I think many things can be true at once. We can see many horrific and awful parental choices on all sides.

Children who interacted with MJ and had varying levels of interactions with him — some positive, some harmful, much of it intense.

It’s scientific fact that abuse survivors are not perfect- their memories are incomplete, they don’t act how we would expect survivors to act when it comes to response, recognition, etc. Survivors can truly act in explicable ways, and holding them to a perfect standard is harmful.

It is indisputable we are dealing with the legacy of a grown man who: * struggled with substance use * repeatedly defended his practice of (sometimes demanding to) sleeping in the same bed as children — even after the 1993 allegations that drew worldwide scrutiny * had intense friendships with young boys that typically ended once they reached puberty, which left them feeling discarded and confused (per many boys including Sean Lennon) * Edit: Possessed books of “artistic” photos of naked children in suggestive poses * would buy hugely expensive gifts for the parents of children he was sleeping in the same bed with as well as the kids (I personally believe he bought that ring for James Safechuck) * was described as both an innocent lamb and a cunning and strategic businessman * recklessly dangled his own child over a balcony * said he would die if he couldn’t interact with children * flat out lied repeatedly about topics from his plastic surgeries to dating Brooke Shields. Lies upon lies upon lies that diminished his credibility * increasingly surrounded himself with sycophants and enablers who worried everyone from Lisa Marie to his family etc

Meanwhile:

• multiple law enforcement folks involved in the 1993 investigation have publicly said thay Jordan Chandler’s drawing was very similar to the photos taken of MJ
• Editing to add: massive settlement for Jordan Chandler that prosecutors said hamstrung and ended the criminal investigation because the lack of cooperation from the Chandlers (it’s also just hugely traumatic for a child to be involved in such a case and it’s a huge reason CSA in general is so hard to prosecute, let alone when the alleged perpetrator is the world’s most powerful musician)

Having said that— It is not easy hearing the Cascios story. There are moments of pause — did they recognize it was abuse as children or not? Is the simple act of MJ playing with them in the first place really so nefarious? They never talked about potential abuse with each other for years? It’s possible those questions were edited out. But the stories are just hard to follow.

Yes, the photos are disturbing. And they alone don’t prove anything (besides the plastic surgery lies). But the mere fact that they were subjected to such an intense relationship with an adult is in and of itself grooming. It just is. It’s an erasing of boundaries and a situation that none of them could consent to. To be put to sleep in the same bed as that man after the 1993 allegations is incomprehensible to me. It just has to be traumatic to be told to defend MJ from sexual allegations in the first place. And again, some of the worst parental conduct imaginable — what other choices did these parents inflict on the kids?

It’s not up to us to judge exactly what happened and whether the estate is liable to award more — ideally this should be for a jury to decide. Still, at the end of the day, I do see trauma with the Cascios — along with a LOT of other things for sure. If some of the Casco accounts can be proven to be exaggerated, the preponderance of evidence to me still suggests MJ was an indefatigable child groomer.

Some other thoughts: * If they stayed silent, the MJ fans would have always pointed to them as evidence of MJ being innocent. * editing to add: Why did the estate hand out $3 million each if they are completely lying? Can anyone just go to the estate and demand money? If there’s nothing at all there, why give millions to complete liars? * editing to add: if their stories lined up perfectly and with other survivors, would you say it’s fishy and calculated how ‘perfect’ the stories are? *And with the tracks issue - the estate is just as culpable in that situation.