Jackson ‘innocent until proven guilty’

Madonna has broken her silence over the Michael Jackson sex abuse allegations, saying “people are innocent until proven guilty”.

Two men, James Safechuck and Wade Robson, alleged in graphic detail in a documentary they were sexually abused as children by the King of Pop.

The Queen of Pop, who took Jackson as her date to the Oscars in 1991, said she has not watched the film Leaving Neverland. But she told British Vogue: “I don’t have a lynch-mob mentality, so in my mind people are innocent until proven guilty.

“I’ve had a thousand accusations hurled at me that are not true. So my attitude when people tell me things about people is ‘can you prove it?’”

Asked what would constitute proof of Jackson’s guilt, she replied: “I don’t know, I haven’t seen the film.

“But I guess it would be people recounting actual events, but then, of course, people sometimes lie. So I always say ‘what’s the agenda? What do people want out of this? Are there people asking for money, is there some kind of extortion thing happening?’

“I would take all of those things into consideration.”

She said of the HBO and Channel 4 documentary: “I guess I’ll get around to seeing it. I haven’t seen it yet.”

Madonna said the pair’s Oscar outing in 1991 was “best date ever” and revealed the pair had shared a passionate kiss.