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Wade Robson | |
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 Robson in 2008 | |
| Born | (1982-09-17)17 September 1982 (age 42)[1] Brisbane,Queensland, Australia |
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| Years active | 1989 (1989)–present |
| Spouse | [2] |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Primetime Emmy Award 2007, 2008Outstanding Choreography 2007So You Think You Can Dance Outstanding Choreography 2008So You Think You Can Dance |
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Musical artist | |
| Website | waderobsoncreations.com |
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 acts such asNSYNC andBritney Spears. Robson was the host and executive producer ofThe Wade Robson Project, which aired onMTV in 2003. In 2007, he joined the Fox television dance seriesSo You Think You Can Dance as a guest judge and choreographer. He won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for the dance number "Ramalama (Bang Bang)" ofSo You Think You Can Dance.
When Robson was a child, he was befriended by the pop singerMichael Jackson. In 1993, when Jackson wasfirst accused of child sexual abuse, Robson, aged 10, told police that nothing sexual had happened between them. In 2005, duringJackson's trial, Robson statedunder oath that Jackson had never behaved inappropriately. However, in 2013, Robson reversed his position and filed a late creditor claim and a civil lawsuit against the Jackson estate, saying that Jackson had abused him from 1990 to 1997, when Robson was aged between seven and 14.[3] His case is currently before a California court asRobson v. MJJ Productions.[4] He detailed his allegations in the 2019 documentaryLeaving Neverland.[5]
Robson was in a talent troupe calledJohnny 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".[6]
At the age of 11, Robson had an agent. Along with friend DeWayne Turrentine, he formed the hip-hop duoQuo and by the end of the year released an album on Jackson's MJJ Music label[7] throughEpic/SME Records. The following year, he was teaching dance classes in Hollywood.[6] He formed a troupe of dancing children, which performed internationally.[8] He received his first choreography job for the R&B groupImmature at 14. The job led to others for artists such asBritney Spears. Clients were sometimes reluctant to take direction from Robson, a self-described "skinny little white kid".[6] 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.[7]
During the late 1990s, while still a teenager, Robson choreographed Spears'sPepsi commercials, including one which aired duringSuper Bowl 35. He choreographed the performance byNSYNC and Spears at the 1999Video Music Awards and he co-directed Spears's 1999–2000 world tours as well as NSYNC's 2000No Strings Attached Tour. In 2001, he choreographed Spears'I'm a Slave 4 U video and was choreographer and director of NSYNC's 2001PopOdyssey Tour. In the NSYNC music video "Pop", Robson had to fill in for NSYNC memberJoey 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'sDream Within a Dream Tour.[citation needed]
Robson andNSYNC'sJustin Timberlake partnered in 2001, co-writing the hit singles "Pop", "Gone", and "See Right Through You" on NSYNC's final albumCelebrity. Robson had initially written "Celebrity" for his own album, but was persuaded to let NSYNC record it instead. They also co-wroteBritney 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.[citation needed]
Robson was the creator and host of MTV'sThe Wade Robson Project, a talent search competition forhip-hop dancers.[9] The program was sponsored by Juice Batteries.[10] In 2002, Robson was named one ofDance Magazine's "25 to Watch".[citation needed]
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.[11] Robson appeared as himself in the 2004 urban dance filmYou Got Served, which won Best Dance Sequence (Feature Film) at the 2004 American Choreography Awards.[12] Robson joined several other choreographers, such asMia Michaels andShane Sparks, on the PULSE Tour, a series of nationwide weekend workshops designed to give dancers the chance to train under top choreographers.[13]
In 2007, Robson began choreographing theAmerican Idols LIVE! Tour. He also choreographed both group and partner pieces for the second and third seasons ofSo You Think You Can Dance.[citation needed] In September 2007, Robson was awarded aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for the dance number "Ramalama (Bang Bang)" onSeason 2 ofSo You Think You Can Dance.[14]
Robson was awarded his second Primetime Emmy Award in 2008 onSeason 3 ofSo You Think You Can Dance for the jazz routine "Humming Bird and the Flower". The show's executive producerNigel Lythgoe called it "absolutely genius, brilliant, and one of those routines that we will remember on this series for a very long time".[15]
Robson said he and his wife Amanda were hired by singerBritney Spears to direct and choreograph her tourThe Circus Starring Britney Spears.[16] Rehearsals were set to begin in January 2009. Robson and his wife were replaced byJamie King. Spears's team said that Robson had only been hired to choreograph the promotional tour for her album 2008Circus, which ended in Japan in December 2008.[17][18]
Robson choreographed the animated filmHappy Feet Two, released in 2011. He was set to directStep Up Revolution (released in 2012), but dropped out for personal reasons. He was replaced by Scott Speer.[19]
When Robson was five, he met the American singerMichael Jackson, who was touring Australia.[20] Two years later, when Robson visited the US with his family to perform with Johnny Young's Talent School inDisneyland, California, Jackson invited the family to stay with him at his home,Neverland Ranch, also in California.[21] Robson appeared in Jackson's music videos.[22]
In 2005, afterJackson 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.[23] Jackson was acquitted.[20] AfterJackson's death in 2009, Robson said: "His music, his movement, his personal words of inspiration and encouragement and his unconditional love will live inside of me forever."[24]
In 2013, Robson reversed his position and filed a lawsuit against Jackson's estate.[20] He said 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.[21] Robson said his earlier denial was due to Jackson's "complete manipulation and brainwashing",[20] and that his change of story was provoked by becoming a father and experiencing nervous breakdowns.[21] The allegations by Robson and another man, James Safechuck, are the focus of the 2019 documentaryLeaving Neverland.[21]
In 2017, Robson's lawsuit was dismissed as thestatute of limitations had expired. It was revived in 2019 after a new law gave those who allege childhood sexual abuse longer to file lawsuits. The case was dismissed again in April 2021, when a judge ruled that Jackson's companies had no legal duty to protect Robson.[22] This ruling was overturned in August 2023 in a decision inSafechuck v. MJJ Productions, clearing the way for a trial.[25]
Robson dated Michael Jackson's niece Brandi, the daughter ofJackie Jackson, for seven years. Brandi stated inNeverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary, a documentary made in response toLeaving Neverland, that she and Robson met as children during a photoshoot with Michael Jackson. Robson asked Jackson to set the two up. The two were friends for ten years prior to the beginning of their relationship. Brandi also said that Robson cheated on her withBritney Spears during Spears' 1999–2001 tour,[26] ending the pair's relationship, as well as the relationship between Spears and former boyfriend,Justin Timberlake,[27] which implies that Timberlake wrote "Cry Me a River" about Spears cheating on him with Robson.[28] Spears confirmed that her affair with Robson did happen, but Timberlake has not commented on these rumours.[29] Robson also dated dancerMayte Garcia from 2000 until 2001.[30][31]
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