A British superfan who changed his name to Michael Jackson now wants to change it back because of the “Leaving Neverland” documentary.
John Lomas, 38, a factory worker from Malvern, Worcestershire, said he worries that prospective employers will tell him to beat it when they hear the King of Pop’s name, the UK’s Mirror reported.
In the HBO documentary, two men claim the late superstar molested them when they were kids.
Lomas has set up a GoFundMe account to try to raise the roughly $160 to ditch Jackson’s name and go back to his own.
As of Tuesday afternoon, not a single person had pitched in.
“During my childhood I had various obsessions and special interests growing up and one of those has been Michael Jackson,” he said.
“A few years ago I went to LA and soon after that I changed my name to Michael Jackson legally. I have supported him blindly for years and but it has come to a point with everything recently that I’ve thought, ‘No more.’
“There is too much doubt and I’m now left with this name that I need to get rid of,” he continued. “I’m trying to get into the care profession but every time I do a DBS check I have to disclose my full name and if I’m going for a job like that it looks really bad that I’ve chosen to change my name to that of an alleged and believed pedophile.”
Lomas, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in 2011, estimated that he could have easily spent more than $1.3 million on Jackson souvenirs, trips, albums and other memorabilia.
Before his obsession with Jackson, Lomas had a thing for The Beatles and legally changed his name to John Lennon in 1999.
“You do idolize these people and you just never really know what they are actually doing,” he said.
“I’ve deleted all his songs and got rid of all my MJ souvenirs and memorabilia. It all went straight in the bin almost immediately after I had watched the documentary.
“I knew this documentary was coming up and I thought it was just speculation, I thought, ‘Here we go again,’ but as I was watching it, some of the victims came across as completely genuine.”
