The Michael Jackson Story (2026) s01e02 Episode Script
Episode 2
1
This is my my inspiration.
Real quick.
The number one artist in the world!
That level of megastardom is not healthy.
People are not gods.
Tonight, Jackson is wanted by police
of multiple felony counts of child
molestation.
The Jackson machine just keeps right
on rolling.
Sony Corporation believes it has a
profitable partner
in Michael Jackson.
Together, they could make $1 billion.
As NBC's Mike Jensen reports tonight,
teach your kids to sing.
It's the kind of contract that takes
your breath away.
A projected $1 billion for six Michael
Jackson albums
plus feature films, videos and video
games.
Michael, in the 1980s,
you had the largest selling album in
history with Thriller.
Now, with Dangerous, you've given us
the fastest selling album of your
career.
We're prouder than ever to have you
part of the Sony Music family.
The thrilling fact is that the best is
definitely yet to come.
When I joined Sony, Michael Jackson
was the biggest star in the world.
He was the guy.
I don't know any other way to describe
it.
I mean, we all lived through it.
The Michael Jackson world tour is on
the road again.
It was incredibly exciting.
He was selling out stadiums, making
record money.
He was the franchise. I mean, let's be
honest.
We are all in the business of
succeeding.
And when you're working in a company
like Sony Music,
you want Michael Jackson to succeed.
Michael!
- Michael!
My name is Rosibel Smith,
and for 31 years I was employed by the
Los Angeles Police Department.
In 1993,
while working juvenile division at the
LAPD,
I was working the Sexually Exploited
Child Unit.
I was advised by my supervisor,
who was the officer in charge of the
unit,
that a case had come in involving a
young boy,
who was 13 years of age,
and that the perpetrator was Michael
Jackson.
I was a little, um, in disbelief
that it was Michael Jackson doing
this,
because I grew up watching Michael
Jackson,
I knew the Jackson 5 cartoons when I
was a kid,
and I really enjoyed his music.
But we had a job to do,
and that job was to go out and just
handle it
just like any other case at that time.
Our role was to find out if Mr
Jackson
had committed the crime of
sexual molestation against children.
And on the same token,
we have to find out if the children,
they were telling the truth.
We had to interview the victim.
The victim had actually met Michael
Jackson at a restaurant.
He was very, very little.
Then years later,
that relationship grew and they began
to visit each other.
The victim was alleging that Michael
would oftentimes
rub his body against his body.
He alleged that Michael Jackson
fondled him and masturbated him.
Um
He alleged that Michael liked to have
his nipples
rubbed, squeezed.
Kissing.
Then they had graduated to oral
copulation,
they bathed together
and to the point where eventually
Michael Jackson consumed his semen.
We had heard on the grapevine that
there were these
allegations circulating.
And it was a shock to everybody.
Yeah, we knew he was hanging with
kids,
but I saw him hang with the kids
and I saw that it was completely
innocent.
I saw he was playing games with
them.
I saw the kids wanting to hang with
him.
Quicksand up ahead!
I really hoped the allegations
weren't true.
The feeling was trying to contain it.
Obviously, we were thinking of, you
know,
the immediate impact on the tour
because you got to keep the business
going, the tour going,
the album sales, everything and the
impact of that.
So it was pretty It was pretty
tense.
We went into crisis mode, both with
our team and the PR team.
But ultimately, the story was so huge
it was going to get out no matter what
we did.
There was no stopping it.
In Southern California, the press,
police, lawyers
and private investigators are in orbit
tonight over an investigation
of child abuse allegations involving
superstar Michael Jackson.
There's still no comment from
Michael Jackson this morning
and Los Angeles Police aren't saying
much.
But they have confirmed reports of a
criminal investigation
of the pop superstar.
All hell broke loose.
Television station KNBC in Los
Angeles
first broke the story last night,
saying that a mother had alleged
Jackson abused her child.
August 17th, the Los Angeles Police
Department initiated
a criminal investigation of
entertainer Michael Jackson.
Every news channel, every hour,
the top story was Michael Jackson.
Confidential documents obtained by
NBC News
quoted the boy's reference to acts of
oral sex and masturbation.
The allegations now surfacing are
ugly enough
to shatter any icon's image.
Kids everywhere are talking about the
scandalous accusations,
hoping they're not true.
Has Michael Jackson ever molested a
child?
Ever done anything improper with a
child?
No, never. No, never.
That's crazy.
- Never.
My son is not guilty.
He'd need a trial.
These people aren't waiting. They're
trying to
Trying to They're trying him.
That's right. And I'm tired of it.
Open the window! Open
the window!
Everything was suddenly bad.
Everything was, um
..emotional.
Talking to Michael was different
because he was different.
Suddenly, he was no longer the happy
Michael that I used to talk to.
He sounded depressed.
I felt like it was over, like there
was no way he could come back
from these terrible things being said.
Eventually he came back to America.
We had the information from the victim
about
Michael's body,
and specifically the markings on his
body.
So the only way that a child would see
that
is if Michael was nude.
Then our unit prepared a search
warrant to search
or to view Michael's body,
and this included the genitals.
We explained to him, we have a
search warrant signed by the judge
to take pictures of your private
parts.
He said, "You assholes".
The outcome
was that evidence that was provided
by Jordan Chandler
..it was confirmed.
Can I help you?
Yeah, we'd like to talk to Michael
Jackson. Has he come back?
I have no comment, sir.
- No comment, huh?
I don't necessarily think he's
guilty,
but I don't necessarily think he's
innocent either,
because I don't know.
Well, I don't know if he's guilty or
not,
but I think that he needs to come back
and face the charges.
He's looking pretty guilty right now.
Michael!
- Michael!
There is real fear
tonight that the catastrophic
publicity will result in the
destruction of a $1 billion empire
and the ruin of a man.
Sony stock has fallen
because investors are very much
concerned that the huge investment
that they have in Michael Jackson is,
in fact, not going to pay off.
When the allegations surfaced
..I read them, watched them on TV,
like everyone else did
..and I felt that they were extremely
unfair.
Michael Jackson was unequivocally
the biggest artist in the company.
And if he's not succeeding
..guess what? Jobs get lost.
Is Michael Jackson going to make any
statement?
He's got a whole cadre of
international cameras there
every night.
Up to that point, Michael had been
laying low.
But once the allegations are out
there,
you can't take them back again.
And so we needed to get him in front
of the public
to unequivocally deny these
allegations.
Michael Jackson came out of
seclusion today
without leaving home.
The pop star angrily rejected
accusations he molested a young boy
and lashed out at police and the
media.
There have been many disgusting
statements
made recently concerning allegations
of improper conduct on my part.
These statements about me are totally
false.
At every opportunity, the media has
dissected
and manipulated these allegations to
reach their own conclusions.
I ask all of you to wait and hear the
truth
before you label or condemn me.
Don't treat me like a criminal because
I am innocent.
Jackson's defiant declaration of
innocence
comes as the latest counterpoint in a
case
that's saturated with rumour, innuendo
and almost daily revelations about the
singer.
Separating fact from fiction can be
difficult.
For years I have been working for
Michael,
who unfortunately has been the victim
of this and other types
of extortion attempts.
The demand for $20 million was made
and presented.
It was flatly and consistently
refused.
Many people try to extort Michael
because of who he is
and, you know, the amount of money he
has.
And these people wanted $20 million.
As far as the victim is concerned,
I did not get anything as far as any,
like, money motivation.
However, the parents were a different
story.
The Hollywood Reporter, an
entertainment trade paper,
said today that the boy's father had
negotiated with Jackson
for a $20 million movie deal.
The father is a prominent Beverly
Hills dentist
and part-time screenwriter.
CBS News has obtained a taped phone
conversation.
The voice is reportedly the father of
the 13-year-old boy.
The father did in fact ask for money
to keep the situation quiet.
So it did
..hurt the case a little bit.
I think it's pathetic that somebody
would go after someone like
Michael Jackson with such vigour, and
it's obvious what they want.
And it seems obvious to me that he is
innocent.
I know that there's a lot of people
in this business that try
and take advantage of people and, you
know,
I'm sure that it will all work out.
And I'm sure that he's innocent, you
know?
But only God knows the truth, you
know?
More and more, people started to
question the allegations.
So the management team started
capitalising on that momentum.
The main strategy was to, um,
endear Michael
to the black community
and to get the black community back on
Michael's side.
Because once the black community's
behind you, you got it
because, you know, we're a big group
and race relations at that time,
it was a hotbed.
Parts of Los Angeles
erupted in unrest
after a jury acquitted four white Los
Angeles police officers
over the videotaped beating of Rodney
King, a black motorist.
What happened with Rodney King, it
doesn't make no sense to me.
They treating black people like we're
dogs, you know?
Like, we can't get nowhere.
We have no rights that the white man
respect.
Race is tearing
America apart.
Now, more than ever, minority
Americans believe
there are two kinds of justice -
the white kind and the kind they get.
Someone was friends with this
African-American attorney
named Johnnie Cochran.
And so he suggested that Johnnie would
be the best person
for Michael's case,
not only because he's black, but also
because he was brilliant.
Mr Cochran, let me start with you.
Why do you think it was important
for Michael Jackson to speak out now?
Well, I think, Katie, that after
months of being barraged
with negative attacks, it was time.
Everyone who was on Michael's team
knew that having a black face
as the front man for the defence
would, um
..bring the black community to
Michael's defence as well.
The king of pop, rock and soul - Mr
Michael Jackson.
Michael's first public appearance
after his statement
about the allegations was at the NAACP
Image Awards,
and that's the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People.
I was in the audience when Michael
walked out on that stage.
The house went crazy.
Everyone was in support of Michael.
No-one wanted to believe these
allegations.
For decades, the NAACP had stood at
the forefront
of the struggle for equal justice
under the law
for all people in our land.
And his speech was based on being a
proud black man
and how, you know, we have to stick
together
against racial inequality and
injustice.
Everyone is presumed to be innocent
and totally innocent
until they are charged with a crime
and then convicted by a jury of their
peers.
It was such a powerful speech.
With all of the stuff that was
happening to the black community
..it felt like Michael's innocence was
important
and it was what we needed.
Everybody wanted him to be back on
top.
The family of a teenage boy is
dropping its charge
that Michael Jackson molested the boy.
Larry Carroll tells us the civil suit
is now over.
We wish to jointly announce a mutual
resolution of this lawsuit.
This boy wanted to get on with his
life.
When that case was settled,
and I believe that the pay-out for
that settlement was 20 million,
or maybe a little more over $20
million,
the family accepted the settlement.
The resolution of this case is in no
way an admission of guilt
by Michael Jackson.
Being a megastar like he was,
he had the advantage with money, with
attorneys,
with really coming out and doing
pretty much whatever he wanted
in order to defend himself.
So that was pretty much the end of our
case.
I felt bad because Rosie and I,
we were certain that we had a good
case,
but when the victim doesn't want to
testify
..there is a saying that says "no
victim, no crime."
So, nothing that we could do.
Read all about it! Hollywood sex
scandals!
Heidi's little black book.
The Hollywood Hooker and Heidi-gate.
Loni Anderson says, "Burt's a dud in
bed."
Uh-oh!
In this billion dollar business,
there's only one story
that's guaranteed - a big name in
trouble.
That's the best news of all.
But of course, the one that's
grabbing the headlines right now
are the allegations about Michael
Jackson,
the biggest superstar in the world.
Michael Jackson is our window into
the new news business
and the magazine shows, talk shows,
news chats
that feed off tabloid truth.
Michael Jackson,
violator or victim?
What do you think about Michael?
- Well
No, I think it's true.
- He settled for all that money.
Yeah.
- He settled for all that amount of
money.
I think something's up when he settles
for over $10 million
to shut someone up.
I don't know, it's a shame, because
I think Michael has been dragged
through the mud a lot. You know, I
don't know if he's a victim
or if he did it or not, but like he's
lost that wholesome image
forever, you know?
The allegations really changed how
the public, I think, thought of him.
And Michael had to kind of
rehabilitate that image.
People had been obsessed with
Michael's sexuality his whole life.
And his managers thought it would be
cool if the press found out
that Michael had a girlfriend.
Michael and Lisa started dating
soon after the allegations had been
settled.
Michael Joseph Jackson.
- Lisa Marie Presley.
He knew that marrying Elvis
Presley's daughter
would be headlines everywhere.
Everyone would be talking about that,
and they'd no longer talk about this
horrible time in his life.
With this ring I do wed.
You've heard the talk for weeks.
It's surprising and it's apparently
true.
The daughter of Elvis Presley
confirms today
she is now married to Michael Jackson.
Let's go to Vince Dementri in New
York. Vince.
John, hopefully you can see behind
me the throngs of stargazers
right behind me. We are just outside
of the world-famous
Trump Tower, where Donald Trump tells
us, yes, indeed,
that Lisa Marie Presley and her new
beau,
Michael Jackson, are holed up here on
the top floor.
Well, I'm very, very happy for them.
I think it's great.
They're very happy
and I think everybody's happy.
They're great people.
I first met Michael in 1988.
Michael was on tour in Germany at that
time.
And so they called me and said Michael
is a big fan of mine
and he would love to meet me.
And we hit it off.
And he got to know the whole family.
I also knew Lisa Marie Presley
because she spent lots of time in Los
Angeles.
So I knew them separately.
And then later Lisa came to me one day
and said,
"Look, Michael is hitting on me
"and he actually wants to marry me.
"What do you think? Should I do that?"
So I said, "Go for it."
For him, it was also he liked Lisa
because she was the daughter of The
King.
So he was also a king - King of Pop,
yeah?
This is a big deal.
We had never seen him get romantic
with a woman like this.
Ever.
I'm very happy to be here.
And just think, nobody thought this
would last.
It did work in the way that Michael
wanted it to work,
in that everyone was talking about it.
But at the same time the public wasn't
really buying it.
It's all a cover-up.
It's all a cover-up from the little
child thing.
That's what I think it is, and that's
about it.
You don't think it's true love?
- No.
I think it's a sham.
Heterosexual marriage would certainly
take some of the heat off
being accused of being a homosexual
paedophile.
But Michael and Lisa were only
together for around 18 months.
It's splitsville for Graceland and
Neverland.
Many of you may find this hard to
believe,
but Lisa Marie Presley and Michael
Jackson are getting a divorce.
So, Tony, it looks like the gloved
one is no longer the loved one.
Oh, such a sad story.
Sorry to hear that, sorry to see that.
What a shock, what a surprise.
It was kind of hard to watch.
He was trying to maintain his position
as like
the biggest superstar in the world,
and it wasn't quite working.
This is a man who changed the music
industry.
He is a musical genius.
And people don't think of him in that
sense any more.
They think of him as a freak.
Is there any way that he can lift
himself out of this trough
that he has largely dug for himself?
When he was working on the HIStory
album,
Michael called me and said,
"Look, I want to use some of your
paintings for the artwork."
That was the painting that he really
liked.
And then spontaneously he wrote this
poem directly on the picture.
"With such confusion, don't it make
you want to scream?
"You try to cope with every lie
"To scrutinise somebody
"Please have mercy
"Because I just can't take it."
If you listen to the lyrics and the
songs
and the overall vibe of the tracks on
HIStory,
they're very aggressive, they're very
defensive.
Even the Scream video is very dark for
Michael.
Then for the HIStory album promo,
Michael chose a dictator-esque image.
He's got these military troops
marching behind him
and a godlike aura.
That's what he wanted to push out
there.
Still on top, still, you know,
the biggest pop superstar in the
history of music.
Tower Bridge was
raised this afternoon
to allow a 30 foot statue of rock star
Michael Jackson
to pass along the Thames on a barge.
I think it's brilliant.
It's just the best thing that's
happened on the River Thames.
He's a mega star, yeah, they call
him the King of Pop
so if he can afford to do this, why
not?
For the HIStory tour,
Michael decided to focus on his fan
base abroad.
And his popularity continued over in
Europe and the UK, Asia
versus the US, where it was kind of
slipping a little bit
because of the allegations and all the
media circus around that.
Michael! Michael! Michael!
Michael! Michael!
It's like a dream come true.
I touched him!
I'm not going to wash my hand.
I remember this one time I was with
Michael in Budapest
..and the hotel was surrounded,
under siege by thousands of young
people.
And what he did, he'd draw a curtain
a little bit,
and then he had his glove on,
and people screeched. It was like an
explosion down there.
He was laughing and said, "Oh, my
God, look!
"Did you hear? Do you hear?"
I think there's a deep desire to
look up for people
that are bigger than life, yeah?
As role models or as somebody you can
worship.
I mean, I think that's what mankind
needs.
But I think the danger is
..when everybody worships you,
is that you start to believe it in a
way that
you start to worship yourself, and I
think that's very dangerous.
Can I have a hug, please? Please,
may I hug you?
Please?
I love you.
- I love you more.
But he was enjoying that. He liked
to have that effect on people.
Love you.
Sir, sir. This way.
Germany loves you, Michael.
- I love Germany.
Oh, we love you.
OK, OK, OK.
- Stay on the side.
- OK, of course.
Stay in that corner. Stay in that
corner.
Stay in that corner.
- OK. Michael?
Michael?
Step back. Please.
Where's your
camera?
- Yes, yes.
Please.
Please. Please. Please.
Come on. OK, please.
Go, go.
OK?
When I met Michael,
I saw that he was addicted to fame.
I was a well-known rabbi
and Michael and I had become friends.
Michael really needed to be loved,
and he chose to be loved in
..really, in an unhealthy way,
which was through superstardom
and the devotion of fans.
Sir, you're in the way!
I said to him, "You've made the
mistake of substituting love
"for this, this cheap forgery called
attention.
"And attention is never a good
substitute for love.
"It's never real."
This attention became an addiction
because he interpreted it as love
and it became a monster.
I felt that one of my principal
objectives
was to tether him back to humility.
And so our conversations became kind
of therapy.
He wanted every word
recorded for posterity.
We recorded it on these two flimsy
dicta machines,
you know, they're on these tiny little
tapes.
Michael! Michael!
Michael! Michael!
He needed something to live for.
And as he explained it to me,
he always wanted to be around kids.
He loved the innocence of a child,
he loved the creativity of a child
because for him, the adult world was
people wanting money from him
and people wanting to know him for all
the wrong reasons.
At that time in his life
..I think that Michael wanted to be a
father.
Because kids, as long as you give
them unconditional love,
they really give it back.
They are mirror reflections of the
love that we give them.
And he was going to give them the
greatest love, and they did.
And that's what happened.
Ooh!
Something to wear tonight.
- Teletubbies.
Who's that?
Lala.
- That's right, it's Lala.
I think having children gave him a
renewed sense of purpose,
a renewed sense of energy and
direction.
That's cute.
That's a great shot.
- It is. It is.
It's OK.
I want to be
successful at being a great father.
I want I want them to say we felt
completely loved
and he was, like, incredible.
That's my biggest dreams, one day for
Prince and Paris
just to say to somebody, "He was the
best dad."
One, two, three.
Surprise!
Wooo!
I'd been working with Michael for
four years
by the time he had his children.
When Prince and Paris came along
..I saw a different, a different
person.
Can we do one where we all just
point at the camera like this?
OK.
- All of us.
His life was now about the children.
That was his priority.
And he was getting more and more
absolutely clear about his future.
He was saying, "Dieter"
.."I did everything I could do in my
life for the music,
"and I think I did it well, and
everybody made a lot of money.
"But new people coming,
"other music is coming."
And he had a feeling he will never be
successful like he was,
and he was fine with it.
Michael said he didn't want to be a
trained monkey forever.
It's over.
Will you give it to Howie? Come on,
let's do it.
But when you start not to do
what this, he called it system, wants,
then you're in trouble.
Let's make it three.
Sony was pushing him to continue his
career.
They were trying to get him to finish
this album, Invincible.
Wasn't my business but, you know,
screw the album.
We have to make your life healthy
again.
So there was a war for the soul of
Michael Jackson.
Sony Music was one of the biggest
labels in the world, hands down.
And with Michael,
well, there's a lot of money changing
hands.
So, yes, it's cut-throat.
But Sony Music was no more cut-throat
than any other label.
Michael's relationship was a
contentious one
with his record label.
I was there to help facilitate a
record
he was putting out, called Invincible,
which was his official last studio
record with Sony,
and things were going over budget.
We had rented out the entire floor
at the Plaza Hotel in New York.
And for anybody who doesn't know that,
that is extremely expensive, crazy.
And he wasn't even showing up for
things.
Michael!
A record company is there to make
money.
They are an investment firm in a way
who is invested in you to produce
something.
When we got the phone call that this
was, you know,
"How dare he? This was the most
expensive record we've ever made."
You know? And I'm like, "Oh, OK." I'm
like, "How much?"
"30 million." I'm like, ooh, sh!
So it was kind of It was a problem.
But everybody was really trying to get
him in tow
so we could make a deadline for album
release.
Thank you!
There's one time where I was asked
to pick up a package at a house
that apparently was being sold and is
empty,
and in the mailbox was this package.
And I opened it up and it happened to
be full of Demerol,
which is a prescription pain
medication,
but a lot of it.
It was a known thing that you don't
ask.
I said, "What's going?"
And I was like, "Oh, OK, um, never
mind."
But then he would go to the studio as
long as he had his magical pills.
But it was all so confusing at the
same time.
It wasn't I'm not there to look at
someone and unwrap the package.
I'm there to get records done, right?
There were so many people who were
reliant on him
to be the golden goose that lays eggs
again.
But he knew that path was corrosive.
It frightened me.
There was too much conflict going on
with him.
And I, I sensed and I saw that I was
losing my influence.
And I told him, "I'm not going to
watch you drive your life
"off a cliff and clap."
Invincible has sold two
million copies in six months
and that ain't invincible.
The flop of Invincible, along with a
general downturn in sales,
means that Sony's share price has
suffered of late.
Michael told me, "You know what?
"I can't do this any more."
Michael was done with the music
and with touring and all of this.
But Sony was not happy at all with
this.
So he knew he has to fight
to come out of this situation.
From my vantage point,
he got a tremendous amount of support
from Sony Music.
But you have to understand, they're
artists,
they're all narcissists.
They can't help themselves, OK?
If their record's not selling, it's
someone's fault.
You know, if their tour's not doing
well, it's someone's fault.
Someone is always to blame.
Michael Jackson is the architect of
his own destiny.
Like every single human being,
whether you're special or not,
you are the creator of the reality you
live in.
I remember we were required to go to
New York City,
and then he's whisked off to Al
Sharpton's church.
I personally think he was jacked up on
something.
Throughout the years
..black artists have been taken
advantage of completely.
If Sony, Tommy Mottola
Tommy Mottola is the president of the
record division,
he is a mean, he's a racist
..and he's very, very, very devilish.
You know, this just It just
exploded right there.
Sony's statement reads,
"We were deeply offended by the
outrageous comments Mr Jackson made.
"Mr Jackson has committed a serious
abuse of power
"that comes with celebrity."
Look at this.
Sony sucks! Sony sucks!
He told me, "Dieter, you need to
help me.
"It's over."
He asked me to terminate all his
contracts
with his lawyers, with his team, with
everybody.
And he did want that I take over
everything.
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is
Michael Jackson.
And rather than writing you a letter,
I've found this format to be most
efficient
for what I wish to communicate.
Dieter Weisner from Germany
and myself have entered into an
agreement,
an exclusive long term partnership.
He gave me a power of attorney.
I will personally sign agreements.
I legally authorise my partners to
sign on my behalf.
But he told me, "Dieter, the old
team,
"they will be after you."
They called once and told me,
"You take our golden cow
"and you have to stop this."
And, um
But I was on Michael's side, of
course, and I did what he'd want.
I remember these words from Michael to
me.
"I put my life and my future in your
hand."
Wait, wait, wait.
When it comes to distributing cookies,
we get to see children's real
personality.
Here, come here.
Prince, over here,
before I grind you into hamburger.
No! You want the cookie, you behave.
Here. OK, here. Here's the cookie.
Paris, do you want some of this?
By that time, I wasn't involved in
his life.
Paris, are you going to say thank
you?
Turn around.
Paris, you want that?
I received a phone call from
..a producer that worked with Martin
Bashir.
Martin Bashir wants to interview
Michael Jackson.
OK. You're getting the big one.
I got off the phone and I went to
Michael and said, "First of all,
"your life, it's not ready to be open
to the public.
"Stay a billion miles away from this
guy."
But Michael was an insecure person
who is going to look for the
validation of the public.
He wanted to talk about his whole
life,
his career,
that people really understand him.
So Martin Bashir followed Michael for
eight months.
How do you write a song?
When I wrote Billie Jean,
I was writing in my car down Ventura
Boulevard.
All I said to myself beforehand,
I want to write a song with a great
bass hook, you know?
You know
- Where did that come from?
From above.
- The dance as well?
- Yeah, same thing.
How do you do it?
Can you show me how you do it?
Oh, boy.
- Come on, just get up and
- I'm shy.
Oh, come on, just show me. Just show
me
Just show me. Show me what you do.
Teach me.
OK. Er
Oh, boy. You're putting me on the spot
now.
Come on.
- Now people are discovering something
about me.
I'm really shy, I'm embarrassed.
- OK, you're shy. Just get up and show
me.
Erm OK.
Michael opened the door for
everything.
Michael had just had another child.
We was in the room together
and Michael heard the screaming from
the fans.
It was a beautiful feeling.
And Michael was so excited. I was
behind him.
He took Blanket
..but he had him really fast under his
arm.
And the next morning I came out of
my room
and I saw all over the newspaper.
That was not a nice, not a nice
picture.
But, of course, Martin Bashir, he was
there.
I love you.
- Here he is.
But I want to give you this bottle!
Wait, wait. Ah!
Here's the bottle.
It's OK. Just get this off.
- Ow! Oh, please don't cry, Blanket.
OK, OK. Here we go. A-boo. A-boo.
A-boo! Boo, boo, boo!
Yes. A-boo!
Blanket. Blanket.
Blanket. Blanket. Blanket! I love you!
Blanket. Yes, yes, yes!
Have you been hearing about what
people have been saying?
It's totally ignorant.
I would never do that to my children
or any child.
Try to kill them? Come on, stupid.
And why would I put a scarf over the
baby's face
if I was trying to throw him off the
balcony?
We were waving to thousands of fans
down below and they were chanting,
they wanted to see my child.
So I was kind enough to let them see.
I was doing something out of
innocence.
When Living With Michael Jackson
airs this evening,
these streets are going to be
deserted.
Fans and critics alike are saying
they're going to be staying in
to watch the programme.
With his reputation in America very
much at stake,
for Michael Jackson, it must be a
nervous wait.
I didn't want that we watched the
documentary
until I know what happened.
But Michael, of course he want to see
it.
We watched it on TV together.
Eight months ago, I put a proposal
to Michael Jackson -
show me the real man
but show me everything, make nothing
off limits.
He thought about it and then he said,
"Yes, come to Neverland."
We began a journey together across
continents,
through his past and rapidly into the
disturbing reality
of his life today.
In the documentary
..was this young boy, Gavin Arvizo.
And he was taking care of him.
When people hear that children from
other families
have come and they've stayed in your
house,
they've stayed in your bedroom
Well, very few.
But you know, some have.
And they say,
is that really appropriate for a man,
a grown man, to be doing that?
How do you respond to that?
I feel sorry for them because that's
judging someone
who just wants to really help people.
Why can't you share your bed?
The most loving thing to do is to
share your bed with someone.
When I saw this, I got a very bad
feeling.
When you're talking about children,
if I said, "Well, I've invited some of
my daughter's friends round,
"or my son's friends round,
"and they're going to sleep in the bed
with me tonight"
- That's fine.
What do you think their parents
would say?
If they're wacky, they would say you
can't.
I suppose the problem for many
people
is what happened in 1993
or what didn't happen.
What didn't happen.
One bombshell after another about
his bizarre behaviour
in a new British documentary.
Jackson admits he still has sleepovers
with young boys.
I felt
..shock. Absolute shock.
Have you lost all touch with
reality
..that you don't even know how people
are going to
react to that?
He said he slept in a bed with
children that are not his own.
I mean, this isn't made up, this isn't
fabricated.
What kind of loony would, A, do it,
and, B, go on national TV and admit
it?
Michael crossed lines that clearly
are uncrossable.
Sharing a bed with a child that's not
yours,
even if it's not sexual, it's still
insanity.
We got the reaction from all over,
of course.
It was terrible.
You can't sleep with strangers'
kids.
As much as I love Michael Jackson,
I'm having a hard time defending him
right now.
I believe that child welfare
services should interview
every child that has been at Neverland
with Mr Jackson in his bedroom or
anywhere else in the home
without the presence of their parents,
find out what's going on.
He couldn't talk,
and he was sitting on his bed crying.
What's ahead for Michael Jackson?
What do you think's ahead after this?
- Oh, a real bumpy road.
I don't think he'll recover from this
one.
That documentary led directly or
indirectly
to Michael Jackson's death. There's
absolutely no question about it.
That was the beginning of the end.
Michael Jackson wasn't the ordinary
paedophile.
He had the means to be able to do
things
that no-one else I had ever prosecuted
could do.
An estate that was 2,800 acres,
and a huge house with multiple locks,
a staff that just ignored what was
going on.
That was unique to Michael Jackson.
Gavin, can you tell us what your
conversations,
what you guys talked about?
We had lost the opportunity ten
years earlier.
And we were determined that that not
happen again.
This is my my inspiration.
Real quick.
The number one artist in the world!
That level of megastardom is not healthy.
People are not gods.
Tonight, Jackson is wanted by police
of multiple felony counts of child
molestation.
The Jackson machine just keeps right
on rolling.
Sony Corporation believes it has a
profitable partner
in Michael Jackson.
Together, they could make $1 billion.
As NBC's Mike Jensen reports tonight,
teach your kids to sing.
It's the kind of contract that takes
your breath away.
A projected $1 billion for six Michael
Jackson albums
plus feature films, videos and video
games.
Michael, in the 1980s,
you had the largest selling album in
history with Thriller.
Now, with Dangerous, you've given us
the fastest selling album of your
career.
We're prouder than ever to have you
part of the Sony Music family.
The thrilling fact is that the best is
definitely yet to come.
When I joined Sony, Michael Jackson
was the biggest star in the world.
He was the guy.
I don't know any other way to describe
it.
I mean, we all lived through it.
The Michael Jackson world tour is on
the road again.
It was incredibly exciting.
He was selling out stadiums, making
record money.
He was the franchise. I mean, let's be
honest.
We are all in the business of
succeeding.
And when you're working in a company
like Sony Music,
you want Michael Jackson to succeed.
Michael!
- Michael!
My name is Rosibel Smith,
and for 31 years I was employed by the
Los Angeles Police Department.
In 1993,
while working juvenile division at the
LAPD,
I was working the Sexually Exploited
Child Unit.
I was advised by my supervisor,
who was the officer in charge of the
unit,
that a case had come in involving a
young boy,
who was 13 years of age,
and that the perpetrator was Michael
Jackson.
I was a little, um, in disbelief
that it was Michael Jackson doing
this,
because I grew up watching Michael
Jackson,
I knew the Jackson 5 cartoons when I
was a kid,
and I really enjoyed his music.
But we had a job to do,
and that job was to go out and just
handle it
just like any other case at that time.
Our role was to find out if Mr
Jackson
had committed the crime of
sexual molestation against children.
And on the same token,
we have to find out if the children,
they were telling the truth.
We had to interview the victim.
The victim had actually met Michael
Jackson at a restaurant.
He was very, very little.
Then years later,
that relationship grew and they began
to visit each other.
The victim was alleging that Michael
would oftentimes
rub his body against his body.
He alleged that Michael Jackson
fondled him and masturbated him.
Um
He alleged that Michael liked to have
his nipples
rubbed, squeezed.
Kissing.
Then they had graduated to oral
copulation,
they bathed together
and to the point where eventually
Michael Jackson consumed his semen.
We had heard on the grapevine that
there were these
allegations circulating.
And it was a shock to everybody.
Yeah, we knew he was hanging with
kids,
but I saw him hang with the kids
and I saw that it was completely
innocent.
I saw he was playing games with
them.
I saw the kids wanting to hang with
him.
Quicksand up ahead!
I really hoped the allegations
weren't true.
The feeling was trying to contain it.
Obviously, we were thinking of, you
know,
the immediate impact on the tour
because you got to keep the business
going, the tour going,
the album sales, everything and the
impact of that.
So it was pretty It was pretty
tense.
We went into crisis mode, both with
our team and the PR team.
But ultimately, the story was so huge
it was going to get out no matter what
we did.
There was no stopping it.
In Southern California, the press,
police, lawyers
and private investigators are in orbit
tonight over an investigation
of child abuse allegations involving
superstar Michael Jackson.
There's still no comment from
Michael Jackson this morning
and Los Angeles Police aren't saying
much.
But they have confirmed reports of a
criminal investigation
of the pop superstar.
All hell broke loose.
Television station KNBC in Los
Angeles
first broke the story last night,
saying that a mother had alleged
Jackson abused her child.
August 17th, the Los Angeles Police
Department initiated
a criminal investigation of
entertainer Michael Jackson.
Every news channel, every hour,
the top story was Michael Jackson.
Confidential documents obtained by
NBC News
quoted the boy's reference to acts of
oral sex and masturbation.
The allegations now surfacing are
ugly enough
to shatter any icon's image.
Kids everywhere are talking about the
scandalous accusations,
hoping they're not true.
Has Michael Jackson ever molested a
child?
Ever done anything improper with a
child?
No, never. No, never.
That's crazy.
- Never.
My son is not guilty.
He'd need a trial.
These people aren't waiting. They're
trying to
Trying to They're trying him.
That's right. And I'm tired of it.
Open the window! Open
the window!
Everything was suddenly bad.
Everything was, um
..emotional.
Talking to Michael was different
because he was different.
Suddenly, he was no longer the happy
Michael that I used to talk to.
He sounded depressed.
I felt like it was over, like there
was no way he could come back
from these terrible things being said.
Eventually he came back to America.
We had the information from the victim
about
Michael's body,
and specifically the markings on his
body.
So the only way that a child would see
that
is if Michael was nude.
Then our unit prepared a search
warrant to search
or to view Michael's body,
and this included the genitals.
We explained to him, we have a
search warrant signed by the judge
to take pictures of your private
parts.
He said, "You assholes".
The outcome
was that evidence that was provided
by Jordan Chandler
..it was confirmed.
Can I help you?
Yeah, we'd like to talk to Michael
Jackson. Has he come back?
I have no comment, sir.
- No comment, huh?
I don't necessarily think he's
guilty,
but I don't necessarily think he's
innocent either,
because I don't know.
Well, I don't know if he's guilty or
not,
but I think that he needs to come back
and face the charges.
He's looking pretty guilty right now.
Michael!
- Michael!
There is real fear
tonight that the catastrophic
publicity will result in the
destruction of a $1 billion empire
and the ruin of a man.
Sony stock has fallen
because investors are very much
concerned that the huge investment
that they have in Michael Jackson is,
in fact, not going to pay off.
When the allegations surfaced
..I read them, watched them on TV,
like everyone else did
..and I felt that they were extremely
unfair.
Michael Jackson was unequivocally
the biggest artist in the company.
And if he's not succeeding
..guess what? Jobs get lost.
Is Michael Jackson going to make any
statement?
He's got a whole cadre of
international cameras there
every night.
Up to that point, Michael had been
laying low.
But once the allegations are out
there,
you can't take them back again.
And so we needed to get him in front
of the public
to unequivocally deny these
allegations.
Michael Jackson came out of
seclusion today
without leaving home.
The pop star angrily rejected
accusations he molested a young boy
and lashed out at police and the
media.
There have been many disgusting
statements
made recently concerning allegations
of improper conduct on my part.
These statements about me are totally
false.
At every opportunity, the media has
dissected
and manipulated these allegations to
reach their own conclusions.
I ask all of you to wait and hear the
truth
before you label or condemn me.
Don't treat me like a criminal because
I am innocent.
Jackson's defiant declaration of
innocence
comes as the latest counterpoint in a
case
that's saturated with rumour, innuendo
and almost daily revelations about the
singer.
Separating fact from fiction can be
difficult.
For years I have been working for
Michael,
who unfortunately has been the victim
of this and other types
of extortion attempts.
The demand for $20 million was made
and presented.
It was flatly and consistently
refused.
Many people try to extort Michael
because of who he is
and, you know, the amount of money he
has.
And these people wanted $20 million.
As far as the victim is concerned,
I did not get anything as far as any,
like, money motivation.
However, the parents were a different
story.
The Hollywood Reporter, an
entertainment trade paper,
said today that the boy's father had
negotiated with Jackson
for a $20 million movie deal.
The father is a prominent Beverly
Hills dentist
and part-time screenwriter.
CBS News has obtained a taped phone
conversation.
The voice is reportedly the father of
the 13-year-old boy.
The father did in fact ask for money
to keep the situation quiet.
So it did
..hurt the case a little bit.
I think it's pathetic that somebody
would go after someone like
Michael Jackson with such vigour, and
it's obvious what they want.
And it seems obvious to me that he is
innocent.
I know that there's a lot of people
in this business that try
and take advantage of people and, you
know,
I'm sure that it will all work out.
And I'm sure that he's innocent, you
know?
But only God knows the truth, you
know?
More and more, people started to
question the allegations.
So the management team started
capitalising on that momentum.
The main strategy was to, um,
endear Michael
to the black community
and to get the black community back on
Michael's side.
Because once the black community's
behind you, you got it
because, you know, we're a big group
and race relations at that time,
it was a hotbed.
Parts of Los Angeles
erupted in unrest
after a jury acquitted four white Los
Angeles police officers
over the videotaped beating of Rodney
King, a black motorist.
What happened with Rodney King, it
doesn't make no sense to me.
They treating black people like we're
dogs, you know?
Like, we can't get nowhere.
We have no rights that the white man
respect.
Race is tearing
America apart.
Now, more than ever, minority
Americans believe
there are two kinds of justice -
the white kind and the kind they get.
Someone was friends with this
African-American attorney
named Johnnie Cochran.
And so he suggested that Johnnie would
be the best person
for Michael's case,
not only because he's black, but also
because he was brilliant.
Mr Cochran, let me start with you.
Why do you think it was important
for Michael Jackson to speak out now?
Well, I think, Katie, that after
months of being barraged
with negative attacks, it was time.
Everyone who was on Michael's team
knew that having a black face
as the front man for the defence
would, um
..bring the black community to
Michael's defence as well.
The king of pop, rock and soul - Mr
Michael Jackson.
Michael's first public appearance
after his statement
about the allegations was at the NAACP
Image Awards,
and that's the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People.
I was in the audience when Michael
walked out on that stage.
The house went crazy.
Everyone was in support of Michael.
No-one wanted to believe these
allegations.
For decades, the NAACP had stood at
the forefront
of the struggle for equal justice
under the law
for all people in our land.
And his speech was based on being a
proud black man
and how, you know, we have to stick
together
against racial inequality and
injustice.
Everyone is presumed to be innocent
and totally innocent
until they are charged with a crime
and then convicted by a jury of their
peers.
It was such a powerful speech.
With all of the stuff that was
happening to the black community
..it felt like Michael's innocence was
important
and it was what we needed.
Everybody wanted him to be back on
top.
The family of a teenage boy is
dropping its charge
that Michael Jackson molested the boy.
Larry Carroll tells us the civil suit
is now over.
We wish to jointly announce a mutual
resolution of this lawsuit.
This boy wanted to get on with his
life.
When that case was settled,
and I believe that the pay-out for
that settlement was 20 million,
or maybe a little more over $20
million,
the family accepted the settlement.
The resolution of this case is in no
way an admission of guilt
by Michael Jackson.
Being a megastar like he was,
he had the advantage with money, with
attorneys,
with really coming out and doing
pretty much whatever he wanted
in order to defend himself.
So that was pretty much the end of our
case.
I felt bad because Rosie and I,
we were certain that we had a good
case,
but when the victim doesn't want to
testify
..there is a saying that says "no
victim, no crime."
So, nothing that we could do.
Read all about it! Hollywood sex
scandals!
Heidi's little black book.
The Hollywood Hooker and Heidi-gate.
Loni Anderson says, "Burt's a dud in
bed."
Uh-oh!
In this billion dollar business,
there's only one story
that's guaranteed - a big name in
trouble.
That's the best news of all.
But of course, the one that's
grabbing the headlines right now
are the allegations about Michael
Jackson,
the biggest superstar in the world.
Michael Jackson is our window into
the new news business
and the magazine shows, talk shows,
news chats
that feed off tabloid truth.
Michael Jackson,
violator or victim?
What do you think about Michael?
- Well
No, I think it's true.
- He settled for all that money.
Yeah.
- He settled for all that amount of
money.
I think something's up when he settles
for over $10 million
to shut someone up.
I don't know, it's a shame, because
I think Michael has been dragged
through the mud a lot. You know, I
don't know if he's a victim
or if he did it or not, but like he's
lost that wholesome image
forever, you know?
The allegations really changed how
the public, I think, thought of him.
And Michael had to kind of
rehabilitate that image.
People had been obsessed with
Michael's sexuality his whole life.
And his managers thought it would be
cool if the press found out
that Michael had a girlfriend.
Michael and Lisa started dating
soon after the allegations had been
settled.
Michael Joseph Jackson.
- Lisa Marie Presley.
He knew that marrying Elvis
Presley's daughter
would be headlines everywhere.
Everyone would be talking about that,
and they'd no longer talk about this
horrible time in his life.
With this ring I do wed.
You've heard the talk for weeks.
It's surprising and it's apparently
true.
The daughter of Elvis Presley
confirms today
she is now married to Michael Jackson.
Let's go to Vince Dementri in New
York. Vince.
John, hopefully you can see behind
me the throngs of stargazers
right behind me. We are just outside
of the world-famous
Trump Tower, where Donald Trump tells
us, yes, indeed,
that Lisa Marie Presley and her new
beau,
Michael Jackson, are holed up here on
the top floor.
Well, I'm very, very happy for them.
I think it's great.
They're very happy
and I think everybody's happy.
They're great people.
I first met Michael in 1988.
Michael was on tour in Germany at that
time.
And so they called me and said Michael
is a big fan of mine
and he would love to meet me.
And we hit it off.
And he got to know the whole family.
I also knew Lisa Marie Presley
because she spent lots of time in Los
Angeles.
So I knew them separately.
And then later Lisa came to me one day
and said,
"Look, Michael is hitting on me
"and he actually wants to marry me.
"What do you think? Should I do that?"
So I said, "Go for it."
For him, it was also he liked Lisa
because she was the daughter of The
King.
So he was also a king - King of Pop,
yeah?
This is a big deal.
We had never seen him get romantic
with a woman like this.
Ever.
I'm very happy to be here.
And just think, nobody thought this
would last.
It did work in the way that Michael
wanted it to work,
in that everyone was talking about it.
But at the same time the public wasn't
really buying it.
It's all a cover-up.
It's all a cover-up from the little
child thing.
That's what I think it is, and that's
about it.
You don't think it's true love?
- No.
I think it's a sham.
Heterosexual marriage would certainly
take some of the heat off
being accused of being a homosexual
paedophile.
But Michael and Lisa were only
together for around 18 months.
It's splitsville for Graceland and
Neverland.
Many of you may find this hard to
believe,
but Lisa Marie Presley and Michael
Jackson are getting a divorce.
So, Tony, it looks like the gloved
one is no longer the loved one.
Oh, such a sad story.
Sorry to hear that, sorry to see that.
What a shock, what a surprise.
It was kind of hard to watch.
He was trying to maintain his position
as like
the biggest superstar in the world,
and it wasn't quite working.
This is a man who changed the music
industry.
He is a musical genius.
And people don't think of him in that
sense any more.
They think of him as a freak.
Is there any way that he can lift
himself out of this trough
that he has largely dug for himself?
When he was working on the HIStory
album,
Michael called me and said,
"Look, I want to use some of your
paintings for the artwork."
That was the painting that he really
liked.
And then spontaneously he wrote this
poem directly on the picture.
"With such confusion, don't it make
you want to scream?
"You try to cope with every lie
"To scrutinise somebody
"Please have mercy
"Because I just can't take it."
If you listen to the lyrics and the
songs
and the overall vibe of the tracks on
HIStory,
they're very aggressive, they're very
defensive.
Even the Scream video is very dark for
Michael.
Then for the HIStory album promo,
Michael chose a dictator-esque image.
He's got these military troops
marching behind him
and a godlike aura.
That's what he wanted to push out
there.
Still on top, still, you know,
the biggest pop superstar in the
history of music.
Tower Bridge was
raised this afternoon
to allow a 30 foot statue of rock star
Michael Jackson
to pass along the Thames on a barge.
I think it's brilliant.
It's just the best thing that's
happened on the River Thames.
He's a mega star, yeah, they call
him the King of Pop
so if he can afford to do this, why
not?
For the HIStory tour,
Michael decided to focus on his fan
base abroad.
And his popularity continued over in
Europe and the UK, Asia
versus the US, where it was kind of
slipping a little bit
because of the allegations and all the
media circus around that.
Michael! Michael! Michael!
Michael! Michael!
It's like a dream come true.
I touched him!
I'm not going to wash my hand.
I remember this one time I was with
Michael in Budapest
..and the hotel was surrounded,
under siege by thousands of young
people.
And what he did, he'd draw a curtain
a little bit,
and then he had his glove on,
and people screeched. It was like an
explosion down there.
He was laughing and said, "Oh, my
God, look!
"Did you hear? Do you hear?"
I think there's a deep desire to
look up for people
that are bigger than life, yeah?
As role models or as somebody you can
worship.
I mean, I think that's what mankind
needs.
But I think the danger is
..when everybody worships you,
is that you start to believe it in a
way that
you start to worship yourself, and I
think that's very dangerous.
Can I have a hug, please? Please,
may I hug you?
Please?
I love you.
- I love you more.
But he was enjoying that. He liked
to have that effect on people.
Love you.
Sir, sir. This way.
Germany loves you, Michael.
- I love Germany.
Oh, we love you.
OK, OK, OK.
- Stay on the side.
- OK, of course.
Stay in that corner. Stay in that
corner.
Stay in that corner.
- OK. Michael?
Michael?
Step back. Please.
Where's your
camera?
- Yes, yes.
Please.
Please. Please. Please.
Come on. OK, please.
Go, go.
OK?
When I met Michael,
I saw that he was addicted to fame.
I was a well-known rabbi
and Michael and I had become friends.
Michael really needed to be loved,
and he chose to be loved in
..really, in an unhealthy way,
which was through superstardom
and the devotion of fans.
Sir, you're in the way!
I said to him, "You've made the
mistake of substituting love
"for this, this cheap forgery called
attention.
"And attention is never a good
substitute for love.
"It's never real."
This attention became an addiction
because he interpreted it as love
and it became a monster.
I felt that one of my principal
objectives
was to tether him back to humility.
And so our conversations became kind
of therapy.
He wanted every word
recorded for posterity.
We recorded it on these two flimsy
dicta machines,
you know, they're on these tiny little
tapes.
Michael! Michael!
Michael! Michael!
He needed something to live for.
And as he explained it to me,
he always wanted to be around kids.
He loved the innocence of a child,
he loved the creativity of a child
because for him, the adult world was
people wanting money from him
and people wanting to know him for all
the wrong reasons.
At that time in his life
..I think that Michael wanted to be a
father.
Because kids, as long as you give
them unconditional love,
they really give it back.
They are mirror reflections of the
love that we give them.
And he was going to give them the
greatest love, and they did.
And that's what happened.
Ooh!
Something to wear tonight.
- Teletubbies.
Who's that?
Lala.
- That's right, it's Lala.
I think having children gave him a
renewed sense of purpose,
a renewed sense of energy and
direction.
That's cute.
That's a great shot.
- It is. It is.
It's OK.
I want to be
successful at being a great father.
I want I want them to say we felt
completely loved
and he was, like, incredible.
That's my biggest dreams, one day for
Prince and Paris
just to say to somebody, "He was the
best dad."
One, two, three.
Surprise!
Wooo!
I'd been working with Michael for
four years
by the time he had his children.
When Prince and Paris came along
..I saw a different, a different
person.
Can we do one where we all just
point at the camera like this?
OK.
- All of us.
His life was now about the children.
That was his priority.
And he was getting more and more
absolutely clear about his future.
He was saying, "Dieter"
.."I did everything I could do in my
life for the music,
"and I think I did it well, and
everybody made a lot of money.
"But new people coming,
"other music is coming."
And he had a feeling he will never be
successful like he was,
and he was fine with it.
Michael said he didn't want to be a
trained monkey forever.
It's over.
Will you give it to Howie? Come on,
let's do it.
But when you start not to do
what this, he called it system, wants,
then you're in trouble.
Let's make it three.
Sony was pushing him to continue his
career.
They were trying to get him to finish
this album, Invincible.
Wasn't my business but, you know,
screw the album.
We have to make your life healthy
again.
So there was a war for the soul of
Michael Jackson.
Sony Music was one of the biggest
labels in the world, hands down.
And with Michael,
well, there's a lot of money changing
hands.
So, yes, it's cut-throat.
But Sony Music was no more cut-throat
than any other label.
Michael's relationship was a
contentious one
with his record label.
I was there to help facilitate a
record
he was putting out, called Invincible,
which was his official last studio
record with Sony,
and things were going over budget.
We had rented out the entire floor
at the Plaza Hotel in New York.
And for anybody who doesn't know that,
that is extremely expensive, crazy.
And he wasn't even showing up for
things.
Michael!
A record company is there to make
money.
They are an investment firm in a way
who is invested in you to produce
something.
When we got the phone call that this
was, you know,
"How dare he? This was the most
expensive record we've ever made."
You know? And I'm like, "Oh, OK." I'm
like, "How much?"
"30 million." I'm like, ooh, sh!
So it was kind of It was a problem.
But everybody was really trying to get
him in tow
so we could make a deadline for album
release.
Thank you!
There's one time where I was asked
to pick up a package at a house
that apparently was being sold and is
empty,
and in the mailbox was this package.
And I opened it up and it happened to
be full of Demerol,
which is a prescription pain
medication,
but a lot of it.
It was a known thing that you don't
ask.
I said, "What's going?"
And I was like, "Oh, OK, um, never
mind."
But then he would go to the studio as
long as he had his magical pills.
But it was all so confusing at the
same time.
It wasn't I'm not there to look at
someone and unwrap the package.
I'm there to get records done, right?
There were so many people who were
reliant on him
to be the golden goose that lays eggs
again.
But he knew that path was corrosive.
It frightened me.
There was too much conflict going on
with him.
And I, I sensed and I saw that I was
losing my influence.
And I told him, "I'm not going to
watch you drive your life
"off a cliff and clap."
Invincible has sold two
million copies in six months
and that ain't invincible.
The flop of Invincible, along with a
general downturn in sales,
means that Sony's share price has
suffered of late.
Michael told me, "You know what?
"I can't do this any more."
Michael was done with the music
and with touring and all of this.
But Sony was not happy at all with
this.
So he knew he has to fight
to come out of this situation.
From my vantage point,
he got a tremendous amount of support
from Sony Music.
But you have to understand, they're
artists,
they're all narcissists.
They can't help themselves, OK?
If their record's not selling, it's
someone's fault.
You know, if their tour's not doing
well, it's someone's fault.
Someone is always to blame.
Michael Jackson is the architect of
his own destiny.
Like every single human being,
whether you're special or not,
you are the creator of the reality you
live in.
I remember we were required to go to
New York City,
and then he's whisked off to Al
Sharpton's church.
I personally think he was jacked up on
something.
Throughout the years
..black artists have been taken
advantage of completely.
If Sony, Tommy Mottola
Tommy Mottola is the president of the
record division,
he is a mean, he's a racist
..and he's very, very, very devilish.
You know, this just It just
exploded right there.
Sony's statement reads,
"We were deeply offended by the
outrageous comments Mr Jackson made.
"Mr Jackson has committed a serious
abuse of power
"that comes with celebrity."
Look at this.
Sony sucks! Sony sucks!
He told me, "Dieter, you need to
help me.
"It's over."
He asked me to terminate all his
contracts
with his lawyers, with his team, with
everybody.
And he did want that I take over
everything.
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is
Michael Jackson.
And rather than writing you a letter,
I've found this format to be most
efficient
for what I wish to communicate.
Dieter Weisner from Germany
and myself have entered into an
agreement,
an exclusive long term partnership.
He gave me a power of attorney.
I will personally sign agreements.
I legally authorise my partners to
sign on my behalf.
But he told me, "Dieter, the old
team,
"they will be after you."
They called once and told me,
"You take our golden cow
"and you have to stop this."
And, um
But I was on Michael's side, of
course, and I did what he'd want.
I remember these words from Michael to
me.
"I put my life and my future in your
hand."
Wait, wait, wait.
When it comes to distributing cookies,
we get to see children's real
personality.
Here, come here.
Prince, over here,
before I grind you into hamburger.
No! You want the cookie, you behave.
Here. OK, here. Here's the cookie.
Paris, do you want some of this?
By that time, I wasn't involved in
his life.
Paris, are you going to say thank
you?
Turn around.
Paris, you want that?
I received a phone call from
..a producer that worked with Martin
Bashir.
Martin Bashir wants to interview
Michael Jackson.
OK. You're getting the big one.
I got off the phone and I went to
Michael and said, "First of all,
"your life, it's not ready to be open
to the public.
"Stay a billion miles away from this
guy."
But Michael was an insecure person
who is going to look for the
validation of the public.
He wanted to talk about his whole
life,
his career,
that people really understand him.
So Martin Bashir followed Michael for
eight months.
How do you write a song?
When I wrote Billie Jean,
I was writing in my car down Ventura
Boulevard.
All I said to myself beforehand,
I want to write a song with a great
bass hook, you know?
You know
- Where did that come from?
From above.
- The dance as well?
- Yeah, same thing.
How do you do it?
Can you show me how you do it?
Oh, boy.
- Come on, just get up and
- I'm shy.
Oh, come on, just show me. Just show
me
Just show me. Show me what you do.
Teach me.
OK. Er
Oh, boy. You're putting me on the spot
now.
Come on.
- Now people are discovering something
about me.
I'm really shy, I'm embarrassed.
- OK, you're shy. Just get up and show
me.
Erm OK.
Michael opened the door for
everything.
Michael had just had another child.
We was in the room together
and Michael heard the screaming from
the fans.
It was a beautiful feeling.
And Michael was so excited. I was
behind him.
He took Blanket
..but he had him really fast under his
arm.
And the next morning I came out of
my room
and I saw all over the newspaper.
That was not a nice, not a nice
picture.
But, of course, Martin Bashir, he was
there.
I love you.
- Here he is.
But I want to give you this bottle!
Wait, wait. Ah!
Here's the bottle.
It's OK. Just get this off.
- Ow! Oh, please don't cry, Blanket.
OK, OK. Here we go. A-boo. A-boo.
A-boo! Boo, boo, boo!
Yes. A-boo!
Blanket. Blanket.
Blanket. Blanket. Blanket! I love you!
Blanket. Yes, yes, yes!
Have you been hearing about what
people have been saying?
It's totally ignorant.
I would never do that to my children
or any child.
Try to kill them? Come on, stupid.
And why would I put a scarf over the
baby's face
if I was trying to throw him off the
balcony?
We were waving to thousands of fans
down below and they were chanting,
they wanted to see my child.
So I was kind enough to let them see.
I was doing something out of
innocence.
When Living With Michael Jackson
airs this evening,
these streets are going to be
deserted.
Fans and critics alike are saying
they're going to be staying in
to watch the programme.
With his reputation in America very
much at stake,
for Michael Jackson, it must be a
nervous wait.
I didn't want that we watched the
documentary
until I know what happened.
But Michael, of course he want to see
it.
We watched it on TV together.
Eight months ago, I put a proposal
to Michael Jackson -
show me the real man
but show me everything, make nothing
off limits.
He thought about it and then he said,
"Yes, come to Neverland."
We began a journey together across
continents,
through his past and rapidly into the
disturbing reality
of his life today.
In the documentary
..was this young boy, Gavin Arvizo.
And he was taking care of him.
When people hear that children from
other families
have come and they've stayed in your
house,
they've stayed in your bedroom
Well, very few.
But you know, some have.
And they say,
is that really appropriate for a man,
a grown man, to be doing that?
How do you respond to that?
I feel sorry for them because that's
judging someone
who just wants to really help people.
Why can't you share your bed?
The most loving thing to do is to
share your bed with someone.
When I saw this, I got a very bad
feeling.
When you're talking about children,
if I said, "Well, I've invited some of
my daughter's friends round,
"or my son's friends round,
"and they're going to sleep in the bed
with me tonight"
- That's fine.
What do you think their parents
would say?
If they're wacky, they would say you
can't.
I suppose the problem for many
people
is what happened in 1993
or what didn't happen.
What didn't happen.
One bombshell after another about
his bizarre behaviour
in a new British documentary.
Jackson admits he still has sleepovers
with young boys.
I felt
..shock. Absolute shock.
Have you lost all touch with
reality
..that you don't even know how people
are going to
react to that?
He said he slept in a bed with
children that are not his own.
I mean, this isn't made up, this isn't
fabricated.
What kind of loony would, A, do it,
and, B, go on national TV and admit
it?
Michael crossed lines that clearly
are uncrossable.
Sharing a bed with a child that's not
yours,
even if it's not sexual, it's still
insanity.
We got the reaction from all over,
of course.
It was terrible.
You can't sleep with strangers'
kids.
As much as I love Michael Jackson,
I'm having a hard time defending him
right now.
I believe that child welfare
services should interview
every child that has been at Neverland
with Mr Jackson in his bedroom or
anywhere else in the home
without the presence of their parents,
find out what's going on.
He couldn't talk,
and he was sitting on his bed crying.
What's ahead for Michael Jackson?
What do you think's ahead after this?
- Oh, a real bumpy road.
I don't think he'll recover from this
one.
That documentary led directly or
indirectly
to Michael Jackson's death. There's
absolutely no question about it.
That was the beginning of the end.
Michael Jackson wasn't the ordinary
paedophile.
He had the means to be able to do
things
that no-one else I had ever prosecuted
could do.
An estate that was 2,800 acres,
and a huge house with multiple locks,
a staff that just ignored what was
going on.
That was unique to Michael Jackson.
Gavin, can you tell us what your
conversations,
what you guys talked about?
We had lost the opportunity ten
years earlier.
And we were determined that that not
happen again.