Dan Osborne removes Michael Jackson tattoo despite defending the late singer

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

The explosive two-part special aired earlier this month and featured interviews with Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who accused the Jackson of molesting them as children.

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.

“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.