After the premiere of Dan Reed’s Leaving Neverland documentary on HBO, some radio stations have decided to pull Michael Jackson’s music. Three major stations in Canada made the move this week.

The controversial film features two adult men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, alleging the deceased pop superstar sexually abused them when they were children. Public opinion has been largely divided, and Jackson’s family and close associates have criticized the documentary, calling it one-sided and without any merit.

Canada’s Cogeco Media owns The Beat, CKOI, and Rythme, and the company banned all of Jackson’s music indefinitely. They made the decision based on audience reactions and comments to the documentary, which featured lengthy discussion about the alleged molestation.

Several stations in New Zealand and NH Radio in the Netherlands have also pulled Jackson’s music from their programming citing listener preferences, with one rep stating that it is hard to listen with happiness. There is no word on whether the ban is permanent or temporary.

In contrast, there are no plans to ban the King of Pop’s music from stations in the U.S. or U.K. A spokesperson for BBC in England told Variety:

“The BBC does not ban artists. We consider each piece of music on its merits and decisions on what we play on different networks are always made with relevant audiences and context in mind.”

Streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music have not issued any statements, so Michael Jackson’s catalog is still available through those avenues.

What are your thoughts on censoring Michael Jackson’s music? Do you feel his music should be banned? Are you still a fan or no?

Source:

The Evening Standard