Howard King, the attorney representing a family accusing Michael Jackson of abuse, spoke to TMZ after a dramatic day in court in their fight with Jackson’s estate … and he explained what caused the family’s flip from ally to enemy.

Frank Cascio and his siblings reportedly settled for millions of dollars in 2020 with Jackson’s estate amid allegations the late King of Pop sexually abused them as children. But in 2024, Frank alleged he signed the settlement under duress.

Today, the Cascio family was back in court with Jackson’s estate, represented by attorney Marty Singer … who claims the Cascios are trying to extort MJ’s estate.

This presents a complete reversal from Frank’s days as a staunch Jackson defender. So why the change of heart? King says years of therapy helped Frank stop drinking “the Michael Jackson Kool-Aid.”

King explained Aldo’s breakdown, saying, “These kids are all damaged. One of the children in particular is severely damaged over what happened to him, and it’s only compounded by these ridiculous court proceedings where the estate publicly claims that he’s lying. He’s not lying.”

King says the first thing he did when he was retained by the Cascio family in 2024 was record each of the 5 siblings detailing the abuse they claim to have suffered at the hands of Jackson. This allegedly resulted in 10 hours of video testimony.

According to King, he showed Singer an hour of the footage, and he claims Singer responded, “This will never see the light of day. We’re gonna resolve this. Make me an offer.”

King claims Singer did make an offer, but then double-crossed him by publicly accusing King of extortion.

Now, arbitration is off the table as far as King is concerned. He says they’re asking for more than $200 million after Jackson reportedly paid accuser Jordan Chandler roughly $25 million for one instance of molestation in the ’90s.

However, Singer tells TMZ … “Mr. King’s statement is an outright lie.” He says he never made any of the statements that he claims were made. Singer says … “I spoke to a witness who was with me and confirmed that Mr. King’s statement is a fabrication. He is simply trying to deflect from the fact that he communicated a demand of $213 million which is the subject of our extortion claim and was reported to the authorities.”

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The new allegation of sexual abuse against the embattled Timothy Busfield is from an alleged incident that happened a quarter century ago … TMZ has learned.

Here’s the deal … prosecutors in New Mexico revealed Wednesday a new allegation against Timothy had come to light … a man told cops his daughter was sexually abused by Timothy when she was 16 years old and auditioning for him at B Street Theatre in Sacramento, CA.

Timothy founded the theater back in the day, but the theater is distancing themselves from Timothy now … and they tell us he hasn’t been involved in the organization since 2001, when the alleged incident occurred.

They continue … “B Street Theatre retained legal counsel at the time to conduct an internal investigation, and Mr. Busfield has not had any role in the organization since 2001. He is not involved in our current operations, staff, leadership, or programming. Although he is listed as an emeritus board member, he has not participated in theatre governance or attended a board meeting since that time.”

BST adds … “Because this matter is now part of an ongoing investigation related to a separate alleged incident in New Mexico, we are unable to provide further comment at this time.”

The statement concludes … “As an organization that has served Sacramento and the greater region for decades, our mission remains to provide a safe, creative, and inclusive environment for artists, students, families, and audiences. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by abuse or exploitation in any form.”

In legal docs, prosecutors say the alleged victim’s father, Colin Swift, came to law enforcement Tuesday and claimed Timothy sexually abused his daughter “several years ago” at B Street Theatre. Now we know it was 25 years ago in 2001.

Prosecutors say the girl reported Timothy “kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates.” They say Timothy “begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy, Colin Swift a therapist himself thought at the time that was the best thing to do.”

Timothy is in custody in New Mexico after being charged with child sex abuse over allegations he touched a child actor’s penis and buttocks on the set of the TV show “The Cleaning Lady”, which he was directing in New Mexico.