Wade Robson

Wade Jeremy William Robson (born 17 September 1982) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He began performing as a dancer at age five, and has directed music videos and world tours for pop artists such as NSYNC and Britney Spears. Robson was the host and executive producer for The Wade Robson Project, which aired on MTV in 2003. In 2007, he joined the Fox television dance series So You Think You Can Dance as a guest judge and choreographer.

Wade Robson
Born (1982-09-17) 17 September 1982[1]
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Occupation
  • Dancer
  • choreographer
  • film director
  • producer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Years active1989 (1989)–present
Spouse(s)
Amanda Rodriguez
(
m. 2005)
[2]
Children1
AwardsPrimetime Emmy Award 2007, 2008 Outstanding Choreography
2007 So You Think You Can Dance
Outstanding Choreography
2008 So You Think You Can Dance
Musical career
Genres
Labels
  • MJJ
  • Wade Robson Creations
Associated actsQuo
Websitewaderobsoncreations.com

Robson was befriended by singer Michael Jackson as a child. When Jackson was first charged with child sexual abuse, Robson testified at Jackson's trial, that Jackson never abused him. In 2013, he reversed that position, saying that Jackson had abused him consistently from when he was seven until he was aged fourteen. His allegations, and those of James Safechuck, are the subject of the documentary Leaving Neverland (2019).

Career

Early career

Robson was in a talent troupe called Johnny Young's Talent School, and the group did 14 shows a week, usually at venues like shopping malls. When he was nine, Robson moved to the United States with his mother and sister. Michael Jackson assisted them in the move and recruited Robson to appear in three music videos: "Black or White", "Jam", and "Heal the World".[3]

At the age of 11, Robson had an agent. Along with friend DeWayne Turrentine, he formed the hip-hop duo Quo and by the end of the year released an album on Jackson's MJJ Music label[4] through Epic/SME Records. The following year, he was teaching dance classes in Hollywood.[3] He formed a troupe of dancing children, which performed internationally.[5] He received his first choreography job for the R&B group Immature at 14. The job led to others for artists such as Britney Spears. Clients were sometimes reluctant to take direction from Robson, a self-described "skinny little white kid".[3] When Spears first interviewed Robson to choreograph her tour, she exclaimed, "He's a friggin' baby!"; she had expected him to be in his 30s or 40s.[4]

During the late 1990s, while still a teenager, Robson choreographed Spears's Pepsi commercials, including one which aired during the 2001 Super Bowl. He choreographed the performance by NSYNC and Spears at the 1999 Video Music Awards and he co-directed Spears's 1999–2000 world tours as well as NSYNC's 2000 No Strings Attached Tour. In 2001, he choreographed Spears' I'm a Slave 4 U video and was choreographer and director of NSYNC's 2001 PopOdyssey Tour. In the NSYNC music video "Pop", Robson had to fill in for NSYNC member Joey Fatone during several of the dance sequences because of an injury that Fatone sustained at an NSYNC concert the night before the video shoot. That same year, he directed Spears's Dream Within a Dream Tour.

Robson and NSYNC's Justin Timberlake partnered in 2001, co-writing the hit singles "Pop", "Gone", and "See Right Through You" on NSYNC's final album Celebrity. Robson had initially written "Celebrity" for his own album, but was persuaded to let NSYNC record it instead. They also co-wrote Britney Spears' "What It's Like to Be Me", on which Timberlake sang backing vocals. The song's copyright is held jointly by Robson's and Timberlake's respective companies, WaJeRo Sound and Tennman Tunes.

Professional career

Robson was the creator and host of MTV's The Wade Robson Project, a talent search competition for hip-hop dancers.[6] The program was sponsored by Juice Batteries.[7] In 2002, Robson was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch".

Dance clothing company Power T Dance developed a line of name-brand consumer dance shoes with Robson. The shoes were distributed in the U.S. through the Ralph Libonati Co.[8] Robson appeared as himself in the 2004 urban dance film You Got Served, which won Best Dance Sequence (Feature Film) at the 2004 American Choreography Awards.[9] Robson has joined several other choreographers such as Mia Michaels and Shane Sparks on the PULSE Tour, a series of nationwide weekend workshops designed to give dancers the chance to train under top choreographers.[10]

Dancers from So You Think You Can Dance (Season 2) performing the Zombie dance or the "Ramalama (Bang Bang)" which won Wade his first Emmy in 2007

In 2007, Robson began choreographing the American Idols LIVE! Tour. He also choreographed both group and partner pieces for the second and third seasons of So You Think You Can Dance. In September 2007, Robson was awarded a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for the dance number "Ramalama (Bang Bang)" on (Season 2) of So You Think You Can Dance.[11] The choreography continues to be one of the show's more memorable group performances to date.

Robson was awarded his second Primetime Emmy Award in 2008 on Season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance for the jazz routine "Humming Bird and the Flower". The performance was lauded by the show's executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who called it "absolutely genius, brilliant, and one of those routines that we will remember on this series for a very long time."[12]

Robson and his wife Amanda were hired by Britney Spears to direct and choreograph The Circus Starring Britney Spears. When asked about working on the tour, Robson said, "My wife and I are co-writing it and designing it. I'll choreograph probably a third of it and I'll hire other choreographers for different sections. We're in the midst of that."[13] Rehearsals were set to begin in January 2009, however Robson and his wife were ultimately replaced by Jamie King. Spears's representatives explained that Robson was only hired to choreograph the promotional tour for Circus, which ended in Japan in December 2008.[14][15]

Robson choreographed the animated feature film Happy Feet Two, released in 2011. He originally was set to direct Step Up Revolution, (released in 2012), but dropped out of the project for personal reasons. He was replaced by Scott Speer.[16]

Relationships

General

Robson dated Michael Jackson's niece Brandi, the daughter of Jackie Jackson for 7 years. Brandi states in the online Leaving Neverland counter-documentary Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary, that Robson and she met as children during a photoshoot with her uncle; Robson became attracted to Brandi and then asked Jackson to set the two up. The two were friends for ten years prior to the beginning of their relationship. Brandi also states that Robson cheated on her with Britney Spears during the latter's 1999–2001 tour,[17] ending the pair's relationship, as well as the relationship between Spears and former boyfriend, Justin Timberlake;[18] implying that Timberlake wrote "Cry Me a River" about Spears cheating on him with Robson.[19] Neither Spears nor Timberlake has confirmed whether these rumors are true or not. Robson also dated dancer Mayte Garcia from 2000 until 2001.[20][21]

Relationship with Michael Jackson

When Robson was five years old, he met Michael Jackson, who was touring Australia.[22] Two years later, when Robson visited the US with his family to perform with Johnny Young's Talent School in Disneyland, California, Jackson invited the family to stay with him at his home, Neverland Ranch, also in California.[23] In 2005, after Jackson was charged with child sexual abuse, Robson testified in his defense, saying he had slept in Jackson's bedroom several times but had never been molested.[24] Jackson was acquitted.[22] After Jackson's death in 2009, Wade said: "His music, his movement, his personal words of inspiration and encouragement and his unconditional love will live inside of me forever."[25]

In 2013,[22] Robson stated that Jackson had sexually abused him on two visits to the US and after he moved with his family to the US, when Robson was aged between seven and 14.[23] Robson said his earlier denial was due to Jackson's "complete manipulation and brainwashing",[22] and that his change of story was provoked by becoming a father and experiencing nervous breakdowns in 2011 and 2012.[26] In 2015, Robson's case was dismissed by a Los Angeles judge, ruling that Robson had missed the 12-month statutory deadline after Jackson's death.[23] The judge did not rule on the credibility of the allegations.[23] The allegations by Robson and another man, James Safechuck, are the focus of the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.[23] On 13 August 2019, pieces of Wade Robson's 2016 video deposition were leaked online in a video which argues that Robson has contradicted the allegations that he and his mother Joy made in Leaving Neverland.[27]

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References
  1. "Wade Robson News, Pictures, and Videos". TMZ.
  2. Maria, Santa (14 June 2005). "Aussies bolster Jackson's defence case". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  3. Roth, Kristin (14 September 2000), "Wade Robson" Rolling Stone (849):120
  4. Chiu, Alexis (22 September 2003). "Flash Dancer". People. 60 (12):173–174
  5. Dougherty, Margo (August 2004). "Los Angeles Magazine". Emmis Communications: 74. Retrieved 17 March 2020. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Gonzalez, Isabel C. (9 February 2004). "Ready, Set, Dance!". Time. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  7. Linnett, Richard; Halliday, Jean; Stanley, T.L. (6 October 2003), "Adages". Advertising Age. 74 (40):44
  8. Newman, Melinda (31 January 2004), "The Darkness Creeps Into The Limelight". Billboard. 116 (5):16
  9. Segal, Lewis (19 October 2004). "Winning moves". Los Angeles Times.
  10. No byline (November 2006), "PULSING with WADE ROBSON". Dance Magazine. 80 (11):16
  11. "Primetime Awards" Emmys.tv. Retrieved 31 August 2007
  12. So You Think You Can Dance, 27 June 2007
  13. Wade Robson @ M.A.D. Studios, Singapore on YouTube
  14. Kreps, Daniel (23 December 2008). "Spears' "Circus" Tour picks up Madonna choreographer as father's financial hold grows stronger". Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X.
  15. Jeff C (23 December 2008). "Wade Robson Out, Jamie King In For Britney Spears' Tour | popdirt.com". popdirt.com. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  16. Movieweb Contributor (3 May 2011). "'Step Up 4' Lands Director Scott Speer". Movieweb. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  17. "Brandi Jackson on 'Neverland' and Wade Robson: 'It's Very Upsetting to See What He Would do to a Friend'". 4 April 2019.
  18. Sources:
  19. Tracy, Brianne (4 March 2019). "What to Know About Michael Jackson Accuser Wade Robson". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  20. "Survivor's Colleen lands a major movie role". EW.com. 28 September 2000. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  21. Gladstone, Valerie (July 2001). "DANCE; A Teenager Who Dispenses All the Right Moves". The New York Times.
  22. Duke, Alan. "Michael Jackson defender files sex abuse claim". CNN. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  23. Press, Australian Associated (28 February 2019). "Australian choreographer tells of sexual abuse in Michael Jackson documentary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  24. Press, Associated (28 May 2015). "Child sex abuse claims against Michael Jackson dismissed as untimely". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  25. "Jackson's Australian confidant speaks out". Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia: Fairfax Media. 27 June 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  26. Duke, Alan (16 May 2013). "Wade Robson calls Michael Jackson 'a pedophile'". CNN. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  27. Walters, Mike (13 August 2019). "Michael Jackson Accuser Wade Robson's 2016 Deposition Released In Video Exposing 'Lies of Leaving Neverland'". Yahoo!. Retrieved 31 August 2019.

Further reading
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