In our first post, we discussed how Wade Robson and his partners in crime are deliberately withholding evidence, or worse, getting rid of evidence and therefore denying the estate from a productive discovery. In this article we are going to review a 264-page-long document that was filed in support of the Estate’s motion.In the document there are 42 exhibits altogether however unfortunately, the majority of the exhibits are sealed. Nonetheless, what we can see already reveals some interesting things. The document includes a couple of emails between Wade Robson, his mother and other parties, extracts from both Wade and Joy Robson’s depositions, some email correspondence between Robson’s and the Estate’s lawyers regarding discovery matters, and a log file Robson’s lawyers provided of Robson’s emails that they consider privileged.
From Exhibits Robson Emails : https://www.scribd.com/document/336110667/Robson-Emails
From Exhibits Excerpts of Wade and Joy Robson Depositions: https://www.scribd.com/document/336110841/Robson-Deposition-Excerpts
Joy Robson: “Wow. None of that is true…”
In our article about the Estate’s motion to compel we already mentioned an email exchange between Wade Robson and his mother Joy Robson on February 15, 2016. In this email Wade Robson asks his mother about a story by a security guard to which Joy Robson replies “Wow. None of that is true…” This e-mail is included among the exhibits and now we can confirm that our suspicion that it was about Charli Michaels’ claims was correct. Moreover, it is the EXACT same story, almost verbatim, that Robson uses in his latest amended complaint filed in September 2016 as we have shown in our previous post. (Link)
You can see Joy Robson’s reply at the bottom of this page. Actually, it is: “Wow. None of that is true. Micha…” - and there the text is cut off.
The significance of it is, as we said in our article about the motion, that now this is proof about Wade Robson having no qualms about using stories in his court documents that he knows for a fact to be untrue. After all his mother told him in February 2016 that the story was not true, yet he included it in his amended complaint filed in September 2016.
It is also worth mentioning that, according to an email exchange between the Estate lawyers and Robson’s lawyers, these emails were never produced by Wade himself. The first time the email exchanges between Wade and his family members were discovered was when Joy, Shane and Chantal produced them.
We would very much like to see the rest of the e-mail Joy Robson sent to her son, just like the lawyers for Michael Jackson’s companies do, of course, but Robson’s side has still not provided it despite of his lawyer claiming otherwise in an e-mail dated November 4th, 2016. Wade provided 2 new pages however Estate state that Wade still did not provide Joy’s full response. Conveniently, Robson’s team claim that due to technical issues in Yahoo, Joy Robson is unable to find these e-mails as well.
(Note: It may be anecdotal but I have a Yahoo email account for over 10 years and I have never experienced the problems described by Finaldi above. When I go to my “Sent” folder the chains in threaded conversations are intact - whether the posts’ date before or after February 15, 2016. If you click on the header of an e-mail (the first line - in this case where Joy Robson says “Wow. None of that is true. Micha…”) it expands the full reply. If that header is there the full reply is there. At least that is my personal experience.)
Other e-mail exchanges between Wade and Joy Robson
From this document we are only able to see a couple of the e-mails between Wade Robson and his mother Joy Robson, but here are some interesting tidbits.
Remember that Michael first met the Robsons after Wade won a dance competition in Australia in 1987. Then a couple of days later they met with MJ again in his hotel room. Here is Wade’s testimony about it from 2005:
“I met him first when I was five years old. I think it was ‘87. And Michael was touring, he was doing the “Bad” tour. And I was imitating him as a dancer at that point. And he was holding these -- it was in connection with Target or something like that, holding these dance, like, contests all around wherever he traveled. So I entered one of the dance contests and ended up winning it, went on to the finals and won that, and then the prize was to meet Michael. So I met him after one of his concerts in Brisbane, Australia. And it was just like in a meet-and-greet sort of room. And we met, and I was in my whole, you know, “Bad” outfit and everything. He was sort of laughing and tripping out on my outfit and asked if I danced. I said, “Yeah.” And he asked me to perform with him in the show the next night. So after -- it was like the end of the concert, I pulled up, performed in the show with him. The next -- the next -- I think within the next couple of days, my mother and I went to visit him at his hotel room, and we stayed for a couple of hours. It was in Brisbane, Australia. Just talking about what I want to do. And then that was kind of it at first. And then for the next two years, we didn’t have any contact at all. And I continued pursuing my dance career in Australia. And then the company that I was with, the dance company, was traveling to America to do a performance at Disneyland. So we all went. Came out, did that performance. As I said, we’d had no contact with Michael or anything. Somehow my mother got in contact with Michael’s secretary at that time, who was Norma Stokes (sic).“
In an exchange from July 17, 2012 Wade is asking his mother about that meet-and-greet in MJ’s hotel room Australia and how it came about. Joy Robson answers:
This gets a new significance in 2016 because what Robson is trying to do now in his desperate attempt to portray MJ’s companies as some kind of child sex abuse maffia is to claim that the companies set up these dance competitions to lure unsuspecting children so that MJ can molest them. From Robson’s latest amended complaint:
But as we can see from Joy Robson’s e-mail after that initial superficial meeting it was never MJ who tried to keep in contact with the Robsons - it was always the other way around. Even back then in Australia when Wade and Joy Robson visited MJ’s hotel room it was initiated by the Robsons. How does that jive with the claim that it was “purposely orchestrated by MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures as a sexual grooming mechanism to acquire minor sexual abuse victims for Michael Jackson”?
Then for the next two years the Robsons did not even have any contact with Jackson and when they did again in 1990, it was again initiated by the Robsons as we discuss in detail in this article - addressing the outrageous suggestion by Robson’s lawyer that Michael Jackson organized this dance competition to lure children and also the lawyer’s untrue claims that “After that Michael Jackson kept in touch in communication with him by sending faxes and letters and gifts from MJJ Productions.”
Wade Robson, of course, knows this, since his mother told him in emails, as we have seen. In other words he makes allegations in his complaint that he knows to be untrue.
Most of the e-mails between Robson and his mother in this document are like this. Robson is asking his mother questions about the circumstances of their time together with MJ. As MJ’s side pointed out in their motion, Robson’s own independent memories of the events seem limited and he relies heavily on his mother.
Joy Robson Deposition: “I don’t consider that my business”
If Joy Robson ever reads Wade’s complaint she might wonder how stories she told him not to be true still ended up being used in them as Wade’s “truth”. But it is possible that she never even read all the things her son claims in his lawsuit. In her deposition that took place on September 30th, 2016, when she was asked about whether or not she has talked to her son about his lawsuit she answered: “Not really. I just… I don’t consider that my business.”
She does concede that Wade has been asking questions of her in emails, but her stance that this lawsuit is “none of her business” is very interesting considering the fact that if Wade’s allegations were true, she should have been the one bearing responsibility as well. Joy Robson was the one who, at times pretty aggressively, pursued this relationship with Michael Jackson, she also let her son sleep in MJ’s room, not just before but also after the Chandler allegations.
However, in these emails Wade Robson is asking his mother long checklists of questions, without any trace of emotion or unresolved issues between them being attached to the questions. Moreover, none of the questions nor the answers show any anger towards Michael as well. There is no emotion.
For example, Wade asks in a pretty lighthearted tone:: "How did it happen that I ended up staying with Michael and you guys went to the grand canyon?" "You guys came back to the ranch? And then the family left the ranch together?"
There is no accusatory tone, no blame, no anger, nothing like that when Wade Robson asks Joy Robson of an event that in the light of what he alleges now should be seen as gross negligence on the part of his mother (basically leaving him alone for days with a complete stranger) that allegedly lead to his sexual abuse. Instead, any responsibility assigned to his mother is completely missing from Robson’s lawsuit (as well as from these e-mails) and all through his court papers Joy Robson is only superficially mentioned as some distant bystander.
By the way, isn’t it funny that Wade Robson signs some of these e-mails as a “filmmaker” as in his complaint he claims he is "unable to continue performing and directing in any manner or capacity whatsoever" and that is his claim to why he should be compensated for lost future incomes?
Wade Robson Deposition: Wade’s Evolving Memory
Talking about memories, there is an interesting conversation about it in Wade Robson’s deposition as he says his memories have “evolved” throughout the process.
Our personal belief is that Wade has never had repressed or “evolving” memories of any kind. The examples above have shown that he has no qualms about using stories he knows to be false but of course, Wade has to explain some things with an “evolving” memory.
Having said that, it is important to note that the phenomenon Wade describes here is questionable to say the least. Memory experts would tell you that evolving memories are often suspect of being false memories. Here is how it works - pretty similar to what Wade describes here about others telling him details and those suddenly becoming a part of his own "memories". Link
We realize that about the alleged abuse itself he claims he never “lost” those memories, he just “compartmentalized” them and that it is not a case of repressed memories. Repressed memories have got a bit of a bad reputation in the past few years (too many false memories), so no wonder he is distancing himself from those.
Wade Robson Deposition : Other Tidbits
April 13, 2015 Wade Robson’s written thoughts - The last sentence says “It’s time for me to get mine!”. What do you meant by that Estate lawyer asks. Wade replies he doesn’t know/remember.
Wade refers to himself as “a master of deception” in one writing. Estate lawyer asks “do you believe you are a good liar”. Wade replies “I believe Michael taught me how to lie really well about the abuse I suffered at his hands”.
Wade believed his “story of abuse and its effects will make him relatable/relevant” as a teacher of Vedic meditation.
For a period of time Joy dissassociated from Michael and stopped him from communicating with her family. Estate asks what was the reason. Wade isn't sure but he believes it was something about Pepsi Commercial/ SuperBowl performance and Joy was upset about it.
Wade Shopping a Tell-All Book to Publishers
We already know from the motion to compel that Wade Robson was shopping a book in late 2012-early 2013, before he filed his lawsuit in May 2013. From these documents we get a glimpse into that process. In a privilege log Robson’s lawyers provided, we see 73 emails between Wade Robson, literary agent Alan Nevins and Robson’s lawyer Helen Yu between December 12,2012 and February 22, 2013. Safe to say these e-mails have to do with his book shopping.
In actuality, we do have an e-mail that Eddie Pletzak sent to Alan Nevins (both work at Renaissance Literary & Talent agency) on February 27, 2013 regarding Robson’s book. In that e-mail we can see Robson writing to Nevins and and enquiring about what publishers he contacted for his book. We see that Pan Macmillan and New American Library passed on the book and Harper Collins was still reading the draft at the time. In another email we also see that Wade Robson had a conference call with Harper Collins on January 2013.
Another lie uncovered: These emails contradicts Wade Robson’s claim in his deposition that no publishing house saw anything he wrote.
Now, here is the irony: During the now dismissed probate claim, Estate sent Robson interrogatories. One of the questions they asked was : "Aside from conduct by Michael Jackson personally, please identify all persons who engaged in any type of conduct that caused you to delay submitting, or petitioning to submit, a creditor's claim in these proceedings prior to May 1, 2013."
On August 27,2013, Robson replied:
So because of his alleged “imprisonment of the mind” he was not able to file a lawsuit prior to May 1, 2013, but he was perfectly able to shop a book and exchange over 70 e-mails about it with a literary agent and his lawyer Helen Yu. No wonder that he somehow “forgot” to mention this book during the probate case. Just like he “forgot” to mention his meetings with Estate executor John Branca in 2011 when he made claims about not knowing about the administration of the MJ Estate prior to March 4, 2013.
By the way, as we have seen from this e-mail Wade Robson has had a lawyer way before he met Henry Gradstein and Maryann Marzano on March 4, 2013. His long time entertainment lawyer and family friend, Helen Yu. Helen Yu was pretty much privy to Wade’s allegations way before March 4, 2013 - as she was helping him in shopping his book. On November 25,2009, just five months after Michael’s death Helen Yu posted an article about MJ Estate and Executors on her professional website (Source link: http://yuleseberg.com/news/2015/9/24/musical-artists-worth-more-dead-than-alive )
Doesn’t it seem to you that Yu is pretty much aware not only of the existence and administration of the MJ Estate but also keeps a close eye on its dealings? Seeing how close Wade Robson is with Yu and how much they email each other, including Yu’s involvement in Robson’s book shopping, it is very, very difficult to believe Robson’s claims that he did not know about the administration of the Estate before March 4, 2013.
The only reason we bring it up here again is to show how Robson will say just about anything he needs to say to get the monetary “reward” he wants. If he needs to say he did not know about the Estate (despite of evidence to the contrary) he will say that, if he needs to say his memories “evolve” he will say that, if he needs to say he lied under oath in 2005 he will say that, if he needs to say he is unable to work in film, dance and music any more (despite of him still doing so) because they so remind him of MJ he will say that, if he needs to say MJ’s companies are “the most sophisticated child sexual abuse procurement and facilitation organization the world has ever known” he will say that, if he needs to say Norma Staikos is a “madame” he will say that, if he needs to say Michael Jackson sexually abused him (despite of saying otherwise for over 25 years, including under oath at a criminal trial) he will say that, if in support of these claims he needs to use stories that he knows to be untrue he will do that. And so on and so forth. What kind of “truth” and “justice” you can get from a person like that?
Joy Robson’s book “A Mother’s Instinct”
The online tabloid Radar Online using this declaration document wrote a story saying that not only Wade Robson, but also his mother Joy Robson has been working on a tell-all book. The book is called “A Mother’s Instinct” and she was working on it in 2011. Radar Online manipulatively called its title “chilling” with obvious suggestions.
It is correct that Joy Robson was writing a memoir called “A Mother’s Instinct” in 2011. The context in which this book is mentioned in this declaration is simply the fact of its existence and nothing is indicated about its content. Therefore based on the court documents, there is no reason to believe that Joy Robson’s book includes anything against Michael Jackson (at least the version she was writing in 2011). It would be strange too, since Wade Robson’s claim is that he first realized and disclosed his alleged abuse in May 8, 2012 in therapy. The fact that Radar Online found this piece of information as the most important in this 264 page document and twisted it tells all you need to know about their reporting of this case.
In actuality, in 2011 Joy Robson contributed with stories to a positive book written by Jermaine Jackson and she also did not seem to have any problems with MJ in this interview she gave to the Infinite Dance Cast radio show at the time (at around 10:45-29:00) (Link: http://infinitedancecast.com/?p=193 )
In this interview she also mentioned the memoir she’s been working on as well as the meaning of the title:
Host: You're busy writing your memoirs.
Joy Robson: I am, I am. I actually started a couple of years ago and then we lost Michael and that was a tough year and then I lost my dad three months after that and I lost heart - but I'm back doing it again now. There's some stories in there... I called it ‘A Mother's Instinct’ because I talk about my decision to leave Australia and to come here and... we don't look 20 years ahead when we make these decisions, and it felt very right at the time, but now I'm looking back and asking questions "were the sacrifices worth all the success that We've had?"
By the way, throughout her e-mails Joy uses the nickname “Joey” and as you can hear in this above linked audio interview (from around 11 minutes) this is a nickname given to her by Michael Jackson.
Final Tidbits
Estate wanted more information about Robson Family’s history of mental illness as it is highly heritable.
Requests for production included any communications with Michael, any person acting on Michael’s behalf, Arvizo’s, Safechuck’s, Chandler’s, Francia’s.
Estate asked Robson if any other abuse claims were made by and/or against his family members. They also asked Wade if he claims to be abused by anyone else including the Johnny Young Talent School.
Our Reaction to Robson’s Damage Control
Soon after our article on DailyMichael, Robson’s team began their damage control round on tabloids like Radar Online and New York Daily News. Once again we are witnessing over the top lawyer arrogance. Wade’s lawyer, Vince Finaldi says that Wade has provided “every discoverable information he possesses.” Wait a minute - discoverable?
By this hasty response, we can probably predict their reply - any other information that wasn’t produced, is either privileged or no longer in Wade’s possession. Even if we assume this is true, it doesn’t change the fact that Wade multiple times stated under oath he produced all the discovery but when challenged by Estate he was able to find other items. Furthermore based on the arguments on the motion to compel, it is hard to believe any email exchange between Wade and his family, friends, or agents,will be considered privileged by law. Moreover, also by law, electronic versions of the documents including the metadata of these emails and book need to be provided.
Finaldi further complains/claims that the Estate is “intimidating a child abuse victim.” A single question has to be asked - how can one possibly see asking for discovery as intimidating? The only way a plaintiff, the person who filed the lawsuit, might be intimidated to show his original data, is if it can reveal his lawsuit is a sham. The child abuse victim intimidation act flew out of the window the moment it was revealed Wade started negotiating with agents and publishers regarding a tell-all book.