It was his sanctuary away from the spotlight but Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch ended up a house of horrors.
The King of Pop made the site in California a kids fantasy, packed with animals and fairground rides – but it was also where children reported being victims of sexual abuse.
Now a new documentary, presented by Ross Kemp, takes a look at what happened to the creatures in the tainted pop singer’s famous zoo following his death aged 50 in 2009.
Jackson’s love affair with the ranch began when he visited Sir Paul McCartney, who stayed there while filming the Say, Say, Say video in 1983.
He reportedly splashed out £15-23million in 1988 for the 2,700-acre plot in Santa Barbara. Originally called Zaca Laderas Ranch, Jacko renamed his new home Neverland – after the realm where author JM Barrie’s Peter Pan character never grew up.
(Image: WireImage)
He turned it into a private amusement park and zoo with three rail tracks and trains, a Ferris wheel, bumper cars and a rollercoaster.
There was also a colossal number of animals – many in the home as well as in the on-site zoo. Most famous was primate pal Bubbles, a chimp who would accompany Jacko like a shadow for a time.
He had two other chimps in his menagerie, and they helped dust his house and clean the windows.
But they also made their own mess – pulling off nappies and throwing their poo around.
Legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor wed her seventh husband, builder Larry Fortensky, in 1991 at Neverland – and, as a sign of appreciation, she later gifted Jacko a five-ton Asian elephant named Gypsy.
(Image: NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Ross Kemp speaks to former work-ers at Neverland, including Mark Biancaniello, a former Neverland Zoo trainer who describes Jackson as an “exemplary owner of animals”.
But after learning about the premature deaths of several animals during the singer’s time at Neverland, the presenter begins to suspect the singer may not have been the perfect animal owner.
Other animals in his collection included a boa constrictor called Muscles, which Jacko enjoyed feeding live mice.
But this paradise also had a dark side – it was the main site where Jacko’s accusers said abuse had taken place.
In 1993 the Bad singer was accused of sexually abusing then 13-year-old Jordan Chandler.
After settling out of court, the accusations went no further. In 2005 Jacko was charged with molesting a then 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo.
He was acquitted on all counts but vowed never to live at Neverland again.
The ranch was put up for sale at £77.8m after his death and in 2013 singer Lady Gaga offered to invest so his children Paris, Prince, and Prince Michael II, who Jacko nicknamed Blanket, could stay there.
In the same year, choreographer Wade Robson filed a lawsuit alleging Jackson had abused him at Neverland for seven years, starting when he was aged seven.
A year later actor James Safechuck came forward alleging he was sexually abused by the singer from the age of 10 for four years.
Both cases were dismissed after being filed too late but the pair later discussed their allegations in detail in documentary Finding Neverland.
The ranch eventually sold for £17.1m in 2020 to a former family friend of Jacko’s, billionaire Ronald Burke.
The animals had moved on – some faring better than others.
Vet Martin Dinnes once said: “Michael wanted me to make sure they went to the best possible home.
“Some were sold, and some were given away, but Michael approved of all the places they went.”
Michael Jackson’s Zoo with Ross Kemp is on ITV at 9pm on Wednesday.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
