Three of singer Michael Jackson’s nephews filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that a celebrity website defamed them by suggesting that their late uncle molested them.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Taj, TJ and Taryll Jackson against Radar Online. The plaintiffs are seeking $100 million in damages.
A Radar Online representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
The suit alleges that Radar Online “falsely accused plaintiffs of committing a felony by participating in the concealment of criminal activity on the part of Michael Jackson and of being bribed to do so.”
Jackson never abused his relatives, according to his nephews’ court papers.
“In fact, although plaintiffs are Michael Jackson’s nephews …none of them was ever sexually abused by Michael Jackson or ever had any sort of sexual contact with him,” the lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs never “did anything to conceal any criminal conduct of Michael Jackson” and never resisted any inquiries into such conduct, according to the suit filed by attorney Bert Fields.
The plaintiffs allege that Radar Online falsely stated that Jackson used “sexy photos of his nephews in their underwear to excite young boys.” The tabloid additionally published untrue statements that Jackson bought his nephews a “brand new car to shut them up” about his alleged criminal conduct, according to the lawsuit.
Jackson’s nephews have always believed in his innocence of all molestation allegations made against him, according to the lawsuit.
“They have never said or done anything to indicate otherwise,” the suit states. Jackson was acquitted in 2005 of charges that he molested an underage boy. The singer settled out of court in 1994 another claim in which he was accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy.
Jackson died in Los Angeles on June 25, 2009, at age 50 of an overdose of a powerful anesthetic administered as a sleep aid as he rehearsed for a series of concerts in London.
–City News Service