(Photo Credit: PR Photos)
Was Michael Jackson an abuser of animals who beat on his beloved pet chimpanzee Bubbles? According to several witness and one of the world’s most foremost primatologists — yes, he was!
Dame Jame Goodall says she is certain the late King of Pop punched Bubbles in the face and kicked the defenseless animal in the stomach while living at his Neverland ranch.
Jackson adopted Bubbles from an animal trainer in the late ’80s, but sadly, as noted by nme.com, despite appearing to live a pampered life, Goodall claims the chimp was frequently attacked. She says Jackson even snapped at her when she personally mentioned the animal abuse to him.
“I went to see him and we talked about Bubbles. I ticked him off,” she previously told TMZ. “Bubbles is still alive and he’s beautiful. But when he was with Michael he was being beaten.”
Goodall didn’t specifically say that Jackson was responsible for the abuse, but others reportedly alleged to have witnessed the attack.
Jack Gordon, the ex-husband of La Toya Jackson, says he saw MJ physically harming the chimp.
“I saw Michael punch Bubbles in the face, kick him in the stomach,” claimed Gordon.
35-year-old Bubbles is now residing at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida after Jackson gave him away in the mid 1990s.
This latest controversy comes on the heels of the Sundance premiere of “Leaving Neverland.” An HBO documentary that explores the child sex abuse allegations from Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who both claim Jackson molested them as children.
Jackson’s family have dismissed both of their allegations.
“Now that Michael is no longer here to defend himself, Robson, Safechuck and their lawyers continue their efforts to achieve notoriety and a payday by smearing him with the same allegations a jury found him innocent of when he was alive,” the family’s statement read.
