Peter Andre defends role in Michael Jackson musical on the West End
Peter Andre has defended joining the West End Michael Jackson musical Thriller Live in the wake of sexual abuse allegations about the late singer.
Earlier this year, documentary Leaving Neverland was released, which highlighted accusations by Wade Robson and James Safechuck that Jackson sexually abused them as children. Jackson's estate has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Speaking on today's (October 23) Good Morning Britain, Andre spoke about his decision to appear in the musical for a two-week run in December, despite the allegations.
"I have always said that we've got to keep the music separate," he said. "The reason I say that, one reason is because if you're going to go there and say you can't listen to the music because there's allegations, you've got to think, 'Do you listen to the music pre any supposed allegations?' Where do you go with it?
"Someone was listening to Rihanna the other day and there was Michael Jackson in the song, and she was telling me she was unsure about listening to Michael Jackson, but she was listening to Rihanna who had a whole Michael Jackson song. So where do you draw that line? The other thing is this show is about the music."
He continued: "I always have to say that they are allegations.
"A friend of mine who loved R Kelly as much as they loved Michael Jackson, will not listen to R Kelly because they saw video footage, evidence, whatever the documentary was.
"I think that might be where the difference is, is this is still based on allegations. It doesn't mean there's no truth in it or you can in any way ignore it. But we're not at that point where we know what happened. I love the music, this is all about the music."
Andre briefly appeared in the documentary in background footage of a competition that was won by Robson in 1987.
Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contactRAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.
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