![\"Entertainment](\"https:\/\/www.digitalmusicnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MJ-Cascio-Arbitration-1024x546.jpg\" "\\"Entertainment\\"")
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Photo Credit: Gabrielle Henderson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Entertainment In the entertainment world, the newly released Michael <\/em>might be poised<\/a> to break box office records. But in the courtroom, the Michael Jackson estate has moved to compel arbitration in the ugly sexual abuse complaint filed by multiple Cascio family members.<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe King of Pop\u2019s estate just recently made its arbitration push official, about two months after the lawsuit set sail. As we reported then<\/a>, the Cascio sibling plaintiffs accused Jackson of being \u201ca serial child predator who\u2026drugged, raped, and sexually assaulted each of\u201d them.<\/p>\nThe shocking claims marked a major shift for the filing parties, who\u2019d stood by Jackson \u2013 including by expressly refuting different allegations against him \u2013 for decades. Various interviews described them as the \u201cThriller\u201d artist\u2019s \u201csecond family,\u201d and Jackson even appeared in Cascio home videos<\/a>.<\/p>\nIt probably doesn\u2019t need saying given the \u201csecond family\u201d billing as well as the new lawsuit, but the situation involves a number of moving parts. <\/strong><\/h4>\nPublished in tandem with\u00a0the premiere of\u00a0Michael<\/em>, a fresh New York Times<\/em> deep dive<\/a> explores what brought about the \u201csecond family\u201d arrangement, the nature of the alleged abuse, and more \u2013 besides reiterating plaintiff Eddie Cascio\u2019s sale of the rights to three (purportedly<\/a>) Jackson-recorded tracks.<\/p>\nAdditionally, the plaintiffs acknowledged receiving $3.45 million apiece as part of a 2020 agreement with the Jackson estate \u2013 albeit while alleging that they\u2019d been misled into putting pen to paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad Plaintiffs understood the full meaning of the Document, they would not have signed it,\u201d according to the suit.<\/p>\n
On the other end of the dispute, the Jackson estate vehemently denied the claims, downplaying the 2020 settlement as a \u201creluctant\u201d step taken to prevent other \u201cfalse allegations\u201d from making a post-Leaving Neverland <\/em>media splash. <\/strong><\/h4>\n
The shocking claims marked a major shift for the filing parties, who\u2019d stood by Jackson \u2013 including by expressly refuting different allegations against him \u2013 for decades. Various interviews described them as the \u201cThriller\u201d artist\u2019s \u201csecond family,\u201d and Jackson even appeared in Cascio home videos<\/a>.<\/p>\n Published in tandem with\u00a0the premiere of\u00a0Michael<\/em>, a fresh New York Times<\/em> deep dive<\/a> explores what brought about the \u201csecond family\u201d arrangement, the nature of the alleged abuse, and more \u2013 besides reiterating plaintiff Eddie Cascio\u2019s sale of the rights to three (purportedly<\/a>) Jackson-recorded tracks.<\/p>\n Additionally, the plaintiffs acknowledged receiving $3.45 million apiece as part of a 2020 agreement with the Jackson estate \u2013 albeit while alleging that they\u2019d been misled into putting pen to paper.<\/p>\n \u201cHad Plaintiffs understood the full meaning of the Document, they would not have signed it,\u201d according to the suit.<\/p>\nIt probably doesn\u2019t need saying given the \u201csecond family\u201d billing as well as the new lawsuit, but the situation involves a number of moving parts. <\/strong><\/h4>\n
On the other end of the dispute, the Jackson estate vehemently denied the claims, downplaying the 2020 settlement as a \u201creluctant\u201d step taken to prevent other \u201cfalse allegations\u201d from making a post-Leaving Neverland <\/em>media splash. <\/strong><\/h4>\n