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Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour

Webmaster — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:15:17 +0000

Cirque du Soleil has created a riveting fusion of visuals, dance, music and fantasy that immerses audiences in Michael's creative world and literally turns his signature moves upside down, Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour unfolds Michael Jackson's artistry before the eyes of the audience. Aimed at lifelong fans as well as those experiencing Michael's creative genius for the first time, the show captures the essence, soul and inspiration of the King of Pop, celebrating a legacy that continues to transcend generations.

THE IMMORTAL World Tour takes place in a fantastical realm where we discover Michael's inspirational Giving Tree – the wellspring of his creativity. The secrets of Michael's inner world are unlocked – his love of music and dance, fairy tale and magic, and the fragile beauty of nature.

The underpinnings of THE IMMORTAL World Tour are Michael Jackson's powerful, inspirational music and lyrics – the driving force behind the show—brought to life with extraordinary power and breathless intensity. Through unforgettable performances Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour underscores Michael’s global messages of love, peace and unity.

For further information please visit the official website at http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/michael-jackson-tour/default.aspx

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The Sentencing of Conrad Murray

Webmaster — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:53:29 +0000

The trial of Conrad Robert Murray (People of the State of California v. Conrad Robert Murray) was the American criminal trial of Michael Jackson's personal physician Conrad Murray (born February 19, 1953, in St. Andrews, Grenada),[1] who was charged with involuntary manslaughter of the pop singer. The trial, which started on September 27, 2011, was held in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles, California, before Judge Michael Pastor.

The prosecutors in the case were David Walgren and Deborah Brazil,[2] both Los Angeles deputy district attorneys, who, in their opening statement, told jurors that “misplaced trust in the hands of Murray cost Jackson his life”. Murray’s defense counsel (Edward Chernoff, Matthew Alford, J. Michael Flanagan and Nareg Gourjian) claimed Jackson, who was tired and under pressure from rehearsing, took eight tablets of Lorazepam,[3] a sedative. “When Dr. Murray left the room, Jackson self-administered a dose of propofol[4] that, with the Lorazepam, created a perfect storm in his body that killed him instantly. The whole thing is tragic, but the evidence is not that Dr. Murray did it,” Chernoff said.[5] Testimony during the trial showed that Murray had stayed with Jackson at least six nights a week and was regularly asked — and sometimes begged — by the insomniac singer to give him drugs powerful enough to put him to sleep. Jackson, Murray told authorities, was especially eager to be administered propofol, a surgical anesthetic that put him to sleep when other powerful sedatives could not. Testimony indicated that propofol, in conjunction with other drugs in the singer’s system, had played the key role in his death on June 25, 2009. In November 2011, the jury found Murray guilty after about eight hours of deliberation,[6][7][8][9][10] and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Timeline of prosecution case

September 27, 2011: Day 1

Both sides made opening statements. The jury viewed a photograph of Jackson lying on a gurney, taken minutes after he was declared dead. The jury also heard a tape of Jackson's slurred speech near the end of his life. Murray's attorney told the court that Murray is not to blame for Jackson's death, that Jackson gave himself a dose of drugs that killed him so quickly Jackson "didn't even have time to close his eyes". "What happened during that time frame is that the acts and omissions of Michael Jackson's personal doctor Conrad Murray directly led to his premature death at age 50," prosecutor Walgren said. "That misplaced trust in Conrad Murray cost Michael Jackson his life." The first witness, Kenny Ortega, was called to testify.

September 28, 2011: Day 2

Michael Amir Williams, known as Jackson's personal assistant, testified.[11]

September 29, 2011: Day 3

Two former members of Jackson's staff, bodyguard Alberto Alvarez and Chef Kai Chase, took the stand. Alvarez was the first person into Jackson's bedroom after Murray raised the alarm. He indicated that Murray asked him to place vials from Jackson's bedside cabinet in a bag and remove an IV drip from its stand (an IV drip containing saline solution and what appeared to be a propofol bottle, according to Alvarez), before he asked him to phone 911.

September 30, 2011: Day 4

Bob Johnson, an executive from Nonin Medical, a company that manufactures pulse oximeters, testified first. The next witness was a former patient of Murray, Robert Russell from Las Vegas. The third witness was the first paramedic to enter Jackson's house and bedroom, Richard Senneff. The fourth witness was paramedic Martin Blount. Dr. Richelle Cooper, an emergency room physician at UCLA Medical Center, testified fifth. Although not pronounced dead until sometime after reaching the hospital (2:26 pm),[12] the paramedics never saw any signs of life from when they first entered Jackson's bedroom (12:26 pm).

October 3, 2011: Day 5

Cooper continued testifying. According to Cooper, drugs including Sodium Bicarbonate, Vasopressin, Epinephrine, Atropine and Dopamine were used during the attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation of Jackson's body in the trauma bay of UCLA Medical Center. From the time Jackson's body was under the care of Cooper until his death was pronounced, there were continuous chest compressions and 'bagging' via an endotracheal tube. Cooper testified that Jackson was clinically dead upon arriving at the hospital. Cooper testified that Murray had told her that he had given Jackson 2 mg of Lorazepam (a benzodiazepine) sometime earlier that day, then another 2 mg, which caused the cardiac arrest. During cross-examination, Cooper was asked about the effect of propofol as a sedative. She said about a "milligram per kilogram" would be the starting dose on a patient and would be administered into the patient's arm through an injection port. The administration would happen over a period of "a minute to a minute and a half" and the patient would be constantly monitored by a number of personnel. She said that sedation would expect to last 10 minutes. When asked what effect "25 mg over 3–5 minutes" would have on a patient, she responded that she would not expect that to have any effect. When asked about administering propofol through an IV drip, she said that only occurs if the patient is intubated and the desired effect is deep sedation.

Next to the stand were employees from phone companies AT&T and Sprint Nextel, who were asked to guide the jury through the meaning of various data on Murray's phone records from June 25, 2009.

Dr. Thao Nguyen, a cardiologist from UCLA Medical Center, testified that she was beeped on that day to help with the care of "a V.I.P patient, named Michael Jackson". She was under the impression the patient was "coding" meaning that resuscitation was partially successful. The court heard testimony that when Murray arrived at the hospital, he was "desperate and devastated" and that he told the staff "Do not give up easily, try to save his life". Nguyen's testimony then turned to the effects of Ativan (brand name of Lorazepam), the drug that Murray claimed started Jackson's cardiac arrest. According to Nguyen, Ativan acts on the brain to "make[] you sleep” and can cause respiratory apnea (“not breathing”). She testified that “you do not typically use narcotics (such as ativan) to treat insomnia, they are used for sedation” but, when cross-examined, she admitted that it is one of its uses. Testimony then turned to the use of Flumazenil[13] (a Benzodiazepine antagonist) as an antidote to Ativan, which should be administered “within 3 minutes of Ativan” to take effect; otherwise the patient must be intubated. Ativan would cause the patient to have slurred speech but propofol would not, it is “quick onset, quick offset”. Propofol is only to be used in a hospital, “not just any hospital room, but only in an Intensive care unit or procedure room, by specialist personnel” (an anesthesiologist present throughout its use). Constant monitoring is required because [we] "wouldn't be sure of the patient's tolerance threshold" to the drug and there should be a crash cart to hand. Nguyen also testified that Murray never mentioned propofol.

October 4, 2011: Day 6

Stacey Ruggles, Michelle Bella and Sade Anding testified about their relationships with Murray. They were in contact with Murray on June 25, 2009. Anding, who is thought to be the person that Murray was speaking to when he noticed Jackson was not breathing, said she heard coughing and mumbling after Murray stopped speaking on the call, which lasted "three or four minutes".

Murray's girlfriend, Nicole Alvarez, is currently living with Murray in Santa Monica. She is the mother to Murray's son born in March 2009. They met in Las Vegas in 2005 where she was working in a strip club.[14] Her testimony included visits to Jackson's home and her plans to travel to London with Murray for the concerts. She also told how she was accepting FedEx packages to her home in Murray's name. Prosecution provided FedEx receipts to the court and Alvarez testified that they were accurate and that her signature was on some of them. Alvarez was the person Murray called while he was in the ambulance with Jackson's body. He showed up to her apartment later that evening.

Tim Lopez, employed by Applied pharmacy services, liaised with Murray over purchases of propofol and Benoquin.[15] He testified about orders Murray placed for Benequin[16] cream to use in the treatment of the disease vitiligo,[17] and propofol over the time period April to June 2009 (225 vials in total).[18] His orders of propofol were being routed through his Las Vegas office and then shipped to Alvarez’s apartment in Los Angeles. He was also ordering increasing quantities of propofol as time went on.[19]

October 5, 2011: Day 7

Sally Hirschberg, a customer service and sales employee of Seacoast Medical, a pharmaceutical distributor in Omaha, Nebraska, was first called to the stand.[20] Testimony included details of Murray's dealing with the firm; account opened Dec 2006, various medical items ordered during April 2009 including 'safe site' IV set and a cancellation of an order for condom catheters on June 26, 2009. On cross-examination, Hirschberg testified that the items Murray was ordering were not unusual for a medical practice specializing in cardiovascular treatment.

Stephen Marx, a computer forensics examiner, working for the DEA in Virginia during June 2009, testified next.[21] He performed an analysis of Murray's iPhone and extracted screenshots, emails and recordings from it. The emails pertained to medical handwritten notes for patients Omar Arnold and Paul Farance. One email asked Murray "Is that him too?". Emails pertaining to Jackson's insurance while in London were also shown. The insurance company confirmed that Murray was Jackson's only doctor since 2006 and that they wanted very thorough medical reports and records and a review of Jackson during rehearsals before agreeing to cover him. It was heard that Jackson refused authorization to release his medical records.

During the testimony, a recording of a conversation between Murray and Jackson was played from May 10, 2009. The recording featured Jackson talking about healing the world and helping children because he did not have a childhood, in slurred, almost incomprehensible speech. The recording ended with Murray asking "Are you OK?" and with Jackson replying "I am asleep."[22]

Next to testify was Elissa Fleak, a Los Angeles County coroner for the past eight years.[23] Her duties include investigating deaths (natural/suicide/homicide) and working with medical examiners to determine the cause of death. Fleak went to UCLA Medical Center at 5:20 pm on June 25, 2009, to examine Jackson's body and get information surrounding his death. She examined the body in a private room through notes and photographs and looked for external wounds/injuries; any sign to signal the cause of death. None were found. She took four vials of Jackson's blood for toxicology testing and went to Jackson's house to perform a onsite investigation. While in Jackson's bedroom, she found an empty 20ml Propofol bottle and an empty 5ml Flumazenil bottle on the floor beside the bedside table. She also recovered other prescription drugs such as: Diazepam, Lorazepam andTamsulosin (Flomax). Also one bottle prescribed to Mick Jackson's and some medicines prescribed by Alan Metzger. Other drugs found were Benoquin, Hydroquinone, Lidocaine and an oxygen tank beside the bed. Medical equipment recovered included alcohol prep pads, a 10cc syringe with the needle removed, an IV catheter on the floor under an Ambu bag, an aspirin bottle, a syringe box, catheters, a jug of urine, an IV pole with saline bag and tubing draped over it.

Three bags were recovered: a black bag, a blue Costco bag (found in the closet) and a light blue 'baby essentials' bag. Items in the black bag were: a Starline blood pressure cuff box and 3 bottles of Lidocaine.[24] The blue Costco bag contained “medical debris” including a pulse oximeter, a lanyard, vials, an empty 20ml propofol bottle, 2 bottles of Midazolam,[25] an opened IV administration set, a urinary leg bag, a wideband bag, 2 empty dressing bags, 2 empty catheter bags, opened alcohol prep pads, dressing backings, an empty syringe packet, 4 vial tops and a needle cap. Also the saline bag with a cut in it containing the "more or less empty" 100ml propofol bottle that Alvarez recalls removing from the IV stand. The light blue 'baby essentials' bag contained an array of bottles including 100ml propofol and 20ml propofol bottles (filled to various levels, some opened, some closed), Lorazepam, Flumazenil, Lidocaine and Benoquin. Also found were Murray's business cards from his Houston practice.

October 6, 2011: Day 8

Fleak confirmed the presence of an IV stand, saline infusion set and depressed syringe in a y-port connected to the tubing beside Jackson's bed. The court heard that she issued a subpoena to Murray for Jackson's medical records. Only the records pre-2009 were submitted to her. During cross-examination, Chernoff asked Fleak about a number of "mistakes" during her examination, such as picking up a bottle from the floor before photographing it, ignoring the presence of the IV stand, not taking a picture of the propofol bottle inside the cut saline bag (she said she took it out to see what it was then photographed it), and destroying her handwritten notes from June 25, 2009. It was heard that Fleak did not mention the propofol bottle was inside the saline bag in writing until March 2011. (It was suggested by the defense that she changed her story to fall into line with other witness' stories regarding the bottle in the bag.)[26]

Next called to testify was Dan Anderson, chief toxicologist at the coroner's office. He has 21 years experience in this field. He tested blood and urine taken from Jackson in UCLA and at autopsy on June 26, 2009. Blood taken from a femoral vein showed propofol (2.6 μg/ml), Lidocaine (0.84 μg/ml) and Lorazepam (0.169 μg/ml). Blood taken from Jackson's heart showed propofol (3.2 μg/ml), Lidocaine (0.68 μg/ml), Diazepam (<0.1 μg/ml), Lorazepam (0.162 μg/ml), Midazolam (4.6 μg/ml) and a Hemoglobin percentage of 5.1%. Vials of blood taken from Jackson at UCLA were found to contain propofol (4.1 μg/ml). Other results included Liver (Lidocaine (0.45 μg/ml), propofol (6.2 μg/ml)), Stomach (Lidocaine (1.6 μg/ml), propofol (0.13 μg/ml)), Urine (Jug found in bedroom and more than 500ml collected at autopsy) (Lorazepam, Lidocaine, Midazolam, Propofol and Ephedrine), vitreous humour (Propofol (0.4 μg/ml)). Propofol was found in all 8 specimen samples. Also tested were the 10cc syringe and plunger, the syringe barrel, the fluid in the syringe and the IV tubing (Propofol and Lidocaine found). No alcohol, barbiturates, cocaine, sedative hypnotics, marijuana, methamphetamine, opiates, codeine, morphine, hydrocodone, Demerol were found in the samples.

During cross-examination it was heard that post-mortem redistribution occurs in the blood stream, and hence different concentrations of drugs were found in different parts of the body. It was also heard that the jug of urine from the bedroom could be from days before and might not even be Jackson's urine. It was heard that the low amount of Propofol in the vitreous humour was negligible. It was also heard that there was no Propofol found on the IV pole. The only place it was found was in the lower portion of the tubing and the syringe and the drug proportions couldn't be ascertained.

October 7, 2011: Day 9

Dan Anderson continued to answer questions about the levels of drugs in Jackson's system and the substances found in the IV bag (no drugs), tubing and syringes (Propofol and Lidocaine found) found in Jackson's bedroom. It was heard that the level of Lorazepam in Jackson's system (0.162 μg/ml) was within the therapeutic range(0.1–0.2 μg/ml), the level at which it has its desired effect. It was shown that the total amount of Lorazepam in Jackson's stomach was 0.046599 mg; about 1/43 of a 2 mg tablet. It was noted that if there was a lot of a certain substance in the blood but not a lot in the urine then it was recently taken, the same can be said for the stomach (if there was a large amount then it was recently ingested).

Fleak was recalled to clarify some issues with photographs and the placement of items in the photographs that she testified to on October 6.

Next called to testify was Detective Scott Smith of the LAPD. With 24 years experience in the LAPD (20 years detective), he was working for the Robbery Homicide division during June 2009. On June 25, 2009 he entered the UCLA emergency room at 4:25 pm and stayed until 7 pm. In that time he did not see Murray, but collected CCTV footage of Murray leaving the ER at 4:38 pm and appearing in the west lobby at 5:02 pm. Before Smith left, he had brief interviews with Mohammed and Alvarez. Smith then went to the Carolwood residence to assist and support the coroner's investigators. It was heard that everyone left the house at 9:30 pm, and Jackson's security was left in charge of the house. On June 26, Smith attended the autopsy, which was deferred pending toxicology and then went back to the house to further investigate because the Jackson family had handed some items to the police (some rotten cannabis in a shaving kit, some lotion, paper, an envelope and other debris). Inside the shaving kit was a bottle of Temazepam prescribed by Murray to Omar Arnold dated September 26, 2008. While at the house, Smith found some empty pill bottles in the master bathroom.

While Smith was on the stand, a two-hour police interview with Murray, taken 48 hours after Jackson's death, was played to the court. It was held in the Ritz Carlton hotel, and Orlando Martinez asked the questions; Chernoff was present. It was heard that Murray first met Jackson in 2006, a security guard (a patient's son) asked Murray to meet him, and first treated his children for the flu. Amir (Michael Amir Williams) told Murray that Michael Jackson would like him to be there for the concerts. He understood that he would be an employee of Jackson's but then discovered his salary would be from AEG Live. Murray said Jackson was not a person who ate well, he was probably seeing doctors for things he did not disclose to Murray. It was heard that Murray spent six nights a week at Jackson's house, only having Sundays off, and it was usually just Murray, Jackson, and his kids in the house.

Murray's claims in his taped statement to police:

Amir phoned to say Jackson was finished rehearsals at 12:10 am and to meet him at the house. Amir got there at 12.:0 am, Jackson arrived between 1:05 and 1:10 am.

Jackson showered, Murray put cream on his body because of dermatological issues.

Murray put an IV saline drip in his leg to treat for dehydration from dancing at rehearsals and gave the sedative Valium (10 mg, 1 tablet, orally taken) to help him sleep. He did not sleep.

At 2:00 am, Murray gave Jackson 2 mg of Lorazepam diluted in saline and pushed slowly over 2–3 mins into the IV line. He observed Jackson stay wide awake for an hour. Jackson complained he could not sleep.

At 3:00 am, Murray gave Jackson 2 mg Midazolam. Jackson was still awake. Murray tried to get Jackson to meditate and turned down the lights and music. His eyes closed and he fell asleep between 3:20 and 3:30 am. 10–12 minutes later he was awake again.

At 4:30 am, Jackson was still awake and complaining, "need to sleep, must be ready for the concerts, would have to cancel the trip because I cannot function if I don't get sleep". "The medicine doesn't work".

At 5:00 am, Murray gave Jackson 2 mg Lorazepam. Still awake and complaining about canceling rehearsals, not satisfying fans and there being lots of pressure.

At 6:00–6:30 am, Jackson was still awake and still talking.

At 7:30 am, Murray gave Jackson 2 mg Midazolam. It had no effect, and he wondered why Jackson was not responding.

At 10:00 am, Jackson was still awake. He said he wanted "milk" (Propofol) so he could sleep, saying. "I know it works".

At 10:40 am, Jackson said "Just make me sleep, no matter what", "can't function without sleep", "have to cancel concerts". Murray said he felt under a lot of pressure, so he switched to Propofol.

At 10:50 am, Murray gave Jackson 25 mg Propofol diluted with Lidocaine slowly infused over 3–5 minutes. Lidocaine was used because the Propofol could burn the vessels. It had a very quick effect.

Because of the other drugs in his system, Murray gave 25 mg (the usual dose was 50 mg) before starting the drip to keep him asleep. Murray was asked how often had he gave Jackson the "milk", and he answered "2 months, every day". He was also asked "before you became his doctor did you know he was taking it?" Murray said he was surprised about how much Jackson knew about the drug. He knew it worked, he knew how much to put in, knew how to inject it, he said it was the only thing that worked, the Lidocaine was needed with it to stop it burning (Jackson called it anti-burn, "anti-burn makes it comfortable"). Other doctors allowed Jackson to push it himself, and Murray "wouldn't allow it" because it made him sleep instantly. Murray kept telling Jackson that it was artificial sleep. Murray said that Jackson's veins were coarse, dried up and filled with clots caused by too much IV over time. He could not get an IV in his hands.

At 11.00 am, Jackson was asleep but not snoring. Usually he would be in a deep sleep and snoring, so Murray thought Jackson would wake up again. Murray watched Jackson. Oxygen saturation was 90, heart rate was 70. Murray felt comfortable, so he got up to go to the bathroom and took some of Jackson's urine with him. Murray said he was gone for two minutes. When Murray returned, Jackson was not breathing and his heart rate was 122. He felt a pulse in Jackson's femoral artery; his body was warm and had not changed color. Murray started CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Jackson's chest was rising and falling upon ventilation. Murray looked at the telephone then remembered none of them worked. He could not move Jackson off the bed to do CPR, so he placed his left hand under Jackson's body to continue chest compression. Murray said he did not call 911 because he did not know Jackson's zip code. He called Amir to tell security to come up. There was no pulse now, so he lifted his legs to try and get the blood flowing to his heart. He then infused 0.2 mg Flumazonil into the IV to try and counteract the Lorazepam. He went to the landing to meet Alvarez. Alvarez came in, and Murray told him to call 911 and to help move Jackson onto the floor, which he did. Murray was still giving CPR and mouth-to-mouth when the paramedics arrived and intubated him. They saw PEA (pulseless electrical activity, they could see a beat but there was no contraction) and administered Atropine, Epinephrine and sodium bicarbonate. After 20 minutes, the paramedics (while in contact with UCLA) wanted to call time of death. However, Murray got them to transfer care to him. Murray said "I didn't want to give up, I love Michael, he was my friend, I wanted to help, he was a single parent, thinking about the children, thinking about my own children". CPR continued down to the ambulance; once in the trauma bay, medical personnel tried for at least an hour, they "would have given up without me" said Murray. They pronounced him dead, but Murray would not sign the death certificate because he did not know the cause of death.

Chernoff prompted Murray to tell the police about the last 3 days. Murray said Jackson wanted nightly "milk" and he didn't want to do that because it was not natural sleep and could be a hazard. "I tried to wean him off it with his knowledge to have more natural sleep. I had never seen any study where someone had been addicted to Propofol". Murray gave him lesser amounts (lower doses and lower drip rate) and gave Lorazepam and Midazolam as well. Jackson told Murray he wanted to "go all the way, other doctors would do it". Murray said the Lorazepam and Midazolam were not working. Jackson was suffering from withdrawal, and his mind was forcing him to stay awake. Murray said he "tried all night but nothing would work. Gave him Propofol just so he would get a couple of hours of sleep" "I didn't want to hurt him, he was my friend, didn't want MJ to fail, I cared about his writing and his producing, I tried to wean him off, MJ was a bit restless but it was working".

October 11, 2011: Day 10

The proceedings began with the conclusion of the recording of Murray's interview with the police from 48 hours after Jackson's death. Afterwards, Smith continued his testimony. Smith never mentioned in any notes referencing a Propofol bottle being inside a saline bag during searches of Jackson's home in June 2009. He saw the Propofol bottle beside a cut saline bag after Fleak had removed them from the Costco bag and it was the only saline bag found. Search warrants were executed of Murray's house in Las Vegas, offices in Las Vegas and Houston, his girlfriend's apartment, his warehouse and his car, and no Propofol was found. During brief statements taken from Mohammed and Amir at the hospital on June 25, 2009, neither of them mentioned Murray asking to be brought back to the residence. Alvarez did not mention Propofol in an IV bag or Murray asking him to put things in bags until after the cause of death was released on August 27, 2009.

Dr. Christopher Rogers, Chief of forensic pathology at the coroner's office, testified he had conducted the autopsy of Jackson on June 26, 2009. There was nothing obvious indicating the cause of death, and he was healthier than the average person of his age because there was no atherosclerosison the walls of his coronary arteries. Jackson did not have heart disease, and there were no irregularities in his heart. There was no evidence of natural disease or trauma, his esophagus was intact with no milky fluid there or in the stomach. The stomach contained no pills or capsules. His mouth, upper airway and trachea were all intact with no foreign material present. Rogers took samples from each organ and sent them to the relevant experts for consults because he was not able to determine the cause of death and wanted a toxicological analysis. Rogers also requested Jackson's medical records from Murray but never received them.

After toxicological analysis, Rogers determined the cause of death to be acute Propofol intoxication with contributing effects from Benzodiazepines exacerbating respiratory and cardiovascular depression. When asked about the manner of death, he testified it was a homicide. Propofol was not necessary, it was outside of a hospital or clinic, and the proper equipment to be used with Propofol was not there. Murray administered too much Propofol. The "circumstances do not support self administration" because Jackson would have had to have woken up, self-administer the drugs, circulate to the brain, and then be found not breathing – all in the space of 2 minutes. Rogers said that was a "less likely scenario". The "more likely scenario" was that "Murray was estimating the doses" to give Jackson and that "Murray accidentally gave too much". There was a cut in the rubber stopper in the Propofol inconsistent with a needle but a medical device called a spike, which is used to get the liquid to flow out, to "set up constant flow" of the drug.

During cross-examination, Rogers testified that the only evidence of Propofol in the medical equipment was in the syringe, in the Y-connector and the tubing thereafter. None was found in the upper tubing or the IV saline bag. Defense council Flanagan asked "Would 25 mg Propofol pushed over 3-5minutes make the patient sleep?, and Rogers said yes. Flanagan: "How long would they sleep for?" Rogers: "Approximately 5 minutes". Flanagan: "So a 25 mg dose of Propofol at 10:50 am would have no effect after 11.05?" Rogers: "Correct". Flanagan: "After this you would assume the patient sleeping was cause by something else and not Propofol wouldn't you?" Rogers: "Yes". The therapeutic range of Propofol required for major surgery was 4 μg/ml, and for lesser operations it was 2 μg/ml. Jackson had 2.6 μg/ml in his femoral blood, which is used for post-mortem examination because as it is not located near any large organs and is less prone to redistribution after death. Rogers stated that a lethal level of Propofol has been documented anywhere between 1 and 17 μg/ml. Jackson's stomach level of Lorazepam was 0.64 μg/ml, and his femoral blood level was 0.169 μg/ml. It was hypothesized that Jackson must have ingested Lorazepam fairly close to the time of death for it not to have been absorbed and distributed yet. Flanagan: "A 2 mg pill of Lorazepam gets you to 0.018 μg/ml blood level?" Rogers: "Yes, in Shafer's literature". Flanagan:"If you pushed (all at once) a dose of Lorazepam to get you to 0.169 μg/ml blood level, it would stop your heart, wouldn't it" Rogers: "Yes".

On redirect, Walgren asked if Jackson had self-administered the Propofol or Lorazepam, it would still be a homicide because of the negligence by Murray, and Rogers said, "Correct". Walgren asked whether the Propofol found was the same as in major surgery" and Rogers said, "Yes". Walgren: "Would 25 mg over 3–5 minutes get you to 2.6 g/ml blood level?" Rogers: "No".

October 12, 2011: Day 11

Dr. Alon Steinberg, a cardiologist for 13 years and board-certified in cardiovascular diseases, Cardiac CT and Nuclear Cardiology, testified that he was not an expert in anaesthesia or pharmacology and that Murray was not board-certified in June 2009. Of the three degrees of breaching the standard of care (no deviation, mild deviation, extreme deviation), this case was the first time Steinberg has seen extreme deviations from the standard of care. Steinberg testified that Propofol is only used in cases of needing deep sedation when the patient will go through a significantly painful procedure and there are risks that the patient could stop breathing; that is why it is used with constant monitoring and emergency equipment on hand. He testified that he only uses Propofol with performing Cardioversions and that he is required to have an anaesthetist present. For instances of mild and moderate sedation he would use Benzodiazepines and would never prescribe Propofol for insomnia. He received Murray's case and was asked to review his acts and omissions against the standard of care. The review was based on Murray's own words from his police interview previously heard by the court. His findings: "Six separate and distinct extreme deviations from the standard of care".

Propofol is not medically indicated for sleep. "I have never even heard of it being used for insomnia, it is a very powerful surgical sedation agent." There was also no informed consent signed by the patient. Risks, benefits, indications and alternatives should all be explained, understood and agreed before any treatment.

Propofol was being administered in the home, with no equipment, no medical personnel, no back-up and no physical observation by the attending physician. "Each of these individually would be an extreme deviation on their own". Equipment needed for Propofol: alarm on the pulse oximeter, automated blood pressure cuff, EKG to monitor heart rhythm, ambu bag for ventilation assistance, a backboard for chest compressions, a back-up generator in case the power goes out, a way to summon help and a device for keeping the airway open such as an endotracheal tube. Murray had none of this equipment. Personnel required: Intubation specialist to rescue the airway, nurses for the procedures, emergency personnel close by, and an anaesthesiologist. Personnel trained in basic life support and advanced life support should be in attendance to deal with the airway maintenance, IV maintenance and any arrests that may occur. Drugs required during sedation in the event of an emergency: Flumazonil, Naloxone, Lidocaine, Atropine, Beta blockers, Dopamine, Epinephrine, Methylprednisolone. All of these should be available in a crash cart very close by.

Inadequate preparation for emergency situation. Attending physician must have the drugs and personnel prepared.

Improper care during arrest. Jackson had a respiratory arrest, and Murray did not follow the protocol for such an event. During respiratory arrest, the patient stops breathing, causing the oxygen levels in the blood to drop lower and lower, which causes the heart rate to increase. Lack of oxygen weakens the heart, and the heart will have electricity present but will not contract (pulseless electrical activity). Finally, the heart's electricity dies (asystole). Murray should have tried to arouse Jackson, placed an ambu bag over his mouth, cleared the airway, called 911 and administered Flumazonil. Instead, Murray started chest compressions, which do not help respiratory arrest. "The heart was already working, he didn't need chest compressions". Even then the CPR was poor quality as it should be both hands on a hard surface not one hand on a bed.

Failure to summon emergency help. Murray should have called 911 on his cell phone immediately. Instead he waited until 12:21 pm, which was approximately 20 minutes after Jackson stopped breathing. Help was four minutes away. "I would have allowed two minutes to check the situation before calling 911. He had a cell phone."

Failure to maintain proper medical records. No informed consent. No records of Jackson's vital signs, doses given, responses to the medication. Murray was confused or dishonest about the records when they got to the emergency room.

Question: "Dr. Murray's deviations in the standard of care contributed to Jackson's untimely death?" Steinberg: "Yes". Question: "If Jackson administered the drugs to himself was it still gross negligence?" Steinberg: "Yes". All medicines are kept in locked and passworded cabinets. There would have been no opportunity for self-administration in a proper setting.

During cross-examination, Steinberg testified that if the patient had a blood pressure (caused by there being a pulse) and a pulse of 122, he was savable. If a patient is not breathing but has a pulse, the course of action is to clear the airways and give breaths.

Next to the stand was Dr. Nader Kamanger, Board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care and sleep medicine. He uses Propofol daily for sedation when placing an endotracheal tube. It is the classic induction agent for deep sedation during painful procedures. It is the most common drug for maintaining sedation on patients on mechanical breathing apparatus. Doctors have to call an anaesthesiologist to administer it, someone who can maintain the airway, and someone who can reverse the effects of the drugs. Kamanger also pointed out extreme deviation of the standard of care, consistent with Steinberg's testimony.

October 13, 2011: Day 12

Next to the stand was Dr. Steven Shafer, a professor of anesthesiology at Columbia University since 2007 and adjunct professor of anesthesiology at Stanford University since 2000. He is an expert on Pharmacokinetics (drugs in motion) and Pharmacometrics with 20 years of experience working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). His field of interest involves mathematically modeling and how a dose of drug translates to concentrations in the body and its effects on a patient. He has published 19 papers about the pharmacokinetics of Propofol. Pharmacokinetics involves the study of the dilution of drug in a patient's blood stream. Shafer is the current editor in chief for the Journal of Anesthesia and Analgesia and on the editing board of many other journals.

He testified about the history of the dosing guidelines of Propofol.

October 19–20, 2011: Days 13 and 14

Shafer showed a video of the use of Propofol during a procedure. He testified about his review of the Murray case. He found seventeen "separate and distinct egregious violations" of the standard of care, of which four were unconscionable, based on Murray's police interview:

The lack of the basic emergency airway equipment.

The lack of the advanced emergency airway equipment.

The lack of suction apparatus.

The lack of an IV infusion pump.

The lack of alarmed pulse oximetry.

The failure to use a blood pressure cuff.

The lack of an electrocardiogram.

The lack of capnography.

The failure to maintain a doctor-patient relationship.

The failure to continuously monitor the mental status of the patient.

The failure to continuously monitor the breathing of the patient.

The failure to continuously monitor blood pressure and pulse oximetry, and to have heart monitors.

The failure to call 911 immediately.

The failure to chart at the outset of the procedure (egregious and unconscionable).

The failure to maintain written informed consent (egregious and unconscionable).

The failure to document throughout the course of sedation (egregious and unconscionable).

The failure to disclose to both the paramedics and UCLA the use of Propofol and What Murray witnessed at the arrest.

Question: "Each one of these seventeen egregious violations is individually likely or expected to result in injury or death to Michael Jackson?" Response: "Yes"

Shafer showed simulations of Propofol and Lorazepam on his computer models. (i) If the drugs were bolus pushed: He stated that the drugs administered (as described in Murray's interview statement) could not have produced the femoral blood levels at autopsy. He also testified that Jackson repeatedly self-administrating the drugs would not have caused the femoral blood levels found at autopsy. (ii) If the drugs were IV administered: Administration by continued IV infusion would cause the femoral blood levels found at autopsy very quickly after the drip was started. After the patient stops breathing, the heart would still be beating so the IV would continue. This scenario would result in the blood levels at autopsy. According to Shafer: "That's what I think happened. Based on all the evidence."

Shafer demonstrated the set-up of an IV infusion of Propofol. The IV line for Propofol would need an air vent to allow air into the bottle and an infusion pump to control the dose. Without a pump, it is very hard to control the dose. He testified that he had never seen anything like the cut bag set-up and had never seen anyone do it.

Walgren asked Shafer a number of question regarding his testimony over the last few days:

"You have noted seventeen egregious violation from the standard of care, four of which you found were unconscionable?" "Yes"

"Showed us the video in which you demonstrated the safe and proper mean to administer sedation" "Yes". "And it is your opinion that those safeguards and that equipment is necessary even if the physician intents on administering just 25 mg of Propofol?" "Yes".

"You have explained to us why it is impossible that Michael Jackson died as a result of orally swallowing Propofol?" "Yes".

"You discussed Lorazepam and you concluded that Michael Jackson received more than the 4 mg of Lorazepam that Dr. Murray claimed to have given Michael Jackson?" "Yes".

"You also rejected the notion that certainly at ten o' clock am that Michael Jackson swallowed eight 2 mg tablets of Lorazepam?" "Yes". "And you would broaden that window to four hours meaning between eight and noon based on what was found in the stomach was impossible that Michael Jackson swallowed that amount of Lorazepam?" "Correct".

"You demonstrated here the simulation of how one would infuse Propofol with this type of set up and with some of the evidence recovered in this case?" "Yes". "And that the infusion line with the Propofol in it could be compacted into the fist of my hand?" "Yes".

"Taking all the evidence that you've reviewed and all the deviations from the standard of care, you've concluded that Conrad Murray was not only a substantial factor but a direct cause of Michael Jackson's death?" "Yes".

"Had all this transpired as relayed by Dr. Murray and subsequent to that Michael Jackson had either injected Propofol and/or swallowed Lorazepam tablets is it still your opinion that Conrad Murray was a direct cause, not just a substantial factor, of Michael Jackson's death?" "Absolutely". "And why is that?" "That's because he is a physician who has brought Propofol into the room, started an intravenous and provided access to Propofol to a patient who may in fact be developing a dependency on sedatives and he has been entrusted by Michael Jackson to look after his safety every night and he has failed that responsibility by enabling the administration of intravenous Propofol. He is responsible for every drop of Propofol in that room." "And Lorazepam?" "Every drop of Lorazepam in that room."

"And that's because Conrad Murray set up the situation when he abandoned the patient in the room?" "Yes".

October 21, 2011: Day 15

Chernoff cross-examined Shafer on his CV and about his relationship with the defense's expert Dr. Paul White.

October 24, 2011: Day 16

The cross-examination of Shafer concluded, and the prosecution rested.

Timeline of defense case

October 24, 2011: Day 16 The first witness called was Donna Norris from the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD). She is the manager of the 911 system of the BHPD. It was heard that the 911 call on June 25 at 12:20:18 lasted 46 seconds and was made from a cell phone.

The next witness called was Alexander Supall, a police surveillance specialist working for LAPD. He has been in this role for eleven years. It was heard that Mr Supall went to the Jackson residence on the day to check the surveillance tapes. He said he didn't locate where the cameras were or how many of them there were. The defense then played two surveillance videos involving Jackson and Murray's arrivals at the residence.

The next witness to testify was LAPD Detective Dan Myres. He works in the robbery homicide division and has been with the LAPD since March 1994. He joined the investigation of the Jackson death on the Monday after June 25 2009. It was heard that Myres interviewed Alberto Alvarez in June 25 and August 31. In his initial statement he didn't mention putting away vials or a vial or bottle in an IV bag.

The next witness to the stand was LAPD Detective Orlando Martinez. Also in the robbery homicide division, has been with the LAPD for ten years. On hearing of Jackson's death he went to UCLA and was present for half of Alvarez's interview. He stated that Alvarez didn't mention putting away vials for Dr. Murray or seeing a vial or bottle inside an IV bag. It was heard that Mr. Walgren had a meeting with Alvarez and Myres in his office in April 2011. Martinez brought (from the case's evidence) a saline bag, a Propofol bottle and a pulse oximeter to the meeting. Alvarez didn't recognize thePropofol bottle shown to him. Alvarez was asked to draw the saline bag he saw after he described something at the bottom of the bag, it looked to be a port or some kind of apparatus.

The next witness was Dr. Allan Metzger. A physician, general internalist and rheumatologist since 1974, based in Los Angeles since 1981. First met Jackson 15-20 years ago. He began treating Michael Jackson in the 90s for various things. He became close to Jackson through the birth of his children and became a friend. He was Jackson's primary physician in Los Angeles. He received a call from Jackson on June 12, 2008; the conversation was about sleep issues, skin issues and nutrition. Hadn't spoken to Jackson for five years previously. It was heard that Dr. Metzger was in touch infrequently with the children's nanny over 2008-2009 keeping tabs on the children. Jackson called for Dr. Metzger to come over in April 2009 to review his health issues. It was infrequent, not unusual to visit house. Three children, Jackson and some security guards were present on visit. The conversation was about medical issues and rehearsal schedule. Jackson wanted to do 50 shows but was worried about nutrition. Also talked about hydration before and after performing. It was heard Jackson has had sleep issues for 15-20 years, particularly after performing, he had a problem coming down. Dr. Metzger had infrequently treated him for this over the years on tours. In April 2009 he asked Dr. Metzger about IV sleep medication he mentioned 'juice' but he wasn't sure what he was asking for. Jackson did not believe any oral medicine would be helpful; they did not work. He had tried Tylenol PM, Xanax, Clonapam, Trazadone, etc. None worked. It was heard Dr. Metzger told Jackson that IV sleep medication was dangerous and should not be done outside of a hospital. It was heard that Jackson saw other doctors: Dr. Rosen for pain management and Dr. Klein for hisvitiligo. Dr. Metzger stated he never provided any intravenous medicine to Jackson. It was heard Metzger did not speak to Jackson between the April 2009 meeting and his death. The prosecution asked Metzger "Would any amount of money persuade you to give Propofol?" "No" and "Did you ever give Jackson Propofol?" "No".

Next to the stand was Nurse Practitioner Cherilyn Lee. Lee helps entertainers and athletes with nutritional issues. Lee is a board-certified nurse practitioner and legally allowed to prescribe meds, but chooses not to. Faheem Muhammad called Lee to treat Jackson's children who had a cold. She told him she wasnt a pediatrician but was invited anyway. Lee went to house in Jan 2009 after making appointment. Jackson asked what she did and mentioned he was tired and he wanted nutrition therapy. Lee asked Jackson to fast that night & went back next day to do assessment: physical, blood drawn for testing. Lee wanted to determine cause of Jackson's tiredness. She noticed he drank Red Bull a lot, which can cause fatigue. He said he would sweat a lot during rehearsal, he could lose 5-7 pounds. Lee said Jackson's vital signs were normal and provided him with high-concentrated smoothies & low dose nutritional IV. Lee stated that after the first IV (amino acid) in early Feb, he felt a lot better and more energized. In March 2009, Jackson said he couldn't sleep and Lee recommended natural sleep products. He said they don't work for him. Jackson said when I need sleep I need it right away when they met Easter Sunday. Jackson wanted her to see that he doesn't sleep well. Jackson also wanted to show her that natural supplements are not working. It was heard that Lee wanted to do sleep studies, but Jackson said he did not have time for that. Jackson invited her to stay and watch that he didn't sleep. Lee gave him the energy IV and 'sleepy tea' but she observed that he woke up at 3am. He could only sleep for about 5 hours and repeated to her that he cannot sleep the whole night. Lee stated that Jackson's veins were very small. Jackson started to talk about getting medication for sleep around Easter.

October 25, 2011: Day 17 Judge has ruled that Jacksons's contract with AEG Live for the 02 gigs will NOT be admitted as evidence.

Nurse Practitioner Cherilyn Lee still on the stand. It was heard that Lee is a believer of Holistic Health and has a PhD in it. Chernoff began by clearing up some of the dates in her records:

April 12, Easter Sunday, went to Jackson's house, he said he needed products for sleep.

April 19, went out to Jackson's house, Sunday morning, Jackson told Lee he "just can't sleep", he was having a lot of difficulty. Jackson expressed his desire for Diprivan; "it was the only medication that makes him fall asleep straight away". Lee was concerned, he seemed to have a familiarity with it. Jackson told Lee he had been administered Diprivan before but only for surgery, not for anything else. Lee says she didn't know what Diprivan was, so she called a doctor friend of hers who said it was an anesthetic used for surgery in hospital. Jackson told her other doctors had said Diprivan was safe to use, that all he needed was to be monitored. Jackson asked her to stay that night because he wanted to show Lee he was unable to sleep, he slept for 5 hours, woke up and was upset that he didn't sleep longer and that the nutritional medicine wasn't working. He then said "the only thing that helps is Diprivan, can you find someone to help me sleep?" "as soon as Diprivan gets in my veins it knocks me out and I go to sleep right away". Lee said "I know you want to be knocked out but what if you don't wake up?" "I just need to be monitored". She told Jackson that no one who cared or had his best interests at heart would give him Propofol. Jackson complained to Lee that not sleeping would "mess up my performance". Lee testified that one of the symptoms was memory loss and she asked Jackson "What if you forget your lines?" He said he never would. He hugged her and she never saw him again.

June 21, 2009, Jackson's bodyguard called Lee and said Jackson wanted to see her. Lee says she could hear Jackson in background, saying 'tell her what is wrong, one half of body hot, one half is cold'. She said that she was too far away to exam him (Florida) and that he should go to the hospital. Lee recognized the symptoms and thought he was on Propofol.

Next to the stand was Amir Dan Rubin, a hospital executive in Stanford, California. Chief Operating Officer for UCLA Medical Center in June 2009. Responsible for operation systems. He explained the layout of UCLA Medical Center, he worked in the administration area. Rubin was paged when "a patient of interest" was brought to the emergency room. He proceeded to secure the area for privacy and security purposes. He was present at the hospital for a discussion about releasing a press release with CEO of AEG Live (Randy Phillips) and Jermaine Jackson. The statement was released by Jermaine Jackson in the basement of the hospital; it was stated that Michael Jackson had died. Rubin said that Murray suggested that the reason for death, "unknown", should be in the press release.

Next to the stand was Brandon Keith Phillips, President and CEO of AEG Live, division of AEG, for nine and a half years. Has worked in the entertainment industry for thirty years. AEG are the owners and operators of the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the O2 arena in London. Phillips is responsible for profit and loss, booking talent for tours, making sure regional offices function properly as well as festival division. Phillips represented Jackson as an agent/consultant as early as 1993. Saw Jackson next in a meeting in 2007.

It was heard that Phillips met Jackson in September 2008 with Jackson's manager (Dr. Tomei) at the Bel-Air hotel about concerts. Phillips laid out plans for a new tour; a residency show at the O2 arena in London, move the "mountain to Mohammed"; this can only happen with such a big star. This was the first phase of a "multi-year" tour. It was apparent that Jackson was motivated, energized and receptive to the idea. They had numerous meetings afterwards. One reason Jackson wanted to do the concerts was to settle down and make a good home for the children and not live like "vagabonds". Contract was drawn up and signed (in mid-Jan 2009) for thirty one shows; Jackson wanted to do ten more than Prince did. Chernoff asked questions about the finances of the contract. All questions were objected to and the judge sustained them. It was heard that ten shows went on sale first and the demand was "over the top". "We had never seen that kinds of demand for tickets, it was obviously we would have blown through thirty-one shows in the pre-sale and not had any for general sales". Within twenty minutes Jackson agreed to more shows. Jackson said he wanted to do maximum fifty shows because he didn't want a passport, didn't want to live in London. He asked for a country house estate (16+ acres with running streams) so he and the kids wouldn't be stuck in a hotel in London. He also wanted the Guinness World Records to be there at the fiftieth show. It was heard that Jackson was very firm about having his own (24/7) physician (Murray). It was heard that Phillips met with Murray and Jackson in early June 2009 to discuss Jackson's health. Murray assured Phillips he was in great health and that Murray would look after Jackson's diet. It was heard that Kenny [Ortega] told Phillips that he was concerned about Jackson's focus in performances in a production of this magnitude. Phillips started seeing stress and pressure in Ortega towards the middle of June because of this. There was an issue of Jackson showing up for performances. Ortega said he needed to be there because he was the fulcrum, everything surrounded him in the production. Ortega scheduled a meeting for on June 20 would be about Michael Jackson's tardiness/focus at rehearsals. It was heard that based on Kenny Ortega's email, it was clear he felt this was an emergency meeting (over Michael Jackson's 'focus'). The meeting was with Murray, Jackson, Ortega and Phillips at Carolwood house. Ortega didn't understand why Jackson wasn't engaged like he thought he'd be, maybe there were health concerns. "Michael didn't respond immediately. Murray spoke for Michael on the situation, guaranteed us that Michael would get into it". Phillips attended rehearsal on June 23-24 to make sure everything was back on track. On June 25, Phillips went to hospital and stayed there the entire time Jackson was there. "I was there all day into the evening". Murray was in "severe distress".

The next defense witness is toxicologist Michael Henson, a tech operations officer at Pacific Toxicology. Defense attorney Michael Flanagan doing direct examination. Henson has known Flanagan since 2009, his company has worked with Flanagan for quite some time. Henson examined urine samples handed over from LA County Coroners Office he also provided defense testing for stomach content of Lorazepam. It was heard that Dr. Shafer emailed Henson about what his standard operating procedure (SOP) was for Lorazepam results but he did not email Shafer back and contacted Flanagan instead. During cross-examination, Walgren asked Henson why the People and the Defence have 2 different copies of lorazepam results. Henson said he did not know.

October 26, 2011: Day 18 First witness of the day was Gerry Causey, who lives in Cedar City, Utah. Causey has known Murray for 11 years, they met when he lived in Las Vegas, when Causey had a heart attack. "Murray made me sign some paperwork, some kind of release, then they took me to the operating room for an angiogram". "During my procedure I didn't want to be sedated. I saw everything on the screen. He always explained me everything he was doing". He has been in constant contact with Murray ever since he was in hospital. They have remained friends. It was heard that they have remained friends because of the love Dr. Murray has for his patients. Causey has stated Murray is his "best friend". Causey said that Murray was not greedy, he has never been, he would treat you regardless whether you had insurance or not. Murray broke down in tears when Causey said Murray would spend all time necessary with him, he would call his wife to explain problems. It was heard that Causey has given two TV interviews regarding Murray. He gave them free of charge "to help my friend". During cross-examination Causey said that Dr. Murray is known for "his compassion, his feelings, you can ask any of his patients, he's the best doctor in the world". "I don't think he did what he's accused of. From what I know, what I feel right now he didn't do it". Walgren asked Causey even if he knew Murray was grossly negligent if he would come and testify on the doc's behalf – he said yes. Causey was excused and as he walked out he kissed Dr. Murray on the forehead and shook his hand.

Next to the stand was Andrew Guest, also a previous patient of Murray's from Las Vegas. Guest described how he first met Murray and the procedures he went through for his heart. Guest said "that man sitting there is the best doctor I have ever seen" "I'm alive today because of that man". It was heard that Guest did an interview, free of charge, with CNN because he believed Murray needed support and wasn't getting a "fair shake". Walgren asked "Nothing would change your opinion of that man would it" "Correct".

Next to the stand was Lunette Sampson. Another patient of Murray's. She now lives in San Diego, but lived in Las Vegas for long time. Sampson had 2 heart attacks while in Las Vegas, Dr. Murray treated her. "I have never had a doctor that was more caring and thorough". When asked if she thought Murray was greedy or was motivated by money she said: "I know Dr. Murray is not greedy or money-hungry. He is taking care of people pro-Bono, people without money". Sampson said Murray never once mentioned he was going to work with Jackson. "He told me he was going to take sabbatical for a year".

Next called was Dennis Hix. He had heart problems and got stents (Coronary stent), the last one around 2004-2005. Murray's children's were his neighbors. It was heard that Hix is a 66 and has gone to a lot of doctors and never had one who gave me the care he did. "I had insurance that 'didn't hardly pay for nothing', he said he would help". "When my brother saw I got the stents, my brother said he wanted some too. He had heart issues but didn't have money for the procedure" "Dr. Murray told my brother not to worry about the payment that he would treat him for free. And he did." Walgren asked Hix "When did you learn Dr. Murray was going on tour with Jackson? I didn't even know it until I saw it on TV."

Next to the stand was Ruby Mosley. She lives in Houston. She's the secretary of Acres Home Citizen's Council, a low income seniors community. Dr. Murray's father was a doctor in the Acres Home district. Dr. Murray opened clinic in his father's memory. "He made a commitment to community to open a clinic in memory of his dad" (Dr. M Snr was there from 1968 until 2003). Upon Chernoff asking if Murray was greedy, Mosley replied "if this man was greedy he would've not come to work at Acres Home, where 75% of people are poor, he was making less than in Las Vegas". Murray treated Mosley for heart problems.

October 27, 2011: Day 19 First to take the stand was Dr. Robert Waldman, a physician specializing in Internal medicine, Nephrology and Addiction medicine, has been involved in addiction medicine and treating patients who have addiction diseases for 23 years but is not board-certified in it. He described to the court what happens to a patient during addiction and withdrawal, including the tell-tale signs, the symptoms and the drugs that can be involved. Dr. Waldman stated that the side effects of withdrawal of drugs are sweating, increase heart rate, nausea, cramp, insomnia, temperature deregulation and tremendous anxiety. It was heard that the addict's biggest fear is that you're not going to respect the amount of discomfort they'll go through during treatment and detoxing process. It was also heard that rapid detox is not a treatment. It uses high levels of sedation intravenously and it is a process that uses general anesthesia to help tolerate the discomfort. It was heard that Dr. Waldman's opinion is that there is evidence to suggest Jackson was dependent (not addicted) on Demerol (Pethidine) due to the frequent high doses he received in May 2009 indicated by Dr. Klein's medical records of Omar Arnold (an alias of Jackson's). It was heard that Dr. Klein's medical records indicate that in April 2009 Jackson received 775 mg of Demerol for Botox and Restylane procedures. During 3 days in beginning of May 2009, Jackson received another 900 mg of Demerol for Botox and Restylane procedures. Dr. Waldman said being injected during 6 days with very high doses of Demerol would create opioid dependency in anyone of us.

Next to the stand was Dr. Paul White, with an interest in intravenous anesthesia, he started working with propofol in 1983, FDA approved it for general anesthesia in 1989. He has published 435 papers on PubMed. He has written about fifteen books, two are major textbooks. He has written five books on propofol, wrote twenty one chapters on propofol in various textbooks. After initial study showed propofol allowed patients to wake up sooner, went back to company and asked to do follow-up study. Dr. White said "Some people call me the father of Monitored Anesthetic Care (MAC) (Anesthesia awareness) sedation". "In January of this year, Mr. Flanagan contacted me and mentioned the name Conrad Murray. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get involved in a high-profile trial involving death of a celebrity. I was perplexed how experts determined that Murray was infusing propofol. It was not obvious to me." Dr. White met the Shafers in 1981, shortly after arrival at Stanford. They approached him about doing research. It was heard that Dr. White performed a study with animals, found that propofol directly into stomach has no clinical effect. Regarding the paper Dr. Shafer testified about a sleep study in China, Dr. White said "My take on the paper was different than Dr. Shafer's. The study showed that propofol was safe and effective for normalizing disturbed sleep but it's certainly not a definitive study."

October 28, 2011: Day 20 White was back on the stand being examined by J.Michael Flanagan. It was heard that based on the diagram showing what Dr. Murray told the police he gave to Jackson on the night in question it would not have presented any danger at all. White said that "the dose of Propofol we are talking here is 25 mg. This is a dose that produces little anxiety, little sleepiness". It was heard that anesthesiologists are obviously trained in sedation. For non-anesthesiologists most hospitals require certification to use sedation. White was then given a certificate to read. It was Murray's certification from Sunrise Medical Hospital approving him to administer moderate sedation. It qualifies the doctor to administer drugs to achieve moderate sedation but he must monitor patients carefully. The certification also says doctor approved to rescue patients from deep sedation, manage compromised airway; provide adequate ventilation. Flanagan and White went through simulations that Shafer put together with variables of amount of drugs and time administered. It was heard that the fact that there is some free lorazepam in stomach, shows Jackson took lorazepamorally at some point before his death. Flanagan went going through different scenarios with Dr. White that could have caused Jackson's death. Dr. White then demonstrated how to mix Propofol and Lidocaine inside a syringe and administered it through a saline drip and Y tube. White injected 5 mg of Propofol/saline mix into a cup to show that Propofol doesn't go up the IV line and Propofol sticks to the plastic tubing. He said that this is certainly a very safe way to inject Propofol, and it was only 25 mg. "my demonstration was probably close to what happened at the scene. You'd need a mechanism to drip the drug & hold this heavy bottle". Flanagan asked if he could envision anyone using a slit IV bag to hang the Propofol bottle when there's handle on the bottle? "No". White added "why would anyone go through the hassle of cutting a saline bag to put bottle inside when bottle has handle". Flanagan then asked how you would mix Propofol solution with saline to make it 1-1 mg/ml? "You pull tab off the bottle, spike top, then inject all the bottle of Propofol into the saline bag, shaking the bag to make it 1-1 μg/ml".

It was heard that Propofol is extensively metabolized, but some is eliminated in the urine in unchanged form. Autopsy level determined extremely small level. There was half of liter of urine in Jackson's bladder at time of autopsy. It contained very little amount of unchanged Propofol. White commented "I cannot understand a 3 hour infusion theory where there were evidence of infusion set up and elimination of drug in urine". Flanagan then asked "do you think it was self injection of Propofol nearly 11:30a/12p did it?" "In my opinion yes". Flanagan then asked "Shafer said his scenario reconciled with all facts in this case. Does it reconcile with Dr. Murray's statement?" "No". "Does Dr. Shafer's theory reconcile with physical evidence at the scene or urine concentration?". "No". Dr. White said "my theory reconciles with the evidence found at the scene and urine concentration at autopsy".

October 31, 2011: Day 21 It was heard from White that administering Propofol without careful bedside monitoring could be dangerous. "Do you agree there were instances where Dr. Murray deviated from standard of care on June 25, 2009?" "Yes". Walgren asked "have you ever administered Propofol in someone's bedroom?" "No". "Have you heard anyone else doing it?" "No". Dr. White agrees Dr. Murray deviated from the 'standard of care' of Jackson but doesn't know to what degree. "Do you disagree with Dr. Shafer's opinion that failure to keep medical records 'egregious & unconscionable' deviation?" White doesn't know what the words egregious and unconsionable mean in this case. "Would you administer Propofol to a patient without proper airway-opening equipment?" "I would certainly have means for ventilation, means of ventilation could be an ambu bag and a mask, not necessarily other respiratory equipment". It was heard that Dr. White has received $11000 so far for his testimony in this case. He usually charges $3500 per day and any expenses such as airfares. He doesn't think the defense have this much so will not bill them that much. Dr. Safer testified for many days, and performed numerous simulations for both the prosecution and defense for free. "Was Dr. Murray offered money to provide Jackson's Propofol?" "It is my understanding that Dr. Murray was offered money to be Jackson's personal doctor". Walgren then asked "If you injected 25 mg Propofol, is it ok to walk out of the room?" "25 mg only lasts 15-30 minutes, after that I see no problem in leaving the patient's bedside". "If the patient liked to 'push' Propofol themselves, would you walk out of room?" "No". Upon being asked about Murray's actions after he found Jackson, Dr. White said "I would have done things differently. I would have called for help, called 911 and initiated CPR". When being asked about Murray's delay to call 911 he stated "I would have called 911 earlier but do not believe it would have made any difference in this case". "3-5 minutes after finding him I would call 911". It was heard that "forgetting to mention Propofol was a detail overlooked, could also be a lie?" "Yes". After Dr. White mentioned he believed that Jackson had his own stash of Propofol, Walgren asked the judge to admonish witness to respond the question only. Judge asked jurors to leave the courtroom. Walgren asked "Do you reject that Jackson drank Propofol and that caused his death?" "Yes. I speculated that oral administration may have played a role. I don't reject completely the self administration theory. The evidence suggests that Jackson did not drink Propofol". Flanagan asked Dr. White "If patient died on noon, would it matter if help came 5 minutes later?" "Unlikely". He added "Propofol does not have a reversal treatment, only treatment for propofol overdose is time".

During his testimony, Dr. White was fined $1000 for contempt of court for disobeying an order by the judge.

After court adjourned the judge told attorneys he will give them one day off so they can prepare for closing arguments. If done by Tuesday, Wednesday could be dark. The judge said he's prepared to give a full day off, which takes us to Thursday for jury instructions. He says he'll not deferred that. The judge asked Murray if he's going to testify. He said "I need more time to talk to my lawyers. I have not made my final decision". Judge Pastor told Dr. Murray he will have until tomorrow morning to decide. Murray said: "it will all depend on how the case progresses". After defense concludes with Dr. White, they plan on calling Dr. Ornellas, the one who put together the models Dr. White spoke about. After Dr. Ornellas, defense is prepared to rest their case. Walgren said he will call Dr. Shafer, briefly, as rebuttal witness. Judge then said he expects all the evidence in the case to be concluded tomorrow. Trial is set to resume at 9:30 am with end of re-direct of Dr. White.

November 1, 2011: Day 22 The re direct examination of Dr. White continues with Mr. Flanagan asking the questions about various models that Dr. White had commissioned for the defence. They talked about the level of Lorazepam in Jackson's body in the models created by Dr. Shafer and Dr. White's expert. It was heard that there are many possibilities as to how the blood and urine levels got to where they were at autopsy. The models present a few different ideas and scenarios. "We can make models and adjust the time/dose to achieve the concentration of Lorazepam found in femoral blood at time of autopsy". There are great differences between different patients so the models are subject to huge population variability. Flanagan to Dr. White: "we don't know how many Lorazepam pills Jackson took, do we?" "No one can be sure." Dr. White said that if Dr. Shafer's scenario of a three hour infusion does not hold up because the urine levels of Propofol at autopsy are too low. Dr.White said that standards of care are the ideals, standards of practice are different in different situations. Some office procedures, i.e. different than hospitals, you might find different conditions and standards or practice if it is not possible to have the highest standard of care. Dr. White stated that 25 mg over 3-5 minute of Propofol would only produce light sleepiness, possibly no sleep at all.

Murray decided not to take the stand in his defense. The defense have no more witnesses and rest their case.

Prosecution recalls Dr. Steven Shafer. It was heard that there is no suggestion Jackson died at any specific time, only he died with high level of infusion of Propofol. It was heard that the Propofol elimination in the urine is 0.004+-0.002% of the total dose given. The excreted unchanged Propofolfound in the urine at autopsy was 82.5 μg. This indicates that more that 2,000 mg Propofol was administered to Jackson. This rules out the hypothesis by Dr. White and indicates more Propofol than Dr. Shafer's models. Dr. Shafer said that if there were such a thing as bedroom-based anesthesia, the standard guidelines would be a minimum, you would require much more precautions.

November 3, 2011: Day 23 The jury heard instructions from the judge, both prosecution and defense closing arguments and final post trial instructions from the judge.

Verdict

November 7, 2011: Day 24 Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Pastor set sentencing for November 29, 2011, and ordered Murray taken into custody without bail.[27][28]

Sentencing

November 29, 2011: Day 25 Murray was sentenced to the maximum penalty of four years of incarceration; according to Los Angeles County Sheriff officials, he is expected to serve a little less than two years in the Los Angeles County Jail due to California prison overcrowding.[29][30]

References

^ Allen, Nick. "Dr Conrad Murray: profile". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
^ "David Walgren – Deputy District Attorney". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "lorazepam, Ativan". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "propofol". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "Michael Jackson Trial: Meet the Witnesses, Attorneys, and Jury".International Business Times. October 2, 2011.
^ "Attorneys Screen Jurors for Bias in Conrad Murray Trial". KTLA. September 21, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
^ "Conrad Murray on Trial for Involuntary Manslaughter of Michael Jackson: Latest". The Daily Telegraph. September 28, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
^ "Conrad Murray Guilty over Death of Michael Jackson: Live". The Daily Telegraph. 8 November 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
^ "Doctor Found Guilty in Michael Jackson's Death". The New York Times. November 8, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
^ "Conrad Murray Guilty in Michael Jackson's Death". USA Today. November 7, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
^ "Conrad Murray Trial Hears Michael Jackson Tape". RTÉ News. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
^ "Michael Jackson Dead at 50 after Cardiac Arrest". CNN. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
^ "Flumazenil Injection". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "Nicole Alvarez Conrad Murray's Ex Stripper Girlfriend". Zimbio. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
^ "Benoquin Official FDA information". Drugs.com. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
^ "http://www.drugs.com/mtm/benoquin.html". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "Vitiligo". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "Pharmacist Testifies about Conrad Murray's Drug Orders". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "Pharmacist Testifies about Conrad Murray's Drug Orders". myfoxla.com. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
^ "Murray Trial Moves Into "CSI" Phase". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "Computer Forensic Expert Testifies in Murray Trial". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "Court Hears Dramatic Tape Of Slurring Jackson". Sky News. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "Coroner's Investigator to Continue Testimony". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "lidocaine-injection (local), Xylocaine". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "midazolam-injection, Versed". Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ "Court Hears Of Jackson Investigator Mistakes". Sky News. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
^ "Dr. Conrad Murray Found Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter of Michael Jackson". Fox News. November 7, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
^ "Verdict video"". CNN. November 7, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
^ TODAY Staff and Wire, Conrad Murray Sentenced to Four Years in Jail,msnbc.msn.com. November 29, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
^ Ravindhran, Subha. "Conrad Murray sentenced to 4 yrs county jail". ABC.

The Killer Speaks

The Killer Speaks

Webmaster — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 05:27:23 +0000

Warning – Extremely Repulsive

The Sentencing of Conrad Murray

“Michael” & His Secret Family

Webmaster — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:09:05 +0000

Oprah Winfrey has devoted much of her final season to the legacy of the late Michael Jackson. And Monday on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", she did it again when a New Jersey family came out of the woodwork and confessed to being Michael Jackson's secret "second family".

Dominic and Connie Cascio befriended Jackson 25 years ago when Dominic was a manager at the Helmsley Palace Hotel in New York City. Jackson began visiting the family at their suburban New Jersey home and continued to hang out with the family as they raised their children- Eddie, Frank and Marie Nicole.

If you think this story is strange, it gets stranger. The Cascio's say Michael would just show up at their house unannounced, sometimes knocking on their door in the middle of the night. Indeed there was video footage and photos of Jackson and a young Cascio family horsing around in their pajamas.

Connie Cascio told Oprah that she cooked all of Michaels' favorite foods like homemade pizza, turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing and the family even created a movie theater-style "candy counter" for when Jackson came to visit. Connie also said Michael- who was known to have problems sleeping- had no problems sleeping at her house. The family created a "cave" for him in their basement. And Jackson even took out the family's trash.

As the Cascio children got older, Jackson mentored and then wrote and recorded music with Eddie in the family's basement recording studio. Some of the never before heard tracks will be released on the upcoming Jackson album, "Michael". Eddie Cascio assured fans that Michael would be excited that the music was being released because he did it for his fans.

The Cascio's said Jackson would sometimes leave his children with them- and they were even with him for the birth of his children. And before you go thinking mama Katherine Jackson would be mortified to hear that her son had a secret second mom, think again; the Jackson family knew all about his relationship with the Cascio's.

It was just most of his fans that didn't.

Ever since Michael Jackson died 18 months ago, there has been speculation about what gems may lay hidden in the King of Pop's vaults. The answer is that there are at least a few sparklers that could be polished for public display.

Michael (* * * out of four), which hits stores Tuesday, is the first album released under a seven-year, $250 million deal between the Jackson estate and Sony Music to put out a wealth of unreleased material. Estate co-executor John McCain and a host of collaborators and producers, including Akon, Lenny Kravitz, 50 Cent and Teddy Riley, completed 10 songs left unfinished by Jackson for this compilation, with mixed results.

Since some of the songs date back as far as the early 1980s while others are of very recent vintage, Michael is not an album with a cohesive theme or consistent sound. That's not to say it's lacking in potential hits. But it's hard to imagine that this is what a perfectionist like Jackson would have made, even though the producers were purportedly following his road map in adding all the finishing touches. Family members and will.i.am, who, like Akon, collaborated with Jackson on 2008's Thriller 25, have been critical of the release of any music not bearing Jackson's final stamp.

But controversy aside, it is a credible musical effort that can't simply be dismissed. For the most part, the songs don't have the pieced-together feel of many posthumous projects, and Jackson's vocals (Hold My Hand with Akon being the notable exception) are always front and center.

The best songs hark back to previous Jackson hits. There are club burners and tender ballads that showcase his elastic voice, replete with his signature hiccups and howls. The thumping Hollywood Tonight pulsates with Billy Jean-esque energy, while the aggressive Monster seems destined to leave blood on the dance floor. The first deals with the cost of chasing celebrity, while the second bemoans the price of being one. Less successful is Breaking News, on which he gripes once again that the entertainment media won't leave him alone. The most sonically forward song is the propulsive, synth-drenched Behind the Mask. It would fit snugly on anybody's current playlist.

Still, while this may be a loving look back, it doesn't offer a lot of insight into where Jackson may have been headed with the new album he'd been working on since 2007. Part of Jackson's magic was that he always kept you wondering what he'd do next to amaze you. With this album, and presumably any future ones, the best you can hope for is to be pleasantly reminded of his gifts. The material here is solid, but if this is the best they've got, you have to wonder about what's left to come.

Jackson Family Share Memories

Webmaster — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:36:57 +0000

Part 1 Above – Part 2 & 3 Below

Part 3

Sitting in the home the Jackson family moved into 40 years ago, Katherine recalls some of her fondest memories of her children growing up within those walls. From Michael and Randy writing 1973's "Dancing Machine" to the children's frequent dance rehearsals, it's clear that Hayvenhurst holds happy memories for this family.

These memories are the subject of Katherine's new book, Never Can Say Goodbye, a tribute to Michael that includes personal stories and never before-seen photographs from his life. Oprah asks Katherine why she wanted to share these stories with the world.

"I wanted to do it for his fans and for the people that misunderstood him," Katherine says.

Related Resources

To purchase Katherine Jackson's book, Never Can Say Goodbye, visit JacksonSecretVault.com

No Related Post

2009 VMA Awards ft Janet Jackson

Webmaster — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:00:26 +0000

MTV royalty Janet Jackson kicked off 2009's VMAs with a musical tribute to the life and career of her brother Michael Jackson. The man who helped shape MTV from the beginning and provided many memorable VMA moments, of course, was honored in an exhilarating fashion with large screen videos and live dancers.

One of the most talked-about participants of the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was tragically there in absentia. Though many people ended up talking about Kanye West, the anticipation was focused squarely on Michael Jackson, who received a tribute from Madonna, his sister Janet and an army of dancers re-enacting some of his most famous dance moves. According to reactions from fans, it was a fitting tribute.

"Madonna almost had me in tears with her speech," charchar1982 commented. "And I loved the part when [Janet] danced to ‘Scream’ and it looked like she was dancing with [Michael] again. My fav part of the show." She wasn't the only one who got a little choked up during the start of the show. "I am still in tears over the performance," Frances wrote. "I can only imagine that Janet needed all the strength she could get. They were so close. I'm thankful to MTV for allowing that to happen. It was a fitting tribute to MJ, since his videos did launch a whole new audience to MTV and the world." Bluestrawberry51 also appreciated Janet's effort, noting, "It was beautiful and Janet was just perfect. It was (nearly) flawless."

But the outpouring of support for Michael Jackson didn't end with the show-opening tribute. At the close of the show, MTV premiered the full trailer for the upcoming film "Michael Jackson's This Is It," which brings together performance and behind-the-scenes footage from the rehearsals for what would have been the shows that made up Michael's planned residency at the O2 arena in London. The trailer inspired similar waterworks from readers. "It's bittersweet, it's a dream," Karma commented. "It makes tears flow in my eyes, but also makes me feel proud of this man, who gave his best for his fans. He was a visionary, a loving soul and the best entertainer on earth." Sam concurred. "The trailer honestly almost made me tear up. The man was dancing like he was in his 20s … energetic. I miss Michael very, very much."

Clearly the anticipation over "Michael Jackson's This Is It" — which opens on October 28 and will run for only two weeks — is extremely high, and based on the outpouring of emotion and support for the tribute at this year's VMAs, his legions of adoring fans still aren't quite ready to let Michael Jackson go.

The first moments of MTV's Video Music Awards are always memorable, and VMA vet Madonna certainly did not disappoint with a tearful tribute to the late King of Pop.

Walking onto the darkened stage wearing a black zippered jacket and skirt, Madonna said:

"Michael Jackson was born in August, 1958. so was I. Michael Jackson grew up in the suburbs of the Midwest. So did I. Michael Jackson had eight brothers and sisters. So do I. When Michael Jackson was 6 he became a superstar and was perhaps the world's most beloved child. When I was 6 my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the stick.

"I never had a mother, but he never had a childhood. And when you never get to have something, you become obsessed by it. I spent my childhood searching for my mother figures; sometimes I was successful. But how do you recreate your childhood when you are under the magnifying glass of the world for your entire life?

"There is no question that Michael Jackson was one of the greatest talents the world has ever known. … That when he sang a song at the ripe old age of 8, he could make you feel like an experienced adult was squeezing your heart with his words. … That the way he moved had the elegance of Fred Astaire and packed the punch of Muhammad Ali. … That his music had an extra layer of inexplicable magic that didn't just make you want to dance but actually made you believe that you could fly, dare to dream, be anything that you wanted to be. Because that is what heroes do. And Michael Jackson was a hero.

"He performed in soccer stadiums around the world, he sold hundreds of millions of records, he dined with prime ministers and presidents. Girls fell in love with him, boys fell in love with him, everyone wanted to dance like him, he seemed otherworldly, but he was also a human being. Like most performers, he was shy and plagued with insecurities.

"I can't say we were great friends, but in 1991 I decided I wanted to get to know him better. I asked him out to dinner: I said, 'My treat, I'll drive, just you and me.' He agreed and showed up to my house without any bodyguards. We drove to the restaurant in my car. It was dark out, but he was still wearing sunglasses. I said, 'Michael, I feel like I'm talking to a limousine, do you think you could take off those glasses so I could see your eyes?' He paused for a moment, then he tossed the glasses out the window, looked at me with a wink and a smile and said, 'Can you see me now, is that better?'

"In that moment, I could see both his vulnerability and his charm. The rest of the dinner, I was hell-bent on getting him to eat French fries, drink wine, have dessert and say bad words, things he never seemed to allow himself to do. Later, we went back to my house to watch a movie and we sat on the couch like two kids, and somewhere in the middle of the film, his hand snuck over and held mine. It felt like he was looking for a friend more than a romance and I was happy to oblige him. And in that moment he didn't feel like a superstar, he felt like a human being. We went out a few more times together and then for one reason or another we fell out of touch. Then, the witch hunt began and it seemed like one negative story after the other was coming out about Michael. I felt his pain. I know what it's like to walk down the street and feel like the whole world has turned against you. I know what it's like to feel helpless and unable to defend yourself because the roar of the lynch mob is so loud that you are convinced your voice can never be heard.

"But I had a childhood, and I was allowed to make mistakes and find my own way in the world without the glare of the spotlight. When I first heard that Michael had died I was in London, days away from the opening of my tour. Michael was going to perform in the same venue as me a week later. All I could think about in that moment was that I had abandoned him. That we had abandoned him. That we had allowed this magnificent creature that once set the world on fire to somehow slip through the cracks. While he was trying to build a family and rebuild his career, we were all busy passing judgment. Most of us had turned our backs on him.

"In a desperate attempt to hold onto his memory, I went on the Internet to watch old clips of him dancing and singing on TV and onstage and I thought, 'My God, he was so unique, so original, so rare. And there will never be anyone like him again.' He was a king. But he was also a human being and alas, we are all human beings and sometimes we have to lose things before we can truly appreciate them. I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons, age 9 and 4, are obsessed with Michael Jackson. There's a whole lot of crotch-grabbing and moonwalking going on in my house, and it seems like a whole new generation of kids has discovered his genius and are bringing him to life again. I hope that wherever Michael is now, he is smiling about this.

"Yes, yes Michael Jackson was a human being, but dammit, he was a king. Long live the king."

7-7-09 Memorial Highlights

Webmaster — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 08:04:39 +0000

Part 1 (above) features introduction,

Mariah Carey, & Berry Gordy

Part 2 features Michael montage,

Rev. Al Sharpton, & Brooke Shield

Part 3 features Usher, Heal the World, and the Jackson Family

Dateline The Michael Jackson Tapes

Webmaster — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 08:01:19 +0000

Part 1 Above – Part 2

through 6 Below

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6 Transcript

By Meredith Vieira

Dateline NBC

Fri., Sept . 25, 2009

His voice is instantly familiar:

Michael Jackson: I wanted to become such a wonderful performer that I would get loved back.

… But his words are so haunting.

Michael Jackson: If it weren’t for children, I would choose death.

Words of pain and torment.

Michael Jackson: Anybody else would probably be dead by now, or a junkie, with what I’ve been through.

Bitterness and rivalry.

Rabbi Shmuley: What about jealousy from other stars and things like that? Is there a lot of jealousy?

Michael Jackson: Absolutely … and “M” is one of em. Madonna. Hate to say that on tape.

And a legendary star’s deepest fears.

Rabbi Shmuley: Do you want to have a long life?

Michael Jackson: I think growing old is the ugliest, the most, the ugliest thing.

Rabbi Shmuley: I don’t think that Michael Jackson will ever be looked at the same after this book. It’s impossible. There’s just too much rawness and honesty of Michael in this book for anyone to ever perceive him as the same.

Now, for the first time, spilling out across page, and on tape: Michael Jackson in his own words. Up until now, these recordings have never been released.

They’re being played exclusively on NBC, along with the release of a new book: The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul In Intimate Conversation.

Author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach — a relationship expert who calls himself “America’s Rabbi” — calls it “The King Of Pop Raw,” exposed like never before.

Rabbi Shmuley: You could see that there was a woundedness to him, he wasn’t very trusting, he opened up very slowly.

Meredith Vieira, NBC News: But one of the first questions that people might ask is “did you betray his confidence in any way by releasing these tapes now, after his death?”

Rabbi Shmuley: Not only have I not betrayed any confidences, Michael used to hold the tape recorders directly to his mouth. He would constantly talk to me about the book. “Make sure this is in the book.” He desperately wanted this out.He counted mega-celebrities like Diana Ross and Elizabeth Taylor among his closest friends. But this is Michael Jackson bluntly dissing Hollywood.

Rabbi Shmuley: Why don’t you hang out with those celebrities, more Hollywood people?

Michael Jackson: They love the limelight and I don’t have anything in common with them. They want to go clubbing and afterwards they want to sit around and drink hard liquor and do marijuana and all kinds of crazy things that I wouldn’t do.

And forget the mask, the chimp, the baby dangling, and any other eccentric behavior we already know about. Here, Jackson talks openly about his oddest — and saddest — habits.

Michael Jackson: I needed someone. That’s probably why I had, uh, the mannequins, I would say. Because I felt I needed people, someone, and I didn’t have, I was too shy to be around real people. I love them, it’s like real babies, and kids, and people, but it makes me feel like I am in a room with people.Rabbi Shmuley first met Michael Jackson in 1999, and began recording their conversations a year later, when Jackson was 42 years old. Theirs was an unlikely friendship — but the Orthodox rabbi had became a confidant and spiritual advisor to the King Of Pop.

Rabbi Shmuley: As we got to know each other more, I think he began to believe that I got him.

Meredith Vieira: Did he see in you then, Rabbi, the opportunity to be a regular guy?

Rabbi Shmuley: So many of us look at Michael as strange and weird, that’s not what I experienced. He never wore a mask in my presence. The kids were never veiled in my presence. Michael wasn’t a celebrity for me anymore.

Meredith Vieira: What did you see?

Rabbi Shmuley: Indescribable pain. Tremendous remorse and regret.

Shmuley says Jackson, who was still reeling from 1993 sexual abuse allegations, wanted the public to hear his voice.

Meredith Vieira: The plan was always to publish the conversations?

Rabbi Shmuley: Absolutely.

Meredith Vieira: But why did he want that out there? Why did he want a book of the conversations?

Rabbi Shmuley: He knew that the public was deeply suspicious of him. I think he wanted be known as a man without a mask.

During the nine-month period when the tapes were made, the rabbi says he and Jackson were so close, he considered him part of the family.

Shmuley’s children still have Marshmallow, the dog Jackson gave them, along with fond memories of the many Friday nights when the King Of Pop joined them in Englewood, New Jersey for Sabbath dinner.

Rabbi Shmuley: He used to tell me they were the most special evenings of his life. He would arrive with Prince and Paris, very often his– security detail would join us. And we would just sit around and Michael would just laugh and giggle.

Prince and Paris, who were toddlers at the time, were often in tow when the tape recorders were rolling too — sometimes jumping right into the conversation.

Rabbi Shmuley: How old were you now?

Prince (in background): We’re three! (laughter)

If the world sees him as the strange father who cloaked his children in masks, the tapes reveal the tender dad we didn’t see.

Michael Jackson: Like I say to Prince and Paris, “You know why I bought you this?” They say “because you love me.” I say “yes, that’s why I bought it.” They need to know that.

The rabbi says family bonding was such a central part of his friendship with Jackson that they began working on a national campaign to promote Friday nights as family night.

Rabbi Shmuley: A national family dinner time. Because families who eat with their children, it minimizes drug use, early sexuality, there are so many benefits.

It’s a dream rooted in Jackson’s own childhood scars.

Michael Jackson: If I had, if there were a children’s day when I was little, and I looked at my father and say “OK, Daddy, Joseph,-what are we going to do today?”, you know what that would’ve meant to me? He go “Well, want to go to the movies?” That would’ve meant so much to me, Shmuley. (tearing up)

With his tears sometimes audible, the Michael Jackson you’ll hear now comes out from behind his mask, unveiling a man few people knew –or could ever comprehend.

Michael Jackson: And I’m — I’m going to say something I’ve never said it before, uh, um, and this is the truth, Shmuley. I– I have no reason to lie to you. God knows I’m telling the truth. I think all my success and fame –and I’ve wanted it. I’ve wanted it. Because I wanted to be loved. That’s all.

As the lead singer of the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson was a childhood sensation. But behind his beaming smile, there was searing pain.Michael Jackson: It’s true, Shmuley. I suffered a lot in that way.

Rabbi Shmuley: Michael had a broken childhood. There were always two Michael Jacksons. There was Michael Jackson, African-American boy from Gary, Indiana, who grew up in abject poverty. And then, there was the King Of Pop.

Jackson, the King Of Pop, has talked about Michael, the boy, before … But never like this. In unsettling detail, he opens up about his fear of his father and manager, Joe Jackson.Michael Jackson: You’d look in the audience, and he’d make a face like this. You’d go,”I can’t mess up, he’s gonna kill us.” It would scare the bejesus out of you and you’d be like, everybody’s clapping and he’d be like, like looking at you hard, like “Don’t you mess up” and you know, I’m like, “Oh God, I’m in trouble after the show.”

Rabbi Shmuley: There was no one on Michael’s mind more than his father Joseph, no one. His father came up constantly, usually in painful, negative stories.

Jackson told Shmuley that growing up, he and his siblings would dread the moment their father came home.

Michael Jackson: We’d hear his car comin’ the driveway. He always drove a big Mercedes and he drives real slow. “Joseph’s home, Joseph’s home, quick!” Doors slam, everybody runs to their room.

Like there’s sometimes I’d be in bed at night sleeping, it’s 12 at night. The door is locked. He said, “I’m giving you five seconds, you don’t open, I’m going to kick it down.” And he starts kicking it, boom! Like breaking the door down. Why didn’t you sign that contract today? I go, “I don’t know.” He goes, “Well, sign it. If you don’t sign it, you are in trouble.”

Rabbi Shmuley: So you would sign?

Michael Jackson: I had to! He would, he was very physical. He’d throw you and hit you as hard as he can.

And as Michael describes to the rabbi, they were beatings that sometimes got brutal.

Michael Jackson: He was rough. The way he would beat you, you know, was hard, you know. Sometime he take, um, he would make you strip nude first. He would oil you down. It would be a whole ritual. He would oil you down so when the flip of the ironing cord hit you, you know. And it would just like be dying and you had whips all over your face, your back, everywhere. And I always hear my mother, “No, Joe! You’re gonna kill ‘em. You’re gonna kill ‘em, no!” I would just give up, like there was nothing I could do, you know? And I, and I hated him for it, hated him.

Rabbi Shmuley: Michael was terrified of his father.

Terrified, and also resentful.

Rabbi Shmuley: Did you begin to feel that you were like a moneymaking machine for him?

Michael Jackson: Yes. I’ll never forget it, one day he said, “If you guys ever stop singing, I’ll drop you like a hot potato.” That’s what he said. It hurt me. You don’t say that to children and I never forgot it.

It was a shunning of affection that colored almost all Jackson’s childhood memories of his father.

Michael Jackson: I never felt love from him. And he would never hold me or touch me.

Rabbi Shmuley: He only has one memory of his father ever doing anything loving for him as a child. He was about 5 years old. He was at a carnival. And his father picked him up and put him on a horse. And he said he has relived that moment almost every day of his life. Michael learned the devastating effects of neglecting a child.Jackson told Shmuley his sadness created a torment so wrenching that he and his siblings even fantasized about their father being dead.

Michael Jackson: We used to say to our mother, we used to say to each other, and I’ll never forget this. Janet and myself, we say, I would say, “Janet, shut your eyes.” She’d go, “Okay, they’re shut.” I’d say, “Picture Joseph in a coffin. He’s dead. Did you feel sorry?” She’d go, “No.” That’s what we used to do to each other as kids. We’d like play games like that. She’d go, she’d go, “Nope.” Just like that. And that’s how hateful we were.

Jackson’s siblings have said in the past that Joe Jackson was hard on them, but their descriptions are inconsistent. And Joe Jackson has said he whipped his son, but never beat him. A spokesman for the Jackson family told us “The family will not dignify this with a comment.”

Meredith Vieira: You’ve met Joe Jackson.

Rabbi Shmuley: I have.

Meredith Vieira: Does this ring true to you, does it make sense to you?

Rabbi Shmuley: What’s not important, as far as Michael is concerned, is whether or not these allegations are true, they may not be true, but Michael certainly perceived them to be true.

And like most things in Jackson’s life, nothing was black and white. At times, he spoke fondly of his father — crediting him with much of his own success.

Michael Jackson: And God bless my father because he did some wonderful things, and he was brilliant, he was a genius.

Meredith Vieira: He always talks about how brilliant his dad was.

Rabbi Shmuley: Michael was wrestling with his anger and his disappointment.

Rabbi Shmuley: And how do you view him today?

Michael Jackson: I’m scared of my father to this day. My father walk in the room — and God knows I’m telling the truth. I’ve fainted in his presence many times. I’ll say once, to be honest. I fainted once. I’ve thrown up in his presence because just when he comes in the room, ugh, this aura comes and my stomach start hurting and I know like I’m in trouble. And now, he’s so different now. And he wants to be a better father. I just wished he had of learned that earlier.

Rabbi Shmuley: Why are you still scared then?

Michael Jackson: Because the scar is still there. I’m like an angel in front of him, I’m scared. One day he said “Why are you scared of me?” And I couldn’t answer. I thought, I said, “Joseph, do you know what you’ve done? Do you know what you’ve done to me?”

Rabbi Shmuley: I think that it was Michael’s inability to be reconciled with his father that ultimately, more than anything else, consumed him.

Meredith Vieira: Because?

Rabbi Shmuley: Because he wanted his father’s validation and love more than anything else.

Meredith Vieira: And when he didn’t get it?

Rabbi Shmuley: He couldn’t heal. Millions of fans couldn’t heal him.

If Michael Jackson was a man who never had a childhood, he seemed to spend most of his adulthood chasing it. If he could, he told the rabbi, he would stay a child forever.Michael Jackson: I would love to come back as as a child that never grows old, like Peter Pan.

In fact, even at age 27, when “Thriller” was topping the charts, the King Of Pop was still living at home with Mom and Dad.

Michael Jackson: I thought I was still this little kid. It’s not time for me to go yet. I said I’m still a boy. I’m not supposed to leave home yet. I really felt that in my heart. And when he did finally move out, Michael Jackson remained as childlike as ever — famously naming his ranch “Neverland” — a place where he surrounded himself with laughing children, and relished playing games like hide-and-go seek.

Michael Jackson: I see beauty in all children. They all beautiful to me. They’re so beautiful and I love them all — equally.

Rabbi Shmuley: He wanted to have an ordinary life. But for him, ordinary meant reversing to his childhood. That if he could just build Neverland and have rides, which he didn’t have when he was a kid. If he could just have monkey bars and merry-go-rounds, which he didn’t have when he was a kid, that he would heal.

But Neverland was a place where innocence and darkness would collide as the real motives behind the King Of Pop’s connection to children raised unsettling questions.

Rabbi Shmuley: He didn’t like talking about that. That was very painful for him. To the extent that he talked about it, he would say that it was a lie– it was a lie.

What Jackson does talk openly about on tape — at great length – is his deep empathy for children, telling the rabbi he can’t bear to see them suffer.

Michael Jackson: It can be in a movie or I could be in a department store and I’ll hear someone arguing at their child, I break down and cry. Because it reflects how I was treated when I was little. I cry — I break down at that moment and I shake and I cry. I can’t take it. It’s hard.

Jackson didn’t just love children, he told the rabbi. He needed them — they were his refuge, his saviors.

Michael Jackson: The happiness and the joy that I see in the eyes of the children. They give me– they saved my life so I want to, give it back [starts crying]. They saved me, Shmuley. I’m not joking.

Meredith Vieira: He says children have literally saved his life. What did he mean?

Rabbi Shmuley: That it’s the only thing left he has to live for. He had achieved all his dreams. He’d become a billionaire, but that didn’t make him happy. He had become the most recognizable face on earth, arguably, but that didn’t make him happy. The only thing that did was to learn from the pain of his absent childhood, to teach others that children are precious. And that gave him purpose.

But it was a mission Jackson seemed to take to an extreme — even telling the rabbi he sees himself as a universal father who has the power to heal sick children.

Rabbi Shmuley: Do you feel that God gave you a certain healing power?

Michael Jackson: Yes. And I’ve seen children just shower all over me with love. They want to just touch me and hug me and completely just hold on and cry and not let go. And mothers pick their babies and put them into my arms. “Touch my baby, and hold them, touch my baby, touch my baby.”

Meredith Vieira: He did see himself as somewhat of a Messiah, with healing powers

Rabbi Shmuley: He would say to me, “I want to devote my whole life to helping kids, that’s the only thing that’s important to me.” And I would say, “You can help kids. But you’re not their parent. Stop believing you’re the child’s Messiah.”

In august of 2000, Jackson invited Rabbi Shmuley and his family to Neverland. At the very same time, a young boy, a 13-year-old cancer patient, was also visiting.

Michael Jackson: Every time I talk to him, he is in a better spirit.

Rabbi Shmuley: You’re healing him, not just speaking to him?

Michael Jackson: I KNOW I’m healing him. He says, “I need you Michael.” Then he calls me “Dad.” I go, “You better ask your Dad if it is OK for you to call me that.” He goes, “Dad, is it OK if I call Michael ‘Dad?’” [laughs] And he says, “Yeah, no problem, whatever you want.” [laughs]. Kids always do that and I always feel that I don’t want the parents to get jealous that it happens sometimes and it rubs fathers in a strange way. And the kids end up just falling in love with my personality. Sometimes it gets me into trouble, you know, but I’m just there to help.

Three years later, that boy would accuse Michael Jackson of molesting him during that sleepover visit to Neverland. And though Jackson was ultimately vindicated after a 14-week trial, the charges would forever tarnish Jackson’s name.

Meredith Vieira: You went to Neverland. You were there when that boy was there.

Rabbi Shmuley: Correct.

Meredith Vieira: Did you ever see anything untoward? Did you get the feeling there’s something odd here?

Rabbi Shmuley: No, I never saw anything.

And, Shmuley says, the singer had repeatedly — and emphatically — denied similar allegations lodged against him in 1993, when another 13-year-old boy who had traveled around the world with Jackson filed a civil suit against him.Meredith Vieira: All of the attraction that he had to children, and the attention that he paid to children, you believe all of it was innocent?

Rabbi Shmuley: I don’t know. What was certainly true is that he wasn’t a monster. He may have done something that was unforgiveable even, but that didn’t make him a monster.

If the King Of Pop was drawn to children, he was often shy and awkward with women, as you’ll hear in candid revelations about his celebrity dates, and crushes, from Madonna to Brooke Shields to Princess Diana.

On Tape, Michael Jackson is a man full of contradictions.Michael Jackson: I pray when I see something totally magnificent. How could you not see that and go “Wow, what a good God”?

Reflective and grateful at times, so self-absorbed and brazen at others, that he sounds almost delusional about his power.

Rabbi Shmuley: You believe if you were face to face with Hitler you could have… Michael Jackson: Absolutely.

Rabbi Shmuley: You really think you could have gotten through to Hitler?

Michael Jackson: Yes. Mm hmm.

Rabbi Shmuley: By finding the good in him somehow?

Michael Jackson: Yes, I think I could have. I really do. I think nobody really talked to him. I hate to say — brownnosers. But that’s what they were. That’s what he wanted. That’s what they did.

Meredith Vieira: On the one side, he seems to be very self-loathing, hates what he sees in the mirror, insecure. On the other hand, he paints himself to be somebody who could heal sick children, who could turn Hitler around.

Rabbi Shmuley: Unbelievable statements. He was either showing me an incredibly wholesome side that made you fall in love with the kind of person he was, or a strange, bizarre dimension messiah complex. Insatiable for attention.

When it comes to women, the King Of Pop sounds especially conflicted. He describes his mom Katherine as nothing short of saintly.

Michael Jackson: I don’t know anybody like her, she’s like a Mother Teresa. There’s very few people like that.

Rabbi Shmuley: He adored his mother and cherished her.

Meredith Vieira: And yet, when he talks about other women, you got the sense that he didn’t trust women.

Rabbi Shmuley: Michael exhibited tendencies of misogyny. That women are materialistic, that women want things from you.

Michael Jackson: Women can do some things that make guys very unhappy. I’ve seen it with my brothers. I’ve seen my brothers crying, in tears and pulling the grass out of the lawn out of frustration because of their wives.

Jackson describes women as manipulative, disappointing. Here, he talks about how badly Lisa Marie Presley let him down when she didn’t want children.

Michael Jackson: She promised me that before we married, that would be the first thing we’d do is have children. So I was broken-hearted and I walked around all the time holding these little baby dolls and I’d be crying, that’s how badly I wanted it, you know.

For a 42-year-old man, the immaturity that comes across on Michael Jackson’s tapes is startling. Sometimes, he sounds just like a teenager.

Michael Jackson: I’ve never asked a girl out in my life, they have to ask me.

Rabbi Shmuley: Really?

Michael Jackson: Yeah. I can’t ask a girl out.

Had he been able to muster up the courage, Jackson told Rabbi Shmuley there was a certain princess who would have been at the top of his list.

Michael Jackson: I liked the way Lady Diana would make her kids wait in line, you know, at amusement parks and things. Like everybody. I thought that was so beautiful. She was good.

Rabbi Shmuley: You felt an immediate connection with her?

Michael Jackson: Yeah, I loved her very much. Yeah, she was my type, she was my type for sure.

There was no date with Lady Di. But romance was definitely in the air when the King Of Pop stepped out with other high profile celebs. Tatum O’Neal was his first girlfriend.

Michael Jackson: When I held Tatum’s hand, I was, like, in heaven. It was the most magical thing. It was better than kissing her, it was better than anything. I remember we went to this club, and I don’t go to clubs, which was called the Roxy. And I watching the band, I was sitting there, and underneath the table, she was holding my hand, and I was, like. melting.

Rabbi Shmuley: She held your hand and you felt love?

Michael Jackson: Fireworks going off.

The song “Pretty Young Thing” could easily have been inspired by his affection for Brooke Shields.

Michael Jackson: That was one of the loves of my life. I think she loved me as much as I loved her, you know? We dated a lot. We, we went out a lot. Her pictures were all over my wall, my mirror, everything. And I went to the Academy Awards with Diana Ross and this girl walks up to me and says “Hi, I’m Brooke Shields.” Then she goes “Are you going to the after-party?” I go, “Yeah.” “Good, I’ll see you at the party.” I’m going “Oh my God, does she know she’s all over my room?” So we go the after-party. She comes up to me she goes, “Will you dance with me?” I went, “Yes. I will dance with you.” Man, we exchanged numbers and I was up all night, singing, spinning around my room, just so happy. It was great.

At Jackson’s memorial service, Shields would reflect tearfully on their tender bond.

Brooke Shields: When we were together, we were two little kids having fun.

Meredith Vieira: Did you get the feeling talking to him that he ever got beyond that sort of that adolescent approach to romance, the kind of giggly, almost kid-like?

Rabbi Shmuley: For me, it was actually something, you know, it was a blessing to see such a famous man saying that holding hands was suddenly so special. But if you asked me in general, do I think that there was an adolescent quality to Michael? Of course.

It’s a quality that made for an odd match with one star who wasn’t the least bit shy about doing the asking out:

Madonna (at the MTV music awards): I asked him out to dinner: I said, “My treat, I’ll drive, just you and me.”

Jackson was all smiles in the car. But on these tapes, he reveals that the material girl’s saucy ways felt more than a little dangerous.

Michael Jackson: You know, at the time I was with Madonna, she was into books, all over, a whole collec–like a library of books of women who were tied to walls, different things. She said, “I love spanky books.” Why would I want to see that? I think she likes shock value.

Madonna laid down the law to me before we went out. “I am not going to Disneyland, okay? That’s out.” I said “I didn’t ask you to go Disneyland.” She said, “We are going to the restaurant and afterwards we are going to a strip bar.” I am not going to a strip bar, where they cross dress. Guys who are, are girls. Said “I am not going to go there,” and I think afterwards she wrote some mean things about me in the press and I said that she’s a nasty witch.

Rabbi Shmuley: Michael’s tough on Madonna in the book. And he seems to be saying that the reason is that Madonna tried to drag him into a world of prurience. And maybe there was somewhat of a rivalry between them.

Whether it was a true rivalry or not, Jackson does paint Madonna as envious when he talks about jealousy in Hollywood.

Michael Jackson: They admire you and know you’re wonderful and great but just they’re jealous ’cause they wish they were in your place, wish they were in your shoes. And “M” is one of ‘em. Madonna. She’s not a nice, she hasn’t been kind -

Rabbi Shmuley: She’s jealous?

Michael Jackson: Absolutely. She’s a woman and I think that’s what bothers her. Women don’t scream for other women. men are too cool to scream for women and i get that. I get the fainting and the adulation and the notoriety but she doesn’t. She can’t get that.

Click for related content

‘I am scared of my father’: Read book excerpts
Discuss this story
fridayisfamily.com: Shmuley’s site for parents
Shmuley.com: More about Rabbi Shmuley

But like Brooke Shields, Madonna had only fond memories of her time with Jackson when she hailed him in a moving speech at the MTV video music awards.

Madonna: We sat on the couch like two kids, and somewhere in the middle of the film, his hand snuck over and held mine. It felt like he was looking for a friend more than a romance and I was happy to oblige him.

And Shmuley suspects that now, Jackson would be far less harsh on his friend Madge than he was in the tapes recorded 9 years ago.

Rabbi Shmuley: At the time, you know, Madonna had a certain image. She has– changed that image substantially. Michael — used to speculate that as a mother, she would change. And he probably would agree with that today.

One thing was clear though — to the rabbi, Jackson seemed incapable of sustaining any meaningful relationship with a woman. And with no adult love in his life, was the writing on the wall?

He talked about vanishing.Michael Jackson: I would like to- some kind of way disappear, where people don’t see me anymore.

His fear of growing old…

Michael Jackson: I just don’t want to look old and start forgetting.And hauntingly, his own death.

Michael Jackson: When the body breaks down, and you start to wrinkle, I think it’s so bad.

Rabbi Shmuley: So you would die before that happens?

Michael Jackson: Uh.. I don’t want to grow old.

Rabbi Shmuley: You don’t want to die young?

Michael Jackson: Um, you’re asking me an interesting question. You sure you want my answer?

He couldn’t stand the thought of himself with gray hair – and at 42, Michael Jackson was already fixated on his final resting place.

Michael Jackson: I want to be buried right where there’s children. I would feel safer that way. I want them next to me. I need their spirit.

Meredith Vieira: There are a number of comments that Michael made to you in these tapes that in light of his premature death are– are eerie.

Rabbi Shmuley: Michael said to me constantly, “If I can’t help kids, then I will find a way to terminate my life.”

Meredith Vieira: Did he have a death wish?

Rabbi Shmuley: He lost the will to live. Did that mean that he consciously wanted to die? Probably not. I think he was just going through the motions of life toward the end and medicating away almost any kind of human response.

In 2001, after counseling Michael Jackson for two years — and capturing 30 hours of his innermost thoughts on tape– Rabbi Shmuley cut ties with the star.

He says the King Of Pop was slipping from his reach, so lured by the pull of fame – and the seduction of pain numbing drugs — that he completely lost interest in their philanthropic projects.

Rabbi Shmuley: For two years, I really felt that I was making headway in helping Michael restructure his life, but once I saw that Michael was treating my advice as if I were a nuisance. I had to end our relationship. Was I gonna applaud as he slowly self-immolated? If I’m just another someone who’s afraid to tell him that he’s got to stop doing drugs, then what was I doing there?

Meredith Vieira: But was there a part of you, as a rabbi, as somebody who had explored his deepest pain with him, who felt, I’m deserting him?

Rabbi Shmuley: If I had gone back, Meredith, not only would I not have helped him, I would have been dragged into that destructive vortex, and I would have needed help.

To the rabbi, the tragic writing was already on the wall. In 2004, he stated publicly that he feared the worst.

Rabbi Shmuley: That Michael will be dead in a few years. He is headed toward Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Janice Joplin. It’s almost inescapable.

Still, the rabbi was devastated, when at age 50, Michael Jackson did suddenly die.

Meredith Vieira: Your initial reaction to his death was anger.

Rabbi Shmuley: My first reaction was, you stupid, stupid man, how could you do this? How could you orphan your children? Your children have no mother.

Meredith Vieira: Is that what hurt you most, the fact that he is not there to father his children anymore?

Rabbi Shmuley: What hurt me most is that Michael threw away his life, and God endowed this special man with talent that the rest of us could only dream of. Why did it have to end tragically?

Michael Jackson: I want to always be youthful and have the energy to run around and play hide and seek, which is one of my favorite games.

It is Michael Jackson’s own voice, his own words, his deeply personal revelations – that now make the rabbi hopeful that in some way America can make sense of his death, that we can learn something.

Rabbi Shmuley: Michael’s life demands redemption. You can’t have someone die at 50 from an overdose and not try to learn some moral lesson.

Michael Jackson: I wanted to become such a wonderful performer that I would get loved back. I was hoping I could get love from other people.

Shmuley believes the book, and the tapes, will help the public see in Jackson a tragic example of what happens when the scars of neglect never heal.

Rabbi Shmuley: A world renowned superstar invites the public into the pain of his childhood, so that parents would learn from that they will now truly understand the horrors that were visited on him.

Meredith Vieira: But forgive me Rabbi, some people are gonna look at the book and say “Well, wait a minute, the book comes out after Michael Jackson has died, but you profit off the book.

Rabbi Shmuley: Well Meredith, let’s remember. I’ve written 21 books, so publishing books is what I do. This book earned a modest advance. Much of the proceeds are gonna be used for organizations that promote family and values. This book is a redemptive book, and it’s a beautiful book.

Michael Jackson: I’ve seen the worst, the nightmare of the human condition, the human soul, of what I would never even think common man would be capable of behaving in such a way.Meredith Vieira: When you hear his voice now, when you play those tapes over, what do you hear in that voice?

Rabbi Shmuley: It’s the saddest thing in the world. A man trying to break through this– this cage. A man trying to break through the people’s perception, the fame, saying, “I’m a person.”

Rabbi Shmuley: You’re not angry at God, you’re not angry at the world?

Michael Jackson: I’m not angry — I’m very, taken by it. I’m hurt. I cry an awful lot.

Michael Jackson: I think all my success and fame and – I’ve wanted it, I’ve wanted it because I wanted to be loved. That’s all.

Michael Jackson’s tapes leave us clues, but like other tragic icons before him, questions will linger for years about the broken soul behind the mask.

This Is It Dancer Auditions

Webmaster — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:30:35 +0000

This documentary chronicles the the dancers auditions for the This Is It Tour scheduled for the O2 Arena concerts.

Michael Jackson’s Last Interview with Will.i.am

Webmaster — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:32:55 +0000

Billy Bush traveled to Ireland back in 2006 where he met up with Michael Jackson and the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am in the studio. They discussed what the sound they were looking to produce together and how they first decided to work together.

From Billy Bush's Blog at Access Hollywood:

"What did God say when Michael arrived? DID he arrive? Was he consoled and embraced and ultimately released from all of his childhood pain or was he admonished for what many suspect but thankfully don't have confirmed?

There is an inescapable question mark as to the ethics and balance of Michael Jackson that goes with him to his grave. It is most assuredly not what Michael had in mind when he set out to be pop music's "P.T. Barnum", the man in the middle of the circus.

Although, let's be real, anyone who reportedly invites a gossip tabloid to shoot him in a hyperbaric chamber courts the bizarre.

I was the last person to get Michael Jackson to go on camera. Technically, it was his last interview as I asked some questions and he answered them, but its not one I'd choose to hang my hat on. Michael was alternately petrified and obsessed with my camera. He loved the small HD handheld 24P size camera and demanded to know where he could get one. But, before the cameras got rolling, while sitting in the small kitchen of his temporary Irish countryside cottage, Michael asked, "Is 5 minutes ok?"

Interviews hadn't gone well for him in their aftermath since pre-Oprah in 1993.

Our meeting took place in October 2006 about 2 hours outside of Dublin in a recording studio. Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas was there, mixing and collaborating with Michael. Michael was much relieved to have Will join us and in truth, Will mostly did the talking. When the music came on, MJ started tapping and moving. He got up and danced, he sang. I was 8 feet away. Wow. I'll always have that.

Of course my intent was to get him relaxed and talkative. It never really happened cuz that wall wasn't coming down. I saw the pain in Michael. I knew he could not take one more ounce of disappointment. Michael simply wanted to be universally adored. Loved by ALL. That leads to the ultimate conclusion of his death:

Michael will never be disappointed again. He is right now universally adored. His legacy of hits and impact on music and everyone that came after him is undeniable and EVERYONE in the music community will see to it that THAT wall does not come down. Michael will be immortalized like Elvis, Lennon and JFK. Michael never met an honor he did not want to accept. The love of yesterday and today means so much to him, so I'm sure he is finally…. happy. But back to God.

What did God say? "You are forgiven?", "I'm sorry?", "I made Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and John Landis as well as Joe and Katherine, so therefore I made YOU!"? "You should have trusted Billy Bush and loosened up. He was NOT there to 'catch' you in any way?" (My personal regret related choice).

The enigma of that scenario is very much like its subjects, The Lord of Hosts and the King of Pop."

Michael as Father

Webmaster — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:52:15 +0000

Michael Jackson was a loving father and cherished by his children.

Michael Jackson Humanitarian

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:00:48 +0000

Michael Jackson was a true humanitarian, an example to us all. He devoted much time and money to a wide range of charities. He loved children and took time out when touring secretly visting sick children. He also had special rooms at his home Neverland for sick and terminally ill children to stay over. He was listed in the 2000 edition of the Guiness Book Of World Records for breaking the world record for the "Most Charities Supported By a Pop Star." It states that Michael Jackson has supported 39 charity organizations either with monetary donations through sponsorships of their projects or by participating in their silent auction.

The Heal the World Foundation is a charitable organization founded by entertainer Michael Jackson in 1992. The foundation's creation was inspired by his charitable single of the same name. Through his foundation, Jackson airlifted 46 tons of supplies to Sarajevo, instituted drug and alcohol abuse education and donated millions of dollars to less fortunate children, including the full payment of a Hungarian child's liver transplant. Failure to file yearly accounting statements saw the charity lose its tax exempt status in 2002 but it was re-gained, under new management, in 2008.

Background

Prior to the creation of the Heal the World Foundation, Jackson had expressed great interest in humanitarianism, equality and world peace. Songs such as "Can You Feel It", "We Are the World" and "Man in the Mirror" convey this. Jackson also donated millions of dollars to charity, including his $5 million share from the Victory Tour.^[1]

In 1984, while filming a Pepsi Cola commercial, Jackson suffered second degree burns to his scalp after pyrotechnics accidentally set his hair on fire.^[2] PepsiCo settled a lawsuit out of court, and Jackson gave his $1.5 million settlement to the "Michael Jackson Burn Center" which was a piece of new technology to help people with severe burns.^[2]

Shortly afterward, Jackson was invited to the White House to receive an award presented by American President Ronald Reagan. The award was given for Jackson's support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.^[3]

In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie, which was released worldwide to aid the poor in Africa and the US. He was one of 39 music celebrities who performed on the record. The single became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with nearly 20 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief. It was also the first time Jackson was recognized for his humanitarian efforts.^[4]

Mission

Jackson founded the charity in 1992, naming it after his hit song, "Heal the World". The purpose of the charity was to provide medicine to children and fight world hunger, homelessness, child exploitation and abuse. Jackson stated that he wanted "to improve the conditions for children throughout the world".^[5]

The foundation also brought underprivileged children to Jackson's Neverland Ranch, located outside Santa Ynez, California, to go on theme park rides that Jackson had built on the property after he purchased it in 1988.

Fundraising

The Dangerous World Tour began on June 27, 1992, and finished on November 11, 1993. Jackson performed to 3.5 million people in 67 concerts. All profits from the concerts went to the "Heal the World Foundation", raising millions of dollars in relief.^[6] Through the foundation, Jackson airlifted 46 tons of supplies to Sarajevo, instituted drug and alcohol abuse education and paid for a Hungarian child's liver transplant.^[7]^[8]

One of Michael Jackson's most acclaimed performances came during the halftime show at the National Football League's Super Bowl XXVII. At the show, Jackson performed his anthem "Heal the World", to help promote the organization with the assistance of a choir of 750 people and a flash card display involving 98,000 volunteers. Jackson donated his entire fees to the foundation, with the NFL also donating $100,000 and a 30-second TV spot to push for contributions.^[9]^[10]^[11]

Following the Super Bowl, Jackson ran a full-page advertisement in the newspaper USA Today, providing a toll-free number. A coupon was provided that could be clipped and mailed in along with a contribution. Those donating $35 or more were given a "Heal the World" T-shirt.^[12]

The environmental themed music video for "Earth Song" closed with a request for donations to Jackson's foundation.^[13]

In 1997, Jackson earned money from photographs of his son, Prince Michael. The photographs were sold to "OK!" magazine and the National Enquirer, raising $3 million for the foundation. ^[14]

Heal the Kids

In February 2001, Jackson launched Heal the Kids, an initiative of HTWF and part of the foundation's attempt to boost children's welfare.^[15] Jackson launched the charity initiative, stating, "Heal the Kids will help adults and parents realize it's in our power to change the world our children live in".^[16]

Jackson gave a speech at Oxford University about raising children, as part of the launch of his "Heal the Kids" initiative. The website healtheworld.us described the initiative and this Oxford speech. In the speech, Jackson spoke rhetorically of his children, "What if they grow older and resent me, and how my choices impacted their youth?…Why weren't we given a normal childhood like all the other children? And at that moment I pray that my children will give me the benefit of the doubt. That they will say to themselves: Our daddy did the best he could, given the unique circumstances he faced. I hope that they will focus on the positives things, on the sacrifices I willingly made for them…". Journalist J. Randy Taraborrelli concluded that Jackson's performance during the speech was "absorbing" and well received.^[17]

Disbandment

In 2002, the Heal the World Foundation was suspended, after failing to file yearly accounting statements, required for tax-exempt organizations.^[18] Records showed that the foundation had net assets of $3,542 and reported $2,585 in expenses.^[19] The foundation did not have a director, president or other top manager besides Jackson, who was listed as chairman.^[20]

From 2002 to 2008 the charity held many poor yielding fundraisers and took two questionnaires and 'polls' to measure public 'approval' following Mr. Jackson's trial and acquittal. ^[21]

Relaunch

In 2008, the Heal The World Foundation was relaunched under new management after several years of R&D, fund raising experiments by HTWF volunteers and was publicly resurrected with a more robust and detailed plan to address global problems, according to the foundation's official website. HTWF is believed to be launching a 'new' way of donating to charity, now that they are recognized again by the IRS as of March, 2008 as a public Charity with tax exempt status.^[22]

Heal the Word Foundation Website Link

Notes

^ Taraborrelli, p. 320
^ ^a ^b Taraborrelli, p. 279–287
^ Taraborrelli, p. 304–307
^ Taraborrelli, p. 340–344
^ "Jackson's foundation aimed at helping kids", The Seattle Times.
^ Harrington, Richard (1992-02-05). "Jackson to Tour Overseas". The Washington Post.
^ Mack, Joe."Music legend deserves privacy, respect, admiration from public", The Western Front.
^ "Jacko's childrens' foundation now defunct", Fox News.
^ "Michael Jackson to headline Super Bowl halftime", The Seattle Times.
^ "Jackson's foundation aimed at helping kids", The Seattle Times.
^ Taraborrelli, p. 454
^ "Jackson's foundation aimed at helping kids", The Seattle Times.
^ Michael Jackson HIStory on Film volume II VHS/DVD
^ "Jackson baby photo money to go to charity", MTV.com.
^ "Fans worship Michael Jackson at NY appearance", MTV.com.
^ "Fans worship Michael Jackson at NY appearance", MTV.com.
^ Taraborrelli, p. 626–627
^ "Jacko's childrens' foundation now defunct", Fox News.
^ "Jackson's childrens' foundation now defunct", Fox News.
^ "Jackson's childrens' foundation now defunct", Fox News.
^ http://www.healtheworldfoundation.org/
^ http://www.healtheworldfoundation.org/

References

Taraborrelli, J. Randy (2004). The Magic and the Madness. Terra Alta, WV: Headline. ISBN 0-330-42005-4.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Michael Jackson Bad Interview

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:45:04 +0000

Part 1 Above – Part 2 Below

This rare interview with Michael Jackson on the set of the music video for "Bad" has recently been discovered. The interview features behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the video, as well as commentary about the album "Bad." The interview also gets more personal, including questions about whether Jackson is a 'prayerful person.'

Michael Jackson on Diana Ross’ Show 1981

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:15:52 +0000

Diana (a project for CBS network) was the first TV special of Diana Ross' not produced by Motown Productions. It was produced under Diana Ross Enterprises and it combined footage from a concert held in L.A. on February 5, 1981, with studio footage. This special coincided with her record breaking and hugely successful album of the same name. Guest stars included Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Larry Hagman (JR from the TV show Dallas) and The Joffrey Ballet. With an appearance by Mohammad Ali.

Part 2

On the Set of Beat It Interview 1983

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:00:16 +0000

Fascinating insights into the young Jackson's mind from an interview with Ebony Jet Magazine in 1983 on the set of the Beat It video production. I don't think either of them knew the impact of this video and how it was changing the music world on this very day.

Here is the transcript:

Michael: And they are coming together to rumble, to fight. And my object is to tell them to turn the other.., I mean don’t fight, turn the other cheek, I mean, it’s your brother who you are killing and…

Interview: ah…

Michael: And I do it through an aggressive beat and rhythm and dance and everything.

Interviewer: And you got a real gang in it too.

Michael: Yeah, we have real gang members integrated in with dancers, we got lots of real gang members in it.

Interviewer: Do crowds worry you?

Michael: Not on tour. I get afraid of. Well I don’t know people. I can get afraid of people sometimes. It’s a whole other life, that I haven’t really experienced that. Like friendship is a thing I am just beginning to learn about. I was raised on the stage and that is where I am comfortable. And everything else is like foreign to me. I’m just beginning to know to learn about people, friendship, things like that.

Interview: So you never really hit the streets, hm?

Michael: I know nothing about it. I guess from movies, or the schooling that I’ve had. We’ve had tutors throughout the years and private schools. When I was real little I went to public school once and I went to another public school for one week and it got so bad. The fans, they'd come into class and they chased us around and stuff.

Interviewer: So, who are your real friends?

Michael: I love our fans. Everyone who buys our records. From my heart and my work. I appreciate the fact that they enjoy it..

Interviewer: Mhm, but I mean just close personal friends, are those close personal friends?

Michael: Quincy Jones is a friend; and there is a few others.

Interviewer: Are they all in show business?

Michael: Jane Fonda is a good friend, Diana Ross, very dear friend Diana Ross, she is the kind of person I can tell her anything, the most private of secrets. And she tell me her secrets as well.

Interviewer: What about your house. I understand that you tore your house down and rebuilt it for your mother in the form of a castle. Is that true?

Michael: Somewhat, yeah. I’ve always loved English Tudor and so does she. And I fantasize a lot in my life, you know, the whole knight and the princess style. Very story book.

Interviewer: Well, we would love to see it when it’s completed.

Michael: Disney Studios is doing a whole Pirates of the Caribbean room. When you walk in there, there is like a pirate’s shootout. And these animatronic robots like, and they talk and they sing and they dance and they are shooting. You walk in the middle of this whole war. And there is smoke and canons and everything. And that’s exciting! It’s taken from the Pirate’s of the Caribbean.

Interviewer: And you got this in your house?

Michael: Yeah.

Interviewer: I’ve read a magazine article about your Sundays and how you spend your Sundays. Your Sunday ritual I think they called it.

Michael: Yeah.

Interviewer: Tell me about the Sunday rituals.

Michael: Well, every Sunday I fast. I don’t eat anything. It’s just something I decided to do for my body. And I dance every Sunday. And I feel better doing it.

Interviewer: You just fast and dance?

Michael: I don’t eat anything.

Interviewer: What music do you dance to when you do this?

Michael: Mine. Or, anything that’s got a fast beat to it.

Interviewer: And who do you like right now?

Michael: Who do I like? Classical Music.

Interviewer (interrupts): Classical…!

Michael: That’s what I sleep to. People who come around me, they are surprised, because that’s what I listen to all day, is classical music.

Interviewer: Well, hey, I know you gotta go. They are giving me the high signs, you gotta get out of here and finish this at the next shoot. But, Thanks.

(Beat It starts playing.)

Michael Jackson MTV Interview 1995

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:45:21 +0000

The 1995 MTV Video Music Awards was broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City in which Michael Jackson opened the show and riveted the audience.

He whipped out a medley of hits "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" and "Black or White." On the first song, Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash surprised the crowd when he joined Michael onstage to lay down a few smokin' riffs. Not content with performing a medley of so many hits, Jackson also laid out full versions of "Dangerous" and "You Are Not Alone." Not a bad way to kick off the show.

Michael was also a winner that night, sharing three Moonmen with his sister, Janet Jackson. The superstar sibling pair's "Scream" netted the Best Dance Video, Best Art Direction and Best Choreography awards.

Once again, the MTV VMAs were pure spectacle and we were riveted.

60 Minutes Interview 2003

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:30:18 +0000

For most of his life, Michael Jackson has been in the spotlight, most recently because of what has been described as bizarre behavior -— bizarre behavior that has now led him to be charged with sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy. If convicted, he could spend 20 years in prison.

Out on bail and awaiting trial, Michael Jackson speaks out about his arrest, his accuser and the charges that have, for this moment, made his life a shambles.

60 Minutes sat down with Michael Jackson on Christmas Day, 1993 at a hotel in Los Angeles –one of several cities where he has been in seclusion since authorities in Santa Barbara officially charged him with seven counts of sexual molestation and two counts of using an “intoxicating agent” — reported to be alcohol — to seduce the boy.

ED BRADLEY: What is your response to the allegations that were brought by the district attorney in Santa Barbara, that you molested this boy?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Totally false. Before I would hurt a child, I would slit my wrists. I would never hurt a child It's totally false. I was outraged. I could never do something like that

ED BRADLEY: This is a kid you knew?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes.

ED BRADLEY: How would you characterize your relationship with this boy?

MICHAEL JACKSON: I've helped many, many, many children, thousands of children, cancer kids, leukemia kids. This is one of many.

Michael Jackson says his accuser is among thousands of children he’s invited to his 2,600—acre Neverland Ranch in California to play in his amusement park, visit his zoo, watch movies, play video games, and feast on their favorite foods.

ED BRADLEY: But tell me why you developed Neverland.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Because I wanted to have a place that I could create everything that I that I never had as a child. So, you see rides. You see animals. There's a movie theater. I was always on tour, traveling. You know? And — I never got a chance to do those things. So, I compensated for the loss by — I have a good — I mean, I can't go into a park. I can't go to Disneyland, as myself. I can't go out and walk down the street. There's crowds, and bumper to bumper cars. And so, I create my world behind my gates. Everything that I love is behind those gates. We have elephants, and giraffes, and crocodiles, and every kind of tigers and lions. And — and we have bus loads of kids, who don't get to see those things. They come up sick children, and enjoy it. They enjoy it in a pure, loving, fun way. It's people with the dirty mind that think like that. I don't think that way. That's not me.

ED BRADLEY: And — and do you think people look at you and think that way today?

MICHAEL JACKSON: If they have a sick mind, yeah. And if they believe the trash they read in newspapers, yeah. And — and it's not — what — just cause — remember something. Just because it's in print doesn't mean it's the gospel. People write negatives things, cause they feel that's what sells. Good news to them, doesn't sell.

And Jackson says his relationship with this boy he first met a year ago was positive. He says he was determined to help him with his battle against cancer.

ED BRADLEY: So when he would come over what would he do? What would you do?

MICHAEL JACKSON: I'll tell you exactly. When I first saw him, he was total bald—headed, white as snow from the chemotherapy, very bony, looked anorexic, no eyebrows, no eyelashes. And he was so weak, I would have to carry him from the house to the game room, or push him in a wheelchair, to try to give him a childhood, a life. Cause I felt bad. Because I never had that chance, too, as a child. You know? That the— and so, I know what it— it felt like in that way. Not being sick, but not having had a childhood. So, my heart go out to those children I feel their pain.

Jackson says he tried to help in the healing process by taking the boy around the grounds of Neverland to Jackson’s favorite places.

MICHAEL JACKSON: He had never really climbed a tree. So, I had this tree that I have at Neverland. I call it, "My Giving Tree." Cause I like to write songs up there. I've written many songs up there. So, I said, "You have to climb a tree. That's part of boyhood. You just gotta do it." And — I helped him up. And once he went up — up the tree, we looked down on the branches. And it was so beautiful. It was magical. And he loved it. To give him a chance to have a life, you know? Because he was told he was going to die. They told him. They told his — his parents prepare for his funeral, that's how bad it was. And I put him on a program. I've helped many children doing this. I put him on a mental program.

The boy — whose name and face we’re not revealing — has credited Michael Jackson’s friendship and support with helping him to battle his cancer. And last February in a British documentary that was filmed before the boy alleged he was sexually molested — he said that he had stayed overnight at Jackson’s home many times, and had slept in his bedroom.

JACKSON ACCUSER: There was one night, I asked him if I could stay in the bedroom. And he let me stay in the bedroom. And I was like, Michael, you can sleep on the bed. And he was like, no, no you sleep in the bed. And then he finally said, ‘Okay, if you love me, you’ll sleep on the bed.’ I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ And so I finally slept on the bed.

That comment – along with Michael Jackson’s startling confession that he had shared his bed many times with children – spurred an investigation last February by the Los Angeles county department of children and family services, which interviewed the boy and his mother to determine whether he had been sexually molested by Michael Jackson.

According an agency’s memo, “the child denied any form of sexual abuse,” and “the investigation by the sensitive case unit concluded the allegations of neglect and sexual abuse to be unfounded.” Over the next several months, relations between the boy’s family and Michael Jackson deteriorated. According to sources close to the family, the boy’s mother had suspicions that Jackson was serving alcohol to her 13-year-old son, who was still suffering from cancer. Eventually she took her suspicions to the district attorney and that led to a full scale investigation by his office and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff.

SHERRIFF JIM ANDERSON: An arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson has been issued on multiple counts of child molestation. The bail amount of the award has been set at 3 million dollars.

REPORTER: If Michael Jackson’s watching this right now, what’s your message to him?

DISTRICT ATTORNEY THOMAS SNEDDON: Get over here and get checked in.

With that announcement two weeks ago, Michael Jackson’s future and his career were in serious jeopardy. He surrendered to authorities and was booked on child molestation charges of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.

ED BRADLEY: What was going through your mind when you're taken into a police station, in handcuffs, to have a mug shot taken, that you know is gonna be shown around the world?

MICHAEL JACKSON: They did it to try and belittle me, to try and to take away my pride. But I went through the whole system with them. And at the end, I— I wanted the public to know that I was okay, even though I was hurting.

ED BRADLEY: What happened when they arrested you? What did they do to you?

MICHAEL JACKSON: They were supposed to go in, and just check fingerprints, and do the whole thing that they do when they take somebody in. They manhandled me very roughly. My shoulder is dislocated, literally. It's hurting me very badly. I'm in pain all the time. This is, see this arm? This is as far as I can reach it. Same with this side over here.

ED BRADLEY: Because of what happened at the police station?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah. Yeah. At the police station. And what they did to me — if you — if you saw what they did to my arms — it was very bad what they did. It's very swollen. I don't wanna say. You'll see. You'll see.

We were given a photograph said to be taken after Michael Jackson was released on bail. Jackson says the swelling above his wrist is where the police handcuffed him.

ED BRADLEY: How did they do it? I mean, what, physically, what did they do?

MICHAEL JACKSON: With the handcuffs, the way they tied 'em too tight behind my back —

ED BRADLEY: Behind your back?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah. And putting it, they put it in a certain position, knowing that it's going to hurt, and affect my back. Now I can't move. I — I — it keeps me from sleeping at night. I can't sleep at night.

And Jackson says there was more …

MICHAEL JACKSON: Then one time, I asked to use the restroom. And they said, "Sure, it's right around the corner there." Once I went in the restroom, they locked me in there for like 45 minutes. There was doo doo, feces thrown all over the walls, the floor, the ceiling. And it stunk so bad. Then one of the policemen came by the window. And he made a sarcastic remark. He said, "Smell — does it smell good enough for you in there? How do you like the smell? Is it good?" And I just simply said, "It's alright. It's okay." So, I just sat there, and waited.

ED BRADLEY: For 45 minutes?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah, for 45 minutes. About 45 minutes. And then — then one cop would — come by, and say, "Oh, you'll be out in — in a second. You'll be out in a second." Then there would be another ten minutes added on, then another 15 minutes added on. They did this on purpose.

What about Jackson's allegations? Was he mistreated? Did the police injure his arm and shoulder? Did they lock him in a bathroom for 45 minutes? To get answers to those questions, we made repeated calls to both the sheriff's office and the office of the district attorney. They declined our request for an interview and referred us to the statement on their Web site, which says about allegations of mistreatment: "That is not true." It was the sheriff's deputies who executed the search warrant of the Neverland ranch.

ED BRADLEY: How did you feel when they went into Neverland, I mean, with a search warrant? I mean, what were they looking for? What did they take?

MICHAEL JACKSON: My room is a complete wreck. My workers told me. They said, "Michael, don't go in your room." They were crying on the phone, my employees. They said, "If you saw your room, you would cry." I have stairs that go up to my bed. And they said, "You can't even get up the stairs. The room is totally trashed." And they had 80 policemen in this room, 80 policemen in one bedroom. That's really overdoing it. They took knives, and cut open my mattresses with knives. C — just cut everything open.

ED BRADLEY: Did — did they take anything from Neverland?

MICHAEL JACKSON: A— I'm not sure what they took. They never gave me a list.

ED BRADLEY: But you're saying that they destroyed your property?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes, they did. And then they, what they did was they made everybody that work at the property, they locked everybody out of the house. They had the whole house to themselves to do whatever they wanted. And — they totally took advantage. They went into areas they weren't supposed to go into — like my office. They didn't have search warrants for those places. And they totally took advantage. And the room is a total, total wreck, they told me. I don't think I wanna see it. I'm not ready to see it yet.

ED BRADLEY: So, you haven't been back there?

MICHAEL JACKSON: I've been back there. But not in my bedroom. I won't live there ever again. I'll visit Neverland. It's a house now. It's not a home anymore. I'll only visit there. What time is it? Cause I'm hurting. You know what? I'm — I'm hurting. I have to go pretty soon anyway. Yeah. Okay. I don't feel good.

This is not the first time Michael Jackson has been accused of child molestation. Ten years ago, he was accused of sexually abusing another young boy. However, after the boy refused to testify, and after Jackson paid the boy’s family millions of dollars to settle a civil lawsuit, Jackson was never charged. Although the family in the current case against him has filed no lawsuit and says it does not intend to, Michael Jackson is still suspicious of their motives.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Somewhere greed got in there, and somebody — I — I can't quite say. But it has to do with money. It's Michael Jackson. Look what we have here. We can get money out of this. That's exactly what happened.

ED BRADLEY: You had helped him with his cancer. What I don't understand is why today and I know you say it’s money, but why would he turn around and say, "Michael Jackson sexually molested me," if it weren't true?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Because parents have power over children. They feel they have to do what their parents say. But the love of money is the root of all evil. And this is a sweet child. And to see him turn like this, this isn't him. This is not him.

ED BRADLEY: So, you don't think this comes from him? This —

MICHAEL JACKSON: No.

ED BRADLEY: — Comes from his parents?

MICHAEL JACKSON: No. This is not him. No. I know his heart.

Jackson said that even if he could, he would never settle this case as he did when similar charges were made in 1993.

ED BRADLEY: So — if you were innocent, why would you pay, I mean, to keep you quiet? I mean, why not go into court, and fight for your good name? I mean —

MICHAEL JACKSON: I'm not allowed to talk on that —

MARK GERAGOS: I'm gonna stop you for a second.

ED BRADLEY: Sure.

Jackson’s high powered attorney Mark Geragos told me that if I wanted an answer to that question I’d have to ask him.

MARK GERAGOS: I mean remember what happened to him ten years ago. He was humiliated. He was — he went through where somebody — was examining him. Was photographing him. Was having him — humiliating him in the worst way in terms of looking at his private parts and photographing his private parts. And — and he was subjected to some of the most, just intrusive kinds of things that you could ever imagine. I can only try to put myself into that situation and — and say look, if money could make that situation go away, maybe that — that was the calculus then. I don't know and I don't wanna second guess it.

ED BRADLEY: But — but what you end up with is the public perception that this has happened not once, this has happened twice. That young boys have — have come forward to accuse him of — of sexual molestation over the last ten years. And he has made public comments about how he enjoys sharing his bed with children. Can you understand how the public might feel that, hey, maybe there's something here. There's a lot of smoke.

MARK GERAGOS: Well, look. There's a lot of smoke. But a lot of the people who blow the smoke are — are twisting what's happened. I understand when people say, now, there's somebody else who came forward. But I — I think, in all fairness, most people get it. Most people understand that this case is not about anything but money.

We asked the mother of the accuser who made these latest allegations to tell us her side of the story, but she declined and would not authorize anyone else to speak on her behalf.

ED BRADLEY: That British documentary last February — which you didn't like —

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah, I didn't like it.

ED BRADLEY: You — you said in that documentary that— that many children have slept in your bedroom.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah.

ED BRADLEY: You said, and — and I'm gonna quote here, "Why can't you share your bed? A most loving thing to do is to share your bed with— with someone."

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes.

ED BRADLEY: As — as we sit here today, do you still think that it's acceptable to share your bed with children?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Of course. Of course. Why not? If you're gonna be a pedophile, if you're gonna be Jack the Ripper, if you're gonna be a murderer, it's not a good idea. That I'm not. That's how we were raised. And I met — I didn't sleep in the bed with the child. Even if I did, it's okay. I slept on the floor. I give the bed to the child.

ED BRADLEY: But given all that you've been through —

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah?

ED BRADLEY: Given the allegations, given the innuendo — why would you put yourself in a position where something like this could happen again?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, I'm always more cautious. But I will never stop helping and loving people the way Jesus said to. He said, "Continue to love. Always love. Remember children. Imitate the children." Not childish, but childlike.

That may sound naïve, but Jackson attorney Mark Geragos says they did take precautions.

MARK GERAGOS: They were, at all times during that February 7 to March 10 period of time, whenever Michael was there, there was always a third party around. Always.

ED BRADLEY: What about the allegation that some kind of intoxicating agent, said to be wine, was given to this child to make him more pliable?

MARK GERAGOS: Ludicrous. I mean it's ludicrous on its face. There are in excess of 100 employees at any one time at that ranch. There is full—time security at that ranch. There are people who are there at all times, day and night, 24—7, who are specifically instructed to make sure that people don't do that. The kids are nowhere near alcohol and liquor.

ED BRADLEY: You're a parent. You've got three children.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes.

ED BRADLEY: Would you allow your children to sleep in the bed with a grown man, who was not a relative, or to sleep in the bedroom?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Sure, if I know that person, trust them, and love them. That's happened many times with me when I was little.

ED BRADLEY: Would you, as a parent, allow your children to sleep in the same bedroom with someone, who has the suspicions and allegations that have been made against you, and about you today? Would you allow that?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Someone —

ED BRADLEY: If you knew someone, who had the same —

MICHAEL JACKSON: I'm not —

ED BRADLEY: —kind of allegations —

MICHAEL JACKSON: Ed, I — I know exactly what you're saying.

ED BRADLEY: — that were made against you — would you let your children —

MICHAEL JACKSON: My children?

ED BRADLEY: — sleep in that man's bedroom?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Mmm, if I — if I knew the person personally. Cause I know how the press is, and how people can twist the truth, if I knew the person personally, absolutely yes. Absolutely. I wouldn't have a problem with it.

ED BRADLEY: Do you know how this looks to a lot of people? I mean, do you understand that?

MICHAEL JACKSON: How does what look?

ED BRADLEY: How the fact that you —

MICHAEL JACKSON: Know why? People think sex. They're thinking sex. My mind doesn't run that way. When I see children, I see the face of God. That's why I love them so much. That's what I see.

ED BRADLEY: Do you know any other man your age, a 45-year-old man, who shares his bedroom with children?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Of course. Not for sex. No. That's wrong.

ED BRADLEY: Well, let me — let me say, from my perspective, my experience, I don't know any 45-year-old men, who are not relatives of the children, who share their bedroom with other children.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, what's wrong with sharing your bed? I didn't say I slept in the bed. Even if I did sleep in the bed, it's okay. I am not going to do anything sexual to a child. It's not where my heart is. I would never do anything like that. That's not Michael Jackson. I'm sorry. That's someone else.

And the Michael Jackson of today is not the Michael Jackson who at one time was the No. 1 pop star in the world. His "Thriller" CD topped the charts, while his latest didn’t crack the top 10.

ED BRADLEY: What — what has this done to your career?

MICHAEL JACKSON: What — what has it done to my career?

ED BRADLEY: What has it done to your career?

MICHAEL JACKSON: In what way?

ED BRADLEY: How has it impacted — you know —

MICHAEL JACKSON: I'm — my album —

ED BRADLEY: — touring, record sales —

MICHAEL JACKSON: — album is number one all over the world. All over the world. America is the only one, because I — I don't wanna say too much.

ED BRADLEY: But it's not number one in the United States?

MICHAEL JACKSON: It's a conspiracy. Yeah. I’m getting tired.

Before Michael Jackson’s attorneys stopped the interview, we were able to ask him one last question.

ED BRADLEY: Michael, what would you say to you — your fans, who have supported you through all of this, and — and who today, some of them might have questions? What would you say to them?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, I would tell them I love them very much. And I— I— they've learned about me, and know about me from a distance. But if you really want to know about me, there's a song I wrote, which is the most honest song I've ever written. It's the most autobiographical song I've ever written. It's called, "Childhood." They should listen to it. That's the one they really should listen to. And thank you for your support, the fans around the world. I love you with all my heart. I don't take any of it for granted. Any of it. And I love them dearly, all over the world.

Living With MJ Take Two 2003

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:15:29 +0000

Living with Michael Jackson, Take Two: The Interview They Wouldn't Show

Part 1 Above – Part 2 & 3 Below

Part 3

In 2003 Martin Bashir filmed a documentary with Michael Jackson entitled Living with Michael Jackson. Following the broadcast of the documentary Michael was unhappy with the way Bashir had portrayed and so had a rebuttal film made out of footage not shown

This really puts a new light upon the original documentary aired.

Barbara Walters Interview 1999

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:00:20 +0000

Michael Jackson 1999 interview with Barbara Walters. Michael talks about Princess Diana, tabloids and his newborn son Prince.

Transcript:

Barbara: Up until last week the most photographed people in the world were Princess Diana and Michael Jackson. Now only one remains to talk about what it means to live under that kind of scrutiny. Since the allegations of child abuse made against Michael Jackson four years ago, he has been, if possible, even more pursued. By the way, we checked with the district attourney's office in Los Angeles and Sanat Barbara and learned that there is no active case against Mr. Jackson today.

Michael Jackson himself is notoriously shy about giving interviews, but on my way home from covering Princess Diana's funeral, I met with him in Paris to discuss the paparazzi and his personal recollections of the Princess.

When it comes to the paparazzi, Michael Jackson says he feels a bond with Princess Diana. The paparazzi have been a part of his life since he was a small child, the youngest of the Jackson 5. He has been a superstar for 3 decades. At 39, he continues to sing and dance all over the world and the paparazzi follow him all over the world. He has been on a European Tour for the last five months playing for over 2 million people. The night Princess Diana died, Michael Jackson cancelled his concert, but his last two concerts were dedicated to her. He does not pretend that she was a close friend. She was a fan.

Michael: I met her first at a…um (clearing his throat) …concert…in London. She was very kind, very loving, very sweet.
Barbara: What did you two talk about?
Michael: I wrote a song called "Dirty Diana". It was not about Lady Diana. It was about a certain kind of girls that hang around concerts or clubs, you know, they call them groupies.
Barbara: Groupies.
Michael: I've lived with that all my life. These girls…they do everything with the band, you know, everything you could imagine. So I wrote a song called "Dirty Diana". But I took it out of the show in honour of her royal highness. She took me away and she said, "Are you going to do 'Dirty Diana'?" So, I said, "No I took it out of the show because of you." She said, "No! I want you to do it…do it…do the song."
Barbara: So she had a sense of humor with you?
Michael: Yeah, of course. And she told me it was an honour to meet me. And I said, "It's an honour to meet you."
Barbara: How did you hear of her death?
Michael: Um…I woke up (in a quiet and reflective voice) and my doctor gave me the news. And I fell back down in grief, and I started to cry. The pain…I felt inner pain, in my stomach, and in my chest. (his voice starts to break slightly) So, I said, "I can't handle this…it's too much." Just the message and the fact that I knew her personally. Then on top of that one I said, "There's another one…real soon…I feel it coming…there's another one….it's another one coming and I pray it's not me…please don't let it be me." And then Mother Theresa came…
Barbara: Are you psychic…is that what you're saying?
Michael: I don't want to say that, but I've done it before.
Barbara: And you thought it might be you?
Michael: Yes. (looks down at his folded hands) I've been living that kind of life all my life. The tabloid press…that kind of press…not the press…the tabloids, the paparazzi, that type. I've been running for my life like that, hiding, getting away. You can't go that way 'cause they're over there…well lets go this way and pretend we're going that way…and we'll go that way. Someone should say, "Hold on! Stop! This person deserves their privacy. You're not allowed to go in there!" I go around the world dealing with running and hiding. You can't…I can't take a walk in the park…I can't go in the store…you can't…I have to hide in the room. You feel like you're in prison.
Barbara: What's been the most intrusive thing? What's the worst?
Michael: They have always been…they go as far as to hide things in places. They'll slide a machine up under the toilet…Tch, tch, tch, tch…(Michael makes the sound of a camera) and you go, "Oh my God!" They've done that.
Barbara: When you came into this hotel you had to come in, or you felt you had to come in, through the kitchen.
Michael: I've been doing it for years. In many lobbies, I've never seen the front door. Never.
Barbara: Did you ever try to outrace the paparazzi?
Michael: To outrace them?
Barbara: Yes.
Michael: They follow you. They chase us on thier scooters, "Vruuum, vrumm."
Barbara: Cutting infront of you?
Michael: Yes. And I have to say to the driver…I say, "Slow down." I jump in and I say, "You're going to kill us." I say, "Slow down." I've done that many times, "You're gonna kill us." So he jumps out of the car and yells at these people.
Barbara: You know, there is an argument that you rely on publicity to sell your albums…for your concerts, that you want it. Michael: When I approve of something, yes.
Barbara: But you can't always control the press. You can't approve everything. You can't invite them in again and again, and then at a certain point, close them out.
Michael: Yes, you can.
Barbara: Well how do you do that? What's that line?
Michael: By doing that. This is their time for this…and this you should not do. You should not say, "He's an animal…he's a…" You should not say, "He's Jacko." I'm not a 'Jacko'. I'm Jackson.
Barbara: How do you feel when they call you…
Michael: Yeah, Wacko Jacko, where did that come from? Some English tabloid. I have a heart and I have feelings. I feel that when you do that to me. It's not nice. Don't do it. I'm not a "wacko".
Barbara: There are those that would say that you add to the attention.
Michael: No, I don't.
Barbara: Well, the masks…the mysterious behavior.
Michael: There's…no, there's no mysterious behavior. There's a time, when I give a concert…I like to have as many people who would like to come can come and enjoy the show. And there's a time, when you like to be in private…when you put on your pyjammas and go to sleep, cut the light (makes a sound of a light going out) and you lay down, that's your private space. You go to the park. I can't go in the park, so I create my own park at Neverland…my own water space…my movie theatre…my theme park…that's all for me to enjoy.
Barbara: I don't wnat this to sound insulting. I'm just gonna be straight with you. But you are somewhat eccentric to say the least. The way you dress, the way you look, it invites attention. The whole appearance as you grew up was…larger than life…more extreme. Don't you think that draws the paparazzi to you?
Michael: No. (shaking his head) No, maybe I like to live that way…I like to dress that way. I don't want the paparazzi, really. But if they come, be kind, write the right…kind of thing to write.
Barbara: Michael, is it the journalist's role…or the press' role to be kind?
Michael: To be kind?
Barbara: Because the press also has to look into things, be tough. It can't always be kind.
Michael: (laughs) What you saw…what happened to Lady Diana…you tell me. There should be some boundaries, some kind of way. The star needs some space. Some time to relax. He has a heart…he's human.
Barbara: You cancelled the concert you were about to do when you heard of Diana's death.
Michael: Yes.
Barbara: And when you finally did a concert, you dedicated it to her. What did you say?
Michael: In my heart I was saying, "I love you Diana. Shine. And shine on forever, because you are the true Princess of the people." And in words I did not say it, but I said it for three minutes in showing a big picture on the jumbotron screens…Sony, big huge screens…and her picture was there shining…and the crowd went bananas (makes sound effects of the crowd's noises) And I played the song "Smile" and "Gone Too Soon".
Barbara: Give us some of the lyrics, if you can.
Michael: "Shiny and sparkly, and splendedly bright, here one day, gone one night…Gone too soon."
Commercial Break
Barbara: You have said, "I grew up in a fishbowl. I will not allow that to happen to my son." Yet, when your son was born, you sold pictures to the National Enquirer and to other European papers, tabloids. Why did you do that?
Michael: Why?
Barbara: Why?
Michael: Because there was a race. There were some illegal pictures out. Illegally, somebody had taken pictures of a baby…millions of dollars…said, "Here's Michael's son."
Barbara: And it wasn't, as I recall.
Michael: And it wasn't. So, I took pictures of the baby. I said, "They're forcing me to get his pictures." There's helocopters flying above us…flying over my house…flying over the hospital, um, machines and satellites all over. Even the hospital said, "Michael, we've had every kind of celebrity here…but we've never had it like this. This is unbelievable." And so I said, "Here, take it." And I gave the money to charity
Barbara: So, rather than…what you're saying is…what you did was to get them off your back.
Michael: Yeah…and now they want to do it again…and I don't want..maybe I don't want to show him to the world like that. I want him to have some space…where he can go to school. I don't want him to be called "Wacko Jacko" that's not nice. They call the father that. That isn't nice…right?
Barbara: You said you don't want your child to be called "wacko jacko's son". How are you going to prevent it, so they don't do it to him?
Michael: That's the thing…that's the idea. Maybe you should come up with a plan to help me.
Barbara: You're his daddy.
Michael: There you go. They created that. Did they ever think I would have a child one day…that I have a heart? It's hurting my heart. Why pass it on to him?
Barbara: Do you like being a father?
Michael: I love it!!
Barbara: Are you very involved with him?
Michael: (laughs) Yes!
Barbara: Do you want more children?
Michael: Yes. (an embarrassed laugh)
Barbara: You have been in the spotlight since you were a baby yourself.
Michael: Yes.
Barbara: If your son shows any talent – by the way does he show any talent at nine months?
Michael: Well, I'll tell you this much…when he's crying, to keep him from crying, I have to do one thing.
Barbara: What?
Michael: I have to stand in front of him…and dance.
Barbara: Really?
Michael: Yes. And he stops crying. His tears turn to laughter, and he's happy. (claps his hands) He smiles.
Barbara: And do you do your moonwalk with him?
Michael: Yeah. I do all kind of movements (imitates his dancing) (laughs)
Barbara: And then he stops crying?
Michael: And then he stops crying!
Barbara: You must do a lot of dancing.
Michael: (laughs) I do a lot of dancing, yes.
Barbara: Michael, if this little boy says, "Daddy, I want to go on stage."
Michael: (laughs and slaps his leg)
Barbara: After what you've been through?
Michael: I'd say, "Hold on, now. Hold on. If you do go that way, expect this…expect this…expext that." (counts on his fingers)
Barbara: You'd lay it all out?
Michael: I'd lay it all out. I'd say, "See you're gonna get all this, (points to one of the cameras) and all this (points to another camera) and all this (points to a third camera) You ready to do that?" "Yeah, I can't wait." Then I would say, "Go…and do it better than I did."
Barbara: But know what you're in for…
Michael: Know what you're in for.
Barbara: Our interview was over. We had told no one it was happening, nor had the Paris hotel. But when Jackson tried to sneak out through a back door, there was a huge crowd…already waiting.
Hugh Downs: Babara, we know now that Diana did not have adequate protection on that last day. What kind of protection did Michael Jackson have?
Barbara: Well, we saw at least four bodyguards…and he needed them. And by the way, I talked with a female superstar and she told me that when she goes out she has four bodygaurds, at least…and a car infront of her, and a car behind.
Hugh: That's what they really need isn't it?
Barbara: Unfortunately, it is.
Hugh: Now you told me that he told you why he wears only one glove.
Barbara: Yes.
Hugh: What's behind that?
Barbara: Well, he has a sense of humor, as I think you could see. He said, "Why one glove? Cooler than two!"

Lisa Marie Michael Jackson 1995

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:45:05 +0000

Michael Jackson and wife Lisa Marie Presley reveal intimate side as lovers, parents and best friends in this 1995 interview.

The questions were insensitive or perhaps, indelicate. But they were enough to transform the voices of a delightful duo into a defiant duet.

The King of Pop Michael Jackson and his wife Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson were not trying to mimic Michael's single, Scream, a duet with his sister, Janet, when questions laced with "perverse curiosity" were asked them in a live interview by Diane Sawyer recently on ABC-TV's "Prime Time Live" one-hour broadcast.

"Do we have sex?" Jackson's wife Lisa Marie asked with defiance and disgust as a hesitant Diane Sawyer edged up to the question, saying, "I didn't spend my life as a serious journalist to ask these kinds of questions, but I'm not oblivious to the fact that your fans have one question they most wanted to ask…

"Do we have sex?… Okay. Go ahead," the furious young wife iterrupted. "Is that what you were going to ask?"

"Yes! YES! Yes!" exclaimed Mrs. Presley-Jackson, the sultry 27-year-old daughter of the late rock `n roll idol Elvis Presley, who introduced her to Michael when she was 7 and he was 17. "This was in Las Vegas," Jackson told Sawyer. "She used to come and see my show all the time. We had the only family show on the strip. It was The Jackson Five and she used to come as a little girl and sit right up front," he explained. "She came quite often. And then she'd come back stage and I'd come out and say, `Hi' and then she'd come again."

Both Michael and Lisa Marie pounced upon the opportunity to shift the interview away from Sawyer's probing questions which had been similar to what the interviewer described as stories that provoked a "tabloid feeding frenzy, as people who worked for Jackson shopped stories, all claiming titillating knowledge from what they call his special friends even when some of Jackson's young friends tried to defend him."

Despite other troubling questions that could tarnish the reputation of the world's greatest recording artist, he and his wife met the interviewer head on and didn't blink. It was Mrs. Presley-Jackson, who was quick to defend her husband against every negative, image-damaging question Sawyer implied that inquiring minds wanted answered.

What Michael and Lisa wanted the "Prime Time Live" viewers to know was something about their intimate side as lovers, parents and best friends. They had a good reason for wanting to tell their story to ABC-TV's estimated 60 million viewers-the largest audience in the ABC newsmagazine's history. (The exclusive live broadcast almost doubled the audience of the NBA finals between the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic).

As lovers, Jackson revealed that Lisa was always on his mind since her backstage visit with her father Elvis, who was the top attraction in Las Vegas at that time. "When she was 18, I used to tell my lawyer, John Branca, to find her … cause I think that she is really cute." When the megastar finally got in touch with her, he learned that she was married and mother of two children. But the meeting turned out to be a countdown until they got married.

"We were dating for four months," Lisa Marie told the TV interviewer. "…We were spending lots of time together … I don't know how it didn't manage to get in the press because we weren't hiding it … I was separated for four months," Lisa Marie added. It was during this time that Michael proposed marriage to her.

When asked by Sawyer whether they were involved in a prenuptial agreement, Lisa Marie, whose fortune is estimated at over $150 million, said she has an agreement with Michael, whose worth is estimated to be over $200 million. "We've worked out things and signed certain things but of course that is very confidential", Michael told Sawyer in the no-questions-barred interview.

Sawyer sought to steer the interview back to Michael's alleged sexual involvement with children, the impact of his marriage to Lisa Marie, the parenting of her children with Michael as step-father and plans for Michael to father their first child. Michael turned testy when Sawyer tried to grill him with specific questions about the sex charges which were robed and dismissed by the police departments of Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

Children will continue to play a role in his life because both of them love children. Lisa Marie made it clear to Sawyer that she is comfortable with Michael helping her in parenting her children by a previous marriage.

"I happen to know who he (Michael) is and what he is," she emphasized.

If children want to sleep over with their family, Lisa Marie's answer is "yes." And Michael's response to Sawyer was: "Of course, if they want. It's on a level of purity and love and just innocence, complete innocence. If you are talking about sex, then that's a nut. It's not me. Go to the guy down the street, cause it's not Michael Jackson. It's not what I'm interested in."

Both are interested in having their first child. "We will be expecting a child. Now, when I'm not going to say … It's personal," Mrs. Presley-Jackson told Sawyer. "It's in the hands of the heavens," Michael added.

Responding to the interviewer's questions about the impact of their marriage, both Jackson and his wife were livid with rage. "Did you marry out of convenience?" Lisa Marie repeated the question and then replied: "That's really interesting."

"That's ridiculous," Michael said. "That's like we're faking this. That's the most ridiculous thing in the world"'

Mrs. Presley-Jackson allowed: "But you can't live with somebody day to day. We're together all the time, first of all. Second thing, how can you fake the 24 hours a day with somebody, sleeping with somebody, waking up with somebody…

"He's running around the house. You were in our house," she reminded Sawyer. "We have a normal house. We have a nanny, we have a maid and we walk around and he's either in the studio, I'm in the kitchen. We're running around like normal. I know it's hard to believe."

As the interview was winding down at Sony's Culver City studios, where it was broadcast, the couple emphasized that they were not only married lovers, but they were best friends.

"I just want people to know what they're dealing with … and understand that we are not jokes. The degrading comments and all that kind of stuff, it's really irritating," Mrs. Presley-Jackson told Sawyer as she concluded the interview. Michael's parting salvo was delivered to Sawyer's TV audience with subdued anger.

"Don't believe the garbage, all the tabloid junk. Don't read it, don't listen to it. It's garbage, it's junk. It's stupid. Enough of it."

Bibliography for: "Michael Jackson and wife Lisa Marie Presley reveal intimate side as lovers, parents and best friends"

"Michael Jackson and wife Lisa Marie Presley reveal intimate side as lovers, parents and best friends". Jet. FindArticles.com. 21 Jul, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n8_v88/ai_17160262/

Private Home Movies 2003

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:21:37 +0000

1993 documentary narrated by Michael Jackson from his personal archive, including footage of friends and family. The "King," clearly, never grew up socially. The video is the complete uninterrupted version and is over an hour long.

Legend Award 1993 Grammy’s

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:20:21 +0000

February 24, 1993 Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Janet presents Michael with the very special Grammy Legend Award.

Michael's acceptance speech: ….In the past month, I've gone from "where is he?" to "Here he is again," but I must confess, it feels good to be thought of as a person, not as a personality. Because I don't read all the things written about me, I wasn't aware that the world thought I was so weird and bizarre. But when you grow up as I did, in front of one hundred million people since the age of five, you're automatically different. The last few weeks, I have been cleansing myself and it's been a rebirth for myself. It's like a cleansing spirit. [To the screeming crowd]: I love you too. My childhood was completely taken away from me. There was no Christmas, there were no birthdays, it was not a normal childhood, nor the normal pleasures of childhood – those were exchanged for hard work, struggle, and pain , and eventually material and professional success. But as an awful price, I cannot re-create that part of my life. However, today, when I create my music, I feel like an instrument of nature. I wonder what delight nature must feel when we open our hearts and express our God-given talents. The sound . . . of approval rolls across the universe, and the whole world abounds in magic. Wonder fills our hearts, for what we have glimpsed, for an instant, the playfulness of life. And that’s why I love children and learn so much from being around them. I realise that many of our world’s problems today – from the inner city crime, to large scale wars and terrorism, and our overcrowded prisons – are a result of the fact that children have had their childhood stolen from them. The magic, the wonder, the mystery, and the innocence of a child’s heart, are the seeds of creativity that will heal the world. I really believe that. What, what we need to learn, what we need to learn from children isn’t childish. Being with them connects us to the deeper wisdom of life which is everpresent, and only asks to be lived. They know the solutions that lie waiting to be recognised within our own hearts. Today, I would like to thank all the children of the world, including the sick and deprived . . . I am so sensitive to your pain. I also want to thank all those who have helped me to channel my talent here on earth. From the beginning, my parents, all my brothers and sisters, especially Janet. I am so proud of her, it’s incredible. I mean, I remember when we were little, I used to ask her to be Ginger Rogers, while I was Fred Astaire….. The Motown family, my teacher Berry Gordy. Diana Ross, I love you. Suzanne De Pazze. The wonderful, great Quincy Jones. Teddy Riley. My new godson Michael Gibb. My new Sony family, Akio Morita, Mickey Schulhoff, Tommy Motola, Dave Glew, Polly Anthony . . . Thanks for making one of my most creative efforts, the album Dangerous, such an incredible success. I love you all so much. Sandy Gallin, Jim Morey. All the fantastic fans around the world – love you very much. [Michael receives more cheers from the audiece, as he and Janet leave the stage.]

Famous 1993 Interview

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:15:19 +0000

90 Primetime Minutes with the King of Pop

Complete 1 hour show

Michael Jackson's interview was watched by over a 100 million viewers around the world, in which he addresses for the first time his plastic surgery, his changes in skin tone, his artistry and the many tabloid stories written about him.

O: Michael Jackson's house is nothing like anyone would expect. I thought there were going to be a few llamams walking around the living room and maybe some – uh – chimps jumping around. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't dead wrong. There are plenty of mind-boggling areas on this 2700 acre ranch, which you'll see in the next 90 minutes. But, where Michael Jackson eats, and where he sleeps and where he lives is quite simply a beautiful home. There is a library here filled with leather bound classics and art work on the walls, not at all what we thought we'd find. Before we meet the man who lives here, it's important to know where he came from, for his history is nothing short of incredible.

(video clip of Michael and his family as he grew up)

O: Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson!
(Michael enters the living room)
O: How nervous are you?
Michael: How what?
O: How nervous are you right now?
Michael: I'm not nervous at all, actually.
O: You really aren't?
Michael: No, I never get nervous.
O: Not even for your first interview and it's live around the world? I thought you'd be a little nervous, but if you're not and that's great because if you're not nervous I won't be nervous. I just wanted to let the world know that when we agreed to do this interview you said you would be willing to talk to me about everything.
Michael: That's true.
O: Very true. I was watching you in the background there watching you in the video of the early years. Did that bring back memories for you?
Michael: It made me giggle because I haven't seen that footage for a long time. Did it bring back memories? Yes, me and my brothers who I love dearly and it's just a wonderful moment for me.
O: I saw you laugh when you saw yourself singing "Baby, Baby, Baby".
Michael: Yeah, I think James Brown is a genious, you know, when he's with the Famous Flames, unbelievable. I used to watch him on the television and I used to get angry at the camera-man because whenever he would really start to dance they would be on a close-up so I couldn't see his feet. I'd shout "show him, show him", so I could watch and learn.
O: So he was a big mentor for you?
Michael: Phenomenal, phenomenal.
O: Who else was?
Michael: Jackie Wilson, who I adore as an entertainer, and of course music, Motown. The Bee Gees who are brilliant, I just love great music.
O: When I look at those tapes of you, and heaven knows, putting this together I think I've seen every piece of video done of you, and watching those tapes when, especially in the younger years, you seem to really come alive on stage. Were you as happy off stage as you appear to be on stage?
Michael: Well, on stage for me was home. I was most comfortable on stage but once I got off stage, I was like, very sad.
O: Really?
Michael: Yes.
O: And sad from the beginning, sad since it first started, why so sad?
Michael: Lonely, sad, having to face popularity and all that. There were times when I had great times with my brothers, pillow fights and things, but I was, used to always cry from loneliness.
O: Beginning at what age?
Michael: Oh, very little, eight, nine.
O: When you all became famous?
Michael: Yes.
O: So it wasn't what it all appeared to be to the rest of the world, all of us…I remember I was a little black child, I wanted to marry Jackie Jackson, your brother, so I mean to all of us we thought this was the most wonderful thing in the world, who wouldn't have wanted that life?
Michael: It was wonderful, there's a lot of wonderment in being famous. I mean you travel the world, you meet people, you go places, it's great. But then there's the other side, which I'm not complaining about. There is lots of rehearsal and you have to put in a lot of your time, give a lot of yourself.
O: Do you feel….I talked to Suzanne de Passe the other day, and Suzanne de Passe worked with you at Motown and really groomed you all and found the outfits for the Ed Sullivan show. We talked about whether or not it was really lost, was it?
Michael: Well, especially now I come to realize – and then – I would do my schooling which was three hours with a tutor and right after that I would go to the recording studio and record, and I'd record for hours and hours until it's time to go to sleep. And I remember going to the record studio and there was a park across the street and I'd see all the children playing and I would cry because it would make me sad that I would have to work instead.
O: I want to go to this and show some pictures of you as a young boy.
Michael: OK.
(video footage of young Michael)
O: Suzanne said it was a heavy price, I want to know how big of a price it was, losing your childhood or having this kind of life?
Michael: Well, you don't get to do things that other children get to do, having friends and slumber parties and buddies. There were none of that for me. I didn't have friends when I was little. My brothers were my friends.
O: Was there ever a place where – because you know children – because I remember talking to myself and playing with my dolls – was there…and I think every child needs a place to escape into, a child's world, a child's imagination, was there ever a time you could do that?
Michael: No. And that is why I think because I didn't have it then, I compensate for that. People wonder why I always have children around, becasue I find the thing that I never had through them, you know Disneyland, amusement parks, arcade games. I adore all that stuff because when I was little it was always work, work, work from one concert to the next. If it wasn't a concert it was the recording studio, if it wasn't that it was TV shows or picture sessions. There was always something to do.
O: Did you feel – Smokey Robinson said this about you, and you have so many other people, that you were like an old soul in a little body.
Michael: I remember hearing that all the time when I was little. They used to call me a 45 year-old midget wherever I went. I just used to hear that and wherever I went…just like when some people said when you were little and you started to sing did you know you were that good? And I say I never thought about it, I just did it and it came out. I never thought about it really.
O: So here you were, Michael Jackson, you all had hits, you all had so many hits – four hits in a row – and you were crying because you couldn't be like other kids.
Michael: Well, I loved show business and I still love show business, but then there are times you just want to play and have some fun and that part did make me sad. I rememeber one time we were getting ready to go to South America and everything was packed up and in the car ready to go and I hid and I was crying because I really did not want to go, I wanted to play. I did not want to go.
O: Were your brothers jealous of you when you started getting all the attention?
Michael: Not that I know of, no.
O: You never felt a sense of jealousy?
Michael: Oh, let me think, no. No, I think they were always happy for me that I could do certain things, but I've never felt jealousy among them.
O: Do you think they are jealous of you now?
Michael: I wouldn't think so. I don't think so, no.
O: No. What's your relationship with your family? Are you close still?
Michael: I love my family very much. I wish I could see them a little more often than I do. But we understand because we're a show business family and we all work. We do have family day when we all get together, we pick a person's house, it might be Jermaine's house or Marlon's house or Tito's house and everyone will come together in fellowship and love eachother and talk and catch up on who's doing what and…
O: You weren't all upset about LaToya and LaToya's book and the things that LaToya has said about the family?
Michael: Well, I haven't read LaToya's book. I just know that I love my sister dearly, I love LaToya and I always will and I always see her as the happy, loving LaToya that I remember growing up with. So I couldn't completely answer on that.
O: Do you feel that some of the things that she's been saying are true?
Michael: I couldn't answer Oprah, honestly I haven't read the book. That's the honest truth.
O: Well, let's go back to when you were growing up and feeling all of this, well, I guess it's a sence of anguish, I guess, so there was no one for you to play with othere than your brothers. You never had slumber parties?
Michael: Never.
O: So I'm wondering for you, being this cute little boy who everybody adopted and everybody who comes up to you they're pulling your cheeks and how cute, how adolescence going through that duck stage where everything's akward, and I'm wondering when you started to go through adolescence having been this child superstar, was that a particularly difficult time for you?
Michael: Very, very, very difficult, yes. Because I think every child star suffers through this period because you're not the cute and charming child that you were. You start to grow, and they want to keep you little forever.
O: Who's they?
Michael: The public. And um, nature takes it's course.
O: It does.
Michael: Yes, and I had pimples so badly it used to make me so shy. I used not to look at myself. I'd hide my face in the dark, I wouldn't want to look in the mirror and my father teased me and I just hated it and I cried everyday.
O: Your father teased you about your pimples?
Michael: Yes and tell me I'm ugly.
O: Your father would say that?
Michael: Yes he would. Sorry Joseph.
O: What's your relationship like with him?
Michael: I love my father but I don't know him.
O: Are you angry with him for doing that? I think that's pretty cruel actually.
Michael: Am I angry with him?
O: Because adolescence is hard enough without a parent telling you that you're ugly.
Michael: Am I angry with him? Sometimes I do get angry. I don't know him the way I'd like to know him. My mother's wonderful. To me she's perfection. I just wish I could understand my father.
O: And so let's talk about those teen years. Is that when you started to go inside yourself? Because obviously you haven't spoken to the world for 14 years. So you went inside, you became a recluse. Was it to protect yourself?
Michael: I felt there wasn't anything important for me to say, and those were sad, sad years for me.
O: Why so sad? Because on stage you were performing, you were getting your Grammys. Why so sad?
Michael: Oh, there's a lot of sadness about my past and adolescence, about my father and all of those things.
O: So he would tease you, make fun of you.
Michael: Yes.
O: Would he…did he ever beat you?
Michael: Yes.
O: And why would he beat you?
Michael: He saw me, he wanted me, I guess…I don't know if I was his golden child or whatever, but he was very strict, very hard, very stern. Just a look would scare you.
O: And were you scared of him?
Michael: Very. Like, there's been times when he'd come to see me, I'd get sick, I'd start to regurgitate.
O: As a child or as an adult?
Michael: Both. He's never heard me say this. I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me.
O: Well I mean, I suppose everybody has to take responsibility for what they've done in life. And your father is one of those people who also have to take responsibility.
Michael: But I do love him.
O: Yes. I understand this.
Michael: And I am forgiving.
O: But can you really forgive?
Michael: I do forgive. There's so much garbage and so much trash that's written about me it is so untrue, they're complete lies, and those are some of the things I wanted to talk about. The press has made up so much…God…awful, horrifying stories…it has made me realize the more often you hear a lie, I mean, you begin to believe it.
(commercial break)
O: Um, we talked about all of the rumors just before we went to the break and there are so many. First of all, I have been in this house getting prepared for this and I've been all over the house, upstairs when you weren't looking, looking for that oxygen chamber, and I cannot find an oxygen chamber anywhere in the house.
Michael: That, that story is so crazy, I mean it's one of those tabloid things, it's completely made up.
O: (picture of Michael in an oxygen chamber shown on camera) OK, but you are in something there, there's a picture of you, where did that come from? How did it get started?
Michael: That's…I did a commercial for Pepsi and I was burned very badly and we settled for 1 million dollars and I gave all the money…like, we bulit this place called the Michael Jackson Burn Centre and that's a piece of technology used for burn victims, right. So I'm looking at the piece of technology and decide to go inside it and just to hammer around, somebody takes the picture, when they process the picture the person who processes the picture says, "Oh Michael Jackson". He made a copy and these pictures went all over the world with this lie attached to it. It's a complete lie, why do people buy these papers? It's not the truth I'm here to say. You know, don't judge a person, do not pass judgement, unless you have talked to them one on one. I don't care what the story is, do not judge them because it is a lie.
O: You're right and that story, it was just like it had legs.
Michael: It's crazy. Why would I want to sleep in a chamber? (laughs)
O: The rumor was that you were sleeping in the chamber because you didn't want to grow old.
Michael: That's stupid. It's completely made up. I'm embarrassed. I'm willing to forgive the press, or forgive anybody, I was taught to love and forgive, which I do have in my heart, but please don't believe these crazy, horrifying things.
O: Did you buy the Elephant man's bones? Were you trying to get them for…
Michael: No. That's another stupid story. I love the story of the Elephant man, he reminds me of me a lot, and I could relate to it, it made me cry because I saw myself in the story, but no I never asked for the…where am I going to put some bones?…
Michael: ….and why would I want some bones?
O: I don't know. So where did that story come from?
Michael: Someone makes it up, and everybody believes it. If you hear a lie often enough, you start to believe it.
O: Yes and people make money selling tabloids.
Michael: Yes
O: All right. Just recently there was a story, and I know one of your attorneys held a news conference, there was a story about you wanting to have a little white boy play you in a Pepsi commercial.
Michael: That is so stupid. That is the most ridiculous, horrifying story I've ever heard. It's crazy. Why, number one, it's my face as a child in the commercial, me when I was little, why would I want a white child to play me? I'm a black American, I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am. I have a lot of pride and dignity. That's like you wanting an oriental person to play you as a child. Does that make sense?
O: OK, then let's go to the thing that is most discussed about you, that is, the color of your skin…is most obviously different than when you were younger, and so I think it has caused a great deal of speculation and controversy as to what you have done or are doing, are you bleaching your skin, and is your skin getting lighter because you don't like being black?
Michael: Number one, as far as I know of there is no such thing as skin bleaching. I have never seen it, I don't know what it is.
O: Well they used to have those products, I remember growing up always hearing "always use bleach and glow", but you have to have about 300,000 gallons.
Michael: OK, but number one, this is the situation. I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of my skin, it's something that I cannot help, OK? But when people make up stories that I don't want to be what I am it hurts me.
O: So it is…
Michael: It's a problem for me that I can't control…but what about all the millions of people who sit out in the sun, to become darker, to become other than what they are. No one says nothing about that.
O: So when did this start? When did your…when did the color of your skin start to change?
Michael: Oh boy, I don't….sometime after Thriller, around Off The Wall, Thriller, sometime around then.
O: But what did you think?
Michael: It's in my family, my father said it's on his side. I can't control it, I don't understand. I mean it makes me very sad. I don't want to go into my medical history because that is private, but that's the situation here.
O: So OK, I just want to get this straight, you are not taking anything to change the color of your skin?
Michael: Oh God no, we tried to control it and using make-up evens it out because it makes blotches on my skin. I have to even out my skin. But you know what's funny, why is that so important? That's not important to me. I'm a great fan of art. I love Michaelangelo, if I had a chance to talk to him or read about him I would want to know what inspired him to become who he is, the anatomy of his craftsmanship, not about who he went out with last night….what's wrong with….I mean that's what is important to me.
O: How much plastic surgery have you had?
Michael: Very, very little. I mean you can count on my two fingers. I mean let's say this, if you want to know about those things, all the nosey people in the world, read my book Moonwalk, it's in my book. You know, let's put it this way, if all the people in Hollywood who have had plastic surgery, if they went on vacation, there wouldn't be a person left in town.
O: Mmmm, I think you might be right.
Michael: I think I am right. It would be empty.
O: Did you start having plastic surgery because of those teen years because of not liking the way you looked?
Michael: No, not really. It was only two things. Really, get my book, it's no big deal.
O: You don't want to tell me what it is? You had your nose done, obviously…
Michael: Yeah, but so did a lot of people that I know.
O: And so, when you hear all these things about you, and there have been more…
Michael: I've never had my cheekbones done, never had my eyes done, never had my lips done and all this stuff, they just go too far…
O: Are you pleased with the way you…
Michael: I'm never pleased with anything, I'm a perfectionist, it's part of who I am.
O: And so when you look in the mirror now and see the image that looks back at you are there days when you say I kinda like this, or I like the way my hair…
Michael: No, I'm nev…
O: ….or I'm kinda cute today…
Michael: …(giggles)…cute today….no, I'm never pleased with myself. No, I try not to look in the mirror.
O: I have to ask you this, so many mothers in my audience have said to please ask you this question. Why do you grab your crotch?
Michael: (giggels) Why do I grab my crotch?
O: You've got a thing with your crotch going on there.
Michael: I think it happens subliminally. When you're dancing, you know, you are just interpreting the music and the sounds and the accompaniment. If there's a driving base, if there's a chello, if there's a string, you become the emotion of what the sound is. So if I'm doing a movement and I go "Bam" and I grab myself it's…it's the music that compels me to do it. It's not that I'm saying that I'm dying to grab down there and it's not in a great place, you don't think about it, it just happens. Sometimes I'll look back at the footage and I go…and I go, "Did I do that?", so I'm a slave to the rhythm,…(smoke detectors go off in the house)…yeah, OK.
(commercial break – some of Michael's major achievements shown on tape)
O: When you have broken all those records, when you have the number on album ever sold, when you've broken every record there is to break, when you become an icon of an industry, is there always the pressure to do something bigger and something better?
Michael: Oh gee, that is something, um, it makes it harder each time to follow up. You try be as original as you can be without thinking about statistics, just you go form the soul and from the heart.
O: And so when you think of that what do you do, you go, you meditate, you think well now I will do the Superbowl.
Michael: Nooo….I just create out of my heart, really.
O: Liz Taylor said you were king of pop, rock and soul. Where did this notion that you proclaimed yourself king of pop come from?
Michael: Well I didn't proclaim myself to be anything, I'm happy to be alive, I'm happy to be who I am. King of pop was first said by Elizabeth Taylor on one of the award shows. (the clip of Elizabeth saying this is shown)
O: And that's where this all started?
Michael: Yes…and the fans…all the stadiums that we played at they'd bring banners saying king of pop and they chanted outside my hotel king of…so it became something that just happened all over the world.
O: Do you go out, do you date?
Michael: Yes.
O: Who do you date?
Michael: Well right now it's Brooke Shields. Well, we try not to be everywhere, go everywhere, it's mostly at home. She'll come over, I'll go to her houese, because I don't like going out in public.
O: Have you ever been in love?
Michael: Yeah
O: With Brooke Shields?
Michael: Yes, and another girl.
O: And another girl? Let me ask you this, and it's embarrassing for me to ask you this, but I'm gonna ask you anyway, are you a virgin?
Michael: Uhhh….how could you ask me that question?
O: I just want to know.
Michael: I'm a gentleman.
O: You're a gentleman?
Michael: I'm a gentleman.
O: I would interpret that to mean that you believe that a lady is a lady and therefore…
Michael: That's something that is private. I mean, it shouldn't be talked about openly. You can call me old fashioned if you want, but, you know, I mean that's very personal.
O: So, you're not going to answer it?
Michael: I'm embarrassed.
O: Well we would like to know whether or not there is a possibility that you are going to marry one day and have children?
Michael: I would feel like my life is incomplete if I do not because I adore the family life. I adore children and I adore that whole thing. And I would love to, that's one of my dreams, but I couldn't right now because I'm married, I'm married to my music and there has to be that closeness in order to do the kind of work that I want to do and…
O: What kind of woman makes you…in the video we're going to see later, we premiere the world video….there's a line where you talk about being quenched, so what kind of a woman does that for you?
Michael: (singing) "Quench my desire"…Well Brooke, I've always liked her, and when I was little I used to stay with Diana Ross, me and my brothers stayed with her for years and I never said, but I always had a crush on her.
O: You did?
Michael: Yes.
O: I heard too, this was another one of those rumors, that you had proposed to Elizabeth Taylor at some point.
Michael: Elizabeth Taylor is gorgeous, beautiful, and she still is today, I'm crazy about her.
O: Yeah, but did you propose to her?
Michael: I would like to have.
O: Well, Elizabeth Taylor is here. Liz? Can we bring Liz out now? Liz had said she wanted to be here and hold your hand through this. You don't look like you need your hand held. Elizabeth Taylor!
Michael: Hi Elizabeth.
O: Hi.
Elizabeth: Hi.
O: Have a seat.
Elizabeth: Thank you.
O: Did Michael ever propose to you?
Elizabeth: No! And I never proposed to him.
O: Never did! What do you think is most misunderstood about Michael Jackson?
Elizabeth: All the things you mentioned. He is the least weird man I have ever known. He is highly intelligent, shrewd, intuitive, understanding, sympathetic, generous – to almost a fault, of himself.
O: Uh huh.
Elizabeth: Uh, and he just, if, if he has any eccentricities it's that he is like larger than life and some people just cannot accept that or face it or understand it. His talent on stage, why I call him the king of pop, rock, soul, music, enetertainment, whatever…
O: Yes
Elizabeth: …there's nobody that can come near him. Nobody can dance like that, write the lyrics like that, the music, uh, cause the kind of excitement he does.
O: And why do you think you all are such good friends? What has brought about this kind of bond? Because people try to make this weird.
Elizabeth: Well it's not. I mean our childhoods are very similiar, and we had that from the very beginning in common. Um, I was a child star at nine, had an abusive father, um, and that kind of brought us together in the very beginning.
O: And what is it, I am going to ask Michael this question later on, but what is it you most want the world to know about him?
Elizabeth: What a wonderful, giving, caring, generous man he is, and how good he is.
O: And he's funny too.
Elizabeth: Oh, he's wildly funny.
O: He can crack some jokes, I tell you.
Elizabeth: Yes, but he is a good man.
O: When we come back – Thank you for joining us too -
Elizabeth: That's fine.
O: Cause I know you did not want to be on camera at first, but thank you. Coming up next, Michael is going to give us, not only a tour of his incredible amusement park and theatre, but also a very special dance performance. For all of you who say he is faking the Moonwalk with mirrors, we've got some proof coming up in a minute.
(commercial break – when the cameras come back Michael is driving Oprah to the movie theatre in a golf cart)
O: Now this is what's shocking to me, that you even drive. What we're doing everybody, is that we are coming from Michael's house down to this amazing amusement park, which is oh, about several hundred yards from the house. And this is incredible.
Michael: Thank you.
O: And I wnat to know whether or not you did this for yourself or did you do it for all the children that you entertain here?
Michael: For myself and the children.(he helps Oprah out of the cart) Every 3 weeks we – terminally ill children that come to uh -
O: To the house?
Michael: Yes, yes.
O: Make A Wish Foundation, Dream Street, Starlight, yes?
Michael: Every three weeks. And these are sick children, children with cancer. And I entertain them.
O: Uh-huh.
Michael: And they come here to enjoy themselves.
O: This is unbelievable. What I have to say is, these are, as I was talking to some kids that were here, these are not just grandma rides here. These are some major rides.
Michael: (laughs)
O: I mean the Sea Dragon, the Ferris Wheel, and there's that Zipper over there.
Michael: The Wipeout.
O: Yeah, the Wipeout and there are Bumper cars here, it's really -
Michael: Thank you. Well it brings out the child that lives in everybody. I love rides and things like that and I share it with the children.
O: Were you able to that when you were a kid?
Michael: Not really. Sometimes, sometimes, but not often enough.
O: But now you can anytime.
Michael: Everyday. It's right in my backyard.
O: How often do you actually come out here and do this?
Michael: Whenever I'm here I come out and go on the rides.
O: Well, is this a part of you, we were talking about earlier, the pain of growing up and not being able to experience all the things that kids normally experience and so now you are fullfilling all those fantasies.
Michael: To compensate, yes.
O: Really?
Michael: Yes, it's very true.
O: Do you think you can ever really recapture it though? Does it feel the same? I mean, I don't know.
Michael: (laughs) It's more fun.
O: Really?
Michael: I wouldn't change the past if I could. I'm enjoying myself.
O: And here we are inside the theatre. I had one too many sugar babies at that candy counter.
Michael: (laughs)
O: But the candy is here for all the kids. Pinocchio is here, ET is here. Did you – what's fascinating to me about you is that obviously you have this child-like aura about you, and I see children with you and they play with you like you are one of them. But, a child did not do ths.
Michael: (laughs)
O: A child did not put this together – this is really magnificent.
Michael: Well, thank you. I, I love to do things for children and I try to imitate Jesus – I am not saying I am Jesus, I'm not saying that.
O: Yes, we're clear on that.
Michael: Right, I'm trying to imitate Jesus in the fact that he said to be like children, to love children, to be as pure as children and to make yourself as innocent and to see the world through eyes of wonderment and the whole magical quality of it all – and I love that. And we'll have like a hundred bald headed children, they all have cancer and they're all running around…
O: Uh-huh.
Michael: …and they are enjoying themselves and it makes me cry happy tears that I was able to do this for them, you know?
O: Uh-huh.
Michael: Makes me so pleased inside.
O: Well, when I came here to, um, about a month ago to shoot a commercial with you promoting tonight's event, one of the things that really impressed me the most – I hope you guys are getting shots of this. I don't know if you are, if all the cameras are on us, but – oh there are other cameras – is that there are, built inside the walls here – beds – beds for some of these sick children who come. And what I realized when I saw this is you have to be a person who really cares about children to build it into your architecture.
Michael: Yes, yes. We have children that come who are – intraveneously – they are very sick, bedridden…
O: They can't sit up.
Michael: Right. They can't sit up, and these beds, they are hospital beds. You push a button you go up or you go down and they are able to watch. We have a magic show, we show the current films, there's cartoons, anything you know, anything so they can escape to that world of magic that they don't have a chance to experience, the world I was deprived of when I was little.
O: Now let me ask you this. You know I believe everything happens in people's lives for a reason. Do you think that had you not missed a lot of, uh, the life and fun and fantasy of childhood that you would be so in touch with children today. Would you relate to them as you do?
Michael: I probably would, but not as much. That's why I wouldn't change a thing.
O: Really?
Michael: Because I am happy with the way things are and my caring for young people and everything.
O: Are you really happy now, because you seemed so sad for a long time.
Michael: (laughs) I was sad for years and years. But I'm happy, I'm getting there. Yes, I'm very happy.
O: What makes you happier?
Michael: Being able to give back, you know, and to help other people.
O: Uh-huh.
Michael: Heal The World Foundation which I've formed, which helps children in healing the world. We're doing Heal L.A which is, uh, we have 3 primary goals: Immunizing of children, mentoring a big brothers, big sisters program, and educating in drug abuse. Jimmy Carter has teamed up with us to do Heal Atlanta and we're going to go from state to state healing – you know we've gone to Sarajevo, we've done lots of places.
O: I know, I know, we have photos from you all over the world where you are with all these children. One of the things I was saying before we went to the last break, before the alarm went off in the house and all that…
Michael: Yeah.
O: …is that, uh, we were talking about rumors. One of the strangest ones I heard was that when you're moonwalking you're faking it. That you have some mirrors in your socks someplace.
Michael: Oh, boy!
O: And it's not really real.
Michael: No, that's not true.
O: How did you, first of all, you know we've spent do much time trying to dispel the rumors, trying to get the truth out that I haven't really had an opportunity to talk to you about how you concieve your music, how you conceive the dance. Where did the moonwalk come from?
Michael: Well, the moonwalk came from these beautiful children, the black kids who live in the ghettos, the inner cities, who are brilliant, they just have that natural talent for dancing. Any of these new – the running man – any of these dances, they come up with these dances, all I did was enhance the dance.
O: OK, I want to see you dance.
Michael: Oh, God, no, no.
O: I want to see you dance. I want to see you dance, live.
Michael: No, no. I can show you a step or two. But, I'm a little rusty right now.
O: A little rusty?
Michael goes onto the stage and does a few steps to Dangerous)
Michael: That's the moonwalk. Wait, you need to catch it from the sideways.
O: You gotta turn sideways?
Michael: Are you from the front?
O: Yeah, we got ya!
Michael: Catch it from the sideways!
O: OK. Just show me slow motion. Could you show me slow motion?
Michael: OK, wait, it's like pushing and then there's like a popping type of thing.(stops dancing and comes down from the stage)
Michael: I'm sorry.
O: (applauding) Well, I saw it live, I saw it live. And so you took it from the kids who were doing it?
Michael: Yeah, because um, I think they are the real dancers.
O: Yeah. And when you are, for instance, when we were here before, when we were here before to shoot that commercial you were…
Michael: You were supposed to do this with me! (laughing)
O: I don't know how to do this!
Michael: (laughing)
O: You know I don't know how to do this!
Michael: (laughing)
O: You know what? I mean all the things that were printed in the tabloids, the only one thing that's ever been true was when they said that I couldn't dance. Now that's the truth!
Michael: (laughs)
O: When we were here the last time shooting the commercial, you were like in between shots running off and conceiving the dance, choreographing the dance, you were up all night dancing.
Michael: For the Superbowl?
O: Yes, yes.
Michael: Yes, well…I'm never satisfied. Even when I see something I've done and people say oh it was phenomenal – when I did Motown 25 and I did the moonwalk for the first time, I was backstage crying afterwards.
O: Why?
Michael: Because I was unhappy.
O: You cried after Motown 25?
Michael: After Motown 25, yes. But then as I was walking to the car there was this little boy, he was like 12, a little Jewish kid, and he said "oooo, you were amazing,who taught you to ever dance like that?" And for the first time I felt like I did a good job. Because I know children don't lie and I just felt so good about it then.
O: You wanted to, you felt so good, you probably wanted to say (imitating Michael) Hee-hee!
Michael: (laughs) Hee-hee!
O: I want you to sing something a cappella for me, if you can.
Michael: Oh, no! What could I sing?
O: Who Is It, you know do that whole little beat thing, since we're here in the theatre.
Michael: Oh, boy, what could I sing? Who Is It?
O: Where did that hee-hee thing come from? Hee-hee.
Michael: I dunno it just came…hee-hee (starts to sing Who Is It)
O: Owww! Fabulous!
Michael: I mean, you wanted me to do it. I get embarrassed. I'm sorry, I get embarrassed.
O: I like it very much. Thank you very much for that. We're going to come back with more of Michael Jackson live. – That was great (hugs Michael – commercial break)
O: One of the reasons we wanted to look at that piece when we went to break there was because music videos used to just be you, used to be just people singing their songs until you came along and changed music videos. Did you know when you first conceived your first one that was what you were doing?
Michael: Yeah. The idea was to make something that was a story so it had a beginning, a middle and an ending.
O: Uh-huh.
Michael: So it felt like a mini movie, that's what I wnated to do. And that is what we did with Beat It and Thriller and Smooth Criminal and all those type of things.
O: So when you start to look at a piece of work or look at a piece of music, are you thinking about how you are going to -
Michael: Sometimes. Yes, that's very true.
O: Uh-huh. I wonder what it feels like, I will never know since I cannot sing one thing, but, what it feels like to be on stage with a sea of people, a sea of people. One of the things that impressed me in putting the peices together for you, is all around the world the responce to you is so incredible. I just wanted to, for the rest of you in the world who haven't seen how people respond to Michael Jackson to take a look.
(cuts to concert clips and crowd scenes from around the world)
O: So when you're standing there and there's a sea of people around you, screaming your name as they were, what does it feel like?
Michael: Love. You just feel lots of love, and I feel blessed and honoured to be able to be an instrument of nature that was chosen to give them that, what I give them. I'm very honoured and happy about that.
O: An instrument of nature – that's an interesting way to describe yourself.
Michael: Thank you, yes.
O: Are you very spiritual?
Michael: In what sense?
O: I mean, do you, do you meditate? Do you understand that there's someting bigger than yourself at work here?
Michael: I believe in God, absolutely, absolutely, very much.
O: Uh-huh. And I believe everybody comes to the world for a reason. I think, um, most of us spend our lives trying to figure out what the purpose of our being here is. What do you think yours is?
Michael: My purpose?
O: Uh-huh.
Michael: Oh boy. I think um, to give in the best way I can through song and through dance and through music. I mean, I am committed to my art. I believe that all art has as it's ultimate goal the union between the material and the spiritual, the human and the divine. I believe that to be the reason for the very existence of art.
O: Uh-huh.
Michael: And um, I feel I was chosen as an instrument to just give music and love and harmony to the world. To children of all ages, and um, adults and teenagers.
O: Do you think that by talking now, setting the record straight for yourself, that maybe people will be able to focus more attention to your music and not judge you for anything other than the kind of music that you play?
Michael: I would hope so. I would love that.
O: Well, I hope that comes out of this too. I'm also excited that the world is watching, and because the world is watching, we thought this was a good time to let the world see the world premiere of Give In To Me.
(video of Give In To Me shown)
O: So, we want to know how it starts on a piece of paper – "quench my desire" – and turns into that?
Michael: Well, Give In To Me, I wanted to write another song, you know that was kinda exciting and fun and had a rock edge to it. You know, like when I did Beat It and Black Or White. And Slash, who's a dear friend of mine – we love animals and things like that – he wanted to play guitar and I wanted him to play guitar. We got together and we went to Germany and we shot this thing in just like 2 hours. We had no time at all to shoot it. We wanted it to be like a rock concert and that's how it ends up – that's the result.
O: You mentioned animals. I know everyone's going to ask me when I leave here where are all the animals? I said it in the opening, I expected chimps to be jumping all over the living room and I didn't see any. Where's Bubbles?
Michael: (laughs) Well, the animals are everywhere. They're in their habitats. They're all over the ranch. And they come out in the day time and they play and jump around, they have their own playground and area.
O: Why, why were you so fascinated by animals, do you think – ?
Michael: Because I find in animals the same thing I find so wonderful in children. That purity, that honesty, where they don't judge you, they just want to be your friend. I think that is so sweet.
O: I do too. We'll be right back with Michael Jackson Live.
(commercial break)
O: We're live at Michael Jackson's house, in his theatre and we asked NBC for 90 minutes. I don't think it was enough time.
Michael: (laughs)
O: I think we've cleared up all the rumors though. There are no chimps running around the house -
Michael: (laughs)
O: No oxygen tank in the house. I don't know, are you going to lay off the crotch a little?
Michael: (laughs) Ask the music!
O: Ask the music will you lay off the crotch. Oh, we didn't get to the inauguration. Did you tell President Clinton that you had to be the only person there singing?
Michael: That is horrible. That is the stupidest, craziest story that I have ever heard. I mean, why would I just want me and nobody else to be on the show, just me? That's so stupid, to me. I mean it's crazy. That's not even in my heart. I would never say anything like that. Again, somebody made it up and the whole world believed it. It's so false, it's incredible.
O: What do you want, want most – what do you want the world to know about you most? I asked Liz that of you, what do you want them to know?
Michael: Like to be remembered for?
O: Not to be remembered for – what about now? Forget remembered!
Michael: Oh known for now! As to be an artist, a great artist. I, I love what I do and I would love people to love what I do and to be loved. I just simply want to be loved wherever I go. All over the world, because I love people of all races from my heart with true affection.
O: Hmmm. You know, Gene Siskel who's a movie critic asked me this question once. And I loved the question, so I am going to ask you.
Michael: Yeah?
O: You're 34 years old. What do you know for sure?
Michael: Hmmm…what do I know for sure?
O: What do you know for sure?
Michael: Oh boy, I'm still learning. I mean, life is an education for me. I can't say that I know anything for sure. I really believe that.
O: I can't thank you enough for letting us in and I wish you all the happiness in the world. I loved being here because it makes me feel like a child again and one of the things I promised myself was that when this interview was over – live around the world – I was going to get on that Ferris Wheel.
Michael: (laughs)
O: And that is exactly what I intend to do. I'm gonna take off my blue shoes and I'm gonna ride that Ferris Wheel.
Michael: (laughing)
O: I'm gonna have a good time and have myself a little popcorn maybe, and maybe when it's all over you'll teach me how to do the moonwalk, when everybody's not looking!
Michael: OK, OK, that sounds good!
O: Yeah! This was fun!
Michael: Yeah! Lots of fun!

MJ’s Greatest TV Moments

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:30:06 +0000

A look back at the King of Pop's greatest TV moments, from the Dating Game at age 14 to the World Music Awards in 2000 and everything in between.

1995 MTV Video Awards

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:15:19 +0000

The 1995 MTV Video Music Awards aired live in September 7, 1995, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1994 to June 15, 1995. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Michael Jackson (featuring Slash) performed a crowd rollicking "Medley" which featured "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"/"The Way You Make Me Feel"/"Scream"/"Beat It"/"Black or White"/"Billie Jean"/"Dangerous"/"Smooth Criminal"/"You Are Not Alone."

Earth Song – BRIT Awards 1996

Webmaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:05:30 +0000

"Earth Song" is the third single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. It is a ballad that incorporates elements of blues, gospel and opera. Jackson had a long-standing history of releasing socially conscious material such as "We Are the World", "Man in the Mirror" and "Heal the World". However, "Earth Song" was the first that overtly dealt with the environment and animal welfare.

In 1996, Jackson performed "Earth Song" at the BRIT Awards, he was also there to collect a special "Artist of a Generation" award. Jackson sang while dangling off the edge of a high rise crane lift. Below, a chorus of people joined the performance and many of them began to physically embrace Jackson upon his descent. In response to the performance, an intoxicated Jarvis Cocker jumped onto the stage, without permission, and began to swear at Jackson with the use of fingers. Jarvis had to be physically removed from the stage by security guards and in the process three children were injured. Jarvis explained that he found the performance offensive, that Jackson portrayed himself as Christ-like and could do as he pleased because of his immense wealth and power.

Commentator John Street, in his published piece Politics and Popular Culture, stated "But to read popular culture as a straight forward text is to take a very narrow view of its meaning, and hence of its political message. As we have noted, the text's meaning will depend on how it is heard and read. Michael Jackson may have intended his 'Earth Song' to be an exercise in compassion; others–like Jarvis Cocker–saw it quite differently. One reason these alternative readings emerge is because of the way the performance of popular culture engages more than a literal text, it employs gestures and symbols, tones of voice, looks and glances, all of which might tell a different story".

1993 Clinton Inauguration

Webmaster — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:59:42 +0000

We Are the World Performance

The first inauguration of Bill Clinton as the 42nd President of the United States took place on January 20, 1993. One of the most memoriable performances that took place that evening was the performance of Michael Jackson’s “Gone Too Soon” and “Heal the World”

Rabbi Shmuley on Larry King

Webmaster — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:44:36 +0000

In even more revealing Michael Jackson news, some audio tapes have been released by Jackson’s “friend” Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and some people may be a bit shocked in what the Kin of Pop said. Granted these tapes were recorded back in 1999 and 2001, but just now we get a listen to what Jackson thought of certain people in his life.

According to a source, for about 30 hours Boteach taped conversations between himself and Michael Jackson and they are now being released for a book titled “The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation”.

So what exactly does Jackson say?

Well, in one part of the interview he says that he always wants to be surrounded by kids and that he surrounded himself with mannequins because he was so lonely. Yeah that is pretty strange, but perhaps that stems from the fact that how his father would strip him nude and oil him down to beat him while his mother yelled “please don’t kill him”?

About aging, Jackson adds, “I think growing old is the ugliest thing. When the body breaks down and you start to wrinkle, I think it’s so bad. I never want to look in the mirror and see that. I really don’t. People say that growing old is beautiful. I disagree. I don’t want to look old and start forgetting. I want to always be youthful and have the energy to run around and play hide and seek, which is one of my favorite games.”

Perhaps the juiciest was the fact that he dishes out some things on celebrities, particularly Madonna saying, “They admire you and they know you’re wonderful and great but they’re jealous because they wish they were in your shoes…and M is one of them, Madonna. She’s not that nice….”

These tapes sound pretty interesting. What are your thoughts? Was it appropriate for the Rabbi to release these?

Rabbi Shmuley’s Boteach’s new book The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation will be published this Friday, September 25th and will be available in book stores.

Dr. Arnie Klein Interview

Webmaster — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:35:27 +0000

NOTE: During this interview, Dr. Klein stated that Uri Geller profited from the Martin Bashir Interview with Michael Jackson. On July 10, 2009, Larry King retracted Dr. Klein statement by saying on air, “In connection with a comment made by our guest Dr. Arnold Kline on Wednesday’s program, we were contacted by Uri Geller, who said he did not personally receive any money whatsoever in connection with the Martin Bashir interview with Michael Jackson.” The confidential dispute with CNN and Mr. Geller was settled amicably.

(CNN) — Dr. Arnie Klein, dermatologist to the stars, had a long-term association with Michael Jackson. The professor of medicine and dermatology at UCLA was also Jackson’s friend.

Some are speculating that Klein is also the biological father of Jackson’s children.

In a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s Larry King on July 8, 2009, Klein addresses those allegations, along with issues such as Jackson’s skin diseases, what he knew about Jackson’s drug use, medications he prescribed, his thoughts on Debbie Rowe and much more.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity:

Larry King: Doctor, how did you first meet Michael?

Dr. Arnie Klein, Michael Jackson’s dermatologist: I met Michael because someone had brought him into my office. I took one look at him, and I said you have lupus erythematosus.

King: Lupus?

Klein: Lupus, yes. He had a red butterfly rash, and he also had severe crusting you could see on the scalp. … So I then did a biopsy. I diagnosed lupus. And then our relationship went from there.

King: Let’s fast forward. You saw him the Monday before he died. What was the purpose of the visit?

Klein: He came to me because, basically, I was sort of rebuilding his face, because he had severe acne and scarring. He had scarring from having a lot of cosmetic surgery. … I was rebuilding his face so he looked much more normal. And contrary to what people said, he could not take off his nose. His nose was attached. But it looked too small.

King: Did he consult you when he was doing his plastic surgery?

Klein: No. I mean I came onto the scene long after he’d begun plastic surgery. In fact, what I wanted to do is stop it because I felt that we were losing body parts in the situation. …

King: How would you describe Michael’s mental, physical condition on that Monday?

Klein: He was dancing in the office. So he was in very good physical condition.

King: Do you know why he even started the plastic surgery?

Klein: I can’t definitively say. But I know that people made fun — or family members — of the size of his nose. He was very sensitive to that.

King: Was Michael in any kind of pain when you saw him?

Klein: Not whatsoever.

King: Did you see any evidence of needle marks on this visit?

Klein: Well, I didn’t examine his entire body.

King: Had you seen any in prior exams?

Klein: No, I never saw needle marks on his body.

King: Reports [were] he was emaciated.

Klein: He wasn’t emaciated. I’ve worked with dancers many times, and dancers are very concerned about their weight. And so I knew that he always wanted to be thin. And I talked to him about eating enough and making sure he didn’t over-exercise.

King: What was the strongest medication you gave him?

Klein: On occasion, [I] gave him Demerol to sedate him. And that was about the strongest medicine I ever used.

King: Did Michael have an addiction you were aware of?

Klein: Michael, at one time, had an addiction. And he went to England and he withdrew that addiction at a secure setting, where he went off of drugs altogether. And what I told Michael when I met him in this present situation when I was seeing him, that I had to keep reducing the dosage of what he was on, because he came to me with a huge tolerance level.

King: [Let's discuss] Diprivan.

Klein: It’s a wonderful drug when used correctly.

King: It is. And it’s used by anesthesiologists. What would it be doing in someone’s house?

Klein: I have no idea. And that’s what doesn’t make sense to me.

King: How would you buy Diprivan?

Klein: Well, you can get it from an anesthesiologist.

King: Did Michael tell you he used Diprivan?

Klein: I knew at one point that he was using Diprivan when he was on tour in Germany. And so he was using it, with an anesthesiologist, to go to sleep at night. And I told him he was absolutely insane. I said you have to understand that this drug, you can’t repeatedly take.

King: How could a reasonable anesthesiologist give that to someone other than prior to surgery?

Klein: Because I have to tell you, there are certain people in this world who are not reasonable.

King: Are you surprised Diprivan was found in his home, supposedly?

Klein: I am very shocked by it.

King: Did you ever see any IV type equipment in his house?

Klein: Never.

King: What is vitiligo?

Klein: It’s a loss of pigment cells. It’s an autoimmune disease and lupus is an autoimmune disease. And they tend to go together, because you make antibodies against your pigment cells.

King: Did Michael have it?

Klein: Absolutely.

King: Do black people have it more than white people?

Klein: No. But it’s just more visible on black people, because they have dark skin.

King: How bad was his?

Klein: Oh, his was bad because he began to get a totally speckled look over his body.

King: So let’s clear up something. He was not someone desirous of being white?

Klein: No. Michael was black. He was very proud of his black heritage. He changed the world for black people.

King: What you can tell us about his changing face?

Klein: When I met him, he had done a decent bit of surgery by then.

King: Did you ever say to Michael, we’re going too far?

Klein: I stopped him from going to the surgeon because I said this isn’t working anymore, you have to stop it. And what I spent the last part of the year doing is rebuilding a lot of things that I thought were done poorly.

King: Is it true that he wanted to look like Peter Pan?

Klein: I don’t think he wanted to look like Peter Pan. I didn’t see him implanting wings on the back of his back or doing anything like that, right?

King: All right, what about the nose?

Klein: The nose was a very special thing, because his father and his brothers supposedly, from what I’ve read, made fun of his nose all the time. So he was very sensitive to the nose. And…

King: What was wrong with his nose?

Klein: I originally didn’t think there was much wrong with his nose. I thought he had a nice-looking nose. But it got to the point where it was far too thin. It didn’t look natural to me.

King: Now, you helped him rebuild it?

Klein: I rebuilt it, yes.

King: Now, the Debbie Rowe part of the story. She was your nurse, right?

Klein: Yes.

King: They met in your office?

Klein: Yes.

King: Was that a real love affair?

Klein: I don’t know what love is in that sense of the imagination. I think that she loves him very much. She admired him very much.

King: It was not a sexual relationship?

Klein: I think they did have sex.

King: You do?

Klein: Yes, I really do, [but] I can’t guarantee that. I think they did have sex in their relationship.

King: You think Michael ever had sex to father the children?

Klein: I don’t know that answer, because I would think that it’s possible that he did. You can’t guarantee that. You can only guarantee things you see.

King: Now, what about all the rumors about you and the fathering of those children?

Klein: Here’s the most important thing. Michael loved those children as a father. Those children loved him as a father. As far as I am concerned, that’s the most important grouping that is.

King: That’s not answering the question.

Klein: No, because I’m not going to answer it the way you want me to answer it, because …

King: Well, you can say no.

Klein: I can say no, then. I will say no if that’s what you want to hear.

King: No, I want to hear what you know.

Klein: What I will tell you is I think what’s most important thing about this whole thing, to end this thing, is that the most important thing in who the father is … who the children want their father to be. And I will tell you this, I will say no, because the most important person to these children is how Michael loved them and how he loved his children and how they loved him. … I still can’t answer it absolutely one way or another.

King: So that means you donated sperm? Watch Klein address fatherhood issue »

Klein: I once donated sperm. I don’t know that you have to know…

King: You donated to him.

Klein: No, absolutely not.

King: Oh, you donated sperm to a sperm bank.

Klein: Once, to a sperm bank. But I don’t think I should go over my legal affairs, because I think to the best of my knowledge, I’m not the father. I want to tell you that this discussion, however, is between Michael, his children and this person. It’s not to be discussed who the father is over national television.

King: You don’t feel you have to take a DNA test to prove anything?

Klein: If they want me to take a DNA test, they can have my DNA. I don’t care at this point. My concern is his kids because I’ve never met children like this. These are the brightest children I’ve ever met, the best behaved children I’ve ever met. I don’t want to destroy this relationship in any way, shape or form. I’ll tell you this, no matter what, I will protect these children.

King: Did you go to the memorial service?

Klein: I couldn’t, I watched it on television and it was still too emotional for me.

King: How did the story, you think, surface about you and fatherhood? Where did that come from?

Klein: I don’t have any idea whether it came from … Debbie Rowe, I have no idea.

King: Could it have come from Debbie Rowe?

Klein: Absolutely, because I phoned her as soon as Michael passed away. My greatest concern was what was going to happen to the children.

King: Do you think she should get custody?

Klein: I don’t know if she should get custody. I’m very worried that the custody may go into a situation that is incorrect. I think the most important thing is there’s this woman Grace who was their nanny, who is incredible. She should remain their nanny and help raise the children.

King: Have you gone to see the family?

Klein: I have not gone to see the family because I didn’t want to go see the family because I had difficulty with Jesse Jackson because I don’t know him very well nor Al Sharpton who I didn’t know very well. And once the family invites me to visit them, I’ll most certainly visit them so I get to see the children.

Uri Geller British TV

Webmaster — Tue, 12 May 2009 05:51:48 +0000

Part 1 Above – Part 2 & 3 Below

Part 3

Uri Geller pays tribute to the star, remembering their long friendship, recollecting past conversations and presenting previously unseen footage from his private archive, including Michael Jackson’s midnight shopping spree in Harrods and a trip to Exeter City FC. Also including scenes from Geller’s wedding vow renewal ceremony, where the singer was the best man. Following the death of Michael Jackson, a British television station aired this interview with Geller regarding his relationship with Jackson (though it is strongly believed he had not had contact with Michael Jackson since 2003). This documentary aired July 26, 2009.

Uri, a believer in the paranormal, website is at http://site.uri-geller.com/

Uri Geller Freud^[1], commonly Uri Geller Hebrew: אורי גלר‎, born Gellér György (Hungarian name)^[2] on 20 December 1946 is an Israeli-British performer of magic tricks, which as part of his act he has claimed are a result of psychic abilities^[3], most notably “to be able to bend spoons with the power of his mind.” He used to claim that this was entirely due to “psychic” ability but now prefers the designation of “mystifier.”^[4]

Career

Geller rose to fame after performing a series of televised performances, demonstrating what he claimed to be psychokinesis, dowsing, and telepathy.^[11] His performance included bending spoons, describing hidden drawings, and making watches stop or run faster. Geller said he performs these feats through will power and the strength of his mind.^[12] Critics have said that his performances can be duplicated using stage magic tricks.^[13]

In 1975 Geller published his first autobiography, My Story, and acknowledged his performances were usually sprinkled with magicians’ tricks because if the spoon bending didn’t work, his show would be pretty dull. Since then he has been heavily debunked by skeptics such as James Randi, who have demonstrated how his feats could be duplicated through the magician’s art.

Geller performed regularly both in theaters and on television from the 1970s until the mid-1990s, when an Israeli TV documentary exposed him as an entertainer rather than using psychic forces. One slow motion shot revealed him producing a small magnet from behind his ear to influence a compass needle. The Canadian journalist and illusionist Randall James Hamilton Zwinge (James Randi) also exposed him as a fraud, and as a result of the negative attention Geller abruptly canceled his show on Israeli television and avoided all media attention and performances until his 2007 reality show comeback.

In recent years, Geller has been a part of several television programs. Geller starred in the 2001 horror film Sanitarium, directed by Johannes Roberts and James Eaves. In May 2002, he appeared as a contestant on the first series of the British reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, where he finished eighth place. In 2005 Geller starred in “Uri’s Haunted Cities: Venice,” a XI Pictures/Lion TV production for Sky One (which led to a behind the scenes release in early 2008 called “Cursed”). Both productions were directed by Jason Figgis. In early 2007 Geller hosted a reality show in Israel called The Successor (היורש), where the contestants performed magic tricks and Geller was accused of “trickery.”^[14] In July 2007 NBC signed Geller and Criss Angel for Phenomenon, which started airing on October 24 to search for the next great mentalist, which contestant Mike Super won.^[15] Geller also hosts the TV show The Next Uri Geller, which started on 8 January 2008, and is broadcast by Pro7 in Germany.^[16] In February 2008, Geller began a show on Dutch Television called De Nieuwe Uri Geller, which shares a similar format to its German counterpart. The goal of the program is to find the best mentalist in The Netherlands. He started the same show in Hungary from 29 March 2008 (A kiválasztott in Hungarian). During the show Geller speaks both in Hungarian and in English. Geller also performs his standard routines of making stopped watches start, spoons jump from televisions, and tables move. Geller co-produced the TV show Book of Knowledge, released in April 2008.^[17]

Paranormal claims

Geller claims his feats are the result of paranormal powers^[11] given to him by extraterrestrials,^[24] but critics such as James Randi argue and have demonstrated that Geller’s tricks can be replicated with stage magic and are simply “parlour tricks.”^[13]

As early as 1970 in his home country, Geller was termed a “fraud” for claiming his feats were telepathic.^[10] In addition, a 1974 article detailed how Geller got away with trickery and exposed his “eleven tricks.”^[25] The article alleged that his manager Shipi Shtrang (whom he called his brother at the time) and Shipi’s sister Hannah Shtrang secretly helped in Geller’s performances.^[25] Eventually, Geller married Hannah and they had children.^[26]

In 1975, two scientists (Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff from the Stanford Research Institute) said they were convinced that Geller’s demonstrations were genuine. ^[27] However, since that time, notable scientists, various magicians, and skeptics have suggested possible ways in which Geller could have tricked the scientists using misdirection techniques.^[13]^[28] These critics, who include Richard Feynman, James Randi and Martin Gardner, have accused him of using his demonstrations fraudulently outside of the entertainment business.^[29]^[30] Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, who was an amateur magician, wrote in Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (1985) that Geller was unable to bend a key for him and his son.^[31] Some of his claims have been described by watchmakers as restarting stopped mechanical clocks by moving them around.^[27]

Geller is well-known for his sports predictions. Skeptic James Randi and British tabloid The Sun (among others) have demonstrated the teams and players he chooses to win most often lose.^[32] John Atkinson explored “predictions” Geller made over 30 years and concluded “Uri more often than not scuppered the chances of sportsmen and teams he was trying to help.”^[32] This was pointed out by one of Randi’s readers, who called it “The Curse of Uri Geller.”^[33]

In another notable instance, in 1992, he was paid to investigate the kidnapping of Hungarian model Helga Farkas, and, although he predicted she would be found alive and in good health, she was murdered by her kidnappers.^[34]^[35]

During the Euro 96 football game between Scotland and England at Wembley, Geller, who was hovering overhead in a helicopter, claimed that he managed to move the ball from the penalty spot when Scotland’s Gary McAllister was about to take a penalty kick. The player ended up missing the chance to equalise for Scotland. On television replays, it was shown that the ball did move before the kick; however, if Geller’s claim was true, the game would have been officially ruled null and void.

In 2007, skeptics observed that Geller appeared to have dropped his 35-year-old claims that he does not perform magic tricks. Randi highlighted a quotation from the November 2007 issue of the magazine Magische Welt (Magic World) in which Geller said: “I’ll no longer say that I have supernatural powers. I am an entertainer. I want to do a good show. My entire character has changed.”^[36]

In a later interview, Geller told Telepolis, “I said to this German magazine, so what I did say, that I changed my character, to the best of my recollection, and I no longer say that I do supernatural things. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have powers. It means that I don’t say ‘it’s supernatural’, I say ‘I’m a mystifier!’ That’s what I said. And the sceptics turned it around and said, ‘Uri Geller said he’s a magician!’ I never said that.”^[37] In that interview, Geller further explained that when he is asked how he does his stunts, he tells children to “Forget the paranormal. Forget spoon bending! Instead of that, focus on school! Become a positive thinker! Believe in yourself and create a target! Go to university! Never smoke! And never touch drugs! And think of success!”^[37]

In February 2008, he said in the TV show The Next Uri Geller (a German version of The Successor) that he did not have any supernatural powers, but he winked when he said it.^[38]

Parallels to stage magic

Geller admits “Sure, there are magicians who can duplicate [my performances] through trickery.”^[39] He claims that even though his demonstrations could have been done using trickery, he uses psychic powers to achieve his results.^[39] Skeptic James Randi has stated that if Geller is truly using his mind to perform these feats, “he is doing it the hard way.”^[40] Stage magicians note several methods of creating the illusion of a spoon spontaneously bending. Most common is the practice of misdirection, an underlying principle of many stage magic tricks.^[41]

According to Randi, there are many ways in which a bent spoon can be presented to an audience as to give the appearance it was done with supernatural powers. One way is through one or several brief moments of distraction in which a magician can physically bend a spoon unseen by the audience.^[40] Then the bend is gradually revealed creating the illusion that the spoon is bending before the viewers’ eyes.^[40] Another way, if a performer does not bend the spoon with force during the performance is by pre-bending them (for example by heating them) and thus reducing the amount of force later needed to be applied.^[40] It is also possible to chemically bend the spoon by applying a corrosive to one edge so that the spoon weakens and bends in a set period of time.

Geller claims in telepathic drawing demonstrations that he is able to read subjects’ minds as they draw a picture. Although in these demonstrations he cannot see the picture being drawn, he is sometimes present in the room and on those occasions can see the subjects as they draw. Critics argue this may allow Geller to infer common shapes from pencil movement and sound, with the power of suggestion doing the rest.^[41] James Randi has also suggested that Geller uses tiny mirrors held in his palm in order to see the drawings, noting how in one performance of this trick he both turned around when the participant commenced drawing and, seemingly unnecessarily, covered his eyes with his hands, but no one has seen these ‘mirrors’.

Geller’s “watch fixing” abilities do not impress some watch makers, who note “many supposedly broken watches had merely been stopped by gummy oil, and simply holding them in the hand would warm the oil enough to soften it and allow watches to resume ticking.”^[27]

In November 2008, Geller accepted an award during a convention of magicians, the Services to Promotion of Magic Award from the Berglas Foundation. In his acceptance speech, Geller said that if he hadn’t had psychic powers then he “must be the greatest” to have been able to fool journalists, scientists and Berglas himself.^[42]

Scientific testing

Geller’s performances of drawing duplication and cutlery bending usually take place under informal conditions such as television interviews. During his early career he allowed some scientists to investigate his claims. A study by Stanford Research Institute (now known as SRI International) conducted by researchers Harold E. Puthoff and Russell Targ concluded ^[43] that he had clearly performed successfully enough to warrant further serious study, and the “Geller-effect” was coined to refer to the particular type of abilities they felt had been demonstrated.^[44]

In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, Randi wrote: “Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ, who studied Mr. Geller at the Stanford Research Institute were aware, in one instance at least, that they were being shown a magician’s trick by Geller.”^[45] Moreover, Randi explained, “Their protocols for this ‘serious’ investigation of the powers claimed by Geller were described by Dr. Ray Hyman, who investigated the project on behalf of a the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, as ‘sloppy and inadequate.’”^[45] However, the only tests of Geller observed by Hyman at SRI were those performed by himself and his two colleagues. Hyman did not observe any testing by Puthoff and Targ. Puthoff and Targ had suggested that Hyman and co. visit SRI and conduct their own experiments on Geller. This they did, and Hyman and his colleagues spent ‘a couple of hours’ performing their own experiments on Geller independent of Puthoff and Targ. Puthoff and Targ observed and video taped these experiments. According to Puthoff and Targ, the experiments performed by Hyman were conducted in an ‘informal manner’ and ‘largely uncontrolled’. ^[46]

Critics of this testing include psychologists Dr. David Marks and Dr. Richard Kammann. They published a description of how Geller could have cheated in an informal test of his so-called psychic powers in 1977.^[47] Their 1978 article in Nature and 1980 book The Psychology of the Psychic (2nd ed. 2000) described how a normal explanation was possible for Geller’s alleged powers of telepathy. Marks and Kammann found evidence that while at SRI Geller was allowed to peek through a hole in the laboratory wall separating Geller from the drawings he was being invited to reproduce. The drawings he was asked to reproduce were placed on a wall opposite the peep hole which the investigators Targ and Puthoff had stuffed with cotton gauze. In addition to this error, the investigators had also allowed Geller access to a two-way intercom enabling Geller to listen to the investigators’ conversation during the time when they were choosing and/or displaying the target drawings. These basic errors indicate the high importance of ensuring that psychologists, magicians or other people with an in-depth knowledge of perception, who are trained in methods for blocking sensory cues, be present during the testing of psychics.

The Tonight Show failure

Geller was unable to bend any tableware during a 1973 appearance on The Tonight Show in which the spoons he was to bend had been pre-selected by Johnny Carson. Earlier in his career, Carson had been an amateur stage magician, and he consulted Randi for advice on how to thwart potential trickery.^[24] In 1993 Randi explained in “Secrets of the Psychics” for the NOVA television series: “I was asked to prevent any trickery. I told them to provide their own props and not to let Geller or his people anywhere near them.” A clip of this incident was televised on the NBC show Phenomenon. This two-minute clip has been widely circulated on the Internet since James Randi acquired permission to use it from NBC, and Carson paid for the videotape transfer.^[48] In his television special Secrets of the Psychics, Geller is shown failing at psychic “hand dowsing,” not metal bending.^{[clarification needed]}

Controversial performances

As part of a mass demonstration, Geller’s photograph appeared on the cover of the magazine ESP with the caption “On Sept. 1, 1976 at 11pm E.D.T. THIS COVER CAN BEND YOUR KEYS.” According to editor Howard Smukler, over 300 positive responses were received, many including bent objects and detailed descriptions of the surrounding circumstances including the bending of the key to the city of Providence, Rhode Island. ^[49]

Noel Edmonds was a television prankster who often used hidden cameras to record celebrities in Candid Camera-like situations for his television programme Noel’s House Party. In 1996, Edmonds planned a stunt in which shelves would fall from the walls of a room while Geller was in it. The cameras recorded footage of Geller from angles he was not expecting, and they showed Geller grasping a spoon firmly with both hands as he stood up to display a bend in it.^[50] Geller later claimed that he knew that Edmonds’s crew had been filming, and that he made the shelves fall off the wall with his psychic powers.^{[citation needed]}

In late 2006 and early 2007 Geller starred in The Successor, an Israeli television show to find a “successor” to him. During one segment, Geller tried to move a compass with paranormal abilities. However, video cameras caught Geller with magnet-on-thumb (magnets cause compasses to move in the direction of the magnet).^[51]^[14] Geller then tried to force YouTube to remove the clips that showed the unflattering thumb.^[52]^[51]

Geller performed this trick in 2000 on ABC TV’s The View, which was then duplicated by Randi on the same show the following week.^[53]

On the television show Phenomenon on 31 October 2007, Criss Angel challenged Geller and contestant Jim Callahan to prove they had supernatural abilities.^[54] Angel pulled two envelopes from his pocket and said, “I will give you a million dollars of my personal money right now if either one of you can tell me specific details of what’s in here right now.”^[54] After some shouting, Angel and Callahan then moved toward each other. Geller and the show’s host, Tim Vincent, moved quickly to keep them apart. Shortly thereafter, the show cut to a commercial break.

On 21 November 2007, Criss Angel again offered Geller $1,000,000 on the finale of NBC’s nationally televised Phenomenon.^[55] Geller said, “although we were born one day apart, I was born on the twentieth December and you were on the nineteenth … there are a lot of years between us … forty years ago you were one year old when I came out with my spoon bending.”^[55] As Geller was speaking Angel said, “I told you that, correct” and then interrupted Geller to reveal the numbers nine-one-one.^[55] Then Angel concluded, “If somebody could predict, tell us on nine-ten that 9/11 was going to happen, maybe that could have prevented it.”

Omer Bhatti

Webmaster — Sun, 10 May 2009 14:56:35 +0000

Is he Michael’s son?

In an interview with TV One, Joe Jackson asserts Omer Bhatti, a 25-year-old dancer and aspiring rapper from Oslo, Norway who once traveled the world with Michael Jackson, lived at the singer’s Neverland ranch and was referred to by the Jackson family as “Michael J,” is the pop icon’s estranged fourth child.

Asked if he knew Bhatti was Jackson’s son, Joe Jackson said, “Yes, I knew he had another son, yes I did.”

He added: “He looks like a Jackson, he can dance like a Jackson. This boy is fantastic dancer — matter of fact, he teaches dance.”

Bhatti came under renewed scrutiny earlier this month, when the British newspaper The Sun reported Bhatti is seeking a DNA test to find out if he’s really Jackson’s child.

Bhatti has features similar to Jackson and shares an uncanny resemblance to his youngest son Prince II, known as Blanket.

Not everyone connected to the family is as certain as Joe Jackson that Bhatti is the pop icon’s flesh and blood. But one thing is for sure: Bhatti, who was seated on the front row at Jackson’s memorial service next to Jackson’s children and siblings, occupies a special place in the Jackson family.

In Vienna earlier this month, Jackson’s brother Jermaine Jackson said Bhatti would be welcomed into the family, if he’s proven a Jackson.

However, Michael Jackson’s rumored love child, Omer Bhatti, has revealed how the star made him his “honorary” son after inviting him to move in with him years ago.

Omer Bhatti, 25, hails from Norway, and lived at Neverland ranch for eight years. Rumors say Jackson fathered him during a one-night stand with his mom, Pia.

But he says there is no biological link between them, despite the rumors that he is Jackson’s secret son. He says the music legend was just his “best friend.”

Omer, who still lives in Norway, reveals that Jackson used to say that he was “like a son” to him and thinks that must be the reason for the love child rumors.

Confiding in a close friend from Oslo, Omer Bhatti said: “Michael Jackson is not my father. He and I were just very, very close. He was my best friend.”

Omer was a guest of honor at Jackson’s memorial service in L.A. two weeks ago – sitting along with the pop legend’s closest relatives in the front row.

“Michael always used to say I was like a son to him,” he said. “But my true parents are in Norway. The reason I was asked to sit with his family at the memorial service is because I was Michael’s closest friend – not because I am his son.”

You can follow him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/theomerbhatti.