Advertisement

Sheryl Crow admits she saw 'strange' things as Michael Jackson's backing singer

Sheryl Crow became close friends with Michael Jackson after they met in the 1980s. (Photo: AP/Sanford Myers/Danny Moloshok)
Sheryl Crow became close friends with Michael Jackson after they met in the 1980s. (Photo: AP/Sanford Myers/Danny Moloshok)

Grammy-winning singer Sheryl Crow has admitted she was left with “a lot of questions” after witnessing “really strange” things during her friendship with Michael Jackson.

The 57-year-old worked with Jackson as a backing singer during the era he is accused of abusing James Safechuck and Wade Robson, who came forward with their allegations in two-part documentary Leaving Neverland.

Crow sang backing vocals for Jackson on his Bad tour and appeared in the music video for his 1988 track Dirty Diana.

Read more: Facts about Jackson abuse allegations

Crow told the Daily Telegraph that she had yet to watch the documentary, which left viewers on both sides of the Atlantic shocked when it aired earlier this year.

VARIOUS, VARIOUS - JUNE 25:  Sheryl Crow and Michael Jackson perform during the "BAD" Tour circa 1988.  (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
Sheryl Crow and Michael Jackson perform during the "BAD" Tour circa 1988. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

She said: “I don’t want to see it. I was around for some things that I thought were really strange and I had a lot of questions about.”

Crow described working with Jackson as a “crazy experience” at the beginning of her career.

“He was the biggest star of a generation and I got to sing a duet [I Just Can’t Stop Loving You] with him every night for 18 months,’ she said.

“He was very exacting and the shows were very rote – the polar opposite of the kind of spontaneous gigs I do now.

Sheryl Crow performs on the third day of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Friday, June 28, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Sheryl Crow performs on the third day of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Friday, June 28, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

“But I had never been out of the US before and suddenly I was on stage in Japan, then we were all running around Disneyland Tokyo in the middle of the night like a bunch of 12-year-olds.”

Leaving Neverland, directed by British filmmaker Dan Reed, provoked controversy when it was first released and has since inspired a counter-documentary by the Jackson family.

Wade Robson, from left, director Dan Reed and James Safechuck pose for a portrait to promote the film "Leaving Neverland" during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)
Wade Robson, from left, director Dan Reed and James Safechuck pose for a portrait to promote the film "Leaving Neverland" during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)

Reed has since revealed his desire to make a sequel to the film, profiling additional accusers.

Read more: Simpsons creators pull Jackson episode

Sexual abuse allegations against Jackson first arose in 1993 and he was acquitted in 2005 of seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor with alcoholic drinks.

Jackson died in 2009, aged 50, as a result of an overdose of medication.

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK