Michael Jackson's Defense Attorney Slams New Netflix Documentary: ‘The Timing Is Suspicious'

Netflix's brand-new Michael Jackson docuseries, Michael Jackson: The Verdict, was released on June 3, and it took no time at all for the new release to become divisive. As the title suggests, Michael Jackson: The Verdict centers on Jackson's real-life, highly public trial that spanned 14 weeks in 2005.

The trial saw Jackson accused of a range of serious crimes, including child molestation, false imprisonment, supplying alcohol to a minor and others. After a long, intense trial, Jackson was acquitted of all charges. However, as is often true, the court of public opinion is another matter. More than 20 years later, debates remain regarding whether Jackson was truly not guilty of these accusations.

Michael Jackson: The Verdict seems to skew towards the opinion that Jackson was actually guilty, which has led to review bombing (it currently has a jaw-dropping 6% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes) as well as backlash online.

Now, Jackson's defense attorney from the 2005 trial, Thomas Mesereau, has weighed in as well, condemning the docuseries, particularly due to the timing of its release, which comes a little over a month after the theatrical release of the very well-received biopic Michael.

Speaking to Piers Morgan, Mesereau said, "This is a very joyous time for supporters and lovers of Michael Jackson. The biopic is setting all kinds of records, his memorabilia is selling all over the world, his music is streaming all over the world. Even his book Moonwalk is flying off the shelves...Why do we need a documentary in the middle of this that goes back 21 years in a case where he was completely exonerated?"

He continued, "The jury deliberated for eight days; they had seen almost five months of testimony. They had been in trial five days a week during those five months. They deliberated eight days, and they came back with not guilty on every felony count and every misdemeanor count. 14 times they said not guilty. He was totally exonerated."

Implying that the docuseries was meant to undercut the positive response to Michael, Mesereau added, "So why are we going through a documentary on this? What's the point? I don't think we need a documentary on this. I think there have been enough...The timing is suspicious, and I don't think we need another documentary on this."

Mesereau also listed the demographics and careers of the jurors, suggesting that this would not have been a jury that was biased in Jackson's favor. Some of those jurors included "two women who had experienced molestation in their own family," "a retired school principal with a master's degree in counseling," "a head of a local social services agency who had been married to a police officer," a journalist and others.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available 24 hours a day through RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 7:04 AM.