Kieran Culkin doesn't want to hurt brother by discussing Michael Jackson

Kieran Culkin fears discussing his brother Macaulay's controversial friendship with Michael Jackson because it will hurt "a lot of people".

The Home Alone actor became a close pal of the Billie Jean singer following his rise to fame as a child star and starred in the video for his 1991 track Black or White.

Allegations Michael sexually abused children have forced Macaulay to repeatedly deny he was molested, despite admitting to sleeping in the same bed as the musician.

Asked in an interview with The Guardian if he could shed light on the matter, Kieran, 36, said that talking about his brother and Michael risked hurting his sibling and other people.

"The only thing I can say is that I can't really say anything and the reason for that is I can't be helpful to anyone," the Succession star mused. "To me, it seems like there's two sides to this thing and because I can't be helpful on one side or the other, anything I say and anything that gets put out in print could only hurt somebody and there's already a lot of really hurt feelings.

"There are already a lot of people who are in a difficult position and if I contribute in any way, it's just going to hurt someone because I can't actually help."

Macaulay testified in the musician's defence at his 2005 trial, at which the King of Pop was acquitted of abusing another boy, 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo.

Allegations of child sexual abuse have continued to dog the pop icon a decade after his 2009 death, with two men who were taken under his wing as children alleging they were abused in the explosive HBO documentary Leaving Neverland earlier this year.

Before it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the former child actor, 38, again reiterated he had not been molested by the singer.