Seventeen years after Michael Jackson’s death, the media is once again rolling out a fresh wave of accusers right as the Michael biopic becomes a massive commercial success. Over the weekend, 60 Minutes Australia aired an hour-long special featuring the Cascio siblings, longtime Jackson defenders who now claim he abused them for years.
The timing alone raises questions. If these lawsuits succeed, the estate could face enormous financial exposure just as Jackson’s music, film projects, Broadway musical, and Cirque du Soleil productions are generating billions again.
The media is treating these allegations the same way it treated the claims against Jackson while he was alive: by presenting deeply compromised witnesses without seriously discussing their credibility issues or financial incentives.
The Cascios defended Jackson publicly for decades. Frank Cascio even wrote a 2011 memoir, My Friend Michael, insisting Jackson could never sexually abuse anyone. It wasn’t until the Leaving Neverland documentary, they say, that they remembered any abuse. Watch this segment on Redacted where I detail the major problems with that film.
Then came the bizarre “Cascio tracks” scandal, in which the family alleged to have songs that Jackson recorded in their basement. They sold them to Sony after Jackson’s death but a loyal fan noticed that the songs were fakery and sued. Sony ultimately settled the lawsuit and quietly removed the disputed tracks from circulation.
According to The New York Times, the Cascio siblings privately alleged abuse in 2020 and received roughly $16 million from the estate through a confidential settlement agreement. The payments reportedly stopped in 2025. Now the family is back in the media and back in court.
That is important because settlement agreements normally exist specifically to prevent future litigation and public accusations in exchange for compensation. The estate is now trying to force the dispute into arbitration, arguing that the Cascios already agreed to keep these claims private.
None of this proves innocence or guilt. But it absolutely raises credibility questions that the press once again seems uninterested in asking. Instead, the media appears determined to replay the exact same cycle that surrounded Jackson during his lifetime: sensational accusations first, context later, and no serious examination of the financial incentives, contradictions, reversals, and legal complexities surrounding the people making the claims.
The post Michael Jackson Accused Again. Same Media Playbook. appeared first on Redacted.
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