File:Michael Jackson with James Safechuck (39932407503).jpg

This photograph was used in the documentary LEAVING NEVERLAND. ______________________________________________

Michael Jackson is seen here on the balcony of his suite at the Kahala Hilton Hotel in early February 1988. He is standing on the balcony with James ("Jimmy") Safechuck, and Jimmy's mother.

The boy, Jimmy Safechuck, had appeared in a Pepsi commercial with Michael and was traveling with him. He was sexually abused by Michael Jackson between 1988 and 1992 according to the documentary LEAVING NEVERLAND. The sexual abuse began in early June of 1988 in a Paris hotel room, about 4 months after this photograph was taken

Michael and Jimmy Safechuck were inseparable around the hotel together, chasing each other, playing tag, making soap bubbles on this balcony of the hotel, walking closely on the beach together and looking at the hotel's dolphins, turtles and penguins together. They dressed identically in red shirts and black pants.

Michael, though 29 1/2 years old at the time, acted more like someone Jimmy's age. Jimmy is about 10 years old at this time.

Michael and Jimmy were staying at the Kahala Hilton Hotel (today called Kahala Resort) and I saw them 7 different times around the hotel over 3 days.

Michael was in Hawaii to make an appearance at a Pepsi bottlers convention that was taking place at another hotel 15 minutes away, the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel, a 30-story hotel located in the heart of crowded and touristy Waikiki Beach.

This was four years after Michael's scalp was burned during the filming of a Pepsi commercial, two years after he was diagnosd with vitiligo, a skin condition, one month before he finalized the purchase of the land that would become Neverland, and four months before he began sexually molesting Safechuck according to the documentary Leaving Neverland.

Michael was extremely sweet and nice to us, and we talked to him for about 15 minutes on night around the pool area. He asked us where we were from and told us he was going to be touring in Europe later in the year. When I saw him and asked for this picture he said "They'd be mad if they knew I was out here" which I assumed meant he had sneaked out of the hotel away from his security and that they would be upset if they knew he had ventured out alone. But there was nobody out around the pool and animal area but he and Jimmy, myself and my friend's Jack and Don. Just the 5 of us, so he was in no danger of getting mobbed. Still, he didn't want to attract attention.

Scanned from the original 35MM film negative.