In February 2026, after the U.S. Department of Justice released more than 3 million files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a claim circulated that actor Macaulay Culkin said in a video that Michael Jackson saved him from Epstein.
According to videos on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and Reddit (archived), Culkin — a well-known child actor — said in interviews about his friendship with the singer: "I'll never forget that Michael Jackson saved me from getting on a plane to that tiny island." A voiceover in the same video stated:
They're saying Neverland is where Michael Jackson took children to protect them from what was being done on Epstein's island. Because he was going against their regime, they punished him and they flipped the script and made it appear as though he was the one abusing them […] and you have celebrities like Macaulay Culkin who has gone on the record to defend Michael Jackson.
Snopes readers also asked us to verify the contents of the video claiming that Jackson was protecting children from Epstein.
This clip's audio appears to be generated by artificial intelligence, according to several tools that detect AI usage. There is also no evidence of Culkin speaking about Epstein in any interviews. As such, we rate this claim as a fake.
An AI detector available through DeepFake-O-Meter, a project developed by the University of Buffalo Forensic Laboratory, rated the likelihood the audio was AI-generated as very high. Another tool, Deepfake Total, developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security, gave the audio clip a 96.9% chance of being AI-generated. (We should note that research shows AI-detection software is imperfect and readers should consider the tools' results with critical scrutiny.)
The footage in which Culkin allegedly makes the statement is suspicious for several reasons. Firstly, there is no visual evidence of Culkin actually saying the words. Rather, the video appears to be a hodgepodge of previously existing footage of Culkin with a fake voiceover intended to give the impression Culkin made the statement in question. Secondly, the remainder of the video relies on a third-party voiceover explaining the claim with a random assortment of disconnected clips featuring Jackson and Culkin. Finally, the voiceover itself admits its own statements may not be true, stating at the end of the video: "Those of you who are like me, help me fact-check this."
We searched for examples of Culkin's alleged quote about Epstein's island and found no reputable news outlets reporting on it. We also looked through any public statements Culkin made about his relationship with Jackson and found he never spoke about any possible connection between Epstein and Jackson.
Culkin and Jackson were friends for years and first met when the actor was a boy and Jackson was in his 30s. Despite their 22-year age gap, Culkin frequently visited Jackson at his Neverland Ranch. In 2005, Culkin appeared in court to defend Jackson against child molestation charges.
Culkin admitted that as a child he had shared a bed with the singer but was never molested, calling the accusations "absolutely ridiculous." Culkin said, "He never molested me. I think I'd realize if something like that had happened." Jackson was eventually acquitted of all such charges.
Culkin also defended Jackson in a 2020 interview with Esquire, where he said:
He never did anything to me. I never saw him do anything. And especially at this flash point in time, I'd have no reason to hold anything back. The guy has passed on. If anything—I'm not gonna say it would be stylish or anything like that, but right now is a good time to speak up. And if I had something to speak up about, I would totally do it. But no, I never saw anything; he never did anything.
Jackson appeared in a photograph with Epstein as part of a trove of Epstein-related documents the DOJ released in December 2025. However, there is no available evidence that Jackson was aware of Epstein's activities and mentions of his name in the files are not necessarily indicative of wrongdoing.
Snopes has extensively covered rumors surrounding the Epstein files.