Grotesque new Michael Jackson allegations raise questions about his accusers so taboo they’re almost impossible to ask… but we must: MAUREEN CALLAHAN

Can Michael Jackson be both guilty and falsely accused?

On Sunday, 60 Minutes Australia aired the Cascio family’s incredible allegations: The four now-grown siblings say the late pop megastar considered them his ‘secret second family’, sexually abused each of them when they were children, and that none of them knew of the others’ abuse until recently.

Despite the mountain of evidence against Jackson in other cases, his claims are hard to believe.

The fifth Cascio sibling does not appear to have been profiled on 60 Minutes Australia because he is not part of this new lawsuit – even though Jackson’s estate was settled with all the siblings in 2020 without admitting any wrongdoing and was paid $16 million over five years.

(The fifth told The New York Times that legal reasons prevented him from joining his brothers in the case.)

Cascio’s parents also did not participate in this interview, but their mother Connie recently told GB News ‘I should have known but I didn’t. ‘Honestly, God knows I didn’t do that.’

Before we get into specific allegations here, it is possible that Jackson harassed the Cascio brothers. After all, Jackson’s own daughter, Paris, has reportedly grown closer to the family, believing the allegations and also believing that her father is a child molester.

As a source close to Paris told the Mail exclusively: ‘Paris has stayed in touch with the Cascio family and is particularly close to their mother Connie. There have been many heartfelt conversations between Paris and the Cascio family over the years, and based on these, Paris knows exactly what her father has done.’

On Sunday, 60 Minutes Australia aired the incredible claims of the Cascio family: four siblings who are now grown up and say the late pop megastar considers them his ‘secret second family’ (Pictured right to left: Eddie, Marie Nicole, Dominic and Aldo Cascio)

Jackson’s own daughter Paris (pictured) has reportedly become close to the Cascios family, believing the allegations and also believing her father is a child molester.

Lawyer Marty Singer, acting on behalf of Jackson’s estate, accused the Cascio family of “desperate extortion of money”.

The family interviewed none other than Oprah Winfrey in her self-titled program in December 2010, insisting that Jackson was not a pedophile and that he had never touched the children.

Oprah: ‘Were there any improprieties between you and Michael Jackson?’

Eddie, Frank and Marie Nicole, the three siblings revealed: ‘Never.’

The story of how Michael Jackson infiltrated the family is a strange one, even for a strange man.

Jackson first met his father, Dominic, at the Helmsley Palace hotel in New York City, where he frequently stayed; Dominic was the guest manager.

The fact that Dominic doesn’t seem to wonder why a world-famous, extremely rich, eccentric pop star who spends most of his time with young children would be friends with a middle-class man from New Jersey who works in the service industry is a testament to the power of immense fame and how blinding it can be.

Or why Jackson often showed up unannounced at their modest suburban home in the middle of the night to wake the children for pillow fights and playtime.

Or why Jackson’s chimpanzee, Bubbles, is often with him.

Or why he chose to spend the months after 9/11 living with the Cascios.

Or why he wants kids to go on world tours and meet heads of state and famous stars.

Jackson first met his father, Dominic (pictured, center in yellow), at the Helmsley Palace hotel in New York City, where he frequently stayed; Dominic was the guest manager.

The Cascio family interviewed none other than Oprah Winfrey on her self-titled program in December 2010, insisting that Jackson was not a pedophile and that he had never touched children.

Of course, it’s all extremely suspicious and scary. But now consider these claims that Cascios refutes:

• Michael drank Dominic Jr.’s urine when the boy was 12 years old.

• Dominic Jr. After his arrest on unrelated child molestation charges, he repeatedly punched Jackson in the arm at Jackson’s insistence ‘to show the world that he was being harassed by the police’, a charge for which he was acquitted.

• Eddie says Jackson continued to have sex with him into adulthood. So if Jackson was a pedophile, why didn’t Eddie ‘age’ like most of Jackson’s other alleged victims did?

• Marie Nicole’s allegations alleged that from the age of 12, Jackson would ask her to undress, look at her vagina, and masturbate in front of him.

Especially the last one is an unusual claim. Most of Jackson’s accusers are men, but there is also an unidentified woman who claims Jackson harassed her.

Jackson’s sister LaToya also claimed in her memoirs that Michael molested her as well; he later retracted this claim.

Also questionable is the demeanor of Aldo Cascio on 60 Minutes Australia, who appeared ready to cry. But no real tears come.

‘God, that was the worst thing to happen,’ Aldo says. ‘Imagine being a kid, a little kid going to school with a backpack, and the only thing on your mind is having sex with and abusing the world’s greatest entertainer, and you can’t say anything about it.’

Aldo’s voice is strained, his facial expression is miserable, but the tears he’s trying to suppress aren’t there.

For those who might say this is too cynical: There’s nothing, nothing, that’s what television producers love more than extreme emotion. Aldo is shot in close-up here.

If he could actually cry – at any point in the interview – we would have seen it.

Also: The Cascios lived in a very modest house. How come they couldn’t hear or see anything inappropriate?

Aldo’s voice is strained, his expression is distraught, but the tears he’s trying to suppress aren’t there (Image: 60 Minutes Australia’s Aldo Cascio)

We would’ve seen it if Aldo actually cried at any point in his interview

How is it that five siblings close in age all say they were abused by Jackson at the same time, but neither says anything to the other over the decades that the abuse took place — until the 2019 documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’, which features two credible accusers?

Jackson estate attorney Singer also told the New York Times:[t]HE [Cascio] His family staunchly defended Michael Jackson for more than 25 years, proving his innocence of inappropriate behavior. ‘This new court filing is a transparent forum shopping tactic in Michael’s plans to extract hundreds of millions of dollars from his properties and companies.’

Apparently, such risks were at play when the Jackson family decided to greenlight the ‘Michael’ biopic, which is currently a blockbuster and deliberately ends before Jackson is accused of child molestation.

Those are the risks going forward, with the Jackson estate certainly making plans for a sequel, against the backdrop of another child molestation trial scheduled for the fall.

There is only one reason to hope that what the Cascios claim is indeed true; Because if they are lying, they will have started the fight for real survivors of abuse decades ago.