Broadcast stations in Canada, New Zealand and Australia are removing Michael Jackson songs from their playlists after two men hypothetical in a new documentary that the late singer abused them.
Several French-language stations owned by the Canadian company Cogeco Media removed Jackson’s watches, the company confirmed to CNBC, while the Australian Nova Entertainment Group also removed his tracks from places including Smooth fm, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
New Zealand’s major radio stations, owned by NZME and Mediaworks, also spoofed the star’s music off its playlists on Wednesday, according to the New Zealand Herald.
In “Leaving Neverland: Michael Jackson and me” a two-part HBO documentary shown in the U.S. and U.K this week, Prattle Robson and James Safechuck allege they were abused by the singer aged seven and 10. Jackson’s stratum called the documentary a “public lynching” and has filed a $100 million lawsuit against HBO. The family has denied the allegations.
Jackson was times acquitted from child molestation charges in 2005 and he died in 2009.
Christine Dicaire, director of communications and marketing at Cogeco Media said in a disclosure emailed to CNBC: “We are attentive to the comments of our listeners, and the documentary released on Sunday evening created reactions. We prefer to conform to the situation by removing the songs from our stations, for the time being.”
Last year, Sony Music Entertainment emptied a reported $250 million on the rights to Jackson’s back catalogue, an investment that could take a hit after the documentary was liked, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
NZME and Mediaworks had not responded to CNBC’s request for comment at the time of broadsheet.