ITV viewers were left baffled at Ross Kemp’s Michael Jackson documentary investigating what happened to the famed musician’s animals at his Neverland ranch.
The Beat It hitmaker kept animals including elephants, giraffes and tigers at his expansive Californian ranch.
The ITV documentary Searching for Michael Jackson’s Zoo with Ross Kemp investigated the animals once owned by the pop star, as Ross journeys across America to uncover the truth behind what happened to the Neverland animals.
For part of the documentary, Ross focused on the fate of the King of Pop’s four giraffes, discovering that two had been sold to owners who reportedly left the animals out in freezing temperatures, where they died.
Ross was dogged in his search to uncover where their fellow two giraffes went, despite several dead ends, but as the documentary aired, viewers were increasingly distracted by the “bizarre” premise.
Taking to Twitter, one wrote: “10 minutes in and already this is a bit crazy,” as another tweeted: “Who cares where Michael Jackson's animals went after his death, as long as they went to good homes is all that matters, what a bizarre documentary.”
Another decided not to watch the programme to the end, writing: “Have to stop - cant watch this anymore - why spend the money for this documentary but not helping the animals in cages that are featured in the show kept by some nutters?”
Another view described it as the “weirdest programme I've seen in a long time” as another wrote: “Cringing for Ross Kemp. Please make it stop.”
A fellow fan demanded: “What am I watching?? Maybe Covid has made me delusional.! Ross Kemp what are you doing looking for Michael Jackson missing giraffes??? There a sentence I never thought I would say!!”
Another posted: “I’m watching this Ross Kemp in search of Michael Jackson’s zoo animals tripe and wondering why? Why I’m watching it and why was it made?”
Another summed up savagely: “Ross Kemp, in western USA, searching for Giraffes, that belonged to Michael Jackson. 2022 folks.”
Another concluded: “Watching search for Michael Jackson's animals with Ross Kemp (who I love) but it's not like he can interview the animals if he finds them... strange programme.”
But as Ross detailed some of the alleged mistreatment of Michael Jackson’s, many viewers were left feeling “heartbroken” over the treatment depicted in the documentary.
One wrote: “Can’t help feeling sorry for all those wild animals…”
