Dan Osborne removes Michael Jackson tattoo despite defending the late singer

The reality star previously claimed Jackson was “innocent”
Removed: The tribute tattoo appeared to have disappeared
Splash News
Safeeyah Kazi22 March 2019
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Dan Osborne showed off the remnants of his Michael Jackson tattoos, weeks after controversial documentary Leaving Neverland aired.

The Jackson family has denied the claims and denounced the film in a series of damning statements, including one which compared the documentary to a “public lynching.”

Reality star Osborne previously sported a sleeve dedicated to the King of Pop on his right shoulder.

The artwork featured Jackson’s face as the centrepiece with his famous nickname directly below it, as well as a silhouette of him dancing below.

However, the inking has since been entirely erased, with just the outlines left visible.

The removal comes after Osborne claimed Jackson was “innocent and would never abuse children”.

Speaking to The Sun in January he said: “To me Michael Jackson is the greatest entertainer that ever lived.

“It seemed to me that he adored kids and cared about them because he was a real life Peter Pan. I just don’t believe that Michael Jackson sexually abused children.

Leaving Neverland: The Jackson family have blasted the documentary
AP

“I don’t know what is motivating the men who are accusing him but with the amount of money the family have, could there be a financial motive?”

Osborne added that it was “not normal” that Jackson shared a bed with children but highlighted that he “didn’t have a normal childhood”.

“I think he was a big kid at heart who loved childish things. He even had a funfair in his garden. He didn’t have a childhood and just wanted to have children for company,” he said.

“From the age of eight he was travelling on a tour bus, playing huge gigs every night, he didn’t have a normal childhood, he couldn’t do the things that other kids could do.”

Osborne has not yet commented publicly on his decision to get the tattoo removed.

Jacqueline Jossa and Dan Osborne with daughters - In pictures

1/6

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in