GoFundMe.com is an online platform that allows members of the public to raise monetary funds for pretty much anything, whether it’s a personal project or funds to treat a medical condition.
GoFundMe since its inception, in 2010, has raised and distributed over $5 billion to its users. Somebody who’s now taking advantage of that generosity is Michael Jackson’s nephew, Taj Jackson, who in January 2019, launched a campaign called: “The Truth Runs Marathons” (now renamed to Re-Righting HIStory), where he is seeking a massive $777,000 target (about £656,000) to fund a series of documentaries, which he claims will dispel myths that his uncle was a predatory child molester.
According to Wikipedia, Taj Jackson is one of three sons from Tito Jackson, a former member of the Jackson 5. Along with his two brothers, Taryll Jackson and T. J. Jackson they formed the 1990s pop group, 3T.
Like many people I don’t remember 3T, or any of its members, in fact, they may be more famous for the infamous photo shoot they did with their uncle, Michael Jackson, where T. J. Jackson just 17 at the time, and legally a child, stands beside his uncle, wearing little more than a heavily ripped T-shirt, and what appears to be a pair of shorts, partly pulldown exposing a portion of his pubic hair.
Taj Jackson since the announcement and release of Leaving Neverland has, unsurprisingly, been vocal in support of his uncle, and called the documentary subjects, James Safechuck and Wade Robson liars.
On his GoFundMe page, he states the following:
"Once again, we have to defend Michael Jackson's name and legacy from vicious and calculated lies. We can no longer sit back and wait for the 'right thing' to be reported or for someone else to step in and champion our cause. This is on us – fans, friends and family."
The last statement is a bit of a strange one, since his family, which includes his three cousins, Prince, Blanket and Paris, (two of which he runs a movie review YouTube channel with) and his grandmother Katherine, are the main beneficiaries of the Jackson estate, which is allegedly worth up to $2 billion, a line often used to portray James and Wade as money hungry extortionists.
Then, of course, there’s Taj brothers, members of the Jackson 5 (including his father), and Janet Jackson, who in her own right was a hugely successful artist in the 80s and 90s.
Why can’t the Jackson’s between themselves unite and contribute the $777,000 themselves, rather than going down the GoFundMe route, and asking fans to hand over a sizeable amount of money? It does make you wonder.
After reading the description within Taj Jackson’s GoFundMe fundraiser, it did leave me scratching my head. Not only is it extremely biased and targets the heartstrings of Jackson fans, but it contains claims which I believe are blatantly false.
After a quick search, I came across the GoFundMe terms and conditions, which spells out what is and isn’t allowed via their platform. One thing which is forbidden, and classed as fraudulent activity, is “posting misleading statements in the campaign description.”
Link: gofundme.com/c/safety/fraudulent-campaigns
Furthermore, when Taj Jackson signed up to the platform he personally agreed to not create a campaign/s “that are fraudulent, misleading, inaccurate, dishonest or impossible”.
Link: gofundme.com/terms
So, Is Taj Jackson posting misleading statements?
Let’s take a look. The following are direct quotes from his GoFundMe description page (in yellow), with my response below each one.
Taj Jackson states:
"I know that the unanimous acquittals and the FBI's 10-year investigation (resulting in my Uncle’s complete exoneration) should have been enough. The worst thing we can do is let this continued slander go unchallenged."
The FBI 10 year investigation! Now where have I heard that one before? Oh yes, it’s a common myth from Jackson stans that the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated Jackson for a 10 or more year period, and found no signs that he was sexually abusing young boys. But is this true?
Short answer, is no. The second post I did on this blog was about the FBI investigation (or the lack of any). Jackson stans, have unsurprisingly twisted the words of the FBI to suit their own agenda. It does in fact state on the FBI website that they never investigated Jackson for a 10 year period concerning child sex abuse.
The FBI state the following:
"Michael Jackson (1958-2009) was a famous singer and entertainer. Between 1993 and 1994 and separately between 2004 and 2005, Jackson was investigated by California law enforcement agencies for possible child molestation. He was acquitted of all such charges. The FBI provided technical and investigative assistance to these agencies during the cases. The Bureau also investigated threats made against Mr. Jackson and others by an individual who was later imprisoned for these crimes. These investigations occurred between 1992 and 2005."
Link: vault.fbi.gov/Michael Jackson
The key thing to recognise here is that the FBI provided technical and investigative assistance, to local law enforcement (Santa Barbara and LA police departments), at their request. This technical and investigative assistance, only occurred between 93 and 94, and separately between 04 and 05. That isn’t a 10 year investigation, but rather a two year period, where the FBI assisted on certain matters, such as analysing Jackson’s computer hard drives or videotapes, et cetera.
There was never any independent FBI investigation into Jackson concerning child sex abuse. This can be further validated by a podcast that was released by the FBI themselves in December, 2009.
FBI audio transcript:
Mr. Schiff: It’s Michael Jackson’s FBI file, and it’s on the Internet. Mr. Hardy: “The FBI usually receives these types of request when any person of fame or notoriety dies.” Mr. Schiff: That’s Dave Hardy, chief of the FBI’s Freedom of Information Program, who says that while FBI didn’t investigate Jackson, the files now available show the FBI working with other agencies.
Read the full FBI podcast here: fbi.gov/audio-repository
As you can see, the FBI confirmed that they never independent investigated Jackson, but assisted local law enforcement.
Taj Jackson states:
"Michael Jackson was arguably the greatest musical entertainer of all time. His success and influence was felt all over the world, from the US to the UK, from India to Egypt. He broke down racial barriers and changed culture forever. He was one of the most famous human beings who ever lived. For the last 15 years of his life he was subjected to false, malicious allegations of child abuse. He successfully defended himself against those allegations and died an innocent and exonerated man, but they took their toll nonetheless."
Taj Jackson really tugs on the heartstrings of Jackson fans. Whether Michael Jackson was or wasn’t the greatest musical entertainer of all times is down to personal opinion, rather than fact. Taj claims his uncle lived the last 15 years of his life subjected to false and malicious allegations of child sex abuse, but makes no mention that Jackson himself spent hundreds of one-on-one days and nights in bed with young unrelated boys, and still did it after being accused of abusing them.
Taj claims that his uncle successfully defended himself against those allegations and died an innocent and exonerated man, but that’s simply not true. Jackson didn’t defend himself in a court of law against his first accuser, Jordan Chandler, in 1993. Instead, chose to settle the case for a reported 20+ million dollars. Jackson, just a couple of years later settled another case, this time involving the son of his housekeeper, Jason Francia, whose mother reportedly received $2 million.
Jackson did, in 2005 defend himself, or at least through his lawyer, concerning Gavin Arvizo. The prosecution failed to convince 12 jurors, beyond reasonable doubt, that Jackson was guilty of molesting this boy, and was declared “not guilty”. But Jackson certainly was never exonerated. The US justice system (like many others across the world) does not declare somebody innocent, or exonerated of a crime.
Taj Jackson states:
"Years after he was killed by his doctor, two men who had resolutely defended Michael's innocence in life, tried and failed, to win financial settlements from his posthumous estate. After having their bogus abuse allegations (undermined by a wealth of evidence demonstrating the contrary) dismissed by the court, they have now turned to HBO, the UK's Channel 4 and the Sundance Film Festival. These three reputable organizations have sadly compromised their Brand’s integrity by announcing they will provide a platform for a 'documentary', through which these two accusers - who have accrued large legal debts to the estate they tried and failed to extort - are still seeking to profit from their already discredited stories."
Taj Jackson is referring to James Safechuck and Wade Robson, who in 2013 (Wade) and 2014 (James) reveal that Jackson had sexually abused them as children over a number of years. While it’s true that both men had defended Jackson, James as a child, and Wade as both a child and adult, Taj Jackson makes no references to the complexity of child sex abuse, or the fact that many survivors do defend their abusers, something more commonly known as the offender–victim bond.
Taj claims that both men have tried and failed to win a financial settlement, after having their “bogus allegations dismissed” by the court. But Taj doesn’t tell you that their claims weren’t dismissed based upon their credibility, but rather the statute of limitations within California. In January 2020, that law changed and now survivors of sexual abuse now have up to their 40th birthday to make a complaint in California. A court has now ruled that both James and Wade can sue Michael Jackson’s companies, perhaps something Taj should clearly state within his GoFundMe description, rather than misleading people into believing a court has dismissed their “bogus” claims.
Taj Jackson, rather childishly, claims that HBO, the UK’s Channel 4 and the Sundance film Festival have compromised their brand by airing Leaving Neverland. Again, that’s his personal opinion, not fact. All three, have made or provided a platform for hundreds of thousands of TV programs and movies over the decades. I’m sure Leaving Neverland isn’t the only controversial documentary they’ve ever shown, and certainly won’t be the last. Leaving Neverland has won multiple independent awards, since its release, which directly contradicts Taj Jackson’s claims. Strangely, I don’t see him complaining about Lifetime TV network who aired the Surviving R. Kelly documentary series.
Taj Jackson states:
"Michael Jackson died an innocent, vindicated man. The world needs to understand this most important and basic fact. The world also needs to understand the damage that is done to legitimate victims of abuse when self-confessed liars are not only allowed to profit from false allegations, but are given a platform to pontificate their fraudulent claims."
Again, Taj Jackson is insisting that his uncle was an innocent and vindicated man, yet that’s his personal opinion, not a fact. He refers to James and Wade as self-confessed liars who are attempting to profit from the estate, yet if he believes they are “self-confessed” liars (a.k.a. perjurer’s), does that mean he believes they falsely denied abuse at the hands of Jackson as children, and as an adult? He talks about “legitimate victims”, yet he wants to vilify James and Wade, and doesn’t make a single reference to how child molesters groom, seduce and abuse their victims.
Taj Jackson states:
"I heard the boy described Michael Jackson’s genitalia accurately” Wrong."
This is in reference to Jordan Chandler and the description he made for the police (and only the police) in 1993 concerning Jackson’s genitalia and where one or more distinctive markings were located.
I’ve made a full blog post concerning this subject, which can be found here. In short, only those within the Santa Barbara and LA Police Department who have handled and view the photos and JC’s description know whether it did or didn’t match.
Bill Dworin, a veteran investigator for the LA police Department, stated that it did match. In a 2004 documentary titled: “Michael Jackson and the Boy He Paid Off” he went on to say the following:
"He [Jordy Chandler] described Jackson genitalia, it was unique because of the discolouration. And then we obtained a search warrant to photograph Jackson to cooperate, what the child had said. When photographing Jackson's genitalia, it did cooperate. In other words, the boy saw Jackson naked. Does that mean Jackson molested the child? No, but it adds to the credibility of the child."
In a 2003 interview given to nbcnews.com, Bill Dworin again confirms that JC’s description was a match.
Direct quote:
“Dworin says one critical piece of corroborating evidence was found not in Michael Jackson’s home, but on Michael Jackson’s body: an intimate description that the young boy gave police.” Dworin: “We had served a search warrant to photograph Michael Jackson. Those photographs corroborated the description that the boy gave us regarding Michael Jackson’s genitals.” Mankiewicz: “The boy was able to describe discolorations of Jackson’s skin?” Dworin: “Yes.” Mankiewicz: “On his genitals, accurately.” Dworin: “Very much so.”
Source: nbcnews.com
Thomas Sneddon, the lead prosecutor in 2005, was happy to present the photographs and JC’s drawing in what was arguably one of the biggest court cases in US history. In his declaration, he states the following:
"Jordan Chandler described the coloration of and markings on defendant's body below his waistline and above his knees, including his penis, and drew a picture of defendant's erect penis, and that drawing, and photographs taken at a later date of defendant's body and his distinctively-marked penis." "I have reviewed the statements made by Jordan Chandler in his interview on December 1, 1993, I have examined the drawing made by Jordan Chandler at Detective Fernffino's request and the photographs taken of Defendant's genitalia. The photographs reveal a mark on the right side of Defendant's penis at about the same relative location as the dark blemish located by Jordan Chandler on his drawing of Defendant's erect penis. I believe the discoloration Chandler identified in his drawing was not something he could or would have guessed about, or could have seen accidentally. I believe Chandler's graphic representation of the discolored area on Defendant's penis is substantially corroborated by the photographs taken by Santa Barbara Sheriff's detectives at a later time."
Read the full declaration here.
Unless you believe that Thomas Sneddon was going to perjure himself, and throw his career and that of his colleagues in the rubbish bin by presenting photos and a description that was a complete mismatch, just to embarrass Jackson himself, it’s fair to say that JC’s description was at the very least a very strong match.
I’ve got a sneaky suspicion that Taj Jackson is going to claim that Jordan Chandler incorrectly stated Michael Jackson was circumcised, something that originates from Victor Gutierrez’s book, and a decade plus old article from the Smoking Gun website.
Taj Jackson states:
"Almost everything the public thinks it knows about Michael Jackson is wrong. For decades, the media has dealt in sensationalized stories about the King of Pop. Could you blame them? He is, quite simply, the biggest celebrity the world has ever known. Those sensationalized stories earned the media billions of dollars."
Yes, the media ran stories about Michael Jackson. Yes, some of those stories weren’t particularly pleasant. But Michael Jackson was undoubtedly an oddball. He even encouraged fake stories about himself, i.e. sleeping in a oxygen chamber, et cetera.
When Michael Jackson constantly changed his appearance through plastic surgery, and chose to spend hundreds of nights in bed with unrelated young boys, rather than forging normal relationships with women or men, that was never going to attract positive media attention. Is that really difficult to accept, Taj?
Taj Jackson states:
"Michael has been dead now for almost a decade, but many of the most damaging fake stories remain part of the public consciousness, causing continual damage to his legacy – not to mention his children, who have had to grow up watching the world embrace and perpetuate these horrific falsehoods. Tarnished again by HBO, Channel 4 and the Sundance Film Festival, all of whom have gone into business with two proven liars and purgers who are seeking to personally profit from already discredited abuse allegations."
Damage to his legacy? Well, perhaps Taj should be pointing the finger at his father, aunties, uncles and grandparents. If something was done about Michael Jackson’s unhealthy interest in young boys in the 80s or 90s, he probably wouldn’t have five allegations of child molestation against his name. If anybody else behaved the way Michael Jackson did, I really don’t think they would be exempt from scrutiny. Again, there’s no sympathy or acknowledgement from Taj Jackson concerning the complexity of child sex abuse, or how long it takes for genuine survivors to disclose abuse. Instead, he’s calling James and Wade proven liars and perjurer’s, which, as mentioned earlier, he believes they falsely denied being abused by his uncle. Bravo Taj.
Taj Jackson states:
"Equally, this series will not shy away from pointing the finger of blame for many of Michael's darkest hours where it truly belongs. It will reveal how Michael was betrayed, entrapped, extorted and abused throughout his life> You will hear the stories that the media never bothered to tell you about because of their obsessive preoccupation of mercilessly bullying and ridiculing him."
Again, why is Taj Jackson pointing the finger at others, but not his own family? It’s blatantly obvious that Michael Jackson had a barrage of problems, the biggest being his unhealthy interest in young boys. He talks about extortion, presumably referring to the 93, 2005 and current cases, but Jackson was never extorted, because extortion is a crime. Even ABC News, who first broke the extortion story presented by Anthony Pellicano in 93, openly admitted there was no extortion attempt, and that they had been duped by Jackson’s hired goon.
Was Michael Jackson abused? Maybe he was, in some shape or form, but you can also argue that he abused the trust of starstruck parents, who ended up giving him one-on-one access to their children. And when those parents became anxious, such as June Chandler, Jackson didn’t respect the norms of decency, but instead showered her with expensive gifts, in exchange for bedtime with her son. Isn’t that abuse?
Conclusion
Taj Jackson puts a lot of emphasis on his uncle, Michael Jackson, being one of the greatest entertainer of all time, but also one of the most persecuted. Taj even claims to be a “sexual abuse victim (from my uncle Chuck on my mom’s side of the family)” and knows “what it means to be a survivor”. But he endlessly attacks every single one of Michael Jackson’s accusers, and makes no single reference to the complexities of child sex abuse, or the number of nights Jackson spent behind closed doors with young boys, or how they kept returning. He doesn’t even acknowledge that his uncle did fit the profile of a paedophile, or that every single sex abuse case is unique in their own right.
I’m 100% positive that Taj Jackson has posted misleading statements within the description, and the broken the terms of GoFundMe.com in his quest for $777,000. Just the claim about the FBI, and James and Wade’s “bogus” cases being dismissed by the courts is blatantly false.
While it looks unlikely that Taj Jackson will reach that $777,000 target any time soon, he has in fact personally collected over $209,000, at the time of writing this article. According to GoFundMe, you don’t have to reach your target to receive the money, and every single donation will be paid to you, (minus fees) before and after the original target has been met. Another problem is exactly how that money will be spent. There is no independent source, that I’m aware of, who will monitor Taj Jackson and ensure the money is being spent correctly, or that it should even exist, considering the circumstances under which it has been collected.
Fraud on GoFundMe is supposedly rare, and the company claims: “fraudulent campaigns make up less than one tenth of one percent of all campaigns”. But after reporting Taj Jackson on 18 January, 2020, I received nothing more than a generic reply, thanking me for my report. To this date, no action has been taken against his campaign, which continues to receive donations most days.
Fraud on GoFundMe does appear to be a major issue. I came across a website called gofraudme.com, which exposes fraud and misuse on the platform. The owner of the website states, that GoFundMe can be flaky when it comes to taking action and removing fraudulent campaigns.
The problem with Taj Jackson campaign is that the majority of donors simply do not care whether they’ve been misled into donating money, and want nothing more than a series of pro-Jackson documentaries to salivate over. If tens of thousands of normal people had realised they’d been deceived into handing over tens of thousands of dollars, the campaign would have been removed months ago.
I’m probably not the first one to report the campaign, and hopefully I won’t be the last. I encourage anybody who reads this, to do the same and get this fraudulent campaign shutdown, not because your supporters of Jackson’s accusers, or don’t want to see a series of biased documentaries attacking the usual suspects, but because it clearly breaks the rules of GoFundMe, and makes a mockery of a genuine and honest campaigns.
You can report Taj Jackson campaign at the following link: gofundme.com/contact/suggest/fraud
The campaign URL is: gofundme.com/f/re-righting-history
Here’s a screenshot of Taj Jackson’s campaign on 6 February, when this blog post was first published: archive.ph/ZgYXg. This is just in case anything changes, or he tries to hide his misleading statements.
November 2020 update: It appears that Taj Jackson has significantly changed the description on his GoFundMe campaign. I'm not entirely sure when this happened, possibly last month (October 2020), and the campaign was even temporary paused, either by himself or GoFundMe. It's unknown whether GoFundMe stepped in due to the the misleading and fraudulent nature of the campaign, or whether Taj himself changed it to drum up more business. The campaign isn't exactly rocketing to its intended target of $777,000 and currently stands at $221,000, just a small increase since I made this post back in February. Despite being changed, the description still contains misleading statements, therefore its still a fraudulent campaign. If you have donated, please do the decent thing and report the campaign and get your money back. Everything quoted here was correct in February 2020.
MJ Not Innocent 