3:02 PM PT -- John Branca, the co-executor of the Michael Jackson Estate, tells us, "We agree with Dave Chappelle - these guys are damn liars. After years of exploiting Michael’s generosity, they waited until he was gone and unable to defend himself before accusing him. They did this in secrecy. They did not do any independent investigation."
He continues, "They did not verify the stories. They didn’t talk to anyone because they did not want another side. This isn’t R. Kelly – there are no videos. This isn’t Harvey Weinstein, there aren’t multiple accusers."
Finally, Branca says, "They interviewed only two guys out of the thousands who visited Neverland – oh, and surprise surprise - they are the only two with lawsuits for hundreds of millions of dollars. Why wasn’t their financial interest disclosed? The whole documentary is bogus. Robson and Safechuck are liars and they know the truth, which is why Dave’s comedy touched a nerve."
10:27 AM PT -- James Safechuck has come out strong against Chappelle too, adding, "I'm heartbroken for all those children who look to see how they will be received when they finally find the courage to speak out about their sexual abuse. I just want to reach out to other survivors and let them know that we can't let this type of behavior silence us. Together we are strong."
9:57 AM PT -- Wade Robson's firing back at Chappelle, telling TMZ ... "He can say whatever he wants. It reveals him, not us."
Wade's lawyer, Vince Finaldi, adds ... "Although Mr. Chappelle is entitled to his opinions, however misinformed they may be, it’s unfortunate that he has chosen to use his platform to shame sexual abuse victims, and spread his ignorance of sexual abuse and the way it is perpetrated upon children, in an attempt to resurrect his career."
Finaldi continues ... "Mr. Chappelle should look to fellow comedian Hannibal Buress, who instead used his platform as a mode of social change, by addressing the injustice of Bill Cosby’s alleged sexual abuse of many women head on when no other comedian would, as an example of positive work done from a place of intestinal fortitude.”
Dave Chappelle has worked Michael Jackson back into his stand-up -- and he's flat-out rejecting claims made by the accusers.
DC's new comedy special, 'Sticks & Stones,' just dropped on Netflix, and Dave had a few things to say about our society -- namely, celebrity cancel culture ... which he kicked off by defending MJ, saying he doesn't believe Wade Robson and James Safechuck ... the 2 accusers featured in the HBO doc.
Dave flat-out says, "I don't believe these motherf***ers" after describing part of their allegations in "Leaving Neverland" in graphic detail, calling the scenario "gross."
Chappelle doesn't get into exactly why he doesn't believe them, but he does jokingly note that he's a classic "victim-blamer" ... saying that if he'd heard Michael molested the kids, he'd wonder ... "Well, what were those kids wearing at the time?"
Dave goes on to joke ... IF Michael did in fact sexually abuse Wade and James, they should've felt honored and used it as bragging rights.
He also cracks ... "I know it seems harsh, but somebody's gotta teach these kids -- no such thing as a free trip to Hawaii. He's going to want to look at your butthole or something." Dave used a similar premise to joke about MJ in 2004, almost beat for beat.
Dave touched on A LOT of other topics pertaining to cancel culture (there's no shortage of content these days) ... taking time to defend Kevin Hart's LGBTQ moment ahead of the Oscars this year, going to bat for Louis C.K. again ... and addressing R. Kelly.
You might recall ... the producer for the Lifetime docuseries "Surviving R. Kelly" told the media that Dave had refused to participate in her project. He sets the record straight though.
He says Dream Hampton casually asked him about appearing on 'Surviving' once, and never brought it up again ... which he completely forgot about until he saw her parading his name around in the press, suggesting he was hiding from the controversy.
Dave says it straight-up -- the only reason he didn't come on to talk about the troubled singer is because, "I don't know this n**** at all." Got it, thanks Dave.
Originally published -- 6:58 AM PT