(PHOTO CREDIT: SHAREIF ZIYADAT/WIREIMAGE; CARLO ALLEGRI/GETTY)

Comedian Dave Chapelle stands behind Michael Jackson

At this year’s Video Music Awards, the name of the lifetime achievement awards, formerly the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, was changed to eliminate reference to Michael Jackson. Many believe it was part of the backlash against Jackson after the release of the Netflix Documentary Leaving Neverland, in which two men accused Jackson of molesting them as children.

However, inconsistencies in the victims’ stories emerged, and Netflix pulled the documentary in April. Now some stars, including comedian Dave Chappelle, are coming forward to defend Jackson’s memory and claim they don’t believe his accusers.

Chappelle upset many fans with a new comedy routine in which he mocks Jackson’s alleged victims and makes light of the accusations.

“I don’t think he did it, but you know what? Even if he did do it … you know what I mean?” Chappelle said during the routine. “I mean, it’s Michael Jackson. I know more than half the people in this room have been molested in their lives, but it wasn’t no god–n Michael Jackson, was it?”

Other celebrities, including rapper Ice-T and Todrick Hall, have expressed doubts about Jackson’s guilt.

“We don’t know if anything that’s been allegedly said [about Jackson] is actually fact or fiction. But I don’t think we should take away from Michael Jackson’s legacy,” Hall said on the red carpet at the 2019 VMAs.

Michael Jackson was formally tried on charges of child molestation in 2004. A jury acquitted him on all charges.