Michael Jackson’s former nanny has spoken out about the sexual assault claims mounted against the singer in the Leaving Neverland documentary.
In a statement provided to ABC News, Grace Rwaramba — who was the nanny for Jackson’s children Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II (known as “Blanket”) — stated that she was sympathetic toward the alleged victims, but added that she did not believe her employer was capable of such crimes.
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“If Michael harmed Wade Robson and James Safechuck, they have my deepest sympathy and compassion. I don’t claim to know what happened between Michael and his accusers. I wasn’t there,” Rwaramba’s statement began.
“However, because Michael is no longer here to defend himself, and because I have a unique view of him and the life he lived, I feel compelled to speak out against what I firmly believe to be false claims. The person that Wade and James describe is not the person that I knew,” she added.
“He was trusting to the point of extreme naivete; always assuming the best intentions in everyone,” Rwaramba went on to say. “While he was far from perfect, in my over twelve years of living with Michael, knowing him and his lifestyle intimately, I never saw or experienced anything that led me to suspect that he was capable of child sexual abuse.”
The former nanny later stated that Neverland Ranch had an “army” of employees on-hand so she did not think that Jackson would have been able to get away with assaulting children without someone knowing what was happening.
“I was at Neverland when many of the family friends would come and go,” Rwaramba shared. “At any given time, anywhere between 60 to 100 employees worked in security, maintenance, housekeeping, grounds, the kitchen, and many other roles. Maintaining the ranch in such immaculate shape took an entire army of workers that were always around.”
She also spoke about the time when Wade Robson, one of Jackson’s accusers, and his mother Joy would visit Neverland.
“Over the years, I got to know the Robsons well as they visited the ranch on many different occasions,” Rwaramba admitted. “Neverland was an enchanting place where the butlers, cooks, maids, zookeepers, gardeners and other staff made every guest feel like royalty, and everyone person who was fortunate to visit loved it!”
“The one thing that was consistent about the Robsons over the years was Joy’s steely resolve to turn Wade into a star,” she continued. “When all the other kids, often including Michael, were off having water balloon fights or watching a movie in the theater, Joy would be drilling Wade on a dance move and every so often wave Michael over for some tips.”
Leaving Neverland aired earlier this week on HBO, but subscribers of the cable network can watch it on the HBO Go or HBO Now streaming services.
