Amid the rollout of the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, sexual assault allegations involving the late singer have resurfaced.
Some of Jackson’s accusers, a group of siblings who previously denied being his victims, gave an interview sharing details of the King of Pop’s alleged abuse for the first time.
In a profile by The New York Times published this week, the five Cascio siblings, part of what was dubbed Jackson’s “second family,” reflected on the alleged events that drove four of them to file a sexual assault lawsuit against the singer’s estate in February. (The fifth, Frank, told the newspaper that he also had been abused, but was barred for legal reasons from joining the suit with his siblings).
The siblings, composed of Edward, Dominic Jr., Marie-Nicole, Aldo, and Frank, claimed to have been groomed by the Thriller artist for over twenty years, although they denied an inappropriate relationship on a 2010 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Aldo, now 35, claimed that he was 7 years old when Jackson allegedly began performing oral sex on him. As a result, he said, he came to think, “I’m going to live to die.”
Aldo also claimed that Jackson would use code word “Disneyland” in reference to sex, and that the abuse happened repeatedly, including just days before Jackson’s 2009 death. The 13-time Grammy winner died from acute propofol intoxication and his death was ruled a homicide in 2011, with Dr. Conrad Murray being sentenced to four years in prison, although he was released after serving two years.
Other graphic allegations include Marie, now 37, claiming that she was 12 when she was first allegedly assaulted by Jackson inside her family home. The woman alleged that the singer would masturbate after requesting that she spread her legs while nude. Dominic, 39, alleged that he was 8 years old when Jackson forced them to lie naked together and would masturbate while the then-child would suck and stimulate his nipples. It was after watching 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland that the family decided to move forward legally.
Marty Singer, an attorney for the Jackson estate, has alleged that the Cascios are engaging in a “desperate money grab.” The family reached a settlement with the estate in 2020 after claiming abuse and received $16 million in total over the course of five years. In 2025, the family sought additional compensation, which has erupted into a legal battle.
