Children's museum removes Michael Jackson items following "Leaving Neverland" allegations
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis has removed three Michael Jackson artifacts from exhibits following the allegations made against him in the HBO documentary, "Leaving Neverland." The documentary features detailed allegations from two men who claim Michael Jackson sexually abused them when they were children.
According to the museum, Jackson's iconic fedora and white glove — purchased several years ago at auction for the museum's "American Pop" exhibit — have both been removed, as well as a signed poster from "The Power of Children" exhibit.
"As the world's largest children's museum, we are very sensitive to our audience," Kimberly Harms Robinson, director of media and public relations, told CBS News on Saturday. "In an excess of caution, and in response to the controversy over the HBO film called 'Leaving Neverland,' which directly involved allegations of abuse against children, we removed those objects while we carefully consider the situation more fully."
While the museum did remove the Jackson artifacts, several pictures of the musician remain on display in "The Power of Children" exhibit. According to the museum, they are part of a direct re-creation of Ryan White's room. The Indiana native became the poster child for HIV/AIDS in the U.S. in the 1980s after being denied admittance to school following an AIDS diagnosis.
"Ryan's family found Michael Jackson's kindness to them to be an important part of Ryan's story and the pictures of Michael displayed in that exhibit will always be an integral part of the Ryan White story," Harms Robinson said. "The poster was removed because it was not part of the original re-creation of Ryan's room."