'd bumped into him two or three times over the years. I give him a little nod as we're putting our bags overhead. 'Hey, how you doing?' 'Good, how ya doing?' And it was right after the Leaving Neverland documentary came out, and he goes, 'So, that documentary!' And that was all he said. I was like, 'Uh-huh.' Silence. So then he goes, 'So what do you think?' And I turned to him and I go, 'Do you wanna talk about your dead friend?' And he sheepishly went, 'No, I don't.' So I said, 'Cool, man, it was nice to see you.'"

Culkin's friendship with Jackson began when he was a child actor, and in 2005, Culkin served as a defense witness during Jackson's trial, testifying that he was never abused by the singer. In 2018, he again discussed his friendship with Jackson as innocent during an appearance on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast.

"He enjoyed my youthfulness. He liked being a kid with me," Culkin said. "It never struck me as odd. I never felt uncomfortable. That was just the way he was."

Photo Credit: Getty / Steve Granitz