Michael Jackson told Piers Morgan he would rather 'slit his wrists' before abusing a child

Michael Jackson said he would “slit his wrists” before abusing a child in an emotional interview with Piers Morgan in 1999.

Live on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, Morgan shared snippets of the never-heard before, 40-minute interview with the King of Pop, where the two of them spoke about his relationship with kids.

Jackson became tearful while discussing the child sex abuse allegations against him and angrily spoke out about the media’s “unfair” treatment of him.

Morgan shared the unheard interview in light of the controversial documentary Leaving Neverland, in which some of the star’s accusers speak out about their alleged abuse.

“If it wasn’t for children I would throw in the towel. I would kill myself. I wouldn’t care to live. They give me my inspiration,” he told Morgan.

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“Everything I do, every song I write, the dance, everything I do. They [the press] try to use it against me. It’s been so unfair. I’m very upset about it.

“I would slit my wrists before I would [harm children] . I would never – ever.”

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Jackson also spoke about his visits to children in Great Ormond Street Hospital, adding that the press made it hard for him to be in London.

“I would love to live in London and I love it so much,” he said. “It’s just the press is so hard on me here and I try to do so good. I go to the hospital, I give presents to the children.

“As soon as I leave the next day they go ‘Wacko Jacko left the hospital and he ignored all the children’ and it hurts my heart.

“Because I purposely flew Minnie and Mickey Mouse all the way from Euro Disney. I brought them with me to surprise the children. I bought bags of presents and everything. I spent time with the kids and they made fun of me.”

Related: Michael Jackson accusers detail alleged sexual sexual abuse in new interview

After listening back to the recording, Morgan admitted, in light of the allegations against Jackson from the Leaving Neverland documentary, that the singer’s comments were “extraordinary”.

“This was all parts of Jackson’s thing,” Morgan said. “He’d say I’m here to love children, they bring out the best of me. But getting very tearful there about those allegations. These revelations are sending real shockwaves around the world.”