Corey Feldman’s Conflicted Legacy with Michael Jackson: From Staunch Defender to Harboring ‘A Question of Doubt’

For decades, actor Corey Feldman stood as one of Michael Jackson’s most prominent defenders, a former child star who used his own experiences as a survivor of abuse to vouch for the King of Pop’s innocence. However, in a series of candid interviews and statements over the years, Feldman has revealed a deeply conflicted and evolving perspective, detailing a journey from unwavering loyalty to a painful reckoning with unsettling memories.

Feldman’s friendship with Jackson began during the filming of The Goonies, when he was a child. He described Jackson as the “big brother I never had,” a cherished mentor who provided solace from his “very cruel childhood.” Their bond was built on shared experiences of lost childhoods under the glare of the spotlight. Feldman recounted innocent adventures, from trips to Disneyland in disguise to private concerts in the bumper car tent at Neverland Ranch. Jackson, he said, was a source of love and support, teaching him about everything from animal rights to how to treat his fans.

This deep personal connection formed the basis of Feldman’s staunch defense during the 1993 child molestation allegations against Jackson. “I was the first and the only celebrity at the time… to come out and say absolutely not,” Feldman stated. “He never touched me. He never touched anybody as far as I know.” He recalled telling the Santa Barbara police that he knew the difference between a pedophile and an innocent person because he himself had been molested, providing them with the names of his actual abusers, which he claims they ignored in their pursuit of Jackson.

However, Feldman’s narrative grew more complicated over time. He revealed that their friendship eventually ended, initiated by him, after Jackson allegedly grew paranoid that Feldman would write a book about him and “threatened” his life.

More significantly, Feldman began to publicly grapple with unsettling aspects of their time together, which cast his own memories in a new, disturbing light. “There have been many occurrences in my life and in my relationship to Michael that have created a question of doubt,” he admitted.

The most critical of these occurrences, Feldman revealed, was that Jackson had shown him pornography as a child. “When Michael and I would talk about him sleeping over at my house, I’d say, ‘Do you have any books at your house?’ ‘Well, what kind of books?’ He’d say, ‘Well, you know, Playboy, Penthouse, that sort of thing. Long as there’s books there, then I’ll come sleep over.’”

Witnessing this behavior himself forced Feldman to re-evaluate the similar claims made by Jackson’s other accusers. “When I look at the pieces of evidence… that Michael Jackson [was] looking at pornographic material with a child… and the fact that I witnessed that exact occurrence in my own life at the same age has to give me reason to pause,” he explained.

This led to a painful crossroads for Feldman, who was asked directly if he believed Jackson was grooming him. “I’d like to think not,” he responded. “Is it possible that that was what he was doing? Of course, it’s possible. Is it possible that Michael Jackson is in fact a predatory pedophile? It is possible.”

The 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland further amplified Feldman’s public turmoil. He initially criticized the film as “one-sided,” but later, as an advocate for abuse survivors, revised his stance, stating, “It becomes impossible for me to stay virtuous and not at least consider what’s being said… We must give them their voice.”

Feldman also touched on Jackson’s tragic end, revealing he was asked by the Jackson family to participate in an intervention for Michael’s prescription drug addiction shortly before their final falling out. He squarely blames Dr. Conrad Murray for Jackson’s death, stating, “he’s the one that pulled the trigger… he is responsible. Period.”

Ultimately, Corey Feldman’s story is one of profound conflict: a man trying to reconcile the memory of a friend who “saved his soul” with the deeply disturbing possibility that this same friend harbored a dark side that harmed others. While he maintains Jackson never abused him, he can no longer unequivocally defend the man he once saw as a savior.