Peter Andre has defended his decision to sing the hits of Michael Jackson in the West End show, Thriller - Live.
The singer and reality star confirmed he will join the show for two weeks, but insisted it is “all about the music”.
Earlier this year, Jackson, who died in 2009, was accused of sexually abusing Wade Robson and James Safechuck when they were young boys in the 90s.
After the allegations were made in the documentary Leaving Neverland, some radio stations issued blanket bans on Jackson’s songs.But on Wednesday’s Good Morning
Britain, Peter says people should focus on the
music and put the allegations to one side.
“I have always said that we’ve got to keep the music separate,” he said. “The reason I say that, one is because if you’re going to go there and say you can’t listen to the music because there’s allegations, do you listen to the music pre any supposed allegations, where do you go with it?
“Someone was listening to
Rihanna the other day and there was a sample of a Michael Jackson song, and she was telling me she was unsure about listening to Michael Jackson. So where do you draw that line?”
He added: “This show is about the music. I always have to say that they are allegations.
“A friend of mine who loved R Kelly as much as they loved Michael Jackson, will not listen to R Kelly because they saw video footage, evidence, whatever the documentary was.
“I think that might be where the difference is, is this is still based on allegations. It doesn’t mean there’s no truth in it or you can in any way ignore it. But we’re not at that point where we know what happened.
“I love the music, this is all about the music.”The Jackson estate have vehemently denied Robson and Safechuck’s claims, describing Leaving Neverland as a “public lynching”.
Jackson’s legions of fans - and some of his famous friends - have continued to speak out in support of the late singer.
Earlier this year,
Madonna insisted “people are innocent until proven guilty” when she was asked about the allegations. She told
British Vogue: “I don’t have a lynch-mob mentality, so in my mind, people are innocent until proven guilty.
“I’ve had a thousand accusations hurled at me that are not true. So my attitude when people tell me things about people is, ‘Can you prove it?’”
Asked what would constitute proof of Jackson’s guilt, she replied: “I don’t know, I haven’t seen the film. But I guess it would be people recounting actual events – but then, of course, people sometimes lie.
“So I always say, ‘What’s the agenda? What do people want out of this? Are there people asking for money, is there some kind of extortion thing happening?’ I would take all of those things into consideration.”CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Peter Andre would be playing Michael Jackson in Thriller - Live. He will only be singing the hits of Michael Jackson in the show. We are happy to correct this.READ MORE: 10 Years After His Death, Michael Jackson’s Complicated Legacy Is Dividing His Biggest Fans Elton John Calls Michael Jackson A 'Disturbing Person To Be Around' Corey Feldman Says He Can 'No Longer Defend' Michael Jackson Following Leaving Neverland Broadcast