Fact Checking “Michael Jackson’s Secret World” by Martin Bashir

In February 2005, Martin Bashir aired his second hit-piece on Michael Jackson, titled “Michael Jackson’s Secret World”.  If there were any thoughts that Bashir was remorseful for what he did to MJ with his first hit-piece, then this documentary will totally destroy those notions, as this solidifies Bashir’s utter contempt for MJ. And the timing of this piece of garbage is no coincidence either; it aired right before jury selection, so it was obviously designed to taint the jury pool.

This documentary was essentially swept under the rug by ABC News, as it is not for sale on their website, despite the fact that hundreds of past episodes of 20/20 and Primetime Live are for sale on their website.

Without further ado, here is the transcript and analysis of Bashir’s second takedown of MJ.  Please note that for the sake of clarity, I used the word “narrating”  to distinguish between  Bashir’s narration, and the taped interviews that  were taken from the British Documentary that Bashir piggybacked on. Those clips are in block quotes.

Update: The original video is unavailable, so here is a later copy of it: https://tune.pk/video/2697716/martin-bashir-michael-jackson-secret-world-part-1

 

 

 

 

 

Transcript of Michael Jackson’s Secret World

Disclaimer:  In addition to our own reporting, this program contains excerpts from a documentary made by a British production company, which aired in the U.K. three weeks ago. Some of the individuals who appeared in that documentary received compensation for their participation. No payment was made for any of the interviews conducted by Martin Bashir or ABC News.

Introduction: Tonight, it started with his own words.  Words that made the world take notice, really take notice.  “Why can’t you share your bed?” Was it an innocent, loving friendship? Or something much darker?  As the trial of the century gears up, Martin Bashir returns to the secret world of Michael Jackson, exploring his pattern of unusual friendships with much younger boys that began more than 20 years ago.  You’ll hear from his detractors, and his friends.  You’ll hear from boys who’ll say that nothing improper ever happened between them, and boys now grown up who say something did.  Plus, the child starts Jackson befriended, and the boy behind a reported $25 million dollar payoff. Now, a new look at Neverland, with the man whose documentary ignited a firestorm, a 2-hour special that picks up where “Living With Michael Jackson” left off 2 years ago, as Martin Bashir takes a closer look at Michael Jackson’s Secret World.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Over 2 years ago, I started making a documentary about Michael Jackson.  I saw some extraordinary things. We went shopping.  We raced go-carts.  I met his children, and his baby. And then, I went back to Neverland.  What happened over the next few hours would forever change the lives of everyone who was there.  I could never have foreseen what consequences that encounter would have.  The young boy I interviewed that day would later allege that Michael Jackson abused him.  I had to ask myself “Could his allegations of what happened after that day be true?”  So I went back to the beginning.  I was about to enter the secret world of Michael Jackson.  Once again, this would be a journey into the surprising, the unusual, and the bizarre.  It’s a world where Michael Jackson has shared his wealth, his home, and sometimes even his bedroom, with much younger boys.  Were these relationships innocent, as Jackson and many of the boys say, or were some of them criminal, as at least 2 boys have alleged.  It began when he was little more than a boy himself.

LaToya Jackson (clip from British documentary):  I really didn’t have, and I know that everyone knows this, but he really didn’t have much of a childhood.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Michael says his childhood was scarred by the pressures of early stardom, and the close intentions of violent father, Joe.

LaToya Jackson (clip from British documentary):  He was a disciplinarian, and when I say disciplinarian what I mean is if he felt you did something wrong, then of course he would spank you.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  When I interviewed Michael Jackson, he told me that his father had made his life desperately unhappy.

Clip from “Living With Michael Jackson”:

Martin Bashir:  How often would he beat you?

Michael Jackson:  Too much.

Martin Bashir:  Would he only use a belt?

Michael Jackson:  (Crying.) Why do you do this to me? No, more than a belt.  When he would catch me, oh my God, it was bad.

LaToya Jackson (clip from documentary):  He was strict.  It was like “Why do we always have to do this? Why can’t we do that?” But that’s part of growing up.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  According to Jackson, he didn’t want to grow up.  He craved the childhood he never had.  Michael Jackson was reluctant to join the adult world.  When I asked Jackson about dating Tatum O’Neil, he told me that at the time, the idea of sex had terrified him.

Clip from “Living With Michael Jackson”

Michael Jackson:  She told me to go and lie on the bed, and I did, and she slowly walked over, and she touched the button on my shirt to open it, and I put my hands like this (covers his face with both hands), and I wouldn’t let them down, and she just walked away.  She knew I was too shy for it.  That’s what happened.

Martin Bashir:  Did you not feel tempted at all?

Michael Jackson: No.

Martin Bashir:  You just felt frightened?

Michael Jackson: I was frightened.  I was afraid.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  In Tatum O’Neal’s recent book, she denies trying to seduce Jackson.  Whatever his experience with girls, he would soon begin friendships with boys much younger than himself.  Jackson’s sister says that all of these relationships were entirely innocent.

LaToya Jackson (clip from British documentary):  He’s always had lots of friends, all ages.  And then he had younger kids that were friends, but you have to remember that Michael was so loved by everyone in the world, which he still is, that everybody wanted to be around him.

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  He feels very strongly that he missed out on his childhood, and one of the ways he feels that he can recapture his youth is by associating with young kids.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Terry George claims he was one of those boys.

Terry George (clip from British documentary):  When I was the age of 13, I was a little bit cheeky, and I think I was a little bit naïve, looking back.

Martin Bashir (narrating): Terry George says he was 13, and a keen collector of celebrity interviews, when he met Michael in Leeds, in the north of England.  For the rest of the Jacksons, it was just another stop on their 1979 European tour.  But for Michael, says Terry George, it was a chance to make a new friend.

Maureen Orth (clip from British documentary):  Michael would tour all over the world, and there were little boys everywhere that would come to the hotels.

Terry George (clip from British documentary):  I didn’t really mingle with other people.  I didn’t have a lot of friends then.

Martin Bashir (narrating): Determined to interview his idol, Terry says he found out where the Jacksons were staying.  Then, armed with Michael’s hotel room number and a tape recorder, he simply knocked on his door.

Terry George (clip from British documentary):  Michael said “Who is it?”, and I said “Hi, my name’s Terry George, I’ve come to do an interview. He opened the door, and he looked a bit shocked to see me.  He was looking at this level, and I was down here somewhere.

Martin Bashir (narrating): Terry George says that at the end of the interview, he and Michael Jackson swapped phone numbers.

Terry George (clip from British documentary):  He giving me his number, and asking for mine didn’t really feel strange at all, it was great, it was a thrill. I was happy to be in touch with a celebrity.

Martin Bashir (narrating): After the tour left Britain, Terry George says that Michael Jackson started calling 2 or 3 times a week, and they had friendly conversations about their lives.

Terry George (clip from British documentary):  His calls came quite late at night, normally from 11 in the evening to right through to 5 o’clock in the morning on some occasions.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  And then he says one night, Michael made a call that Terry has never forgotten.

Terry George (clip from British documentary):  “I Had Phone Sex With Jacko!” is what the press wrote.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  I met with Terry George to hear his account of what really happened that night.

Terry George (speaking to Bashir directly):  He spoke about masturbation, about him masturbating, and did I masturbate. I never saw it coming. It wasn’t something I expected.  It just came out the blue, really.  He said “Would you believe that I’m doing it now?”  And he let me hear it on the telephone, and I could hear it.

Martin Bashir:  And what did you think he meant by that?

Terry George: I knew what he meant by that, because he was talking about masturbation.  I did feel uncomfortable, I can remember feeling uncomfortable.  I felt awkward.

Martin Bashir:  What are your thoughts when you put the phone down?

Terry George: I thought that I didn’t react the way he wanted me to react, and I thought that perhaps he would never call me again, or that I would never hear from him again.  In hindsight, looking back at it now, I know that

the conversation probably should never have happened, it probably wasn’t natural.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Terry George says there were no more sexual conversations. In time, the two lost touch.  Terry George’s friendship with Michael Jackson was over.   A source close to the Jackson camp says that “Terry George’s story isn’t true.   In the past, he has sold his story to the press.  All of this is an old, unsubstantiated accusation.”  Some people who have investigated Michael Jackson say that he ultimately rejects many of his young friends.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  Michael Jackson changes his phone numbers, he’s not available on the telephone anymore.

Maureen Orth (clip from British documentary):  As soon as they appear to be a little bit more into puberty, and they have gotten their first facial hair…………

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary): ………he just moves on to the next little “special friend”.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  But soon, Michael would want to take one of his friends out, before America’s press, on a double date with one of the world’s most beautiful women.  For the superstar who calls himself “Peter Pan”, the transition from child sensation to adult pop idol wasn’t easy.

Latoya Jackson (clip from British documentary):  He went through this phase in his life when he became extremely shy, and totally changed.  It totally changed his demeanor.  He didn’t want to see people, he just became a totally different person.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Michael Jackson told me about this difficult period in his life.

(Clip from “Living With Michael Jackson”)

Michael Jackson:  One cousin would always want to pop my pimples.  I would just go to the bedroom and cry, you know?

Martin Bashir:  Is it true that your father used to say you had a fat nose?

Michael Jackson:  Yeah.

Martin Bashir:  What did he say?  What did he actually say?

Michael Jackson:  “God your nose is big! You didn’t get it from me!”

Martin Bashir:  What does that do to someone who’s going through adolescence?

Michael Jackson:  You want to die. You want to die.  And on top of it you have to go on stage in a spotlight, in front of hundreds of thousands of people. It’s hard!  I would have been happier wearing a mask!

Martin Bashir (narrating):  At 21, Jackson was about to become a fully-fledged superstar.  But a friendship with a boy was about to startle the world. This video for “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” helped launch Michael’s solo career.  He looks like a man who’s breaking free.

J. Randy Tarroberrelli (clip from British documentary): When you watch Michael, you’d like to think that he was enjoying it to.  In fact, it was one of the darkest times in Michael Jackson’s life.

Martin Bashir (narrating): In the midst of Jackson’s private pain, Jackson was in public demand, and music’s brightest new star was about to go on a date with Brooke Shields,  America’s most desirable young woman. But in his private life, Michael’s new best friend was the tiny child star Emmanuelle Lewis.

Emmanuelle Lewis (clip from British documentary): Regardless of how old we are in real life, we’re just not going to get older. That was just a friend of mine.  We were Peter Pan.

Martin Bashir (narrating): The 3-foot start was invited down to the set of Jackson’s new video “Thriller”, and met Michael while he was having his makeup done.

Emmanuelle Lewis (clip from British documentary): He was like “Are you afraid of me?”  Of course not! You’re Michael Jackson!

Martin Bashir (narrating): But according to Jackson’s biographer, some members of the Jackson family were becoming concerned with how the world would view this friendship.

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  The two of them are rolling around on the grass, and playing games with each other.

LaToya Jackson (clip from British documentary):  They would do all of the “Thriller” moves together, and it was so cute, so adorable.  And no, there were no questions about it because it was a wonderful friendship.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  By 1984, Michael’s second album “Thriller” was well on its way to being the best seller of all time. He was nominated for 12 Grammy Awards, and was all set to be crowned the King of Pop.  But choosing a date for the ceremony, Jackson faced a dilemma:  Whom to take?

LaToya Jackson (clip from British documentary):  I recall Brooke being over to the house and asking Michael if she could go with him to the awards.

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  Michael was a little bit lukewarm on that, but he liked her, but he liked Emmanuelle better.

LaToya Jackson (clip from British documentary):  He didn’t want to say “No”. So he had 2 dates!

Martin Bashir (narrating):  But here, in a scene from Fox Broadcasting’s “Michael Jackson’s Home Movies”, just before he swept the ball at the Grammy’s, he’s seen arriving at the ceremony with Brooke on one arm, and Emmanuelle on the other.

Emmanuelle Lewis (clip from British documentary): I didn’t know the magnitude of how great this moment was going to be in history, you know?  You just didn’t know.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  The extraordinary spectacle was seen around the world.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  You can imagine the surprise, and shock, that everybody felt that Michael Jackson and Brooke Shields were a couple, with Emmanuelle Lewis?!!

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  He basically had Brooke Shields there as his date, but he had Emmanuelle sort of in his arms.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  One look at this threesome, and some people wondered about Jackson’s relationships.   People wanted to know why Michael Jackson was hanging around with a boy less than half his age, but to Emmanuelle Lewis, this was just an innocent friendship.

Emmanuelle Lewis (clip from British documentary): All we did was watch comedy and cartoons.  Could anything negative happen between the two of us?  The answer to that question is hell no!!

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  When Emmanuelle Lewis started showing up in public with Michael Jackson, that was as if the water had burst over the damn.  After that, the pattern began that we always saw Michael with a young male boy at his side.  Almost always.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Life was about to get stranger in Michael Jackson’s secret world. Michael Jackson was now a megastar, attracting plaudits from presidents. His relationships with boys was becoming just one more eccentricity from a man who was becoming famous for being odd.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  There’s always been so many eccentric things going on around Michael Jackson that what was lost in the background were these little boys, who were always there.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  What people didn’t know is that Jackson had been splashing cash on extravagant gifts for his new young friend, and his family. One of the first boys to benefit from Jackson’s new found wealth was the son of a California garbage man, 10-year old Jimmy Safechuck.  The young actor was picked by Jackson to star in this glossy commercial.  Designed specifically to appeal to kids, in which Michael’s image became indelibly linked to children, and Jimmy appeared as his clone.

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  Now the interesting thing about Jimmy Safechuck is that he was actually the first “mini-Michael”.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Michael was so enchanted by his new “mini-Michael”, he took Jimmy on the road to tour with his next album “Bad”.  The boy and Jackson even dressed in identical outfits.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  I don’t know whose idea it was to start dressing these boys like Michael.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Looking like Michael became part of the pattern for Jackson’s young friends. \

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  You know, the glove, the spin……….

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  ………the little coats, the fedora hats……….

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  ………..the pants that were too short, and the sequin socks………

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  ……..it starts to make you wonder “Who’s making them dress that way?  Do they want to dress that way, or does Michael insist that they dress that way?

Martin Bashir (narrating):  One of the dancers who toured with Jackson says that the family didn’t approve when Jackson reportedly took Jimmy and his family on a shopping spree.

Tatiana Thumbtzen (clip from British documentary):  The whole family, even Joseph, they didn’t like it.  They didn’t think it was right.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):The family was aghast.  You’d by them a little outfit to wear.  You’d take them on a trip, that’s fine.  But you buy them a house? You buy them 2 luxury automobiles?

LaToya Jackson (clip from British documentary):  When you put enough out there, it looks a certain way.  However, at the same time, when you are innocent, you don’t think anything of it.  It’s just a gift. It’s like “Enjoy it, have fun”.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary): I saw the Safechuck’s lifestyle change.  I read their credit report. I saw what they did for a living before Michael Jackson came into their life.  And then I saw the way they were living afterward, and it wasn’t just this child appearing in one video with Michael Jackson that gave him all that money.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Dimond says there might have been another explanation, such as a business loan.  Jimmy Safechuck has not alleged any wrongdoing by Jackson.  Supporters of Jackson say that his extravagance to some of these boys just reflects his widespread generosity.

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  I know Michael Jackson, and I know how he is with people, and how he is with families of people who come into his life.  He’s been generous to a fault.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  But just like previous boys in Michael’s life, Jimmy Safechuck’s days as a Michael favorite were numbered.  With his family, he went to visit his old friend Michael, but two former  Michael Jackson employees say the star didn’t even turn up.

Phillippe LeMarque (clip from British documentary):  : I sat at the table, and like Michael was going to be there at dinner, and we did that for the whole weekend, but…….

Stella LeMarque (clip from British documentary):  :  He was not coming. He was in Los Angeles.

Phillippe LeMarque (clip from British documentary):  :  Just don’t tell him that he’s not coming, that’s all.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  :  Jimmy Safechuck, like so many others that I have come across, just simply got too old………

Phillippe LeMarque (clip from British documentary): ……….Too old

Martin Bashir(narrating):    For his record buying public, Jackson was portrayed as a heterosexual predator with the video for his latest hit “The Way You Make Me Feel”.

Tatiana Thumbtzen (clip from British documentary):  The feeling and the mood was just kind of sexy.  I think with me strutting in this tight dress, and Michael chasing after me, that was the first video where the public, for the first time, saw Michael as a believable, heterosexual male.    

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  He actually looks hot, and sexy, and sexual, and there’s a chemistry between him and Tatianna.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  But in private, Michael Jackson continued to have friendships with boys, which sometimes included their whole families.

Maureen Orth (clip from British documentary):  The way he does it is to just make them feel that he just adores them and loves them all.

Martin Bashir(narrating): One of Michael Jackson’s young friends claims that Jackson stayed in his home, and won the trust of the entire family.

Geoffrey (clip from British documentary):  He adopted my family.  He started becoming more and more attached to my family as a whole, rather than just me individually.  This is the first letter that I ever got from him.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  This man, we’ll call him Jeffrey, had been 9 when he sent Jackson a poem.  The star began writing.

Geoffrey: (Reading a letter from MJ) “Hi! How’s my best little friend in the whole world doing?”

Martin Bashir (narrating):   Years later, when Geoffrey was 15, he says Jackson called him out of the blue, and invited him to his hideout in LA.

Geoffrey (clip from British documentary):  My parents dropped me off at his assistant’s house, and so we went into the car and drove to the secret spot.  I would get butterflies in my stomach.  I mean, it was unbelievable.

Martin Bashir (narrating):   That night, he says they watched TV and played videogames. But he claims that eventually, Jackson befriended his entire family.

Geoffrey (clip from British documentary):   We opened up our family to him, and he was kind of another member of the family.  He got to experience what a family atmosphere was about, and I think that isn’t something that he ever had himself.

Geoffrey (clip from British documentary):   says that many times, one of the most famous men in the world drove out to Los Angeles to stay in his spare room. 

Geoffrey (clip from British documentary):   He’d arrive around 6 o’clock, the lights would all be dimmed, or off, then we’d put on a video or two, and watch a video of him.  You’d be surprised how much Michael Jackson stuff  Michael Jackson was interested in watching.

Martin Bashir (narrating):   Even for a huge fan of Michael Jackson, he says his visits could be tiresome.

Geoffrey (clip from British documentary):   Our whole family catered to him.  I mean, if we’d want to go to bed, Michael needs to go to bed, his breathing exercises, he has to take a certain pill at a certain time, I mean the whole thing was the Michael Jackson show.

Martin Bashir (narrating):   Like Jimmy Safechuck and Emmanuelle Lewis, Geoffrey says that nothing sexual happened between him and Michael Jackson.  They were just good friends.  Corey Feldman was one of Michael Jackson’s best known young friends.  The star of dozens of Hollywood blockbusters as a child, he was delighted to become part of Jackson’s inner circle.  It was a relationship that began right at the height of Michael Jackson’s fame. Riding the success of “Thriller”, he was idolized by millions, Corey Feldman among them. Feldman had starred in “Gremlins”, and later “Stand By Me” and “The Lost Boys”. By 13, he was already a teen idol himself. Feldman finally got his chance to meet Jackson on the set of the 80’s smash hit movie “The Goonies”. Michael Jackson called him late that night.  Feldman said they spoke for 2 hours, and a friendship between a man and a boy began.  Corey Feldman says that attention from a superstar like Jackson was hugely important to him.  He became obsessed with the star, dancing like him, even dressing like him.  At the time, he says that Jackson was the most important person in his life.  But when I met him earlier this month, he said that there was a disturbing side to their relationship.  Jackson suggested that he would sleep over in his home, only if he had pornographic magazines there.  Feldman also says he noticed a book on Jackson’s coffee table.  The book contained pictures of naked men and women.  He said Jackson sat down, showing him the pictures.  The book was focused on venereal diseases and genitalia.  Feldman has stood up for Jackson on many occasions, most recently in 2003.  However, the two had fallen out for good a few years earlier, and he’s recently reevaluated their relationship. Feldman says he was never molested by Jackson.  Like many other children before him, as Corey got older, he says he had to leave Michael Jackson’s secret world.  Corey Feldman was subpoenaed to testify at Michael Jackson’s molestation trial.  He’s now named as a witness for the prosecution and the defense.  By 1987, Jackson was the world’s most popular entertainer.  His personal wealth was estimated at $100 million dollars.  But the 29 year old superstar was still living at home with his parents. He decided to buy a place of his own, to finally create his private world.

Dr. Carole Lieberman (clip from British documentary):  By creating Neverland, Michael was able to create his fantasy of being Peter Pan.

(Clip from “Living With Michael Jackson”)

Michael Jackson:  Peter Pan to me represents something that is very special in my heart. He represents youth, childhood, never growing up, magic, flying, everything that I think that children, and wonderment, and magic, what it’s all about.  And to me, I’ve just never grown out of loving that, or thinking that it’s very special.

Martin Bashir:  You identify with him.

Michael Jackson: Totally.

Martin Bashir:  You don’t want to grow up.

Michael Jackson:  No. I am Peter Pan.

Martin Bashir:  No, you’re Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson:  I’m Peter Pan in my heart.

LaToya Jackson (clip from British documentary):   He wanted to put the whole Disney thing in our house, and my mother wouldn’t let him, and he said “I’m going to buy this property, and I’m going to do what I want I want to do.”

Martin Bashir (narrating):  I spent many weeks at Neverland with Michael Jackson, and in many ways it was a magical place. Children’s music filled the air.  There was a fairground, and a zoo, even its own railway line.  When I was there, a group of children were invited to play, and enjoy all of the amenities free of charge.  In 1988, Michael Jackson began building Neverland, his private children’s paradise.  I visited Neverland with Michael, and he said it was there that allowed him to enjoy the childhood he never had.  Michael Jackson invited me go-karting, on his specially built track. His child-like enthusiasm was obvious.  In Christmas 1990, he met someone he wanted to share his paradise with. And that meant not just sharing his home, but sharing his bedroom. When Michael saw the movie “Home Alone” that Christmas, he asked his housekeep to contact the young star Macaulay Culkin.

Phillippe LeMarque (clip from British documentary):    When Michael saw the move, he asked Norma Staikos to call him over and have him spend time at the ranch.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Some of the Neverland staff thought that Michael was clearly taken by the 10-year old star, his most high-profile young friend to date.

Phillippe LeMarque (clip from British documentary):The kid is cute.

Stella LeMarque (clip from British documentary):  He thought the kid was cute at the time.

Diane Dimond:  Michael Jackson marveled “Look at the pouty smile.  Look at those lips.”  He always pointed to people “Look at the lips.  I love his pouty smile”.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  :  Michael gave Macaulay Culkin the run of his new home.

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  They had food fights, and lot of great fun.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Michael often filmed his young friend.  They’re shown here in Fox Broadcasting’s “Michael Jackson’s Home Movies”, playing together as if they’re both children.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary): There are video games, there are animals, there are trains.

Phillippe LeMarque (clip from British documentary): They play all day long, they’ll watch movies.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary): Anything and everything you want, and it’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  And now, Jackson didn’t have to be parted from his young friend, day or night.  But according to Macaulay and Michael Jackson, nothing improper or sexual ever took place.

Macaulay Culkin (clip from ABC’s 20/20):  People, that’s really what they kind of don’t get.  He has this bedroom, but at the same time it’s 2 stories. But, yeah, it wasn’t anything weird, and it wasn’t anything we thought about.  We’d go to the movies, we’d to this, we’d do that, and we’d plop down, go to sleep, and wake up. It’s just kind of what friends do.  I’ve slept in the same bed with a bunch of my friends, that’s kind of like what happens.

(Clip from “Living With Michael Jackson”)

Michael Jackson:  I have slept in the bed with many children.  I sleep in the bed with all of them. When Macaulay Culkin was little, Keiran Culkin would sleep on this side, and Macaulay Culkin is on this side, his sister’s in there, we’d all just jam in the bed.  Then we’d wake up at dawn, and go in the hot air balloon.  We have the footage.  I have all of the footage.

Martin Bashir:  But is that right, Michael?

Michael Jackson:  It’s very right. It’s very loving. It’s what the world needs now.  More love.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  From now on, it would become normal for some of Michael Jackson’s friends to share his bedroom.  Michael Jackson had built Neverland, his Peter Pan paradise.  Macaulay Culkin had come to stay, and other children would stay in Michael Jackson’s bedroom.  And for a moment, many parents were happy to let them.

Maureen Orth (clip from British documentary):  Because it’s Michael Jackson, and he’s a celebrity, people’s judgment seems to fly out the window, particularly these parents.

Martin Bashir (narrating): Despite some raised eyebrows, nobody had publicly questioned Jackson’s relationship with boys.  But he was about to meet the boy who’d change his fate forever. By 1993, Jackson’s career had gone stratospheric.  At the age of just 35, he was now one of the richest, most powerful men on the planet.  His friendships with young boys had set him on a collision course, and Jackson’s next young favorite would bring him crashing to the ground in full public view.

Raymond Chandler (clip from British documentary)::  The psychiatrist asked “What was the worst thing that’s ever happened to you in your life?”  And he (Jordan Chandler) said “Meeting Michael Jackson”.

Martin Bashir (narrating):    Ray Chandler is the one close member of the Chandler family that isn’t bound by a confidentiality agreement, following his nephew’s claims of sexual abuse in 1993. He did not witness the events that follow, but he says that they were described to him by the boy and his father.

Ray Chandler (clip from British documentary):  Obsessed with Michael Jackson, 4 years before they met, the boy already wanted to look and dance just like Michael.

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  It was inevitable that Michael was going to meet some boy whose family was somehow going to try to bring him down. It had to happen.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  The 12 year old boy came from a broken home, and like many of Michael’s previous friends, was unusually good looking.

Ray Chandler (clip from British documentary):  Very smooth skin, very fine smooth features.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):    You would pass him on the street and you would have to stop and look at him.  He was so beautiful!

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Ray Chandler says, to begin with, there was nothing remarkable about the friendship.  Michael exchanged numbers, and as usual began calling the boy.

Ray Chandler (speaking directly to Bashir):   He’s a 12-year old boy, taking the phone, and going into his bedroom and closing the door.  Something he had never done before. He hadn’t dated any girls. This is something you expect 2 puppy love young teenagers to do.

Martin Bashir (Narrating):  Then he says Michael invited the family to Neverland.

Ray Chandler (speaking directly to Bashir):   What was significant was the ride to Neverland.  Michael’s in the front with the chauffeur.  Sitting on Michael’s lap was a young boy about 12 years old.  On my way up to Neverland, and my nephew testified about this, Michael was caressing this boy in a clearly sensual way.  Kissing him the cheek, on the neck, caressing him, it was overtly sexual.

Martin Bashir: So why was he doing it?

Ray Chandler: I believe it was a test.  The purpose of which was “Is this mother, is this child going to be repulsed?”  Is the mother going to say “Turn this limousine around! Take me home!”  Or is she going to be polite and go through the weekend and never go back again?

Martin Bashir (narrating): The boy, his sister, and his mother, joined Michael Jackson on an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas.  At this point, the boy says, the sleepovers began.

Maureen Orth (clip from British documentary):  Michael rented the very scary movie “The Exorcist”.

Ray Chandler: He played it, and the boy was scared.  Michael suggested that he spend the night in his room, rather than sleep alone.

Martin Bashir (narrating): The boy would later tell a psychiatrist, brought in to evaluate his claims, everything that he said followed .  The sessions were recorded.  I listened to those tapes with the boy’s uncle Ray Chandler.  Tonight, you can hear some of those tapes for the very first time. If the boy is telling the truth, they detail a slow and steady seduction that took place over months.

Ray Chandler: I think he wanted to sleep with my nephew from the moment he saw him. I hate to use the word “love”, but in Michael’s mind perhaps that’s what it was, love at first site.

Martin Bashir (narrating): When the mother found out the boy slept in Jackson’s bedroom, the boy says she challenged the star.

Audio clip of Jordie speaking with Dr. Gardner:  He go my mom feeling so guilty she broke down in tears and decided, “Okay, I believe you.”

Ray Chandler (speaking directly to Bashir): He told her that she was putting barricades in her relationship, that it was all about love and trust, and she should trust him, there was nothing wrong with it, it was all very innocent. But he cried, and he made – as my nephew described it – “he made my mom feel so guilty that she cried too”

Martin Bashir: Why did Michael Jackson cry?

Ray Chandler: I think it’s because crying works.

Audio clip Jordie speaking with Dr. Gardner: “And so from that point on I was in his bed until the end of the relationship.”

Martin Bashir (narrating): Ray Chandler says that the next day, Michael Jackson gave the mother an expensive bracelet.  According to the boy, Michael Jackson had not just got close to him, the world’s most famous pop star had moved in with his family.

Maureen Orth (clip from British documentary):  Michael spent 30 straight nights in a row, sleeping in the same bed.

Ray Chandler (clip from British documentary):  Michael’s chauffeur would drop Michael Jackson off at the house at night, and pick him up in the morning.

Diane Dimond(clip from British documentary):  Michael would go back and spend yet another night.

Ray Chandler (clip from British documentary):  They’d have dinner, they’d watch TV, they’d play video games, they’d do homework.

Diane Dimond(clip from British documentary):  It’s such a bizarre and odd thing to think that this man, who has millions and millions and millions of dollars, would want to bunk with a young boy.

Ray Chandler (clip from British documentary):  Yeah, I’m mean, they were just a regular family. Well, regular is probably not the right word.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  The taped interview with the boy describes how he says the relationship turned sexual.

Audio of Jordan Chandler speaking to Dr. Gardner: One night we were sleeping in the bed, I think it was at Neverland, and he just leaned over and hugged me. 

Ray Chandler (speaking directly to Bashir)  Just a little hug, nothing more. That’s it.

Audio of Jordan Chandler speaking to Dr. Gardner: He hugged me and I thought nothing of it.

Ray Chandler (speaking directly to Bashir):  But then the hug would get a little longer.

Audio of Jordan Chandler speaking to Dr. Gardner: He graduated to like kissing me for a longer amount of time.

Dr. Gardner: On the lips?

Jordie: Yes.

Ray Chandler (speaking directly to Bashir): And then a peck on the cheek would become a peck on the lips.

Jordie: A peck on the lips, and he put his tongue in my mouth.

Ray Chandler (speaking directly to Bashir): And then you’d have an embracing hug with a long kiss on the lips.

Bashir (narrating): Then, in the spring of 1993, Michael Jackson took the boy to Monaco, where he alleges things go much more serious. His claims about Michael Jackson’s secret world were about to become very public indeed. In spring 1993, Michael took this boy and his family to Monaco, as VIP guests at the World Music Awards. These clips were specially shot for the ceremony. Onlookers were shocked to see the boy on Michael’s lap.  Yet the star was aware he was being filmed, and didn’t look like a man with anything to hide. But, if the boy is telling the truth, there was a new and secret side to their relationship.  Later, in his claims to police and social workers, he would claim that now is when things got much more serious.

(Audio of Jordan Chandler)

We were alone, and we took a bath together.

Ray Chandler (clip from British documentary):  They got undressed in front of each other, they saw each other naked. They took a bath together, and the masturbation began. They were locked together in that suite in Monaco for 2 days, and things really escalated seriously at that point.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Some weeks later, the boy’s father confronted his son.

Ray Chandler (clip from British documentary):  There was only one question he asked him: “Did Michael Jackson touch your penis?” He just said “Yes! He did touch my penis”.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  During his psychiatry sessions, the boy would make even more detailed and graphic allegations.

Audio of Jordie speaking with Dr. Gardner: One time when he was masturbating me, he started masturbating me with his mouth, and like if I didn’t do it, then I didn’t love him.

Ray Chandler (speaking directly to Bashir): They would masturbate themselves, in front of each other.  There was frequent oral sex, on the part of Michael performing oral sex on the boy.

Martin Bashir (narrating): Soon it would be announced to the world that the star who said he loved children, was now being accused of abusing one of them.  Bill Dworwin was the lead investigator on the case in Los Angeles.

Bill Dworwin(clip from British documentary):   You go into Michael Jackson’s bedroom, it’s a very large room, there’s a lot of stuffed animals, a lot of things that would be attractive to children.  It wasn’t a surprise because I’ve went through many people’s homes and found the same types of items, although on a lesser scale.  One item that we found in a locked filing cabinet was a book showing boys in nude poses. It’s not illegal. It’s a book that I’ve seized in other investigations. If it’s a person who has this material, who has a sexual interest in children, it becomes child erotica. 

Martin Bashir (narrating):  As more damaging details emerged, it was a testing time for Jackson, but he hadn’t seen anything yet.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  It was December 20^th, 1993, and the police came knocking at the door of Neverland with a warrant to photograph Michael Jackson’s private parts.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  The boy had drawn and described distinctive markings on Jackson’s genitals.

Bill Dworwin (clip from British documentary):   Based upon what the boy had said, we obtained a search warrant, not only for Jackson’s residences, but for Jackson himself.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  They wanted to match up the boy’s rendition to what the reality was. Your front private parts, your back private parts, your side private parts. The most telling mark occurred when Michael Jackson actually lifted his penis, as if in an aroused state.

Ray Chandler  (clip from British documentary): When things get aroused, you see the other side, and those were the descriptions that he gave.

Martin Bashir (narrating): According to the lead investigator, the boy’s description matched. 

Bill Dworwin (clip from British documentary):   We corroborated what the boy had said, and we were able to corroborate it with the photo of Mr. Jackson.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary):  Did it prove that he had actually engaged in sexual molestation of this boy? No!  But absent another adult eyewitness, what would have?

Martin Bashir (narrating): Jackson’s attorneys have repeatedly denied the boys allegations, calling him a liar, and his family greedy extortionists.  But Michael Jackson and his legal team decided to end his ordeal.  He paid the family a massive settlement, reported to be around $25 million dollars.  With the boy’s case settled, the criminal case collapsed, and Jackson was never charged.

When I interviewed Jackson, I asked him about what happened in 1993.  The questions upset him deeply.

(Clip from “Living With Michael Jackson”)

Martin Bashir: What was that like when you first heard the allegations that were being made against you?

Michael Jackson: It was shocking, and I’m not allowed to talk about this by way of law…..

Martin Bashir: But how did you feel about what was being said, I’m not asking you to talk about was said…….

Michael Jackson: I was shocked because God knows in my heart how much I adore children……

Martin Bashir: Isn’t that precisely the problem? That when you invite children into your bed, you never know what’s going to happen?

Michael Jackson: When you say bed, you’re thinking sexual, they make that sexual, and it’s not sexual, we’re going to sleep, I tuck them in, I put a little music on, I read a book, it’s very sweet, I put the fireplace on, I give them hot milk, we have cookies, it’s very charming, it’s very sweet.

Martin Bashir: Sure!

Michael Jackson: It’s what the whole world should do!

Martin Bashir: You reached a financial settlement with the family. I didn’t want to do a long, drawn out thing on TV like OJ, and all that stupid stuff, it wouldn’t look right.  I just said “Look, get this over with, I want to go on with my life, this is ridiculous, I’ve had enough, go.”

Martin Bashir: As part of their settlement, the family could never discuss their relationship in public again.

J. Randy Tarroberrelli (clip from British documentary): This was nothing to Michael Jackson, in terms of his finances, but it was everything in terms of his life, because it gave him a chance to start anew, and make some decisions.

Martin Bashir (narrating): A few months later, he would get married. The first key decision Michael made, after his disastrous PR exposure when he was accused of molestation in 1993, was to get married. Just 4 months after he paid millions to the boy who accused him of being a pedophile, Michael Jackson married Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie.  But that wasn’t the end of Michael Jackson’s association with boys.  The appearance of young boys in Michael’s life showed that it would take more than an accusation to end the superstar’s friendships with young boys.  Just weeks after Michael’s marriage, 13 year old Frank Cascio became the new boy in Michael’s life, much to the shock of the police.

Bill Dworwin (clip from British documentary):   He was travelling with 2 boys, brothers from New Jersey.  We were concerned for the children’s safety.  We contacted the parents of those children, who believed that Jackson did not do anything improper.

Martin Bashir (narrating): Michael had gotten to know Frank as a baby, when he used to stay at the hotel the boy’s father managed in Manhattan.   Frank Cascio says that Jackson’s love for children is sincere, and not at all sexual.

Latoya Jackson (clip from British documentary):  When you’re innocent, and you’re doing everything that is perfectly normal and right, I’m not going to deviate from that.  What am I doing that’s wrong?

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Jackson was now a 35 year old married man, but he still saw nothing wrong with boys sleeping in his room.

J. Randy Tarroberrelli (clip from British documentary): Lisa was strong minded, and had a good sense of public relations coming from her family, and she realized that the appearances of impropriety caused by Jackson’s relationships with young boys were bound to do him in again. She felt that he should never be around boys ever again. Ever. So she was adamant about that, and he was just as adamant that she doesn’t get to tell him what to do.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Less than 2 years after their wedding, the couple split. But even if Lisa Marie didn’t make it “till death do us part”, Frank remains close to the star.

Maureen Orth (clip from British documentary):  He’s someone that Michael trusts, and he’s decided to make his life with Michael Jackson.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  One of the most puzzling things in Michael Jackson’s secret world is the behavior of children’s parents, particularly the mothers who send their young boys to Neverland.  Sandra Sutherland is a former private investigator.  She was employed by the accuser’s attorney back in 1993, to check out the boy’s story.

Sandra Sutherland (speaking to Bashir): Neverland, to me, epitomized what in the law is called an “attractive nuisance”.  There are pedophiles that I’ve come across who own a game store, or toy shop, or a kid’s book shop, places that your kids, and their parents……………Neverland had a zoo, it had a video arcade, it had a private movie theater, it had Michael Jackson, the idol of children all over the world.  It was the perfect, ultimate lure.

Martin Bashir:  So it wasn’t an innocent playground for the recreation of children?

Sandra Sutherland: Well, I think a lot of children did have an innocent, recreational experience there, and Michael’s very generous to some sick kids.  But it was more than that, though, I think.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  When Sandra Sutherland began investigating, she said she met a number of mothers sleep alone with Michael Jackson.

Martin Bashir (speaking to Sandra Sutherland): What did being Michael Jackson’s favorite involve for that child?

Sandra Sutherland: Well, he got to sleep with Michael in the main house, and the parents and siblings slept in the guest house.

Martin Bashir: So the deal was “If you’re Michael Jackson’s special child, you sleep in his room?”

Sandra Sutherland: Yes.

Martin Bashir (narrating): Sutherland says there was sometimes a bizarre competition between mothers to win Michael’s attention for their sons.

Sandra Sutherland: There are parents whose children they thought were having an absolutely wonderful experience being Michael’s special friend, and they also gradually came to realize that their child’s time in the sun was very limited.  There would come a time, after a year or two or three, that they would be supplanted by a younger child, and there was a certain discontent among a couple of mothers when they realized their time was almost up.

Martin Bashir (narrating): During her investigations, Sandra Sutherland also says that she came across a maid at Neverland whose 9-year old son was an occasional visitor. Sutherland says she was reluctant to speak out, but eventually she did tell her story.

Sandra Sutherland: She was very worried that her son was likely to be a victim, if he hadn’t been already.

Martin Bashir (narrating): It really emerged that Michael Jackson paid the boy $2 million dollars, without admitting any wrongdoing.  Michael’s current attorney says that it was a mistake to settle any of these prior claims, because they were baseless.  The boy and his mother are now on the prosecution witness list in the current case.  Jackson first survived pedophile accusations a decade ago.  They cost the star far more than the $25 million dollar payout.  In recent years his record sales have plummeted, and so has his personal fortune. In the meantime, Michael became a father.  I spent time with his children during the making of my documentary, and I spent time with his baby, the day after he’d been dangled out of a window in Berlin.  But throughout this period, Michael Jackson has carried on, befriending young boys.

Ray Chandler (clip from British documentary): If this was the guy next door, the minute he said he was sleeping with boys around the block, he’d be tarred and feathered.

Martin Bashir (narrating): But Michael Jackson isn’t the man next door.  He’s a 46-year old superstar who continued to have boys sleeping over.

Juju (clip from British documentary):  When I slept on his lap, he wasn’t like touching me on the parts, I was just sleeping with him and he was hugging me, doing nothing to me.

Martin Bashir (narrating): 9-year old Juju met Jackson the summer before last, and spent the night at Neverland with his brother and other children.  He’s also joined Jackson on trips to Toys “R” Us.

Juju (clip from British documentary): He’s like the most best person I’ve ever met because he’ll buy you anything you want.  Anything.

Martin Bashir (narrating): Juju’s family has known Jackson for 9 years, since his older brother Akhmed became one of Jackson’s young friends.

Akhmed (clip from British documentary): When I asked my parents if I could spend the night, they were like “Yeah, sure” because they know he’s not a child molester, and all that stuff is crap.

Hanadi Fattouh (Juju’s mother) (clip from British documentary): I never felt any weird thing about him.  I will never believe what they say.

Juju (clip from British documentary):  When I told my friends, they were surprised, but they thought he was gay, but he really wasn’t so I told them “I’m not going to be your friend anymore if you keep saying that!”

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Juju and his brother say nothing sexual ever happened between them and Jackson.  The current accusations have done nothing to shake this family’s faith in him.

Hanadi Fattouh (clip from British documentary):  I know he’s been accused 2 times already, but I never believed it, and I trust Michael, and I’m always going to be beside him.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  One of those accusers would soon pose the greatest threat yet to Michael Jackson’s freedom.  It all began more the 2 years ago, when I first met the so-called “King of Pop”. We were filming my documentary “Living With Michael Jackson”.    During that time, we met this 12-year old boy. During that time, neither I nor the young boy knew that our brief encounter would lead to the indictment of one of the world’s most famous entertainers for the crime of molestation.  Before the interview began, Jackson took the boy for a private chat, according to the boy’s grand jury testimony reported by ABC News.  The boy said that Michael asked him if he wanted to be an actor, and that this was his audition.  Michael wanted him to say good things about him, grab his hand, and act like Michael was his father.  The boy stunned the world by exposing how Jackson, the superstar was still openly inviting young boys into his bedroom, although Jackson said he slept on the floor.

Dr. Carole Lieberman (clip from British documentary): When I heard those words “If you love me”, it sent chills down my spine because those are classic pedophile words.  “If you love me, you will do this.”

Martin Bashir (narrating): Psychiatrist Carole Lieberman was so alarmed by what she said were clear signs of abuse, that she filed a complaint with the Santa Barbara authorities.  A complaint that was later dismissed.

Dr. Carole Lieberman (clip from British documentary): He’s leaning against Michael’s shoulder, looking up with these puppy dog eyes.  He’s just so submissive to Michael, and you can tell how much control Michael has over him.

Martin Bashir (narrating): What outraged many people was hearing Jackson talk about sharing his bed with young boys.  After all, this was the same man who in 1993 paid more than $20 million dollars to a boy who claimed the superstar abused him.  But even though Jacksons’ relationship with this boy raised some of the same questions, no one today, not the boy, not the police, not the prosecutors, claim that any abuse had occurred at the time of my interview.  The alleged molestation would come later.

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  All I remember is the sinking feeling in my gut that this is going to be trouble.

Martin Bashir (narrating): February 2003.  My documentary aired.  The reaction was immediate.  “Who was this boy with Michael Jackson, and why was he sharing his bedroom?”  Later the question would become “Was that boy molested by Michael Jackson?”  Jackson had met the boy 2 ½ years earlier. The 10-year old was at the hospital fighting for his life, riddled with cancer.  He made a wish.

Jamie Masada (clip from British documentary):  The TV in the room was on, and Michael Jackson was on, and he looked up and asked “Can I meet Michael Jackson?”  I said “Yes! You could do that!”

Martin Bashir (narrating): By that time, the boy’s family thought he may only have weeks to live.

Jamie Masada (clip from British documentary):  He had an 18 pound tumor in his stomach, and they had to take one of his kidneys out, and his spleen out.  The cancer was spreading all over his lungs and liver.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary): He wanted to meet Michael Jackson in the worst way.  He gave him his phone number. He got those late night phone calls.  He ultimately got that invitation to Neverland.  He and his family went to Neverland and they were wowed!

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Miraculously, after meeting Jackson the boy eventually recovered.  And, like other boys, he would end up in the star’s bedroom.

Diane Dimond (clip from British documentary): Piercing eyes.  Million dollar smile.  He fits the Michael Jackson pattern.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Like some of Michael Jackson’s other young friends, this boy, from a troubled home with limited resources was lavished with attention and gifts, and he says there was something else: pornography.  The boy says he and his younger brother looked at porn on the internet with Michael Jackson. He says they were in Jackson’s bedroom with the superstar’s friend Frank Tyson, who we met earlier in this broadcast, when he was one of Jackson’s young friends years before.   ABC News consultant Joe Tacopina represents Frank Tyson.

Martin Bashir (speaking to Joe Tacopina): Let me read you something that the accuser said happened on one of his very first visits to Neverland.  “Frank started pushing the computer, and I didn’t know what he was doing.  And he put it on, like, pictures of girls.  One of those girls had her shirt up and was exposing her breasts.”  Was your client ever involved in showing the accuser pornography?

Joe Tacopina : Absolutely not.

Martin Bashir (narrating): When my film aired in England, it sparked a firestorm.  Jackson’s picture of holding hands with the boy was flashed across the world.

Wendy Murphy (clip from British documentary): Clearly the catalyst for this whole saga was the airing of the video.  That’s when Michael Jackson was revealed to all of us as the guy who thought it was just lovely for men to sleep with boys, and it put Michael Jackson in a position of having to defend himself.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Prosecutors say that just before the film aired in the US, Jackson’s team, desperate to control the damage, whisked the boy and his family to this exclusive 5-star resort in Miami.  It is here, the boy says, that the superstar gave him wine, calling it “Jesus Juice”.

Wendy Murphy (clip from British documentary): If the jury believes Michael Jackson gave this child alcohol, they’re going to be much more inclined to believe all of the evidence, because a man who gives alcohol to a child, especially a child with a compromised immune system, is not one who respects children, and is more likely to molest them, because he’s not caring about them, he’s trying to cause them harm.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  On the private plane home, the boy says Jackson gave him wine again, in soda cans.  The defense says that Jackson never drank with the boy.  Meanwhile, the question on everyone’s lips was “What was Michael Jackson’s relationship with the young boy?”  Jackson’s answer came 2 weeks later, in a TV special to rebut my documentary.  The boy’s mother defended the star, in a written statement read by Maury Povich.  The mother now says that statement, and several others, were made under duress.  (Get her statement) And then, the unthinkable.  Just when the whole world was watching, the boy claims Jackson sexually abused him twice, putting his hand down the boy’s pants, and rubbing his private area.  His younger brother claims that he witnessed two other occasions of abuse, when his brother was sleeping.  Jackson’s camp says the timing of the alleged molestation is absurd.

Joe Tacopina : After all that attention has been brought on that relationship, he waits until after the controversy, after the hysteria, to then begin some sort of a sexual relationship with him?  That defies common sense.

Wendy Murphy (clip from British documentary): To some extent I believe that this is the weakness of the prosecution’s case.  On the other hand, this is probably why Michael Jackson chose that period of time to molest the child. He knew he would be insulated from prosecution, because what law enforcement official would ever take on a case where the child who’s accusing him was, only 2 weeks earlier, in a video claiming Michael Jackson had never touched him and was the best guy on the planet?

Martin Bashir (narrating):  The mother says she was never told about the abuse, but one night, in a 4am phone call from Michael Jackson’s bedroom, she says her son confided that he and Jackson had been drinking “Jesus Juice”.

Larry Feldman (clip from ABC News): When she heard about the liquor, and her son drinking wine, that was the trigger that changed everything in her mind, as to whether Michael Jackson was or wasn’t their best friend.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  The mother says that Neverland had become a nightmare. She says they were threatened by Jackson’s aides, not allowed to leave the property, and that she and her family were being held hostage.

Joe Tacopina : During the period of time that they were allegedly held hostage, we have receipts that will show the mother and her teenage daughter getting manicures and pedicures, shopping at stores. I mean, it’s laughable!

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Jackson’s supporters say they are confident that they’ll be able to destroy the credibility of the accuser’s story at trial.

Martin Bashir (speaking to Joe):  You’re fundamentally saying that this cancer victim, and his entire family, are liars.

Joe Tacopina : Yes. If you want to attribute a reason, or a motive, I don’t think it’s hard to find one.  It’s financial. Michael Jackson has a bulls-eye on his back.  He’s a one-man lotto ticket.

Martin Bashir: What evidence do you have that this is a shakedown?

Joe Tacopina : Who do they go to first? A lawyer.  Not the police. You see, if my child had been molested, and I believed my child had been sexually abused by someone, I’m not looking for a personal injury lawyer.  I’m looking for a police officer.  Or a baseball bat!

Larry Feldman (clip from ABC News): Nobody shook Michael Jackson down then, and nobody is shaking him down now.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Larry Feldman represents the family.  He also represents the alleged victim in 1993, who settled for around $25 million dollars. A coincidence? The Jackson camp doesn’t think so.

Joe Tacopina: It’s the mother who drives this train.  It’s the mother who exercises tremendous control over these boys, who is claiming not to be after the money, but all she wants is money.  Who, instead of going to the police when she believed these allegations had merit, she went to the same attorney got a $20 million dollar settlement from Michael Jackson 10-years earlier.

Wendy Murphy (clip from British documentary): It takes a lot to believe that a mother, who cares about her son, she may not be the best parent on the planet, but she cares about her son, she would force him to lie about being molested?  I mean, where are those kinds of parents?  I’ve never encountered such a case, where a mother would be so cruel to a child she loves, that she would force him to falsely believe that he was assaulted.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  The mother says that this time, there will be no out of court settlement.  That she doesn’t want “the devil’s money”.

Larry Feldman (clip from ABC News): They took them to children’s services, and they took them to the District Attorney’s office, and its unfair to attack some child, like there’s some ulterior motive behind going through this criminal case.  I don’t think that people really realize how painful it is for some young person to have to have to deal with this.

Larry Feldman (clip from ABC News): And so it has come to this, the so-called “trial of the century”.

Wendy Murphy (clip from British documentary): The prosecution is alleging a variety of charges, many charges, including not just child molestation, but providing alcohol to a minor, intimidation of a witness, kidnapping, extortion.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  For the first time, the megastar will be forced to face his accuser in court.

Wendy Murphy (clip from British documentary): In a sense the prosecution is set to put on a very full picture of not a one-time incident with Michael Jackson fondling the child in his home, but a rather extensive story of not only how Michael Jackson came to meet the family, how he selected them, how he groomed the child, how he became suspicious that he was going to be found out, and the steps that he took to try to silence this family.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Recently, Jackson proclaimed his innocence, casting himself as the victim.

Wendy Murphy (clip from British documentary): I’ve prosecuted hundreds of child sex cases, and never had the corroborative evidence the prosecution has here, and I’m talking about fingerprints on pornography, Michael Jackson giving the child alcohol, this is stuff the jury is going to find hard to dismiss, and more importantly, it’s going to transform the air in the courtroom because, all of a sudden, Michael Jackson isn’t that nice-guy, celebrity superstar.

Katherine Jackson (clip from ABC News): Michael continued with children because he was innocent.  The people that accused him know they’re lying.  Why would a boy nurse someone back to health, and then turn around and even when their sick, and this kid was sick, he was dying.  Why would he molest him?  Would you? Nobody would! A sick child? No!

Wendy Murphy (clip from British documentary): His mother has said “I know for sure 100% he’s not guilty because he loves children, and he would never do this”, and the truth is those people don’t know, they weren’t there, child abuse usually doesn’t happen in front of witnesses.  They really can’t be in a position to know.  And mothers love their sons, and I’m sure Mrs. Jackson loves her son, and she wants desperately to believe that it’s not true.

Martin Bashir (narrating):  Michael Jackson’s representatives declined to comment on tonight’s broadcast, saying that they are prohibited by the judge’s gag order.  I was nearing the end of my journey into Michael Jackson’s secret world, and what to think at the end of it all. I’d met some of Jackson’s young friends. Terry George, who said that Jackson talked to him about masturbation during a phone call.  And we’ve seen a number of boys who said that nothing untoward happened to them.  I haven’t seen Michael Jackson since my documentary aired.  The next time I’ll see him will be in court, where his secret world will be judged.

J. Randy Taraborrelli (clip from British documentary):  He should know better. He’s made a lot of mistakes.  He’s done a lot to himself, he’s his own worst enemy when it comes to some of his decisions.  But he’s not a child molester.

Martin Bashir (speaking to Sandra Sutherland): So do you think that Michael Jackson is a predatory pedophile?

Sandra Sutherland: Yes, it’s a hard word, but I think he is, yes.

Latoya Jackson (clip from British documentary): In my heart, I truly believe he will be vindicated.

 Analysis:

1. “Some of the individuals who appeared in that documentary received compensation for their participation. No payment was made for any of the interviews conducted by Martin Bashir or ABC News”: The “individuals” who were paid were the ones who participated in the sleazy British documentary, and as you guys will see as you read this analysis, the so-called “documentary” was nothing but another hit piece on MJ, where his enemies were given a platform to spew their lies unchallenged, just like this one!

2. “I could never have foreseen what consequences that encounter would have.”Oh really, Bashir? You had to have known that there would be some dire consequences for Michael Jackson! After all, it was YOUR IDEA that Gavin hold Michael Jackson’s hand and place his head on your shoulder! And not only did you not allow MJ to review the documentary before it aired, but you and your partners in crime at ITV and ABC didn’t get Janet Arvizo’s express written consent before airing the documentary!

At the end of this post, I included a witness statement from one of MJ’s employees, who documented how she desperately tried to contact Bashir in order for him to schedule a time when MJ could review the footage, and he avoided her like the plague!

3. “Terry George claims he was one of those boys.”    No he wasn’t! He was absolutely discredited in this post we did on phantom victims, of which George was the most vocal by far!

4. “There were little boys everywhere that would come to the hotels.” Yeah sure, Maureen! I bet you used Gene Simmons as a “source” for that rumor, huh?  In this interview, Simmons said that he knew of multiple musicians who quit after seeing “boys coming out of the hotel rooms”.   Fortunately, MJ’s guitarist Jennifer Batten was able to thoroughly refute him, and Charles Thomson finished the job with this Huffington Post article!

5. “By 1984, Michael’s second album “Thriller” was well on its way to being the best seller of all time.”  Wrong, Bashir! Thriller wasn’t MJ’s second album; it was his SIXTH! Get your facts straight, you lazy, lying tabloid hack!  His first five albums were Got To Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music and Me (1973), Forever, Michael (1975, and Off The Wall (1979)!

6. “I read their credit report.”  Have you no shame, Dimond? You went digging into the most intimate details of the private lives of the Safechuck’s? How on earth were you able to obtain their credit report? I wish the fans could obtain Dimond’s credit report so we could see how her standard of living has increased since she started smearing MJ! I wonder who’s paying her to write all of those lies!

7. “Jimmy Safechuck has not alleged any wrongdoing by Jackson.” & “Jimmy Safechuck, like so many others that I have come across, just simply got too old” Of course he hasn’t! Nobody has alleged wrongdoing except the Jordan Chandler, Jason Francia, and Gavin Arvizo!  And would Jimmy have chosen to get married at Neverland if he had been abused by MJ?  Would he have been able to even THINK about getting married at Neverland if he had “simply got too old”, as Dimond suggested? Here is what our friend Rockforeveron had to say about Jimmy on her blog:

What about other alleged victims? One such kid is Jimmy Safechuck, seen here with Michael and an unidentified woman in 1988. It was heavily suggested in tabloids that Michael gave Jimmy some kind of settlement at some point in the late 80s – likely based on what LaToya had claimed while being beaten by her husband in the 90s – which is actually kind of funny for a few reasons. One, as stated here, the judge refused to allow testimony from Jimmy who stated that nothing had happened.Two, he had later got married at Neverland circa 2000, and three, and most funny of all: Jimmy Safechuck was an orphan that Michael had befriended and the reports Michael involve Michael paying off a “father” – try to figure that one out.

And here’s what Mesereau had to say in court:

“Six, Jimmy Safechuck, who we are informed says nothing happened. They don’t propose to call him as an alleged victim either, but they’ve got the same old gang again coming in to try and capitalize on the case, people who have been adjudged to be liars, and they are. People who asked for money from tabloids, who’ve asked for money from Mr. Jackson, et cetera.”     

8. “For his record buying public, Jackson was portrayed as a heterosexual predator with the video for his latest hit “The Way You Make Me Feel”. You’ve got to be kidding me, right? So because MJ played a role in his video that normal, everyday twenty something year old men  play out in real life (i.e. checking out women and flirting with them), he’s now a “predator”?  And this wasn’t even the first time he had a female love interest in a video; does the name “Ola Ray” ring a bell? I wonder if Bashir would say that MJ was  a “predator” in the Thriller video too, huh?

9. “That was the first video where the public, for the first time, saw Michael as a believable, heterosexual male.” Shame on you, Tatiana! For her to sit there and say that about MJ, knowing damn well it isn’t true, just shoes what people will say for the right amount of money!  But what else should we expect from her, unlike Lisa Dean (the model who starred in “Dirty Diana”), Tatiana Thumbtzen has milked her 15 minutes of fame for all it’s worth! She wrote a book titled “The Way He Made Me Feel” in order to cash in on her connection to MJ, and of course she accepted money from those scumbag British tabloids who financed this piece of garbage. In her interview below, she said her book wasn’t a “tell all”, but rather an “autobiography”, but my question is this: who would give a damn about Tatiana if she wasn’t in MJ’s video?

 

Besides, the first time that the public saw MJ as a “believable, heterosexual male” was when he was on “The Dating Game” in 1972!

10. “Which sometimes included their whole families.” Uh, no Bashir! MJ’s friendships with boys didn’t “sometimes” include their whole families, but it ALWAYS included their whole families!  Once again, this is another example of Bashir’s twisting of the facts to suit his own agenda.

 11. “Years later, when Geoffrey was 15, he says Jackson called him out of the blue, and invited him to his hideout in LA.” Hey Bashir, why would MJ call Geoffrey at age 15? I thought by then Geoffrey would have gotten “too old” for MJ?

12.  “Jackson befriended his entire family”. & “I think that isn’t something that he ever had himself.” It’s obvious that MJ was looking for a second family, due to the dysfunction in his own family, and I think Geoffrey couldn’t have said it better in that quote.  That seems to be the motivation for his friendships with all of the families included in this documentary, including (unfortunately) the Chandlers.

13.   “Feldman says he was never molested by Jackson.” Of course he wasn’t molested!! Would Corey Feldman perform a cover of “Billie Jean” as a tribute to MJ if he had been molested?

And here’s an interview he did on the day after MJ died:

14. “Ray Chandler is the one close member of the Chandler family that isn’t bound by a confidentiality agreement, following his nephew’s claims of sexual abuse in 1993.”  Yep, he certainly was not bound by the confidentiality agreement, and he exercised his right to free speech oh so eloquently!  He made no less than 20 media appearances, but there was one appearance that he was DESPERATE to avoid, and that was on the witness stand in a court of law! Ray used the Journalist Shield Law to get out of testifying against MJ. Believe it or not, he wasn’t subpoenaed by Sneddon, but by Mesereau! If MJ was truly guilty, then why would his defense team want him to testify against him? Please read the series below for more information!

https://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/category/ray-chandler-was-subpoenaed-to-prove-his-all-that-glitters-lies-in-court-why-did-he-fight-it/

15. “It was inevitable that Michael was going to meet some boy whose family was somehow going to try to bring him down. It had to happen.” J. Randy Taraborrelli has been a very controversial figure in the fan community. Many fans don’t trust him or like him because of his books, and because of things that he has publicly said about Michael. But I think that we can all agree with him on this one; when the most famous superstar on the planet is constantly hanging out with “normal families”, sooner or later SOMEONE will try to take advantage of him, and if it had not been the Chandlers, it could have been some other family down the line.  But can you blame Michael for wanting to be around “normal people”? If you came from the cesspool of dysfunction otherwise known as the Jackson family, you’d want to be around a normal family too!  

16. “Michael spent 30 straight nights in a row, sleeping in the same bed.” Get the hell outta here, Maureen!  That myth has already been debunked so many times that it’s not even believable anymore, except to the gullible idiots who eat up everything she writes in her columns like mindless zombies!  Here is a post we did that put an end to the “30 consecutive days” myth once and for all! 

17. “One item that we found in a locked filing cabinet was a book showing boys in nude poses. It’s not illegal. It’s a book that I’ve seized in other investigations” Oh gosh, here we go again! I bet you guys can see this coming from a mile away, huh? The issue of MJ’s “porn collection” will come up. Well, I’ll give Det. Dworwin credit this time; at least he pointed out that those 2 books are not illegal!  Fortunately, we did a multi-part series exposing the truth behind MJ’s art collection! 

However, in this February 2003 episode of Dateline NBC, the same episode that aired after MJ refused to grant them in interview after the Bashir debacle aired (this was discussed at length in this post), Dworwin continued to perpetuate the fable  that Jordan’s description matched, but yet it STILL was not the “smoking gun” that prosecutors wanted to help them bring down “a celebrity”.

A 34-year veteran of the LAPD, he’s investigated more than 4,000 sexual exploitation cases. He was also one of the lead detectives investigating the charges against Jackson. And for the first time, he is talking about the investigation from the inside, exclusively with “Dateline.”

Dworin: “Everybody who listened to this child, ‘cause he’s not only interviewed by my officers, he was interviewed by Department of Children and Family Services, he was interviewed by the district attorney’s office at a later date, we were all satisfied he was a very credible witness.”

Mankiewicz: “You’ve been at this a long time. You no doubt have interviewed children whose stories were rehearsed or coached for one reason or another.”

Dworin: “That’s correct. In this instance, we didn’t feel that it was coached. We felt that the child was telling us the truth.”

Police did know the victim’s family had approached Jackson, looking for a financial settlement. But Dworin says the boy’s story stood up under questioning, and immediately all of Jackson’s homes were searched for evidence, including the singer’s Neverland ranch. And for the first time time, an investigating officer is talking on the record about what he found.

 

Dworin: “We found books and the books depicted children in the nude. This itself is not a crime.”

 

The nude photographs were not pornography, by the legal definition, and Jackson says he does not remember having them. But to Dworin any nude photo of a child in the home of a 34-year-old man is suspicious.

Dworin: “Pedophiles will frequently have this material available.”

Mankiewicz: “Because?”

Dworin: “Because they can obtain it legally It’s not illegal to possess, and it’s used for sexual satisfaction and arousal.”

Besides the pictures, Dworin was suspicious of the setup he found in Jackson’s bedroom.

Dworin: “You had to approach the bedroom by a hallway. And in going down this hallway, it sets off an alarm in Jackson’s bedroom.”

Mankiewicz: “Which suggests what to you?”

Dworin: “To me, it suggested that it was a warning in case something was occurring that was improper, that that activity would stop.”

Mankiewicz: “Is it not also possible that this was someone who’s worried about fans breaking into the house or worried about crime and you know wanted to be tipped off in the event that there was an intruder?”

Dworin: “No, at the— at his ranch, he had sufficient security, not to be concerned about intruders.”

Mankiewicz: “So you think that alarm system had a different purpose than alerting Michael Jackson to a burglar?”

 

Dworin: “Oh, absolutely. It was just for his bedroom. Not for the rest of the house. It was just for anybody approaching his bedroom door. He knows when someone’s approaching that door.”

And inside the bedroom…

Dworin: “Walking into Michael Jackson’s bedroom was like walking into a 13-year-old’s bedroom. There was a lot of material that 13-year-olds would be interested in doing and playing with. Games. Various objects that would be an attraction to 13-year-olds.

Mankiewicz: “Okay, now you see that bedroom through the eyes of a seasoned child molestation investigator. Is it not also possible that Michael Jackson is sort of a child-like guy who didn’t have much of a childhood when he lived at home. And so because he’s wealthy and self-indulgent, he’s having one now.”

Dworin: “Oh, very much so. And that’s my concern. This is very common. I’ve seen this type of activity, this type of material found in hundreds of homes that I’ve entered. Things that are of an interest to children that will lure the children into that house is also in fact an interest to that adult who has had sexual interest in children.”

Dworin says one critical piece of corroborating evidence was found not in Michael Jackson’s home, but on Michael Jackson’s body: an intimate description that the young boy gave police.

Dworin: “We had served a search warrant to photograph Michael Jackson. Those photographs corroborated the description that the boy gave us regarding Michael Jackson’s genitals.”

Mankiewicz: “The boy was able to describe discolorations of Jackson’s skin?”

Dworin: “Yes.”

Mankiewicz: “On his genitals, accurately.”

Dworin: “Very much so.”

To hear former detective Bill Dworin tell it, that investigation convinced the police. But prosecutors wanted more evidence if they were going to charge Michael Jackson with sex crimes.

 

Dworin: “They wanted the smoking gun. We could not produce the smoking gun.”

Mankiewicz: “And a smoking gun in this case would have been what, a photograph of the two of them having sex?”

Dworin: “Of course, that would be great, but we didn’t have that.”

Mankiewicz: “Did that make it impossible to go forward?”

Dworin: “It made it difficult.”

Mankiewicz: “Difficult because you never go forward without physical evidence or because the accused in this case was a huge celebrity?

Dworin: “I believe it’s because he was a huge celebrity.”

Mankiewicz: “Was Michael Jackson guilty?”

Dworin: “I believe he has a sexual interest in boys.”

But Bill Dworin would never have a chance to talk to a jury about Michael Jackson. District attorneys in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara declined to move forward, saying they couldn’t prosecute without a cooperating witness.

Ok, so Detective Dworwin thought that the alarms were a sign of MJ trying to protect himself from being “interrupted” by someone walking in on him abusing kids. He seems to think that because Neverland had so much security as it is, there was no other reason to have those alarms except to allow him to abuse children in private. But let’s see what Kit Culkin, the father of Macaulay, had to say about those alarms in his book “Lost Boy”, from page 48:

What the child molestation charges of 1993 did, perhaps above all else, were to insist that Michael forever thereafter, as to everything that he would ever do in life, be viewed solely through a lens of pedophilia. I’ll give but a single “for instance”; one that goes to the well-reported on alarm system just outside Michael’s bedroom and the so-called “secret room” actually in that bedroom.  Michael, remember, is a Scardey-Cat, which isn’t to say that there weren’t times when perhaps he had just cause to be so.  Take the helicopters that would buzz Neverland on a daily basis (indeed, often several times a day). One could hear their approach over and above the crackling speech on security walkie-talkies, which always attempted to give their positions (“Moving Northeast. Eleven O’Clock. Two Hundred Feet. Copy.”); this before their actual arrival, which could be perfectly deafening. It always gave one the sense that an invasion was taking place. So bad and so frequent did these visits become as to cause Michael at one point to make in-depth inquiries regarding the purchase of the air space directly above this property (such as Manhattan real-estate tycoons are allowed); solicitations which only led to his being told that local zoning laws did not allow for this.  Many of these helicopters contained (none-too-surprisingly) “ladies and gentlemen of the press”, who (we should all well know) have an absolute license under the First Article of the Bill of Rights (also known as the First Amendment to the United States Constitution), to do pretty much as they please, no matter how much it may infringe upon an individual’s right to the pursuit of happiness in the privacy of his or her own home. American freedom, after all, depends on it (the media themselves will tell you this); and it is a license that, when it is not our own personal pursuit and our own personal privacy that is at risk, we all perfectly relish! But, be this as it shamefully may, others of these whirly-bird attack squads were not made up of such “girls and boys”, but rather of the merely curious; folks who would gladly pay for a helicopter rid who’s tour included as its centerpiece the buzzing of Michael’s home. To Michael the Scardey-Cat they all represented the specter of hooded terrorists, dressed as perfect ninjas, skidding down ropes onto the property, the better to commit “The Kidnapping of the Century”; and even though (in perfect hindsight) none of this ever did occur, there were other times when no less benign incidents would only go to feed this fear.  Take the morning when Michael arose and walked into his private garden, there to find a fan crouched in the bushes; a fan “fanatical” enough (for so comes the word) to enter the property and scale the wall and spend the night there (Can anyone yet remember the just who and the just where of John Lennon’s murder?!).  That Michael would respond to such as this by actually outfitting his bedroom with a relatively conspicuous store-bought beam alarm system (one that the entire cleaning staff knew existed and that could be simply stepped over), as well as with a so-called “secret room” (really a closet) to which he could run in times of such emergency should not surprise anyone; indeed, these are things that under like circumstances most any of us would do. But when viewed through the lens of pedophilia, the existence of these could only have a far more sinister purpose. And that (and all like unto it) was Michael’s problem in a nutshell, and here was little that Michael could thereafter ever do about it. It was the bell that couldn’t be un-rung. It was the genie who wouldn’t return to the bottle.

So as you can see, Kit offered a completely rational explanation for the bedroom alarms and the secret room. Michael tried to make Neverland a “no-fly zone” by attempting to purchase the airspace, but was unable to, and as a result helicopters had free access to fly overhead. Even worse, for a fan to get past all of the security and hide in MJ’s garden must have been an absolutely terrifying experience for MJ (or for anyone, for that matter), and MJ had a right to take precautions to protect his privacy.  That incident disproves Det. Dworwin’s theory that Neverland had ample security, and therefore MJ installed those alarms for sinister reasons.

But Kit made a good point; when you look at MJ through the lens of a detective, or anyone else who is just suspicious, then everything about him could be a sign of guilt, no matter how harmless it is.  Also, when you think about what happened to John Lennon, how could MJ NOT be terrified? Lennon’s murder was a warning to every celebrity to be highly suspicious of all fans at all times!

Actually, it’s a good thing that MJ installed that bedroom alarm, because it helped vindicate him in 2005! Star Arvizo claimed that he witnessed MJ molest Gavin on several occasions by walking in on the act, but wouldn’t MJ have known that Star was approaching when he heard the alarms? Sneddon argued that the volume of the alarm was turned down during that period of time, and thus MJ wasn’t able to hear it.  But defense witness Larry Nimmer (a professional videographer who was hired to film Neverland after Judge Melville refused to allow jurors to tour the property) totally debunked that theory by performing a test where he placed his camera in MJ’s upper chamber (where the molestation allegedly happened), and he had a maid activate the alarm by entering MJ’s living quarters, and by doing this he demonstrated how loud and audible the alarm was, thus destroying Sneddon’s claim. Nimmer included this test in his documentary “The Untold Story of Neverland”, which is available on the DVD that I purchased, and the video of this test is below! This test proved that Star Arvizo was LYING about walking into MJ’s bedroom and seeing MJ masturbate Gavin without MJ’s knowledge!

Both Nimmer and Maria Gomez (the maid) explained their test on the witness stand, and for more details please read the following article:

http://site2.mjeol.com/mjeol-bullet/defense-proves-welfare-fraud-explains-alarm-%C2%96-mb-269.html

Another person who defended the bedroom alarms was, ironically, Adrian McManus, one of the “Neverland 5” who lost a multi-million dollar lawsuit against MJ and to this day owes him $1.4 million dollars.  She was fired from Neverland for theft prior to the allegations, and then sold lies to the tabloids about witnessing MJ molest young boys, including Macaulay Culkin.  Former employee Francine Contreras testified against McManus’ character by describing the display at McManus’ home of pilfered items from Neverland, including toys that were meant to be given to needy children! (Have you no shame, Adrian? How low can you go?)

During her cross examination, she was presented with a transcript of her 1994 deposition, where she defended the bedroom alarms by stating the following:  “When you’re a celebrity, you lead a difficult life.  People kill celebrities.  That little sensor benefits him for his life.” That quote and others made by McManus can be seen @ 4:36 in the following video which is part of the series “What did happen to Michael Jackson” by a diehard MJ fan with the YouTube username “LunaJo67″, which I highly recommend everyone watch.

18. “According to the lead investigator, the boy’s description matched.” BULL! Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows that we’ve already debunked this myth countless times, so there’s no need to dwell on it again here, except (as always) to say that the following five posts prove that Jordan’s description absolutely, positively, did not match!

https://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/all-you-wanted-to-know-about-it-but-were-always-afraid-to-ask-part-1/

https://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/all-you-wanted-to-know-about-it-but-were-afraid-to-ask-part-2/

https://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2010/04/20/all-you-wanted-to-know-about-it-but-were-afraid-to-ask-part-3/

https://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2010/08/21/the-story-of-one-telltale-splotch-missing-from-the-smokin-gunpublic-eye/

https://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/was-it-match-or-mismatch/

19. “He was travelling with 2 boys, brothers from New Jersey.  We were concerned for the children’s safety.  We contacted the parents of those children, who believed that Jackson did not do anything improper.”  These 2 boys were the Cascio brothers, Frank and Eddie Cascio.  They have always been staunch defenders of MJ, and proudly denounced the allegations last December on the Oprah Winfrey show.

20:  “When I asked my parents if I could spend the night, they were like “Yeah, sure” because they know he’s not a child molester, and all that stuff is crap.”This is Akhmed Elatab, who was 16 when he visited Neverland in 2002 (after obtaining his parent’s permission, of course).  After MJ was arrested in November 2003, he defended MJ in this article, and dispelled many of the misconceptions about him and Neverland.

21. “The mother now says that statement, and several others, were made under duress.” The statement that she alleged was made under duress is the following, which was stated in MJ’s “Take Two” rebuttal, beginning @ 4:30:

“I’m appalled at the way in which my son has been exploited by Martin Bashir. The relationship that Michael has with my three children is a beautiful, loving, father/sons/ & daughter one. To my children and me, Michael is a part of our family.”

22. “On the other hand, this is probably why Michael Jackson chose that period of time to molest the child.” Oh please! This is tabloid smut at its worst! She’s going to sit there with a straight face and say that MJ decided to molest Gavin, who he had already known for more almost 2 years, right AFTER the documentary, and AFTER he was cleared by the DCFS? You’ve got to be kidding me! Wendy Murphy is one of the bottom feeders who has profited off of MJ by calling him the “Teflon Molester”, among other names. But she has no credibility whatsoever, as this article proves.

And people have the nerve to call us fans crazy!

23. “She says her son confided that he and Jackson had been drinking “Jesus Juice”. For those of you who haven’t read this yet, here is a post that describes the origins of the term “Jesus Juice”, and it’s very important that you know this because there is a common misconception that MJ really did use this term, even if he didn’t serve alcohol to children, when in fact  MJ NEVER used this term at all!

24: “Why would he molest him?  Would you? Nobody would! A sick child? No!” This is emblematic of how Bashir cherry picked the interviews that were used in this piece of trash documentary. Katherine gave an interview to ABC News in 2004, yet this 10-second clip is all we see of it! And it’s a clip that shows Katherine making a very poor attempt at defending MJ, so that explains why it was included! I know she meant well, but you don’t defend MJ against allegations of molestation by asking the interviewer if they would molest a child! Obviously, what Katherine is trying to say is that MJ is not the type of sick, deranged monster to molest a sick, cancer-ridden child, but the problem is that due to the public’s “Wacko Jacko” perception of MJ, many people (such as legal analyst Wendy Murphy) argued that this is exactly the type of kid that MJ would molest, so as a result Katherine’s noble attempt to defend MJ fell flat.  Bashir included that clip so that he could paint Katherine as a naïve mother who would say anything to defend her son. 

Further analysis of Martin Bashir:

Here is another testament to Bashir’s malicious and deliberate intentions of destroying MJ with his documentary, let’s analyze the witness statement of Eveyln Tavasci, who served as one of MJ’s personal assistants during the time that Bashir filmed his interviews. No analysis is even necessary! Just pay attention to the parts that I bolded. It’s so self-explanatory!

I will give a few excerpts from her statement below, and her entire statement can be read here, beginning on page 28.

I, EVELYN TAVASCI, of 4S28 Katharine Avenue Sherman Oaks, California, USA, WILL SAY as follows –

1. Having been employed by MJJ Productions inc (“Productions”) In March of 1991, I was appointed by Mr. Jacteon as his personal assistant in 1993. Productions (among other things) owns and administers the intellectual property rights arising from certain of Mr. Jackson’s activities, including the rights relating to the film footage which is in dispute in this case. I am the executive administrator of Productions and run the office. I am duly authorized to make this Witness Statement in support of the present application. Save where otherwise Indicated, its contents come from my own knowledge and are true. Insofar as they have been provided by third parties l believe them to be true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

11. In about the first week of August 2002, I received a call from Hamid Moslehl (“Hamld”), who is a photographer and videographer engaged by Mr. Jackson from time to time. I cannot now recall whether Mr. Bashir was still at the Ranch. Hamid said that he had asked Mr. Bashir for the film tape but that he would not give it to him. I spoke to Mr. Bashir (after he had left the Ranch) and told him that Mr. Jackson wanted the tapes. He told me not to worry, because he would be show him the tapes-the next time that he saw Mr. Jackson. I then spoke to Mr. Jackson by telephone and raised the matter with him. I told him that Mr. Bashir had kept the tapes and was proposing to show him the footage. He said that it would be okay, but emphasized that he would need to see footage In order to exercise his approval rights.

13. On or about 22 or 23 January 2003, l was contacted by Mr. Jackson who requested that Joe Wllcots fly to London in order to check the quality of the lighting of the documentary as it was being edited. I believe I then left a message on Mr. Bashir’s mobile conveying Mr. Jackson’s request. The day following this conversation, Mr. Bashir called me rather upset because, having discussed this matter with Mr. Jackson, he was afraid what Mr. Jackson had asked Mr. Wllcots to do would take away from ‘the human aspect” and “correct and passionate portrayal of Mr. Jackson as was his goal”.  He was extremely passionate in his plea that I speak with Mr. Jackson. I only responded by stating that Mr. Jackson should have every right to have Mr. Wilcots view the footage. Mr. Wllcots eventually went to London on 30 January 2003 despite the fact that we had not heard back from Mr. Bashir in order to make the necessary arrangements. Mr. Wilcots remained In London until I believe 2 February 2003 when he returned home having had no opportunity to view the film.

16.On 24 January I received a fax from Mr. Bashir which included a letter dated 23 January signed by him on Granada headed paper (pages [] of E.T.1). I have to say that my reaction to that letter was that it was horrible; it appeared that Mr. Bashir was not going to let Mr. Jackson have the tapes, a proper opportunity to view the film, or to exercise his right of final approval. He was covering himself. The letter stated that:

‘….Having spoken to Michael Jackson on a daily basis recently and given that he is away in Miami, I thought it would be helpful if I outlined our plans for the forthcoming documentary. We are now in the latter stages of editing and the complex sound dub should be completed towards the end of next week. As a courtesy, I have told Michael Jackson that I will personally bring a copy of the program to show him prior to broadcast.  Since he Is travelling back to Los Angeles on Saturday 1^m February, he suggested that I meet with him at Neverland and on the following day, February 2, I am pleased to be able to do that; the-program will be broadcast in the UK on Monday February 3…”

17. As far as I am aware, it was quite untrue that Mr. Jackson had been speaking to Mr. Bashir “on a daily basis”. On the contrary, Mr. Jackson had begun constantly asking me to get hold of Mr. Bashir because he wanted to speak to him urgently and he had not been able to do so. I had also tried to contact Mr. Bashir without success, leaving numerous messages for him to return my calls. He had failed to respond to any of them.

18. I phoned Mr. Jackson Immediately upon receipt of Mr. Bashir’s letter and told him what was in it. He was very upset about it because it seemed to be a violation of the arrangement reached with Mr. Bashir. He asked me to contact Brian Wolf to take the matter up with Granada. I asked him whether he was planning to be at the Ranch at the time suggested by Mr. Bashir. He said that he was not going to be there and would still be in Miami and wanted to see the program in Miami, at least one week before It was due to be shown. He also told me that there was no arrangement regarding a viewing on 2 February at the Ranch. Following my discussions with Mr. Jackson, I phoned Brian Wolf and told him to take the matter up with Granada and told him about the letter of 31 July 2002. I also faxed Mr. Bashir’s letter of the 23 January 2003 to him (pages [ ] of Exhibit “ET1”).

19. On Tuesday, 29 January Mr. Jackson was in Miami. He rang me and said that he had talked to Mr. Bashir very briefly. He asked me to ring him back and to get him to call Mr. Jackson. On that day I tried to contact Mr. Bashir by phone five times. I left messages for him on his mobile and left one message at Granada’s offices asking him to call me back. Mr. Bashir did not contact me and he did not contact Mr. Jackson. I kept Mr.Jackson informed of what I was doing and he told me to keep trying to contact Mr. Bashir. After that, I repeatedly tried to contact Mr. Bashir in the week before the broadcast was due to be aired. I tracked him down on his home number (which I had obtained from Url Geller} on Wednesday, 29 January. He was surprised that I had managed to contact him at that number.

20. By this time, I had been made aware of the two documents relied on by Granada in the context of this dispute, which-had been faxed to me by Brian Wolf, Esq. of Lavely & Singer, and the attitude it was taking to the imminent broadcast that Mr. Jackson had no approval rights. I asked Mr. Bashir about the documents and told him that Mr. Jackson was very upset about the line that Granada was taking, which was the complete opposite of what Mr. Jackson had wanted and what Mr. Jackson told me that Mr. Bashir had promised him. I told Mr. Bashir that the program could not be shown without Mr. Jackson’s final approval. Mr. Bashir told me that he was not going to pay any attention to those documents and that he would honor his agreement with Mr. Jackson, which he described as a “gentleman’s agreement”. 

He said that Mr. Jackson would be able to edit the program and exercise approval rights and that he planned to come over the following day (if not, then on Friday), If his office approved it, which I Interpreted as approving his travel plan/expenses. He said that Mr. Jackson could make the necessary changes and he would be back by the Friday and that the editing rooms in Gray’s Inn Road would stay open through the weekend. Mr. Bashir mentioned that he planned to visit the Ranch on 1 February. I responded that he (Mr. Bashir) was assuming Mr. Jackson would be present at the Ranch and that this might not necessarily be the case. He then asked if Mr. Jackson was still In Miami. I did not ask him how he knew this but confirmed with him that this might be the case. He said he would then fly to Miami but that he would check with me first.

21. I contacted Mr. Jackson and he was delighted. However, contrary to his earlier promises, Mr. Bashir did not appear in Miami until late Sunday, 2 February 2003. The day before the program was going to be broadcast Mr. Jackson has informed me that he never saw the program before it was first broadcast.

22. I believe that the facts set out In this Witness Statement are true.

One last note: on April 25, 2011, Martin Bashir granted an interview to Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush and some other media hack whose name I could not find.  It’s good that we have him on record for the second time saying he didn’t see or sense anything wrong with MJ.  He tried to do a good spin job by saying that MJ’s troubled childhood was the start of his troubles, but as usual he didn’t confess the role he played in MJ’s downfall, and those 2 star-struck fans disguised as journalists didn’t challenge him about his deceptive editing, on MJ’s rebuttal, on his testimony (or lack thereof) from the 2005 trial, etc.  They merely gave him a platform to continue to play the “good guy” in all of this, but what do you expect? They seemed so happy to be in his presence! The male host mentioned how he partied with Bashir the night before, so that’s what you get when you fraternize with the person you’re interviewing.

One thing that caught my eye was that faulty analogy he made about MJ’s bed sharing. He said that he would get an adverse reaction from the parents of his children’s friends if he “asked” to sleep in the same bed as them, thus implying that MJ “asked” parents to sleep in bed with their children. This is why we all have to have a razor sharp mind when listening to Bashir, Dimond, Orth, etc. They are very subtle in their falsehoods about MJ, and you have to analyze every syllable that rolls off of their tongues.  We already know that MJ never “asked” any child to sleep with him, nor did he force them or bribe them.  That’s why people are so hostile to MJ over this non-issue; because of misconceptions like this which are being spread by Bashir!

Another thing that jumped out is when he said that “we” made a documentary that was 1 hour and 59 minutes long. The “we” implies that both he and MJ edited the documentary, which we ALL know to be totally false, but you see how he was able to sneak it in and go unchallenged!

For more info on how Bashir was able to con MJ into doing the documentary, read this post. To read a non-MJ fan rip Bashir for the joke that he is, read this post, and pay attention to the comments I posted in reply to “Yngblkcons”, who wrongly said that MJ couldn’t control his “urges” to be around young boys, and that’s why he continued to hang out around them after 1993. (Click on the “replies” arrow to reveal my replies to him.)

In closing, and as a lasting testament of how Bashir’s reputation now precedes him, here is an article on how even Charlie Sheen refused to grant an interview to Bashir!!  When a disturbed person such as Sheen refuses to speak with you, you really can’t get any lower than that!