Michael Jackson statue removed from National Football Museum amid claims

A new documentary, being aired this week, features claims by two men who say they were s-xually ab-sed by the popstar.

A statue of Michael Jackson has been removed from the National Football Museum amid fresh sexual ab-se allegations against the late singer.

The museum in Manchester said the decision was part of “ongoing plans to better represent the stories we want to tell” and the sculpture will be put into storage.

It comes as a new documentary, being aired on Channel 4 this week, features claims by two men who say they were s-xually ab-sed by the pop superstar.

Jackson's songs have been pulled from some radio stations in Canada after the documentary aired.

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Two men say Jackson ab-sed them as children in a new documentary

The family and estate of Jackson – who died in 2009 – insist he is “100% innocent” and have called the film a “public lynching”.

The widely-mocked statue baffled football fans when it was installed outside Fulham’s ground Craven Cottage in 2011.

At the time, Fulham’s then-owner Mohamed Al Fayed claimed that Jackson was a supporter of the club and said anyone who did not like it could “go to hell”.

Following its decision to remove the statue, a National Football Museum spokeswoman told Sky News it had made “a number of changes to its exhibitions and objects on display over the last few months”.

“As part of our ongoing plans to better represent the stories we want to tell, we have made a decision to remove the Michael Jackson statue from display,” she added.

“It will be put into storage.”

The two-part documentary, called Leaving Neverland, features interviews with James Safechuck and Wade Robson, who allege they were sexually ab-sed by Jackson when they were children.

The singer’s brothers have spoken against the documentary but his sister Janet has stayed silent, with the family saying she does not want to give more “energy” to the allegations contained within it.

In an interview with Sky News, Jackson’s nephew Taj Jackson defended his uncle and said the star’s controversial behaviour was a result of him never having a full childhood.

He said the allegations, including claims that the singer “married” a 10-year-old boy, could have been “made up” and that his uncle was not alive to defend himself over it.