Three of Michael Jackson's nephews on Wednesday filed a $100-million lawsuit against Radar Online for reporting that they were molested by the late pop star and were bribed to keep quiet about it.
Taj Jackson, TJ Jackson, and Taryll Jackson claim that Radar, citing supposed new detective reports, continues to report the false information despite the fact that Jackson died seven years ago, according to the lawsuit that was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Radar also reported that the Jackson family resisted any criminal investigation into potential sex abuse and that the singer bought the nephews a new car to "shut them up."
While the Radar reports do not name the siblings, they do identify them as MJ's nephews and as members of the band 3T. The story, which was titled "New Photos…Show Depths of Depravity," claimed that Jackson "even used sexy photos of his own nephews, who were in the band 3T, in their underwear to excite young boys."
However, the nephews contend in their lawsuit that MJ never attempted any sort of sexual contact with them.
Jackson died seven years ago but dodged rumors of child abuse accusations throughout his adult life. He was arrested and charged with child molestation and intoxication of a minor in 2003 when 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo came forward with allegations. A Santa Barbara jury eventually acquitted the pop star of all charges.
Radar's parent company, AMI, released statement to BuzzFeed News in response to the lawsuit:
It’s curious and revealing that plaintiffs have not attached the Radar article to their complaint. The article does NOT accuse Michael Jackson of molesting his nephews, nor does it accuse them of accepting a bribe.The Radar article clearly states that detectives reported that Michael Jackson may have used photos of his nephews “to excite young boys.” This theory was, in fact, presented by the prosecution during Michael Jackson’s 2005 criminal trial.
Radar looks forward to correcting plaintiffs’ misstatements in a court of law.