A glove and a fedora once worn by Michael Jackson have been removed from display at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in the wake of renewed child sexual abuse allegations against him.
The decision to remove the items, along with a poster of the late pop icon, was made “in an excess of caution” following the allegations in the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland,” Kimberly Harms Robinson, director of media and public relations, told CBS News.
“As the world’s largest children’s museum, we are very sensitive to our audience,” Robinson said.
Another museum official, speaking to the Indy Star, said its exhibits aim to showcase “people of high character.”
“When we put together exhibitions, we look at the objects and their association with high-profile people,” said Chris Carron, the museum’s director of collections, told the local news site. “Obviously, we want to put stories in front of our visitors (showing) people of high character.”
The fedora and glove had been purchased from an auction house in 2017 and displayed in the museum’s “American Pop” exhibit. The poster was part of a museum exhibit that paid tribute to Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who was diagnosed with AIDS in the ’80s and was supported by Jackson before his death, the Star reported.
Some items related to the late singer will remain in the museum’s exhibit that replicates White’s bedroom, the museum said.
“Ryan’s family found Michael Jackson’s kindness to them to be an important part of Ryan’s story and the pictures of Michael displayed in that exhibit will always be an integral part of the Ryan White story,” Harms Robinson told CBS.
Since the HBO documentary’s release, Jackson’s music has been pulled from radio stations outside of the U.S., including in New Zealand and Canada.
Producers of “The Simpsons” also announced that the show will remove an episode starring Jackson from circulation.