April 2, 2020
Bill Whitfield, a former bodyguard who served Michael Jackson from late 2006 until the day of his passing in June 2009, penned the book "Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days" in collaboration with Javon Beard, another bodyguard of Jackson who, ironically, was later convicted of armed robbery.
In light of the controversial documentary Leaving Neverland released in March 2019, Whitfield has been vocal in his statements regarding the relationships between Michael Jackson and Leaving Neverland's main subjects, James Safechuck and Wade Robson.
It is important to note that Whitfield's assertions have been called into question due to the timing of his employment, which occurred long after the period in which the reported abuse in question took place. Despite his claims, which some have taken as truth, it is essential to critically evaluate the credibility of his statements.
First and foremost, it's important to note that since 2014, Whitfield has been deriving income from his book about Michael Jackson, which was adapted into the movie "Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland" in 2017. Moreover, an examination of his Twitter activity reveals a consistent trend of self-promotion, predominantly cantered around himself and his book. This indicates a clear financial stake in protecting the positive public image of an individual who has been a source of income for him.
Even if Bill claims there's no financial motive behind his praise of Jackson, it's impossible to ignore some of his tweets, which are not only blatantly false, but have a petulant tone, similar to a child.
Let's begin:
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 2 mar, 2019.
I need to know who are the HBO producers behind the documentary. I need to let them know Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck are con artist! During My tenure with MJ I never met these dudes and you had to go through me to see MJ. They are LIARS!!
The reality is that Bill never encountered James and Wade as children, nor was he present when the abuse took place. James Safechuck's connection with Jackson commenced in the late 80s, while Wade Robson's began in the early 90s. Both individuals had minimal interaction with Jackson after 1995, and their meetings were infrequent. Whitfield only commenced working for MJ around 2006/7, a time when James no longer maintained any relationship with MJ, and Wade mentioned visiting him only once in 2008. Consequently, his assertion that "They are LIARS!!" is somewhat misleading and inaccurate, as he was never in a position to assess whether Jackson did or did not abuse them as children.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 6 mar, 2019.
The Safechucks were Michael Jackson groupies (Not Fans) after the Pepsi promo tour they fell in love with MJ and started following his tours all over the world doing all they could to be seen, dressing up like MJ. They even harassed us in Vegas. GTFOH!
There is unequivocally no evidence to suggest that the Safechucks were mere groupies. MJ extended a personal invitation to them to join his tour and, in conjunction with MJJ Productions, arranged and covered the family's travel, accommodations, meals, and additional expenses. Jolie Levine was the individual within MJ's team responsible for overseeing all these arrangements. Furthermore, the Safechucks spent numerous days and nights at Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson's private residence. Once more, Bill is making unfounded allegations without any basis.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 7 mar, 2019.
This photo is photo shopped! (Click here to see the photo in question).
And...
And the notes, voicemails and faxes are also fake! (9 mar, 2019.)
What is the source of these ludicrous assertions? Did they originate from a random individual on social media, or did he literally pluck it from his derrière? Wherever they came from, Whitfield has amplified them as supporting evidence. However, these statements lack any validation: Whitfield failed to produce evidence of tampering, nor has he posted the "original" and "unaltered" photos, or provide substantiation for why the faxes are not from MJ. Moreover, the photos of Safechuck with Jackson have been publicly available long before the allegations were made.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 5 mar, 2019.
They supposedly traveled the world with Michael Jackson and not one damn pic.....GTFOH!
James accompanied Jackson on the Bad tour in 1988, and there is abundant photographic and video evidence of the tour readily available on YouTube, as well as selected clips in Leaving Neverland. In Wade's case, although he did not claim to have travelled the world or been part of MJ's tours, similar to James, there is also video and photographic footage of him with Jackson.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 7 mar, 2019.
If MJ was mess'n around with both boys at the same time why didn't they ever see each other?...... GTFOH!
Jackson did on rare occasions invite multiple boys to his Neverland home and other locations. James and Wade have never denied encountering each other or other boys during their childhood. In an interview with Billboard and during the Oprah special (at minute 8:38), James and Wade explicitly mentioned meeting each other at least twice during their childhood: once during the filming of the JAM music video, and the other time during a weekend at Neverland. Furthermore, in Leaving Neverland, Wade describes a mass sleepover involving Jordan Chandler and Macaulay Culkin, and James states that he spent time in one of Jackson's condos with Brett Barnes. James and Wade have always stated that there were abused by Jackson when no other boys were present, not that they never met anybody else, or each other.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 5 mar, 2019.
Ok, the leaving NL fiasco is a big SCAM! These dudes are comedians. Not one damn pic with MJ outside of a backstage pass after winning a MJ dance contest. I can't believe Oprah jumped on board with this bull shit!
And...
Wade supposedly spent 7-years with MJ, along with his family....and nobody had a camera....GTFOH! (6 mar).
To put things into context, I did a Google search for Bill Whitfield and Michael Jackson pictures, and I counted at best 6 or 7, which were all taken in public by members of the public or press. Now, unless Bill has dozens or hundreds of private photos that have never been released, it's fair to say that's a measly amount of pictures, for somebody who worked for Jackson between 2006 and 2009.
Furthermore, Bill should know that anybody who was invited into Neverland Ranch had to surrender any camera equipment, and even in some cases, sign an agreement, agreeing not to disclose private information.
In the below clip from Leaving Neverland, Wade Robson's grandmother explains how thorough Jackson security guards were in making sure nobody had a camera.
Nevertheless, it would be unreasonable to suggest that James, Wade, or their family members were not close friends of Jackson solely based on a lack of photos or videos of them together inside his private properties.
Remember, Wade, his mother and sister did an interview in 1993, in favour of Jackson, and later testified in 2005. Nobody from either the defence or prosecution ever questioned their lengthy relationship with Jackson.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 6 mar, 2019.
Neither Wade, Jimmy or their families were at Mr. Jackson's memorial services. #fantasyland
Wade Robson and his family were indeed present, a fact supported by a 2009 email shared by Taj Jackson. This email includes Wade's confirmation of the list of family members attending the memorial. Wade was not present at the private funeral.
James lost all contact with Jackson after 2005, so unless Jackson family members had contact details for him or his family, he was never going to attend. However, there is no conspiracy, other "special" friends also did not attend, such as Brett Barnes.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 6 mar, 2019.
I'm not going to dispute any relationship others say they had with Mr. Jackson, however if these ppl honestly knew him I don't recall them visiting or checking on MJ as a friend would do. please don't tell me how well someone knew MJ when they weren't there when he needed them.
Bill now claims that he is not going to dispute anybody's relationship with Jackson, despite the fact he's been doing just that. As already stated, James Safechuck had no contact with Jackson after 2005, and Wade only visited Jackson once in 2008. Brett Barnes also claims to have visited Jackson in Bahrain around the same time in a MJ Cast interview, yet Bill makes no mention of this.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 6 mar, 2019.
This dude Jimmy lived in Simi Valley $$$, was in a Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial, dressed like Michael Jackson and you didn't have no Michael Jackson pictures/posters hanging in your room?! GTFOH
I don't see how living in Simi Valley and securing a commercial contract have to be related to having Michael Jackson posters in one's room. Besides, the decision to dress up as Michael Jackson came after forming a friendship with him, not at the time the crew visited.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 6 mar, 2019.
These fools said they had dinner st Neverland after MJ went to court. There were NO VISTORS during that time outside of family and lawyers, lying MFs, GTFOH!.#fantasyland
Chantelle Robson testified that the family arrived at the Ranch approximately the day before Wade's fifth of May testimony, and Brett Barnes and his family arrived and stayed at the Ranch for approximately 3 weeks, before testifying.
Bill Whitfield @MJBODYGUARDS - 10 April, 2019.
If you've read my book you know I didn't meet Mr. Jackson until December 22, 2006, based on that how can I definitively speak on a train station being built? There are permits that state when the train station was built, so why are we even discussing it.
When Bill is questioned about the Neverland train station, which is mentioned in his book as being built around 1990, he now claims that he has no knowledge about what went on at Neverland, pre-December 2006.
Well, correctly if I'm wrong, but doesn't that mean that Bill, despite his insane ramblings, has absolutely no knowledge as to whether James Safechuck and Wade Robson were abused in the 80s and 90s by Michael Jackson?
I've never read his book, and probably never will, but based on his untruthful and petulant tweets, I can't imagine it's entirely factual. But hey, if it follows the golden rule of glorifying Jackson, I'm sure the fans will enjoy it.
With permission, the following article was translated and enhanced from The Truth about Michael Jackson.