Dugheana lui Griguţă

MICHAEL JACKSON FANS ARE A RARE BREED - A MUST READ - BE PROUD MJ FANS!!

2010-06-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

This is an article found on the Internet; would be nice to know who wrote it!!

"Michael Jackson fans are a strange breed. One would be hard pressed to find another fan community whose object of admiration is the subject of so much unnecessary condemnation. Over time, Michael Jackson enthusiasts have watched their beloved's seemingly global idolization transform into apparent worldwide mischaracterization and mistreatment by the press and public alike.
Yet, through it all, true Michael Jackson fans have not abandoned him. If anything, the harder Michael's opponents try to shove him to the depths of despair, the harder his devotees love him, if only for summoning the courage to persist in the midst of it all. Michael's continued endurance is an exercise in strength and resilience in the face of adversity and uncertainty. Michael's fans have learned well the lesson, as they steadfastly brave the almost daily emotional roller coaster ride that is a requisite experience of every Jackson supporter. They marvel at his seemingly inexhaustible talents and applaud his victories. They laugh with him in his happiness; weep with him in his sorrow and pray for him in troubled times. Their hearts are warmed when he is embraced, and bleed when he is ill-treated.
Despite the stratospheric highs and seemingly cavernous lows that come with being a Michael Jackson fan, they remain loyal. They, like Michael, refuse to allow naysayers to steal their joy, obstruct their way or shape their opinions. They, like Michael, refuse to have their destiny defined or dictated by another. They also refuse to stand idly by as others attempt to deny Michael his rightfully earned legacy. Simply, Michael Jackson's fans are just like Michael in that they will not be deterred.
By nature of their calling, Michael's fans are constantly summoned to put on the full Armour, stand on the front lines and fight. Oftentimes with their pen as their sword, they fight alongside and for Michael's right of humanity. By so doing, they fight for tolerance over prejudice, unconditional love over criticism; wisdom over ignorance and justice over inequality - not only for Michael, but for themselves as well. The battles are never-ending, hard-fought and oftentimes mentally and physically exhausting. Still, rather than surrender or reconcile, Michael's fans resist. They resist the desire to abandon Michael when all seems lost. They forsake the notion that theirs is a lost cause. They refuse to throw in the towel and resign themselves to the path of least resistance, which so often involves renouncing their fan support of Michael.
When the going gets tough, with weary minds and heavy hearts, they press on. They press on through Michael's tribulations and the attacks to which he is subjected. They press on in spite of tire. They press on despite mockery and question as to why they bother fight at all for Michael Jackson, a man some deem undeserving of their adoration.
Hazrat Inayat Khan once said, "God breaks the heart again and again until it stays open". Michael's devotees can see him as living proof of this idea, as he seems to be the embodiment of the notion. His own heart has been broken much and his fans personally feel the sting of each break. By the grace of God, Michael's heart does not become hardened as a result of its frequent fractures. To the contrary, his shattered heart allows for its tenderness and openness. Since out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, Michael's fans are able to truly see the fullness of his heart when they listen to him articulate his desire for acceptance, understanding, positivism, love and peace through song and speech.
As their efforts to break Jackson himself have continually proven unsuccessful, some Michael Jackson opponents have turned their focus to attempting to disband the fan community by attacking his defenders. Time after time, the press uses condescending, defamatory terms to describe Michael's fans. Being referred to as "delusional" and "*****" is not foreign to Jackson's supporters. However, Michael's devotees choose to ignore the juvenile name-calling and taglines bestowed on them by the media. The fans refuse to allow the press to project its negative, inaccurate perception onto them. This is because Michael Jackson fans realize that such inflammatory terms do not depict their true nature as intelligent, grounded individuals with a healthy admiration for Michael's music, vision and humanitarianism among other things.
Interestingly enough, Michael Jackson's influence is global and thus, so is his fan base. His detractors are under the false impression that his fan base is minuscule as well as one-dimensional. To the contrary, Michael Jackson enthusiasts are nothing if not vast and multi-dimensional. They can be found on every continent, in every country worldwide. Michael's fans transcend racial, age and socioeconomic boundaries. The fact that Michael's fans are so diverse adds to their beauty.
Few entertainers, if any, can lay claim to having the type of dynamic and varied fan base of which Michael Jackson can boast. If it is true our lives are open books for others to read, then the fans' study of Michael Jackson has taught them more than they ever could have imagined they would learn about life, love and survival.
Michael Jackson is a living testament of the notion that whatever one dreams and desires for his or her life can be achieved. Michael lives by the mantra that love should have no limitations -no conditions. Michael has shown all who dare take notice that it is possible to not only stay alive, but to thrive, with grace and fortitude despite adversity. By merely existing, Michael Jackson has taught his fans what it is to dream without fear, to create without boundaries, to listen without prejudice and to love without judgment. Simply, Michael Jackson's fans are a hard act to outshine.
Their loyalty, enthusiasm, intelligence and genuine adoration of their musical idol is unparalleled by other artists' fan communities. However, for all their attributes, when it comes to one particular matter, Michael Jackson's admiring fans will always be bested. For try as they might, no matter to what infinite degree they say and believe they love Michael Jackson, the King of Pop in true regal fashion, will always say and prove he loves them more ... " - written by Fantam

(Notă: aici a ajuns mulţumită Florenţei)

A Letter To The Fans by Charlene

2010-05-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

May 3, 2010

To all of the beautiful people who love Michael Jackson,

I feel so honored and blessed to be a part of such a loving community of people. MJ fans are the best! It’s been a privilege to get acquainted with so many loyal fans around the world and to share our love for Michael and our deep pain over losing him. This journey has been a roller coaster ride of emotions and an amazing discovery of new strength and courage to be bold, as Michael was, taking me places I never dreamed I would go! But, this journey has also been fraught with much pain over the injustices Michael suffered in his lifetime. Of all people, he is one who deserved it the least, yet this world turned on him and decided to make him their target. He became the media’s ‘cash cow!’

The past several days have been difficult as we have had to listen to others make statements about our beloved Michael - statements which go against everything Michael ever said about himself and everything we believe to be true about him. This is slander in its ugliest form, when the one being slandered is not even here to respond on his own behalf!

It’s natural to want to strike back to protect the one we love, the one who endured so much pain from lies and false accusations in his lifetime, pain that we could not protect him from while he was here. But I beg you to think before you react! To remember the next time something like this happens - and yes, it’s bound to happen again - that we have the power to either fuel or diffuse the lies! It’s all in our hands! Even though we may be feeling helpless at the time, we do indeed have ALL the power - that is exactly why they do what they do - because they know how we will react. And our reaction is what they are counting on!

Questions we should be asking:

Why did this schmuck & Dr. Klein and/or Extra ‘decide’ to release this story on the exact date of Aphrodite Jones’ True Crime special about the media conspiracy against Michael?

My guess is, there was money involved.

What was the purpose?

I believe it was to divert people’s attention from the TRUTH. Get the fans riled up, talking about it incessantly online - on every blog and forum. To change the focus of discussions online, which generates more hits on the tabloid sites, which brings them more money. We didn’t disappoint!

So, who paid them?

WE did!!!

Did their plan work?

YES! The very first item I read online was from a well-meaning fan on facebook who posted a plea to all fans to go to the website of Extra and beg them not to air this segment. This spread like wildfire. Within the hour, topics of discussion around the web were redirected to this subject, and I would guess about just as many hits on the Extra website were happening at the same time. This all translates to money in their pockets, dear people….PLEASE remember that!

Do you think that contacting the media in question and begging them not to air a specific segment of their program is really going to change their minds?

NO! By doing this, we only confirmed what they were counting on - that we would react the way we did! Even if we didn’t watch the show, we reinforced the very act of slander we were trying to stop! And, to add even more fuel to the fire, we not only visited Extra’s website, we visited other tabloid sites as well because we wanted to check it out and see what they were saying about it! We reacted! We gave them what they wanted!

Please, please remember this….

WE dictate what the tabloids print or air on TV because of how we react!!!

We all want to protect Michael and his legacy, as well as his family, from any further slander and pain. The way we do this is by NOT reacting to this kind of news - at least not publicly.

E-mail your MJ friends. Go to your private sites or MJ forums and talk about it - blow off steam, support and encourage one another in your pain and anguish over this injustice, by all means. But also remind each other NOT to fuel the fire-breathing dragon. DO NOT show your anger or your fear to the medialoids by reacting in any way that will give their tactics power - this will reinforce the exact thing we are trying to stop!

They know us well - they know how much Michael is loved by all his fans around the world. They know we get angry. They know exactly what will set us off and get us coming to their sites to beg for mercy on his behalf or just to see what they‘re saying about it. Entering their site = more money in their pockets. Simple as that. That’s all they want!

We are so predictable! Let’s show some restraint and be Unpredictable. THAT will change the very thing we’ve been wanting to change! If they don’t get the hits, they will stop publishing dirt on MJ. As long as we generate heat on the internet over the negative press, the negative press wins - that’s where it gets its fuel. The fire-breathing dragon lives on as long as we provide the fuel!

YES, we DO have that much power!!! BELIEVE IT! …….They do……. And Michael believes it too!

May we continue the fight for Justice for Michael...and WIN! And while fighting the battle, remember, sometimes the best strategy is restraint, and knowing when to employ that strategy.

With LOVE and Great Respect to all,
Charlene

Sylvie Simmons - Interviu cu Michael Jackson (1983)

2010-05-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

In 1983, Sylvie Simmons, writing for the leading US rock magazine Creem, interviewed the 24-year-old star on the set for the video of 'Beat It' - one of the many classic songs from his new LP, Thriller, which was to become the biggest selling album of all time. She found a driven artist at the height of his powers, an assured performer on stage, but also a gentle soul who found the attentions of fans unbearable

Downtown between the Pacific American Fish Co and the Hotel St Agnes Hospitality Kitchen there's an alley. Cars block each end, no escape. And, silhouetted in the car headlights, two rival LA gangs are swaggering towards each other. A couple of people pop their heads out of the hotel window, mutter something incomprehensible and go back to sleep. Down below in the smoke, the gangs are getting closer. They look mean. Those Cripps, the ones with the blue bandannas, look really mean, slapping their fists in their hands and scowling and getting closer. Then someone switches on a tape machine and a bit of "Beat It" blares out into the night ...

"Magic" - says Michael Jackson, who talks a lot about magic - "is easy if you put your heart into it." There can't be that many things much more magic than standing around in downtown LA in the middle of the night watching marauding hordes stand to attention when someone with a fruity English accent gives the command. This particular bit of sorcery will, by the time you read this, be the video for "Beat It", Michael Jackson's new single. This song's about machismo; so's the video. Michael wakes up in some sleazy downtown bedroom in a cold sweat; he's had a dream about the upcoming punch-up and has to go stop it. He leaps out of bed, seriously endangering the lives of a whole family of cockroaches.

Back in the warehouse they're doing the choreographed fight sequence. The real gang members stand on the edges while a dozen or so imitation gang members, professional dancers, dance and wave knives.

All this time, a thin, long-fingered man in a brown leather jacket too big for him, is sipping orange juice, gazing wide-eyed and curious at the dancers and the monitors, nodding his head soberly in time to the music, his foot on automatic tap. Michael Jackson looks fascinated by the whole thing. It's three in the morning before he gets his go. He's to come in, break up the fight and lead them dancing out of a warehouse. Pied Piper meets Peter Pan. Dawn was breaking by the time they finished; Michael Jackson wasn't.

Where the man gets his energy from no one knows. It's certainly not drugs - he doesn't touch them and rarely drinks. It's certainly not raw meat - Michael's a strict vegetarian and wouldn't eat at all given an alternative; he fasts and dances every Sunday and manages to live to start another week. Michael Jackson manages to do more in a week than most manage in a decade. In the time it took Supertramp to get the right piano sound, Michael sang harmonies with Donna Summer, backing vocals with Joe King Carrasco, wrote and produced "Muscles" for Diana Ross, wrote and sang "The Girl is Mine" with Paul McCartney, and did a song for a narrated ET album, gathered together everyone from Vincent Price to Eddie Van Halen to help out with his solo album, and still had time for his pet llama, snake and parrots.

Just back from England (a couple more tunes with Macca, whom he met at a Hollywood cocktail party at silent comedian Harold Lloyd's place and swapped phone numbers: "I love Paul, Linda and family very much."), he's already planning projects with Gladys Knight, Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, Katharine Hepburn, and Freddie Mercury of Queen, his old pal. Not to mention working on a film with Steven Spielberg ("a futuristic fantasy with music") and an album with the Jacksons. Remember the Jacksons? Michael's been their singer and choreographer ever since his dad Joe Jackson - one-time head of a Chuck Berry cover band in Indiana, the Falcons - noticed the five-year-old's nifty James Brown impersonations.

The songs, ideas, energy come from God, he reckons - the man's a devoted Jehovah's Witness, He'll just wake up in the night and there they are. Several more million sellers. His first solo album, Off the Wall, sold seven million copies. Thriller's not exactly ready for the cut-out bins yet. The first act in history, no less, to top the pop and R&B singles and albums charts all at the same time ...

I talked to Jackson before the video shoot. In a three-story condo in the San Fernando Valley - where Michael is staying while they rebuild his family house five miles down the road - filled with books, plants, art-work, animals, organic juices and nephews and cousins and siblings of the Jackson family. La Toya was there in a cowboy hat. Little sister Janet was there to parrot my questions to Michael. Oh, I forgot, and there was a record collection ranging from Smokey Robinson to Macca, with stops at funk, new wave, classical and just about anything else.

"James Brown, Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson, Chuck Berry and Little Richard - I think they had strong influences on a lot of people, because these were the guys who really got rock'n'roll going. I like to start with the origin of things, because once it gets along it changes. It's so interesting to see how it really was in the beginning."

Michael's got a tiny, otherworldly voice. You've heard him described as childlike and angelic. You will again. He's painfully shy, stares at his hands, his shoes, his sister, anywhere he can forget there's an interviewer around.

He goes on: "I like to do that with art also. I love art. Whenever we go to Paris I rush to the Louvre. I just never get enough of it! I go to all the museums around the world. I love art. I love it too much, because I end up buying everything and you become addicted. You see a piece you like and you say, Oh God, I've got to have this ...

"I love classical music. I've got so many different compositions. I guess when I was real small in kindergarten and hearing Peter and the Wolf and stuff - I still listen to that stuff, it's great, and Boston Pops and Debussy, Mozart, I buy all that stuff. I'm a big classical fan. We've been influenced by all kinds of different music - classical, R&B, folk, funk - and I guess all those ingredients combine to create what we have now.

"I wouldn't be happy doing just one kind of music or label ourselves. I like doing something for everybody... I don't like our music to be labelled. Labels are like ... racism."

How does he choose who he works with? Anybody who asks?

"I choose by feeling and instinct," says Michael.

What does he get out of them?

"I feel it would be... magic."

Then again, you've got to keep in mind the man lives for his work.

"My career is mainly what I think about. It's hard to juggle your responsibilities around - my music here, my solo career, my movies there, TV and everything else."

Is that what makes you happy?

"Yes. That's what I'm here for really. It's like Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci," his voice trails off; he looks torn between sounding immodest and telling the truth, which, as he sees it, is that talent comes from God anyway, so don't go patting him on the back. "Still, today, we can see their work and be inspired by it."

So, as long as there are stereos, Michael Jackson lives?

"Yes. I'd like to just keep going and inspire people and try new things that haven't been done."

To what extent has his belief in divinity influenced his life?

"I believe in God. We all do. We like to be straight, don't go crazy or anything. Not to the point of losing our perspective on life, of what you are and who you are. A lot of entertainers, they make money and they spend the rest of their life celebrating that one goal they reached, and with that celebration comes the drugs and the liquor and the alcohol. And then they try to straighten up and they say, 'Who am I? Where am I? What happened?' And they lost themselves, and they're broken. You have to be careful and have some kind of discipline."

Is he a very self-disciplined person? "I'm not an angel, I know. I'm not like a Mormon or an Osmond or something where everything's straight. That can be silly sometimes. It goes too far."

It must be hard being an angel when you're acknowledged as one of the sexiest performers around, have girls camping in your backyard and the like.

"I wouldn't say I was sexy! But I guess that's fine if that's what they say. I like that in concert. That's neat."

What isn't neat is: "Like you run into a bunch of girls, which I do all the time, you'll drive outside and there'll be all these girls standing on the corner and they'll start bursting into screaming and jumping up and down and I'll just sink into my seat. That happens all the time ... Everyone knew where we lived before, because it was on the Map To The Stars Homes, and they'd come round with cameras and sleeping bags and jump the fence and sleep in the yard and come in the house - we found people everywhere. Even with 24-hour guards they find a way to slip in. One day my brother woke up and saw this girl standing over him in his bedroom. People hitch-hike to the house and say they want to sleep with us, stay with us, and it usually ends up that one of the neighbours takes them in. We don't let them stay. We don't know them."

More tales of crazy fans. One girl who tried to blow them up; another who screams at him in supermarkets. Must get a bit tough knowing who's your friend sometimes.

"It does become difficult. It's hard to tell, and sometimes I get it wrong. Just the force of feeling, or if a person's just nice without knowing who you are."

Lonely at the top? "We know lots and lots of people because we have such a big family. But [I've got] maybe two, three good friends."

Things weren't much different when he was growing up in Gary, Indiana. He remembers "a huge baseball pitch at the back of where I lived and children playing and eating popcorn and everything" and not being allowed to join in, but still reckons: "I didn't really feel left out. We got a lot in exchange for not playing baseball in the summer. My father was always very protective of us, taking care of business and everything.

"We went to school, but I guess we were even different then, because everyone in the neighbourhood knew about us. We'd win every talent show and our house was loaded with trophies. We always had money and we could buy things the other kids couldn't, like extra candy and extra bubblegum - our pockets were always loaded and we'd be passing out candy. That made us popular! But mostly we had private schooling. I only went to one public school in my life.

"I tried to go to another one here, but it didn't work, because a bunch of fans would break into the classroom, or we'd come out of school and there'd be a bunch of kids waiting to take pictures and stuff like that. We stayed at that school a week. The rest was private school with other entertainment kids or stars' kids, where you wouldn't have to be hassled."

But spending your life almost exclusively with your brothers and sisters - doesn't it get claustrophobic?

"Honestly, it doesn't, and I'm not just saying that to be polite."

Not even when they're on the road?

"No. We're so silly when we're on the road. We play games, we throw things at each other. It seems like when you're under pressure you find some kind of escapism to make up for that - because the road is a lot of tensions: work, interviews, fans grabbing you, everybody wants a piece of you, you're always busy, the phones ringing all night with fans calling you, so you put the phone under the mattress, then the fans knock at the door screaming, you can't even get out of the room without them following you. It's like you're in a goldfish bowl and they're always watching you."

How do you escape the madness?

"I go to museums and learn and study. I don't do sports - it's dangerous. There's a lot of money being counted on, and we don't want to risk anything. My brother hurt his leg in a basketball game and we had to cancel the concert, and just because of him having an hour of fun, thousands of people missed the show, and we were being sued left and right because of a game. I don't think it's worth it ... I try to be real careful."

Even about talking to the press. Another reason he hates interviews is a fear of being misquoted. Magazines he reckons, "can be so stupid sometimes that I want to choke them! I say things and they turn it all around. Once I made a quote - I care about starvation and I love children and I want to do something about the future. And I said, one day I'd love to go to India and see the starving children and really see what it feels like. And they wrote that Michael Jackson gets a kick out of seeing children starve, so you can see what kind of person he is!"

You wonder how someone so sweet and shy and childlike gets to be such a demon onstage.

"I just do it really. The sex thing is kind of spontaneous. It really creates itself."

So you don't practise being sexy in front of the mirror?

"No! Once the music plays, it creates me. The instruments move me, through me, they control me. Sometimes I'm uncontrollable and it just happens - boom, boom, boom! - once it gets inside you."

Michael has complete control over every aspect of his career. And he criticises his own efforts more than anyone else's: "I'm never satisfied with what I do. I always think I can do it a lot better."

Anyway, as we told you already he's going to be working on a film with Steven Spielberg. "I love Steven," says Michael. "I can't really tell you anything about the project. I will say Steven is my favourite director, and that he's looked long and hard for the right property."

Just heard that Francis Ford Coppola wants to do Peter Pan with him as the lead. And we at Creem haven't seen such a blatant bit of typecasting since Sly Stone made his fortune playing mindless beefcake. At 24, doesn't it get on his nerves being referred to as a "child"?

"I don't mind. I feel I'm Peter Pan as well as Methusalah, and a child. I love children so much. Thank God for children. They save me every time!

But how about a film of his own life, then? Will we ever get to see a film of Michael Jackson's magical life?

"No. I'd hate to play my own life story," he grimaces. "I haven't lived it yet! I'll let someone else do it."

Sylvie Simmons, 1983
sursa: www.guardian.co.uk

Mallika Chopra - Rediscovering Michael Jackson With My Kids

2010-04-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

Posted Mon, 03/15/2010 - 22:40

With a smile, I read about a sweeping contract between Michael Jackson's Estate and Sony Records that will make Michael's music alive for years - decades - to come. I smile because I have witnessed in the last 9 months how MJ's music has influenced my own children.

My two daughters met Michael several times. They were short interactions, as it was more about letting our kids meet, and Michael would be in and out, giggling and telling me he couldn't believe I was a mother. But these interactions were always followed by many questions by my daughters about why he looked so strange. Michael's plastic surgery, when witnessed up close, was difficult to face.

And, my children, who really knew nothing about who he was or that he was famous, would be confused about why he looked like that or chose to do that to himself. (To the extent, that I personally swore off ever doing plastic surgery because I firmly believe in showing my daughters that we need to love who we are inside, not just on the outside.)

I was always sad after these meetings, because I felt that my girls could never know how magnificent Michael had once been or that his music transcended his own insecurities. To be honest, we didn't play his music much anymore at home, and their music mix was more contemporary.

But since Michael's death, it has been difficult to miss his music. Right after he died, we were in London and Paris, and literally everywhere we went his music was playing. This happened worldwide - when we returned home to LA or visited India several months later.

And I watched as my children heard his music they would smile, listen to the words, move to the beat.

And one day in October when I picked up my 5 year old from preschool, her class was having a dance party, grooving to BAD. Every day, my 8 year old practices MAN IN THE MIRROR, a song they are performing for a school event. And she takes in each word of the song. When we hear HEAL THE WORLD or EARTH SONG (2 of several songs that my father helped MJ write the lyrics for), I watch my daughters discover the timelessness and significance of his music.

Recently we saw Mama Mia on Broadway, and I knew it was a matter of time until MJ's music appears on Broadway or a new WII game is released featuring his songs. Of course, the over commercialization means big business to many, and its part of his tragic story that it has all happened after he died. I just pray - and know the Executors of his Estate know many are watching - to make sure that his children see the financial benefit.

But, I smile because ultimately Michael will be remembered for his music. A tortured soul, yes. But also a soul that could move people, and make them feel connected with his song.

sursa: www.intent.com

The Egg-Michael-Jackson

2010-04-04T01:08:00.000-07:00

Dacă nu era "cămaşa Audigier" - nici nu s-ar fi putut spune cine e reprezentat de figurina realizată din... ouă (fierte, probabil).

Cel care, de 30 de ani, face - din ouă, "portrete" ale vedetelor se numeşte John Lamouranne, şi are un site propriu, numit www.iamjohntheeggman.com. Distractiv. Păcat că toţi ceilalţi seamănă şi tocmai MJ -nu.

Michael Jackson may not have been a film star, but ARMOND WHITE explains his music videos as art

2010-03-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, November 18,2009
Keep Moving
Michael Jackson may not have been a film star, but ARMOND WHITE explains his music videos as art
By Armond White
. . . . . . .

Keep Moving: Michael Jackson’s Video Art

At Walter Reade Theater, Nov. 22, 6 p.m.

Liz Taylor was right in her now famous Tweet about Michael Jackson’s This Is It. My Lincoln center program about MJ’s music videos (Keep Moving: Michael Jackson’s Video Art at the Walter Reade Theater, Nov. 22) was planned before This Is It, but it ought to confirm Dame Liz’s enthusiasm. It’s designed to show film enthusiasts who wonder: “What happened to the movie musical?” or “Why wasn’t Michael a film star?” Despite race, class and puritanical obstacles, Jackson advanced the movie-musical genre his own way—working with the best, trusting his instinct and raising the promo film to an art form every time out.

MJ’s taken-for-granted cinematic passion was ahead of Hollywood in visualizing the complexities of sex (“In the Closet”) race (“Black or White”), ecology (“Earth Song”) and that aspect of our cultural heritage that wrestles with mankind’s aggressive instincts (“Smooth Criminal”). Put MJ in proper context with Singin’ in the Rain, Shall We Dance and The Band Wagon as serious expression, not trivial daydreaming. Too busy finger-sapping to consider “The Way You Make Me Feel” ’s exploration of courtship ritual? In This Is It, MJ turns masculine drive into iconography that studies eroticism and social custom—all of it beautifully sung and imaginatively choreographed.

MJ’s music video legacy shames contemporary Hollywood’s inability to sustain the music video as an expression of mankind’s dreams. He displayed rare understanding of how music and images can edify the human condition. That’s why Liz’s all-out defense and confirmation matters. She tweeted: “[This Is It] is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen. It cements forever Michael’s genius in every aspect of creativity. To say he was a genius seems so little…I truly believe this film should be nominated in every category conceivable.”

Liz, of course, is totally right. She challenges the Motion Picture Academy and the upcoming parade of Oscarheads to see past tabloid demonization to the significance of MJ’s art; to make right the mainstream’s neglect of a great artist.

Get Armond White’s new book Keep Moving: The Michael Jackson Chronicles from resistanceworkswdc@yahoo.com
sursa: www.nypress.com

Moştenirea lui Michael Jackson: Copilul magician (1958-1978)

2010-03-08T04:01:00.000-08:00

Michael Jackson's Life & Legacy: Wiz Kid (1958-78)

Jackson 5, solo hits and a star turn in 'The Wiz' defined Michael's early years.
Mon. July 06.2009 7:51 AM EDT
by Gil Kaufman

In the wake of his untimely death on June 25, it's hard to remember a time when Michael Jackson was not in our lives. The world-famous singer — who in the 1980s shattered all notions of what pop stardom could be — had been a major star since he was 10 years old, and by the time he released what is still the best-selling album of original material of all time, 1982's Thriller, he was already a wily music-industry veteran.

Born Michael Joseph Jackson on August 29, 1958, into a musical family of less-than-modest means in the industrial Midwestern town of Gary, Indiana, Jackson began performing with his brothers professionally at the age of 5 in a group put together by his steelworker father, Joseph. It quickly became apparent that even among his musical siblings, Michael's talents were on another level.

By age 6, Jackson was already gaining attention for his preternatural gifts for singing, dancing and performing a well-rehearsed medley of Motown, R&B and soul hits. The group, known first as the Jackson Brothers and then the Jackson 5 (the other members were Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Tito) hit the talent-show circuit, winding up on the famous stage of the Apollo Theater in New York's Harlem neighborhood, where in 1967 they won an amateur-night competition.

As Jackson carefully studied the moves and musical phrasing styles of such contemporary masters as James Brown, Jackie Wilson and Sam and Dave, the group landed a recording contract with Motown in 1968. At that point, as a result of relentless pushing from Joseph Jackson — which, Michael would later reveal, included physical and emotional abuse — they were already a well-rehearsed machine thanks to four years of work on the "chitlin' circuit" of black nightclubs, often opening for burlesque acts.

Thanks to personal attention from Motown boss Berry Gordy, the group was assigned a crack production team that helped write and record the songs that made them instant stars. Led by Michael, who handled nearly all the lead vocals and captivated audiences with his polished dance moves, their first four singles — "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" — all reached #1 on the Billboard charts, a milestone no group had ever accomplished before. As a testament to the star power of their youthful, energetic sound, dubbed "bubblegum soul" by the music press, "I Want You Back" sold 6 million copies worldwide and "ABC" replaced the Beatles' "Let It Be" as the #1 single in April of 1970. That same year, the Jackson 5 were headlining shows in 20,000-seat venues and appearing regularly on "The Ed Sullivan Show." They helped shatter mainstream perceptions of African-American families with an appearance on the cover of Life magazine in 1971. In a glimpse of things to come, Michael and his brothers were heavily merchandised on everything from stickers and jacket patches to posters, lunch boxes, coloring books and a Saturday morning cartoon on ABC that ran for two seasons beginning in 1971.

Even as the group was gaining worldwide fame, Michael was being pushed further out front as a solo artist. He released the Oscar-nominated single "Ben" in 1972 as the title song to a movie about a young boy and his homicidal pet rat. He released a series of four solo albums with Motown, scoring hit singles with "Got to Be There" and a remake of "Rockin' Robin," one of his most beloved early numbers, while appearing on shows like "The Dating Game" during his teen-heartthrob years.

By 1975, with their musical careers on the decline and looking to assert more creative control over their sound, the group split with Motown and renamed themselves the Jacksons, signing with Epic Records. They scored a short-lived variety show on CBS in 1976 (the first time a variety series was hosted by an African-American family), competing with ABC's "Donny and Marie" (Osmond) show.

Though their first two post-Motown efforts were commercial duds, the family stormed back in 1978 with the disco-fied "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)," which was written by Michael and Randy and sold more than 2 million copies. Michael took his boldest step yet away from the family business in 1978 when he appeared alongside longtime friend and Motown mentor Diana Ross in the funky big-screen remake of the Broadway musical "The Wiz," based on the classic children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

Jackson was a revelation in the role of the rubber-legged scarecrow, holding his own in his first major acting role alongside such veterans as Nipsey Russell, Richard Pryor and Lena Horne. In a recent blog post, famed producer Quincy Jones, the music supervisor for the film, said he was reluctantly pulled into the project by director Sidney Lumet but is forever glad that he said yes.

"As the scarecrow, Michael dove into the filming of 'The Wiz' with everything that he had, not only learning his lines but those of everyone in the cast," he wrote. The friendship the two formed while working on that film turned into a professional partnership that would soon change the face of popular music forever, first with Jackson's Jones-produced Off the Wall solo album, and then with their collaboration on the landmark Thriller.

As the 1970s reached their end, Michael's star was just beginning to rise ...
sursa: www.vh1.com

Moştenirea lui Michael Jackson: excentricul King of Pop (1986-1999)

2010-03-08T03:57:00.000-08:00

Michael Jackson's Life & Legacy: The Eccentric King Of Pop (1986-1999)

Part 4 of 5: Jackson earns nickname 'Wacko Jacko' while still releasing #1 albums.

by James Montgomery

How does one follow up the biggest-selling album of all time? That was the question facing Michael Jackson in 1986, though, to be fair, attempting to replicate the success of Thriller wasn't the only thing on his mind. Far from it, in fact.

Beginning in the mid-'80s, Jackson the Superstar also became Jackson the Sideshow. Thanks to dramatic changes in his physical appearance, salacious tabloid stories (some of which he helped spread) and some bizarre behavior, the King of Pop opened himself up to a whole new world of media scrutiny and speculation. This was the era of the hyperbaric chamber, Bubbles the Chimp, the brand-new cleft in his chin and the gradual lightening of his skin. This was the time he opened Neverland and became known as "Wacko Jacko."

Most of the material printed about Jackson was mean-spirited, false or both. But Jackson didn't help matters much — nor did he particularly seem to care. He famously helped the tabloids spread the story that he slept in a hyperbaric chamber, even allowing himself to be photographed reclining in a glass tube to promote his Disney theme-park sci-fi film, "Captain EO." He debuted his pet chimpanzee Bubbles in a seeming effort to emphasize his eccentric persona. And when the most famous man in the world is palling around with a pet chimpanzee and purchasing the bones of the Elephant Man, you really can't blame the tabloids for firing away mercilessly.

Make no mistake about it, by this point, Michael Jackson was the biggest celebrity on the planet, and in November 1986, he reteamed with Quincy Jones to begin work on an album that would help keep him that way. Originally, Jackson had intended the follow-up to Thriller to be a triple-disc affair — he reportedly wrote something in the neighborhood of 60 songs for the album — but at Jones' insistence, he whittled the project down to just a single, hit-packed disc: the album that would become known as Bad.

Understandably, the expectations for the album were ridiculously high, and grew even higher after Jackson planned duets with the likes of Prince (on the title track) and Whitney Houston (and Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand). None of those collaborations ended up happening, but they only increased the hype for the album. Bad was a deeply personal project for Jackson — he wrote nine of the 11 songs — one that saw him gain further independence and debut a harder-edged look and sound.

Released in 1987, Bad debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart (a first for Jackson) and stayed there for six consecutive weeks. It's filled with classics like "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Dirty Diana" and "Man in the Mirror." It was — and still is — the only album in history to score five Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles, and it has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Still, as his detractors like to point out, it wasn't Thriller.

Whether Jackson was aware of this or not remains unclear. He promoted the album in grandiose fashion, first with a self-produced special on his life ("The Magic Returns"), then with a series of epic videos, including the 18-minute Martin Scorsese-directed clip for "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal," the centerpiece of his "Moonwalker" film. He launched a massive, Pepsi-sponsored world tour, which grossed more than $125 million. He wrote a memoir, purchased the land on which he'd build his Neverland Valley Ranch and was dubbed the "Artist of the Decade" by President George H.W. Bush.

Then the 1990s began, and everything changed.

Things started off promisingly. In June 1990, Jackson began work on a new album, teaming this time with hotshot producer/ new-jack-swing innovator Teddy Riley, and in March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for a then-record $65 million. In October, he and Riley finally wrapped production on Dangerous. The sprawling, 14-track, 77-minute album was released in November and — once again — bowed at #1 on the charts, sold more than 32 million copies worldwide and featured a menagerie of excellent singles, including "Remember the Time," "Jam" and, perhaps most notably, "Black or White," which created a firestorm of controversy thanks to an unexpectedly violent and sexually suggestive music video (which, to be fair, was actually pretty tame).

But for the first time in his legendary career, even his biggest fans began to have doubts about his behavior. In February 1993, he gave a 90-minute interview to Oprah Winfrey in which he spoke about his childhood abuse at the hands of his father, admitted that he often cried from loneliness and claimed that he was suffering from the skin disease vitiligo. Jackson would later cancel his Dangerous world tour, claiming he was addicted to prescription painkillers, and enter a rehabilitation facility. Finally, in August of that year, he was accused of child abuse by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler, a friend of Jackson's who had spent time at Neverland. Chandler told a psychiatrist and police that he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex; the child gave a detailed description of the singer's genitals.

An official investigation was launched, with police searching Neverland and performing a 25-minute strip search of Jackson's body. Jackson, looking gaunt and tired, released an emotional video statement proclaiming his innocence, describing the search by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff as "dehumanizing and humiliating" and calling the allegations against him "disgusting" and "horrifying." He also promised to fight the allegations and prove his innocence, though in January 1994, he settled out of court with the Chandler family in a civil lawsuit worth a reported $22 million. Jackson was never formally charged, and the state of California closed its criminal investigation, citing lack of evidence.

Still, the damage was done. Jackson would never again be portrayed in a positive light by the tabloids (or much of the mainstream media) in his lifetime, and when he married Lisa Marie Presley in May, most treated the union with skepticism and ridicule. The two would later attempt to address their portrayal in an interview with Diane Sawyer and a kiss at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards, though both moves hurt more than they helped. The couple eventually divorced in January 1996, though they remained close friends. (Last week, Presley posted a long blog about her relationship with Jackson.)

Things didn't get much better from there. In 1995, Jackson released the double-disc HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, which featured an album's worth of greatest hits and a second disc of new material, including "Scream," a duet with his sister Janet, and "You Are Not Alone," a ballad penned by R. Kelly. The package sold well, but there was much focus on its marketing scheme (which saw Jackson erecting massive statues of himself across Europe) and the controversy of racial slurs in the lyrics Jackson had originally recorded for the song "They Don't Care About Us."

In 1996, while on tour in support of HIStory, Jackson wed dermatology nurse Debbie Rowe, who bore him two children, son Michael Joseph Jr. (known as Prince Michael) and daughter Paris Michael Katherine. The couple divorced three years later, with Rowe granting full custody to Jackson (although at press time she was considering contesting that decision).

And thus a very tumultuous decade came to a close. As Jackson headed into the 21st century, for the first time in his career, he faced considerable doubts. He was no longer a sure bet — in fact, many found him to be odd and unsettling. But no one could predict just how bad things would get for him in the years that followed.
sursa: www.vh1.com

Moştenirea lui Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (1979-1981)

2010-03-08T03:53:00.000-08:00

Michael Jackson's Life & Legacy: Don't Stop (1979-81)

Part 2 of 5: Off the Wall establishes Jackson as a solo star.
Mon. July 06.2009 7:51 AM EDT
by James Montgomery

In 1978, Michael Jackson was known primarily for being "the cute one" in the Jackson 5. He had released four solo albums, scored a #1 solo hit ('72's "Ben," from the film of the same name) and had just left his longtime home — Motown Records — for a new deal with Epic Records. He wasn't yet the King of Pop — he was barely even a prince. Rather, he was a child star trying to make the leap from precocious to profound — a leap that most can't pull off.

Still, Jackson had a better shot than many. In '78, he starred as the Scarecrow in "The Wiz," a big-budget retelling of "The Wizard of Oz." The film, starring Diana Ross and Richard Pryor, was unsuccessful, but his contribution was a spry, bounding turn that, as one critic posited, "provided the only genuinely memorable moments" in the film.

Jackson's talents weren't just noticed by the critics. Legendary producer Quincy Jones served as the musical supervisor on "The Wiz," and was amazed by Jackson's dedication to his role, later saying in his autobiography that his acting method reminded him of a young Sammy Davis Jr. Perhaps more importantly, however, was the fact that Jones also produced the soundtrack to the film, marking his first musical collaboration with Jackson. Needless to say, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Shortly after the release of "The Wiz," Jones and Jackson convened in a series of Los Angeles recording studios to begin work on the album that would make the Jackson 5 a distant memory. Recorded over the span of seven months, featuring a cracking session band and drawing upon some of the finest songwriters in the business (Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, disco king Rod Temperton), Off the Wall was a landmark effort — a supremely styled, game-changing smash that turned Jackson into an international superstar. The album sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, deposited four singles into the Billboard Top 10 and showcased (or, more specifically, unleashed) Jackson's talents as a entertainer, a vocalist, a writer and, most importantly, as a leading man.

Off the Wall signified Jackson's independence, and not just from the stifling creative control foisted on him by the folks at Motown. Over the course of 10 revelatory tracks, Jackson serves notice that he's no longer the cherub-faced boy with the notable afro, he's a full-grown man, one capable of workin' day and night, not stopping 'til he's had enough and loving so hard that it cuts like a knife. A masterful mixture of fiery disco tracks (album opener "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Workin' Day and Night"), smooth, loverman tunes ("Rock With You," the McCartney cover "Girlfriend") and positively soul-devastating ballads ("She's Out of My Life," on which Jackson famously breaks down at track's end), Off the Wall is sumptuous, sexy and self-assured, a powerhouse that, through sheer skill of all involved, re-imagined R&B, disco and funk as not just so-called "black" music, but as colorblind, all-encompassing pop music, tunes that the entire world could groove to. And they did.

The album was largely ignored by the Grammys (it took home just one award, for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male), but that hardly mattered. Critics praised his singing — one Melody Maker review called Jackson "probably the best singer in the world right now in terms of style and technique" — his newfound depth and maturity, and compared his skills to those of Stevie Wonder. And thanks to Wall's success, Jackson truly became a star — hobnobbing with the likes of Truman Capote and Andy Warhol at Studio 54 — and a sex symbol, famously dating model/actress Brooke Shields (not to mention the stylish tux he wore on the album's cover).

Emboldened by that success, he also began to show glimpses of the savvy that would make him iconic — and rich — in the 1980s, making flashy (for the time, anyway) videos for singles from the album and renegotiating his royalty rate with Epic Records to an astonishing 37 percent of wholesale album profit, by far the highest in the industry.

Michael Jackson had arrived. He was a swaggering, sexy star, a force to be reckoned with, and an unstoppable hit-making machine. And, as the decade drew to a close, confident and rich and already beyond famous, he began to think of ways to follow up Off the Wall. He knew that he'd once again work with Jones, and he knew the album had to be huge. But never in his wildest dreams could he imagine what would happen next ...
sursa: www.vh1.com

Moştenirea lui Michael Jackson: ultimii ani (2000-2009)

2010-03-08T03:47:00.000-08:00

Michael Jackson's Life & Legacy: The Final Years (2000-2009)

Part 5 of 5: After years of scandal, Jackson was planning a comeback before his death.

by Eric Ditzian

Invincible — the album title was part stone-cold defiance, part self-conscious bravado. Michael Jackson's 10th and, as it would turn out, final studio record dropped in October 2001. The King of Pop was attempting to move forward after a sordid period in the mid-to-late '90s, as news of financial troubles and child-molestation accusations conspired to weaken the singer's commercial prospects.

And though Invincible debuted atop the Billboard albums chart, staying on the list for 28 straight weeks and going double platinum, the scandals continued, right up until the singer's death on June 25.

For a period, though, it seemed as if the new millennium might indeed grant Jackson his elusive comeback. In early September of that year — just days before the September 11 terrorist attacks — Jackson staged two concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the beginning of his career as a solo artist. Reuniting onstage with his brothers, MJ performed Jackson 5 classics and then rocked out alongside Usher, Slash and Britney Spears. On Halloween, Invincible began its ascent to #1, and Jackson seemed on the verge of being welcomed back into the pop mainstream.

A true comeback, though, was not be. Jackson's album sales were a fraction of the sales of earlier albums, like Bad and Dangerous, and his singles failed to perform up to expectations. He also began feuding with his label, Sony, and accused then-chairman Tommy Mottola of using racist language and refusing to promote black artists adequately. Then Jackson's erratic behavior — on display in an awkward "artist of the millenium" acceptance speech at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards — took a turn for the frightening as he dangled 11-month-old son "Blanket" from a fifth-floor hotel window in Berlin.

At that time, from May 2002 to January 2003, Jackson sat down with British journalist Martin Bashir for a series of lengthy interviews that would become the documentary, "Living With Michael Jackson." If the pop singer was hoping that showing an intimate, televised portrait of himself to the world would help rehabilitate his image, he was mistaken.

"Why can't you share your bed?" Jackson said in response to Bashir's question about sleeping in a bedroom with children. "That's the most loving thing to do, is to share your bed with someone."

"I have slept in the bed with many children," he admitted at another point. "I sleep in the bed with all of them."

It was just such objectionable quotes, however sympathetic Bashir's documentary seemed overall, that captured the public's attention and, ultimately, proved to be the King of Pop's undoing.

Soon after the U.S. airing of the documentary, which contained interview footage of a young cancer patient who had stayed in Jackson's bedroom, the singer was arrested and eventually charged with several counts of child-molestation based on the boy's accusations. The resulting trial — and frenetic media and fan circus — lasted five months, ending a year-and-a-half after his initial arrest, when the singer was acquitted on all 10 felony charges.

Following the verdict in June 2005, Jackson fled to the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain, where he stayed as the guest of the king's son. Meanwhile, his personal finances continued to deteriorate, as crippling debt from loans negotiated over the years mounted and sales of newly issued greatest hits albums faltered. After failing to pay staff salaries and renew insurance policies at his lavish Neverland estate in Los Olivos, California, authorities ordered the compound's closure.

The singer eventually returned to U.S. soil but never again lived at Neverland. Rumors of potential comeback tours and albums cropped up occasionally but never moved forward. Late last year, after missing payments on a $24.5 million loan and risking foreclosure on the massive property, the singer struck a last minute deal with an investment firm to maintain partial ownership of the ranch.

Jackson's decade began to wrap up much as it had begun: with real plans for a comeback. He sold out 50 shows at London's O2 Arena — over 1 million tickets in 24 hours, the fastest-selling event in history — and it was hoped that the concert series would jumpstart a world tour and a new album, which would provide Jackson with much-needed revenue. The singer had collaborated with producers like Akon and Will.I.Am for the album and had plunged into rehearsals in Los Angeles. The first concerts were expected to begin in mid-July.

On the afternoon of June 25, however, news broke that the singer was being rushed from his rented home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles to UCLA Medical Center. The King of Pop was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. PT.

Beginning with the Jackson 5 and stretching until his death at the age of 50, Jackson sold more than 750 million records worldwide. He scored eight platinum or multiplatinum albums, 13 #1 singles and 13 Grammy Awards. Thriller is the biggest-selling non-compilation album of all time. And as tributes from contemporary artists and his legions of fans poured forth in the hours and days following his passing, it became clear that Michael Jackson was, and always will be, the King of Pop.

sursa: www.vh1.com

Moştenirea lui Michael Jackson: perioada 1982-1986

2010-03-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

Michael Jackson's Life & Legacy: Global Superstar (1982-86)
Mon. July 06.2009 7:51 AM EDT

Part 3 of 5: Thriller and the Victory Tour make Jackson the biggest star in the world.

by Shaheem Reid

It may be the most profitably spent quarter of a year in music history: Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones holed up in the studio and cranked out Thriller, the biggest-selling album of original

"In three months, we had to deliver Thriller and the 'E.T.' songbook and storybook [Jackson's now-rare narration of the film]," Quincy Jones told MTV in December of 1984. "Yes: three months, two LPs, and that's what we did. It's probably the best thing that ever happened, because otherwise we'd start to think about [it too much] and getting paralysis from analysis and that sorta thing. But we didn't have time to think. We had a great motivator and incentive, which was just fear of making this deadline.

"All we were trying to do was to get finished and hope that it did as good as Off the Wall did. At the time, Off the Wall was the biggest-selling black album at the time," Jones told MTV News last year. "You can't think about the stuff. We come from an old-school world. We weren't into fame and money. The mindset was to do something you really believe in, something spiritual that gives you goosebumps."

Prior to Thriller, Jones and Jackson were coming off of Jackson's crowning achievement at the time: 1979's Off the Wall. That album marked Jackson's transition from child star to superstar and solidified his status as one of the great talents of the era. Songs such as "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" and "Rock With You" were solid hits, and the album was certified platinum many times over. So the young singer and Jones — with whom he had fostered a relationship during the filming of the movie "The Wiz" — had to come with the next great thing.

"Well, we had three years to reflect on a lot of things, and we also had to deal with the intimidation of trying to follow Off the Wall," Jones said. "It was intimidating, but we pushed ourselves into a schedule that eliminated any way that we could reflect on anything. I scheduled this so we just had to go forward, be intuitive and believe, and go straight ahead."

The first single from Thriller was "The Girl Is Mine," a duet Paul McCartney (with whom Jackson later collaborated on McCartney's hit "Say, Say, Say"). Years later, the two would have a falling out over the King of Pop purchasing the Beatles' publishing catalog, but in the early '80s, the two legends were thicker than thieves, despite their light tussling over the affections of woman on "The Girl Is Mine."

"I was surprised that Paul was as professional as Michael is," Jones said in 1984. "They just like each other a lot, so there was no friction. It just flowed."

"The Girl is Mine" never had a video and Thriller was far from a blockbuster out of the gate. However, two strategies helped to push it into the stratosphere: releasing the undeniable hits "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" in quick succession — and, more significantly, the powerful videos that accompany both songs.

"MTV had just started, and at that time, MTV wasn't playing black artists," Jones told MTV News last year. "[Warner Bros. executive] Steve Ross asked us what the next record was; we were down in Acapulco at the Warner Bros. villa. We said it was going to be a double-clutch of 'Billie Jean' and 'Beat It.' He said, 'That goes on MTV next week.' "

"It's kind of surreal and different," Jackson told MTV in 1999 about the video for "Billie Jean." "I didn't come up with that concept. It was a British fellow, Steve Barron. I thought he had wonderful ideas but I let him go with it. The only part I wrote in the piece was I said, 'Give me a section where I can dance a little,' because he'd said no dancing. I said, 'Just give me one little moment,' so that whole section where you see this long street and this billboard of these two girls — one of them is Billie Jean — and I'm dancing. That's the only part I contributed.

"[Looking at the video for 'Beat It'] makes me think of the song and working with Quincy Jones and all those wonderful people," Jackson added. "I love Quincy. He is a wonderful guy to work with and I remember him telling me to write a song that I would enjoy, with an edge. So I went into my room and wrote 'Beat It' — I don't know why but I did — about two gangs coming together. The song is so self-explanatory that it's so easy to make this short film, and I had seen ... I think it was a McDonald's commercial, and I said, 'God I like the rhythm and the cut of this commercial.' I said, 'I want this director [Bob Giraldi] for this piece,' so I reached out to him."

But of course, the best was yet to come.

"In my perspective, Michael and MTV rode it to glory," Quincy Jones said last year. "At last, 14 months after Thriller came out, the video for 'Thriller' [the song] came out — it had 10 cameras, nobody had seen anything like this. We were fearless! You have to know you're just a terminal being used by a higher power. It's not about us."

"The first time I saw the 'Thriller' video, I was waiting for it," Diddy told MTV News last week in Los Angeles. "It was a premiere for it — they showed you the making of it and all of that. It was something! Everyone had their VHS tapes, I think they had Betamax tapes out then. You waited for it, and your mind was blown. It's a definition of having your mind blown. Michael Jackson is the truest definition of having your mind blown."

Jackson told MTV in 1999 that part of the inspiration for making the "Thriller" video into a short film was being a fan of the Three Stooges.

"I always try to be a pioneer and be an innovator in whatever I do, and my dream was to always make short little films," he said, talking about the inspiration for the legendary video he made with director John Landis. "Because I'm a big fan of the Three Stooges — and I love watching Curly, who I think is wonderful — and they make these, like, 15-minute shorts. [A great video] has to be completely entertaining and have a linear sense of continuity as far as ... umm, I like having a beginning and a middle and an ending, so you can follow a story and not just be a collage of images. And sometimes that's great too, it depends on what the director, as a visionary, what he sees, really. I'm very much involved in the complete making and creating of the piece. It has to be from my soul."

A major part of the video's captivating power is the now-legendary dance moves. Jackson said coming up with the steps was one of the toughest parts.

"Well, it was a delicate thing to work on because I remember my original approach was, 'How do you make zombies and monsters dance without it being comical?' " he recalled. "So I said, 'We have to do just the right kind of movement so it doesn't become something that you laugh at.' But it just has to take it to another level. So I got in a room with [choreographer] Michael Peters, and he and I together kind of imagined how these zombies move by making faces in the mirror. I used to come to rehearsal sometimes with monster makeup on, and I loved doing that. So he and I collaborated and we both choreographed the piece and I thought it should start like that kind of thing and go into this jazzy kind of step, you know. Kind of gruesome things like that, not too much ballet or whatever."

Of course, the video helped push Thriller to record-breaking sales status. While Madonna released her self-titled debut in 1983 and Prince became a superstar in 1983 and '84 with the double-shot of 1999 and Purple Rain, no one reigned in the '80s like Michael Jackson.

On March 25, 1983, Jackson had another defining moment when he introduced the world to the one of the greatest dance moves of all time: the "Moonwalk," on the Motown 25th anniversary special. It was hip-hop, it was Grace Kelly, it was alien, it was the moment that those who saw it will probably never forget. It was as if he was defying gravity — not gliding, but almost floating across the stage.

Countless would-be imitators tried to mimic the move, but few succeeded. "I tried to do what he was doing," Paul Wall told MTV News. "But I had no skills on the moonwalk. Growing up with Chamillionaire, he had the skills on the dancing tip. I was like, 'You gotta show me how to do that.' I had the white glove, the microphone, I even had the doll — but I couldn't get the moonwalk down."

Michael received eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including Record of the Year for "Beat It," Best Male Pop Performances in the Rock and R&B categories and "Album of the Year." In May, he was even invited to the White House to receive an award from then-President Ronald Reagan to commemorate his support for charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.

Instead of a Thriller tour, Michael undertook the Victory Tour with his brothers, which hit stadiums in the summer of 1984 and ran through December. The tour reportedly grossed $75 million, and Michael donated his earnings (a reported $5 million dollars) to an assortment of charities. Although the tour had met with some controversy because of the way some tickets were sold, the outing was a huge success. Michael remained the biggest star in the world — but the pressure was beginning to show.

"Right now it's too much, and no one can dream of that kind of a level," Jones said of his friend's fame in 1984. "I think it was too hot. It's what you say you want, but it really is too hot. ... Fortunately you're talking about somebody that's been on the other side of screaming fans since he was 5 years old, so you're talking about a 20-year veteran. I mean, it's not new to him, and I imagine that between Off the Wall and Thriller for the public at large — because he gained so many new fans — they saw a vast difference because it was a discovery. But for Michael, I don't think the ratio was as big as it was for the fans as it was for him, because he couldn't get out of his hotel without protection since he was a little kid. It was pretty crazy — when a buzzsaw hits you, it's hard to tell which side blade hits you first. They were crazy after Off the Wall, any place with him was insane. And it's still insane, just on a larger scale, because it's international. I think he's done an incredible job of being just a real person. He is in touch. Very simple things make him happy."

However, cracks in the fa ade began to appear in the wake of Jackson's nearly unprecedented fame. Reports emerged of discord between Michael and the family during the run-up to the Victory Tour, and — worst of all — his hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in 1984.

The singer's behavior became eccentric during the years following Thriller, and as he and Jones began work on the follow-up, 1987's Bad, it would become even more so.
sursa: www.vh1.com

30 iulie 2009: emisiunea lui Larry King despre moartea lui Michael Jackson

2010-03-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

sursa: transcripts.cnn.com

CNN - LARRY KING LIVE

Breaking News in Investigation Into Michael Jackson's Death; Al Sharpton, Ann Coulter Debate Politics, Race

Aired July 30, 2009 - 21:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, a prime time exclusive -- hear for the first time from someone who was in Michael Jackson's home the day he died. His personal chef reveals the harrowing second by second account of what happened before paramedics were called to the deathbed. Screaming, sadness, chaos -- an eyewitness account.

Plus, Ann Coulter versus Al Sharpton -- the war of words over Professor Gates and the cop who arrested him. See who's still standing after the smackdown.

And then, why is another police officer in big trouble over this whole mess?

We'll show you his shocking public remarks and get some explaining, too.

His exclusive response next on LARRY KING LIVE.

A busy night.

Our first guest tonight is Kai Chase. She was Michael Jackson's personal chef and in his home the day he died. We'll talk to Kai in just a moment.

Let's first go to CNN's Randi Kaye with breaking news on Dr. Conrad Murray and what investigators were looking for when they executed search warrants yesterday -- Randi, what happened?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Larry, as you know, there were two search warrants executed in Las Vegas, one at Dr. Conrad Murray's home, the other in his clinic there. Well, those were filed today, so now the information on what they were looking for and what they found has been made public.

And I can tell you, according to the warrants, detectives were looking for evidence demonstrating crimes of excessive prescribing and prescribing to an addict; also, manslaughter -- evidence of manslaughter.

Now, the addict that they seem to be referring to in this case is Michael Jackson. But here's the key detail of the search warrant. It says that they were looking for any information related to Propofol or Diprivan. That is the very powerful sedative that authorities, as you know, believe killed Michael Jackson. It was found, reportedly, in his bedroom. I can tell you what the search warrant says. It says it's looking for records, shipping orders, distribution lists, anything relating to the purchase, transfer, receiving ordering, delivery and storage of Propofol or Diprivan.

KING: (INAUDIBLE).

KAYE: That is a really big deal.

I can tell what you they took. They took some hard drives. They took his iPhone. They took a couple of cell phone records. And they also were looking for any medical records or nursing notes related to the 19 aliases that are listed in this search warrant, that Michael Jackson was apparently using to obtain prescription drugs from various doctors -- Larry.

KING: Thanks, Randi.

Reporting right from the roof here in Los Angeles.

Kai Chase joins us, the personal chef to Michael Jackson during the final months of his life. She was working in the mansion where Michael and his children were residing the day he died.

Have you seen the kids since the death?

KAI CHASE, MICHAEL JACKSON'S PERSONAL CHEF: Yes, I have, Larry.

KING: How are they doing?

CHASE: They're doing great. And I saw them a couple of weeks ago. And they look great and they're playing with their cousins and having a good time.

KING: All right, you started as a chef when?

CHASE: Ooh, about 14 years ago, professionally.

KING: And they let you go and brought you back, right?

CHASE: No, no. I thought you meant all over.

KING: Oh.

CHASE: With Mr. Jackson, in March.

KING: In March.

CHASE: In March.

KING: And then they let you go and brought you back?

CHASE: They let me go and then Mr. Jackson and the kids requested me to come back in June.

KING: Now, take me to that -- that terrible day. CHASE: The morning I -- I got in to work around 8:00, 8:30. I fed the kids their breakfast and -- which is granola and almond milk -- and then proceeded to, you know, to start doing the lunch, you know, which was usually around 12:00, 12:30. So around 10:00, something like that, normally Dr. Murray usually comes down. And...

KING: He's living there?

CHASE: Dr. Murray would stay in the evening.

KING: He stayed overnight?

CHASE: He stayed overnight. And normally, he'd come around 10:00, 10:30, downstairs, to get Mr. Jackson's juices or some sort of breakfast for him for that morning.

So around that time, I noticed that I hadn't seen Dr. Murray. You know, so I'm just -- I'm thinking to myself, well, maybe Mr. Jackson is sleeping in late, you know, maybe because his rehearsal has been pushed back or something on that nature.

So I proceed, go to preparing the lunch and wrapped his lunch like Mr. Jackson likes -- you know, wrapped it in Saran Wrap and -- because he likes, you know, the -- his lunch like he is at a hotel, you know, kind of like room service.

KING: Room service.

CHASE: Yes, exactly. So around 12:00, 12:05, 12:10, Dr. Murray comes down the stairs. There was a stairwell that leads into the kitchen. And he's screaming, hurry. Go get Prince. Call security. Get Prince. So I...

KING: Prince is?

CHASE: Michael Jackson's eldest son. And he -- so I -- I drop everything that -- that I'm doing and I run into the den, which is very close to the kitchen. And I go get Prince. And Prince and I run back. And, you know, he meets Dr. Murray at the stairs. Prince stays with -- downstairs with us and Dr. Murray goes up the stairs with -- but within minutes, the paramedics are there. And the security is running upstairs, skipping stairs and all of a sudden we're all, you know, panicked -- you know, what's going on?

What's happening?

So the energy in the house had kind of just kind of changed from that happy kind of day that we were having and preparing lunch and having a good time to just kind of eerie.

KING: Well, what were the kids doing when this was going on?

What were they saying?

Were they...

CHASE: The -- the daughter, she says -- Paris, she starts screaming, "Daddy. Daddy. Daddy."

We all started, you know, crying and...

KING: You knew something was wrong with Michael?

CHASE: So we knew something was wrong.

KING: Right.

CHASE: Something was wrong. And -- and she's screaming, "Daddy," and starts crying. And then we started crying and we all come together in unity in a circle and we started holding hands. And we started praying, you know, God please let Mr. Jackson...

KING: You knew it was deadly bad?

CHASE: I didn't know what. I just had a feeling that something...

KING: You knew it was real serious?

CHASE: ...that something was very serious.

KING: The doctor first relayed that you by the way he came down the stairs?

CHASE: By the way he came down the stairs.

KING: You did not hear the 911 call, though?

CHASE: No. No.

KING: What didn't...

CHASE: I was never allowed up the stairs, you know.

KING: Oh, you never went up to his room?

CHASE: No. No, no. No. That was part of the rule of the house, you know. You had to...

KING: How did the food get up to him?

CHASE: Oh, Mr. Jackson would come downstairs and eat.

KING: He would come and eat this?

CHASE: With his children -- lunch and dinner with his children.

KING: You never went up to the upper quarters?

CHASE: No, never.

KING: Did he eat three meals a day, by the way?

CHASE: I prepared three meals a day. And, you know, sometimes he would take meals with him to rehearsal and some of the times he'd eat them here -- I mean at his home, you know.

KING: Did you see anybody remove the body?

CHASE: No. They asked us to leave -- go home around 1:30 -- 1:00, 1:30, something like that. Security had asked us to leave. And we asked if Mr. Jackson was OK. And they said we need to take him -- he's going to be going to the hospital.

KING: Did the rescue workers say anything to you?

CHASE: No. No one spoke.

KING: Did they act very worried?

CHASE: Everyone was very concerned. They were panicked, you know. No one knew. This -- it's just hurry, let's rush.

KING: Had you seen Michael the day before?

CHASE: Yes, I did. I saw him. I -- we did -- I fed him lunch, him and his children, the day before. And he ate lunch with his children at the dinner table. And then I packed his lunch -- his dinner for him to go to his rehearsal.

KING: How did he appear at lunch?

CHASE: He seemed like he was just, you know, tired. And I thought probably because of, where, you know, he's been rehearsing very -- he had been rehearsing a lot.

KING: Had he been eating well?

CHASE: When I was -- I had left in May. So in May, I don't know what was, you know, how his eating habits were.

When I came back in June, the third day in, he had asked me -- he had pulled me to the side and he said, you know, he told me, I need you. I know you know what you're doing. You do a very good job. I -- I want you here. I need you to be here. I need you to keep feeding me healthy.

Do you have my beet juice?

Do you have my organic juices, my -- my healthy food?

I need to stay healthy and strong.

He was excited about this tour.

KING: Did he eat a lot of solid foods?

CHASE: Oh, yes. On Saturdays, you know, gumbo, fried chicken, KFC, barbecue chicken, corn on the cob -- he and the children.

KING: Kai, by the way, has written a dramatic blog exclusive about what happened that day. Read it only on CNN.com/larryking. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Kai Chase.

You have not been to the house since, right?

CHASE: No, I haven't.

KING: You saw the kids at his mother -- Katherine's house?

CHASE: Yes. Yes.

KING: Why do you think the doctor called for Prince?

CHASE: Well, I think you know, at that point, he may have -- he may have panicked. And...

KING: The doctor panicked?

CHASE: It just seemed like he was in a panicked state. You know, he called for Prince. He called for the security -- just somebody, you know, that could go upstairs -- that was allowed to go upstairs.

KING: Had you seen much of Dr. Murray before that?

CHASE: I -- I saw Dr. Murray a lot in June, when I came back. And he was there on a regular.

KING: Did that question -- did you question that at all, what is a doctor doing here?

CHASE: No. No. No. Because I knew that Mr. Jackson was rehearsing, so I figured he was -- he -- that he was there, he was employed and he was there to take care of him.

KING: Would you say he was eating well?

CHASE: I fed him well.

KING: You fed him well and he ate well?

CHASE: And he ate well.

KING: Because there are all these stories he didn't eat.

CHASE: No, that's not -- no. He ate. He ate very well. He ate organic and fresh. He's -- you know, he's -- he is into the health foods and juices and things of that nature. But he ate very well.

KING: Was he a good employer?

CHASE: He was very nice to me. He's nice. You know, he -- you know, he liked people around him that were, you know -- and in his home -- that were, you know, genuine and -- and real. I thought he was a very nice man.

KING: Did you notice oxygen tanks, because if it was Diprivan and they have to measure blood -- they have to measure your blood pressure?

They also need oxygen tanks if you're giving that drug.

CHASE: Um-hmm.

KING: Did you notice them?

CHASE: I saw the oxygen tanks, yes.

KING: Where were they?

CHASE: I would see Dr. Murray carrying the oxygen tanks down in the mornings.

KING: On that morning or other mornings?

CHASE: No. I didn't see him that morning. I saw him in the afternoon, but other mornings.

KING: He would carry them down?

CHASE: Carry them down.

KING: They were portable oxygen tanks?

CHASE: Yes.

KING: Let's listen to some of that 911 call that brought emergency personnel to the house.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. I need to -- I need an ambulance as soon as possible, sir.

We have a -- a gentleman here that needs help and he's not breathing. He had -- he's not breathing and we need to -- we're trying to pump him, but he's not -- he's not (INAUDIBLE)...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK.

How old is he?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's 50 years old, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty?

OK. But he's unconscious?

He's not breathing? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's not breathing, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And he's not conscious either?

He's not breathing...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he's not conscious, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

All right. Do you have him -- what -- is he on the floor?

Where is he at right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's on the bed, sir. He's on the bed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, let's get him on the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Let's get him down to the floor. I'm going to help you with CPR right now, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need them to get -- we need just (INAUDIBLE)...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We're on our way there.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KING: Dr. Murray, his attorney has said that the delay in calling 911 was the phones in the house were disconnected.

Did you know that?

CHASE: No.

KING: Do you have any knowledge of that?

CHASE: No.

KING: Did you ever use the phone in the?

CHASE: No. No.

KING: OK. So you wouldn't know whether that was?

CHASE: No. No.

KING: The warrants to search the doctor's offices cited your name as a suspected alias for Michael Jackson.

What do you know about that?

CHASE: I was just made aware of that from my publicist, Michael Sans (ph) just recently. I think that is -- is appalling. I have no -- I have no clue what that is about.

KING: Has the police questioned you?

CHASE: The detectives came to my home right after the death because of the situation.

KING: But did they ask you anything about these prescriptions or your name or?

CHASE: No. That -- this is new.

KING: As an alias?

CHASE: No. This is all new, you know.

KING: So what do you make of this, Kai?

What's your read on this?

CHASE: As far as the prescription?

I think...

KING: The doctor, the -- the whole situation.

CHASE: I think -- you know, I don't know what to -- to make of it. I know that what, you know, the situation with, you know, the oxygen tanks and the doctor -- you know, the doctor, you know, was there, I thought, to do his job as his physician.

KING: Are you suspicious of the doctor?

CHASE: You know, I'm -- I -- I don't know what to make of it.

KING: Well, when you hear about drugs and things?

CHASE: Well, now. Now, you know (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: But you weren't then?

CHASE: No.

KING: We'll be back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Kai Chase, Michael Jackson's personal -- by the way, did you know that he had a nutritionist?

CHASE: I was just made aware of that when I heard it on the news. I (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: Wouldn't a nutritionist talk to a chef?

CHASE: She wasn't working there when I was there. I've never met her, you know. KING: What is this box of happiness?

CHASE: Isn't this adorable?

KING: Let's see if we can get that on camera.

CHASE: It's so cute.

Isn't it cute?

This is -- Paris made this for me. The children made this for me when I came back. So it was kind of...

KING: After you had left work and now come back...

CHASE: (INAUDIBLE).

KING: ...they missed you.

CHASE: They missed me, yes. So it was a box of happiness that it contained really pretty notes and...

KING: Like?

CHASE: ...and gifts and things. So, you know, just little letters, you know, from -- from Prince, you know, thanking me about -- thanking me for the gumbo and the gifts.

KING: "Dear Kai, thank you for the gifts and the gumbo. I hope you enjoy the gift. I think you'll like it. Love, Prince Jackson."

CHASE: Yes. And then this is really cute, from Paris.

KING: "Hey, Kai, thanks for getting me apricots. Daddy loves them."

(LAUGHTER)

CHASE: Yes.

KING: Let's look at this. You -- he loved apricots?

CHASE: Oh, yes. Organic. Yes. Exactly. He was -- he was getting ready for the tour. We were -- he was eating.

KING: Would you say, just from observation, that he looked in good health except for a little tired from rehearsing?

CHASE: You know, he looked very well to me in April. Yes, he did. He -- you know, I remember one -- one evening, he came downstairs, I mean, dressed nice. He had on his black jeans, straight leg and a black blazer, his black aviator glasses and his cell phone. And he comes downstairs and he says, to me, he goes: "Do you look like Dionne Warwick?"

And I said to him, I was like, "Oh, my goodness. Do I do love her? Yes. I have the same album you have at my house."

He gives me a thumbs up. Burt Bacharach all the way. So he was a charming man. I loved him.

KING: More with Kai Chase after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Kai Chase.

A custody deal for Michael's children was announced today. Katherine gets full custody. Debbie Rowe will have visitation rights.

What's your read on that?

CHASE: I think that's wonderful. Katherine and the kids -- that's beautiful. I mean I saw the interaction with them when I went to the home. And they -- they love their grandma, you know. They've got this wonderful -- and I think Debbie Rowe should see and raise her children.

KING: Did the kids ever talk about Debbie?

CHASE: No. They never, never did.

KING: Did you meet Debbie?

CHASE: No, I have never met her.

KING: But being the biological mother, you feel it's OK for her to have visitation?

CHASE: Of course. Absolutely.

KING: This tie with Katherine, how strong?

CHASE: Well, you know, the -- their -- Michael loved his mother, you know. And the children obviously love their grandmother. He spoke very highly of his -- of his mother. And it's a beautiful -- it's a beautiful bond that they have together. You know, she's loving. They love her.

KING: Did he ever have any health complaints?

Did he ever say I'm not feeling well or I have some chest pains or something is not right?

CHASE: No. Never anything like that. I -- I remember one day -- the third day I was there, when I came back, he had told me, you know, they're killing me. They're killing me because I'm working too much. I'm rehearsing too much.

KING: Who was they?

CHASE: I'm assuming whoever, you know, (INAUDIBLE).

KING: The concert people?

CHASE: (INAUDIBLE) possibly. He was -- he was rehearsing a lot. You know, I need to eat healthy. I need to stay strong, you know. I'm tired, you know. So, you know, keeping...

KING: So he complained?

CHASE: Just that one day to me.

KING: Was he looking forward to England?

CHASE: Oh, yes. Oh, absolutely. We all were. He was looking forward...

KING: Were you going to go?

CHASE: Yes. He -- he had Prince -- you know, Prince, his son, came and told me one day, daddy wants me to tell you that he wants you to go to London. And I said, well, please tell your daddy I said thank you and I would be honored. And the kids started jumping up and down -- you know, yes, Kai is going to London.

And then we started talking about bringing, you know, video games and stuff to the private jet. And it was just, you know, he was very excited about going on this -- doing this tour. This is his comeback.

KING: Did you cook for Dr. Murray?

CHASE: I would prepare meals for Dr. Murray in the evening with Mr. Jackson's meals before I left the home.

KING: And what was he like?

CHASE: Dr. Murray was -- he seemed very nice. He seemed like a nice man. He'd come, we'd talk. He'd -- he would bring -- you know, in the mornings he would get Mike -- Mr. Jackson's juices -- maybe one or two, maybe a mango or papaya juice or a beet juice or both. And he'd take them upstairs and he'd make sure that he ate. He had dinner with the family. I served them, you know.

He seemed like a nice man.

KING: Was he a late riser, Michael?

CHASE: Mr. Jackson -- it just -- it depended, you know. But he -- he would -- he would make sure that he would have lunch with his children.

KING: With his children?

CHASE: With his children.

KING: And their interaction was good?

CHASE: Oh, absolutely. You know, I would bring the dinner -- the lunches and set them on the table and they'd all come in and sit, close the door and they'd dine privately. And you would just hear laughter and story telling and just beautiful things. He's -- those were his babies.

KING: Why are you come forward now, Kai?

CHASE: I don't know if I would call it coming forward. I just think that, you know, I just want to -- to tell the fact that Mr. Jackson, he ate. He loves -- he loved food. And he was excited about this tour. (INAUDIBLE).

KING: So that's a good thing to clear up, that he wasn't some kind of anorexic.

CHASE: I never saw that. I saw the man eating.

KING: When you saw the tape of the rehearsals, did that impress you?

CHASE: Oh, absolutely. You know, it was like a light switch went on and he's there. You know, he's -- he's amazing. He's an entertainer.

KING: So this, to you, is a double shock?

I mean it's a -- there's -- you can't even express it, can you?

CHASE: Right.

KING: Seeing him like one second and the next second gone.

CHASE: Absolutely. It was very devastating, very devastating. You know, it was just unreal.

KING: Thank you, Kai.

CHASE: You're very welcome.

KING: Thanks for coming here.

CHASE: Thank you, Larry.

KING: Next, Al Sharpton and Ann Coulter.

Do I have to add anything?

Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joining us now from West Palm Beach, Florida, Ann Coulter, the syndicated columnist, conservative commentator, number one "New York Times" best-selling author. Her newest book is "Guilty: Liberal Victims and Their Assault on America."

And in New York, Reverend Al Sharpton, president and founder of the National Action Network, noted civil rights leader and a syndicated radio host.

All right, the statement was issued today from the White House concerning the meeting that took place earlier between the sergeant, the president and the professor: "I am thankful to Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley for joining me at the White House this evening for a friendly, thoughtful conversation. Even before we sat down for the beer, I learned that the two gentlemen spent some time together listening to one another, which is a testament to them. I've always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart. I'm confident that what has happened here tonight. And I'm hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson from this episode."

Ann Coulter, do you think that will put it away?

ANN COULTER: I don't think it should. And, also, by the way, I think it was a little racial profiling with the president assuming the Irish cop would like to drink beer. No Chablis here. That's a little stereotyping.

But, no. I mean I think it is a teachable moment. But the -- but the teachable moment needs to go to Barack Obama and to Henry Lewis Gates.

We have one case after another of these, where -- where there is an assumption of racial profiling or racism by cops or by teachers and you have one hoax after another -- from Tawana Brawley to the Duke lacrosse case.

And if we're going to claim that there is this -- this rash of racial profiling in America, you know, eventually there's got to be one real case of it.

KING: All right.

Al, how do you counter?

REV. AL SHARPTON: Well, first of all, I think that you must deal with the fact that what the president did tonight was absolutely the right thing to do, to set a tone and a climate so we can go forward and deal with both what police are dealing with in terms of trying to fight crime in their field and what people have to deal with documented cases of racial profiling.

There are 23 states that have laws on racial profiling. There have been any number of states that have studied and documented it. To say that they are all hoaxes is Ann, you know, being Ann.

I think the fact is that when you see almost half the country dealing with this, the state law, even the Justice Department under President Bush documenting the differences in terms of arrests and in terms of stops and searches.

KING: But is the...

SHARPTON: I think now we have a climate to deal with it. KING: And the question is, was this racial profiling?

The other night on this show Colin Powell said, looking at both sides, he said that the professor was wrong for getting angry. It's a cop. You listen to the cop. The cop was wrong for arresting him.

Are you saying, Ann, that there is no racial profiling?

Are you saying that doesn't exist?

COULTER: I'm saying that probably everything under the sun exists at one point or another. Whether this is a crisis or an academic...

KING: No, that's not the question.

COULTER: Right.

KING: Does racial profiling exist?

COULTER: But -- no, I do not think that there is an epidemic of racial profiling. I think there is an epidemic of -- of claims of racism that turn out to be a hoax.

I mean, like I say, you go back to Tawana Brawley. There was also the case of the Exeter kid, Edmund Perry, I think his name was...

KING: But because those were hoaxes...

COULTER: ...and that...

KING: ...are you saying that, therefore, there is no racial profiling, because they may not have been...

COULTER: Well, all of...

KING: ...been racial profiling?

COULTER: Well, all of the big...

KING: You can't.

COULTER: ...all of the big cases that were released to us and -- and Bill Clinton citing a racial incident that was known to be a fraud in his Democratic acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1992. There was the Kiko Garcia case in New York, allegedly racial profiling, shot a kid. It turns out he's holding a machete. He was turning.

KING: Yes, but do you think...

COULTER: (INAUDIBLE) a gun.

KING: I think the question -- before I come back to Al, Ann, do you think it's possible that a black man in America last night might have been stopped by someone -- by a policeman just because he was black?

COULTER: I think it's possible that a man bit a dog yesterday. But if I keep hearing about man biting dog stories, I want to see one real one. What we have is dog bites man stories. We're told every time the man bites a dog, it turns out to be false. What you hear is well, OK, this one wasn't true. But there are all the other ones.

KING: Sergeant Crowley spoke to the media after he had the beer with the president and the professor. Here's a little bit of what he said and then we'll have Al comment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEANT JAMES CROWLEY, CAMBRIDGE POLICE DEPT.: What you had today is two gentlemen that agreed to disagree on a particular issue. I don't think that we spent too much time dwelling on the past. We spent a lot of time discussing the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: What did you make of that, Al? Good idea?

SHARPTON: Well, I think it's a good idea, particularly of now, those in law enforcement and those that are involved in fighting for these cases can come together and sit with those in government and try, in this climate of trying to deal with what is fair and equal for all, do that. I remember when Janet Reno had began that. I would hope that Eric Holder and others picked that up.

And I think that the fact of the matter is there are clear cases that have to be dealt. I mean can you go from Rodney King to Abner Louima and on and on where people went to jail. I'm not going to get in this argument with Ann. Clearly, 23 states are not hallucinating racial profiling.

And Colin Powell said on this show the other night, talking about his own experiences going to account. So all of these people are not making this up. To go 23 years ago to Brawly -- I mean try to find something this century, Ann. We're talking about a problem --

COULTER: The Duke Lacrosse case.

SHARPTON: Well, the Duke Lacrosse case was not about profiling. That was about a report. You maybe need to find profiling -- but the racial profiling -- racial profiling is when there is an assumption made, based on race, when there is no one that is called in the report. And I think maybe if you understood the definition, you could not deny it.

KING: Al, do you think it's possible -- do you think Colin was right when he said the professor over-reacted?

SHARPTON: The question becomes -- that's why you need to have law enforcement and all these forces sit. The question is what is over-reaction in your own home? We need to define that. Is it possible? Sure. What we need to do now is deal with the law. If you're in your house, someone comes to your door; you think it's the repairman; it is not; they order you out of the house; However you respond, is that over-reaction?

The fact of the matter is what we do know is the prosecutors said we're not going forward with this case. This is interesting to me. The police unions, Larry, were mad at the president. They never questioned the prosecutors' decision, saying we're not going forward, which meant what undermined the arrest was not the president, not those that supported Dr. Gates, like me, but the prosecutors.

KING: Ann, on the other hand, if it's your house and -- forget racial. It's your house. They're questioning you about your own house. You would be ticked?

COULTER: In fact, I have been -- at least in the initial crankiness by Professor Gates, I've been somewhat of a defender of his, in as much as I'm someone who travels a lot. I get a lot of -- I get cranky, too, especially after a long trip from China.

What can't be defended, I think, is the next 48 hours, the next week, when he could calm down and think, oh boy, I over-reacted. Wish I hadn't done that. But I think that is a problem. Both aggrieved minorities and aggrieved females are told to take every slight, interpret everything as it's because your black. It's because you're a woman. I don't think that's good for blacks or females. I don't think it's good for the rest of the country.

And there is one thing I'd like to say about the studies on racial profiling, and even the Bush administration coming out with them. The Bush administration itself suppressed a study that disproved eight billion racial profiling studies about the New Jersey State Troopers. There was a scientific study setting up cameras of people speeding. It turns out New Jersey State Troopers, by scientific evidence that was -- the Bush administration kept rejecting and rejecting -- were stopping, if anything, not enough blacks.

SHARPTON: So you're saying, Ann --

KING: Hold it. Hold it.

(CROSS TALK)

KING: By the way, who you are more likely to agree with, Ann or Al? I think they disagree. Go to CNN.com/LarryKing and have your say.

And, by the way, the Boston police officer who is in hot water over all this, he'll be with us in a little while. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We now have a statement just released by Professor Gates. He says, "having spent my academic career trying to bridge differences and promote understanding among Americans, I can report that it's far more comfortable being the commentator than being commented upon. At this point, I'm hopeful that we can all move on, and that experience will prove an occasion for education, not recrimination. I know that Sergeant Crowley shares this goal."

Do you agree with that, Ann?

COULTER: Yes, though I don't want to move on quite so fast. One other point that I mentioned in my column this week, up on my webpage, is what if Sergeant Crowley had not been the model policeman, who taught diversity classes, who had given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a famous black athlete? What if, at some point in his career or in his life, he had been accused, falsely or not, of racism? His life would be ruined right now. We know this wasn't a case of racism. We know that now. But we --

KING: What's the point?

COULTER: Only because he's a model policeman that case fell apart, and all of the usual race mongers are saying, let's move on. Let's move on. I don't want to move on so fast as long as long as they brought it up.

KING: Al, do you resent that statement?

SHARPTON: No. Because I -- you know, Ann is Ann. I think that the fact is that only case that fell apart was the case against Dr. Gates. Dr. Gates was the one arrested and charged. That's the case that fell apart. I don't know what case she's talking about against the officer. That's one.

Secondly, I think many of us said, on my web page, NationalActionNetwork.net, that if this is a question of police over- stepping their bounds and arresting him because there was no crime or racial profiling, we wanted an investigation. There's no race mongering to ask for an investigation on why a man was arrested in his own house, when there was apparently no crime.

But I think what the president has done -- and I think it's important that we don't go past this -- is to get the disagreeable parties to say, we can disagree. No one backed down from what I saw tonight. We could disagree without being disagreeable. He got that with -- he has the union sitting with Wal-Mart on that with health care. He had Newt Gingrich and I sitting in his office talking about education together.

The climate, Ann, in America is no longer to start arguing and screaming and saying, even the Bush administration is covering up. The climate is, let's sit down and say we disagree. Now let's solve the problems, even though we disagree. I hope you learn to do that, Ann.

KING: Ann, you couldn't possibly disagree with him sitting down, could you?.

COULTER: No. No. Not at all. Could I just say two things about the disorderly conduct charge? I will bet you more than any -- it's just a misdemeanor. I will bet you, more than any other arrest, those are dismissed or not brought to trial, because the idea is if somebody is ranting and raving and behaving irrationally, the cop can't just walk away. If the person behaving irrationally then goes off and hits his girlfriend or something, who is to blame for that? The cop.

So a lot of it is just to get the angry guy out of the situation. They go to jail. The charges are dismissed. and not brought to trial. If somebody is ranting and raving and behaving irrationally, the cop can't just walk away. If the person behaving irrationally then goes off and, you know, hits his girlfriend or something, well who's to blame for that? The cop.

A lot is to get the angry guy out of the situation. They go to jail, the charges are dismissed.

And moreover, in this case, Gates' own lawyer said it was dismissed because of connections. I wouldn't be waiving around the dismissal as proof that it's a bad arrest. Crowley is certainly backed by the entire police department and by the law in Massachusetts.

SHARPTON: If the police department thought it was connections, then I'm sure they would have in the press conference condemned everyone else, have condemned the prosecutor. And I'm sure that there are many disorderly conducts that go to trial. He was detained for hours and the charges weren't dropped for four days. I assume because they investigated the case.

But, beyond that, I think we've got an opportunity to really heal in this situation. Where now you have Crowley, who I disagreed with, but to his credit stood up to night. You have Professor Gates. And they said let the dialogue begin. The president has set a healthy climate. I think now we'll see if responsible people on both sides will sit down in that climate and make change happen.

KING: Let me get a break here. By the way, Ann and Al, we'll come back and discuss some other things. They're coming back. So are we in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: It's time for tonight's this week CNN hero. His name is Brad Blauser and he's helping some of the most desperate children in Iraq. I asked him what made him take action. His answer was a little shocking. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD BLAUSER, FOUNDER, WHEELCHAIRS FOR IRAQI KIDS: Larry, I was working as a civilian contractor in a supply warehouse in Mosul. In my off hours, I was friends with a number of the soldiers. One of the soldiers asked me if I could help him locate some children's wheelchairs. He was Major David Brown. And he would go out in the city on medical missions, and he would see children either dragging themselves on the ground or, during his missions, he would see parents bring him children and ask them for medicine for the kids to help them. And there was obviously no way to help.

I saw him the next day, and I asked him if there was anything I could help him with. He asked me to help him find children's wheelchairs. At that time, we sent out a request on my email to friends and family back home. In 30 days, we had 31 children's wheelchairs on ground.

KING: It is true nearly 650 wheelchairs have been distributed to this point?

BLAUSER: That's right, 650 children's pediatric wheelchairs from Reach Out and Care Wheels have been provided. Also, 240 small adult wheelchairs and adult wheelchairs have been provided from Worldwind International in San Francisco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Thank you, Brad, for improving the lives of children and making our world a better place. Our hero of the week. Next, the Boston police officer in big trouble after jumping into the dust over the Gates arrest. He's here right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joining us now in Boston is Officer Justin Barrett and his attorney, Peter Marano. Officer Barrett was placed on administrative leave from the Boston Police department after referring to Professor Henry Lewis Gates as a "jungle monkey" in a mass e-mail. He's also been suspended from his military duties as a captain in the National Guard. The e-mail was sent in reaction to a "Boston Globe" article about the Gates-Crowley incident. It went to friends in the National Guard.

We want to read a few excerpts. Warning, some might find this offensive. "If I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a banana eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC, deserving of his belligerent non-compliance. I'm not a racist. But I am prejudiced toward people who are stupid and pretend to stand up and preach for something they claim is freedom. Gates is a god damn fool and you, the article writer, simply a poor follower, and, maybe worse, a poor writer. Your article title should read, conduct unbecoming a jungle monkey, back to one's roots."

Officer Barrett, what were you thinking?

OFFICER JUSTIN BARRETT, SUSPENDED FROM BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes, Larry, I'd like to take this opportunity to offer fellow police officers, soldiers and citizens my sincerest apology over the controversial e-mail I authored in response to Ivon Abraham's editorial in the "Boston Globe." My choice of words, Larry, was lacking.

I failed to think through the perception others may have based upon what I wrote. I failed to realize the potential, through the use of words, that others would see as offensive. I am not a racist. I did not intend any racial bigotry, harm, or prejudice in my words. I sincerely apologize that these words have been received as such. I truly apologize to all involved, Larry.

KING: Do you think, Justin, you deserve to be suspended based on it?

PETER MARANO, ATTORNEY: Larry, if I can answer --

KING: Go ahead, Peter.

MARANO: On behalf of Justin, there is -- suspension in this circumstances they needs to be addressed by an impartial body. Is Justin willing to accept a punishment commensurate with what has occurred in a proportional sense? Absolutely. There is a process that does need to be followed.

Listening to some of your other guests tonight, we're talking about how, as a whole, this country can move on and learn from this episode that's occurred. Justin is stepping into this event between Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley and what occurred. It was a poor choice of words and not a well thought out sense of what he was doing when he did it.

And as long as, at the end of the day, the proportionality is what we need to look at, what the punishment will be.

KING: Officer, what upset you so much -- as you say, you're not a racist -- to be so vitriolic in the e-mail?

BARRETT: Right, Larry. I read the article. I read the editorial written by Ivon Abraham in the Globe. It seemed like it was biased. It did not show the roles and duties of a police officer and how dangerous it already is without having a debate about people getting in a police officer's face, which should never happen at any call.

Police officers have a dangerous job, and I just felt that the article was one-sided and really didn't show justice to what police officers face on a daily basis when they have a tough job to do. Then they have to go home to provide for their families. They work a lot of hours per week to provide for their families.

KING: What made you come up with that language, though?

BARRETT: Larry, I don't even know. I couldn't tell you. I have no idea. I can say there that was no intentional racial bigotry on prejudice by my words. I did not intend that. I treat people with dignity and respect.

I was in Iraq. I work on the streets of Dorchester. I work with people who are in positions that they're stressed out and need help. I have treated people with dignity and respect, on the job, off the job, in Iraq, in the city of Boston. That's what I've done. I continue to treat people with respect.

KING: Have you used those words before, officer?

BARRETT: No, I've never used those words before.

KING: So you were pretty angry?

MARANO: Larry, I --

KING: You want to say something? Go ahead.

MARANO: I do. I want to speak out a little more on Justin's behalf, that his angst and anger that was portrayed -- it wasn't portrayed. It was what he wrote in this e-mail. It was directed towards behavior, not well thought out, not placed well. He's recognized the severity of what's occurred because of this. This is a young man who's never had a disciplinary issue at all in his career, in 16 years in the Army National Guard, or in the last two and a half years with the Boston Police Department.

It was probably the biggest lapse of judgment that he had, and the poorest choice of words he could make. One e-mail is making a judgment on his entire life and all of what --

KING: I've got you, Peter. He's humbled himself tonight. He's come forward, formally apologized. I don't know what more he could do. Maybe we could all seek a little forgiveness. Thanks, Justin. We'll keep in touch on this. Peter Marano as well.

(NEWS BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Before we get into another political issue, let's go back to Ann Coulter and Reverend Al Sharpton. Start with Al this time. What did you make of Officer Barrett?

SHARPTON: I think it is outrageous for someone to say that calling someone a monkey-eating -- a banana-eating monkey is not racist. Absolutely it's a racist term. And to ask for forgiveness -- but then don't forgive me for saying something racist, because I didn't say anything racist -- forgive me if you took it that way is absurd.

I'm the most forgiving guy. I forgave a white male for stabbing me at a march. He said he was wrong. He is saying he's not racist. And the frightening thing, Larry, which is why we need laws, is that they're going to entertain putting him back in the streets, and we are supposed to trust someone with these feelings to protect the public?

KING: Ann?

COULTER: I think that's what all attorney-formulated apologies sounds like. I think you have two people, a white man, a black man, both of them lose their tempers, do something highly immature. One berates a cop. One berates a reporter. Which one is on TV abjectly apologizing and begging for mercy? SHARPTON: Are you comparing Dr. Gates saying something in his home about why are you bothering me with a man calling someone a banana-eating monkey? Is that what you're trying to do, Ann?

COULTER: There are differences that cut both ways, Reverend Sharpton. One -- by the way, it was more than what are you doing here? He's screaming at the cop, you're a racist.

SHARPTON: He did not call that man a racist term.

COULTER: And the black cop --

(CROSS TALK)

KING: One at a time, one at a time, guys. Ann.

COULTER: It was my turn there. He was screaming, berating the cop, calling him a racist, the I'll talk to your mama outside, walking out. The black cop and the Hispanic cop totally backed up Crowley. I wouldn't say it is worse. I do think the e-mail language is worse certainly.

SHARPTON: Can I say something?

COULTER: It's nothing like wasting a cop's time. Gates is wasting police resources.

SHARPTON: You know what is worse, Ann? This is what the argument's about. What's worse is this a policeman. No one is going to depend on Dr. Gates to protect their family. No one is going to depend on Dr. Gates to respond to a 911 call.

You're asking people to depend on this man, to respond to them when he, in a moment of anger, sees us as banana-eating monkeys. We wouldn't call on Gates to our house. We'd call on this man if we lived in Boston. That's the difference. That's a lot more serious, Ann.

COULTER: If a 911 call came in when Gates was wasting the time of half a dozen police involved.

SHARPTON: Come on, Ann, Ann --

(CROSS TALK)

SHARPTON: The difference in who they are more striking. This man is upheld by the state, given a gun to protect people. That's his feeling. Dr. Gates, right or wrong, is not in that position.

KING: We were going to discuss in this segment -- we're running out of time -- other political issues. I'm going to invite both of you back, hopefully next week, to discuss a lot of issues. One day I'd love to see a conservative say that he agreed with the professor and a liberal say he agreed with the police officer. That would be a historic night.

Anyway, thank you both very much.

I would now like to acknowledge a couple of special guests from Portsmith, Arkansas tonight. Lisa Kneehaus (ph) is the winner of our remarkable question contest. She and her seven-year-old son Alex are here in the house tonight. There they are .

We want to congratulate Lisa and Alex. Great having you here. Congratulations on a great entry, winning the contest, the trip here to Los Angeles, a chance to see this show. Could be one of the highlights of your week.

Anyway, here now is Anderson Cooper and "AC 360." Anderson?

Dan Cross: Michael Jackson's Guitarists

2010-03-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

Michael Jackson's Guitarists
From Santana to Slash, Jackson used the cream of the crop

By Dan Cross

Update 07/02/09: If you're looking for information about the guitarist featured in Michael Jackson's last rehearsal videos for his "This Is It" tour, check out this Orianthi profile.

Whether or not you were a fan of the self-proclaimed "King of Pop", you can't dismiss Michael Jackson's ability to do things right. Even on his earliest recordings, Jackson's albums featured the best musicians money could buy. Although the album credits on even his last releases still read like a who's who of top session musicians, Jackson's philosophy of choosing guitarists to work with changed post-Thriller. More specifically, Jackson's approach became: identify the most popular guitarists on the face of the planet, and hire them to play on your record.
ackson's 1979 release Off the Wall, featuring studio pro guitarists like Larry Carlton and Phil Upchurch, was the album which introduced Jackson to the world as a solo artist. That album marked the last recording Jackson would make with more obscure musicians. By the time Jackson released the landmark Thriller in 1982, his star-seeking approach to choosing guitarists was firmly in place. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen, a musician who had turned the rock world on it's collective ear, appeared on the recording, contributing a stunning solo on the song "Beat It".

It was a full five years before Jackson, a perfectionist in the extreme, managed to release his next album, 1987's Bad. Amidst the usual cast of studio musicians (including veteran Eric Gale) was guitarist Billy Idol's guitarist Steve Stevens. Thanks to Stevens' work on Idol's 1986 success Whiplash Smile, the guitarist could be found on the cover of almost every guitar magazine that year. Listen for Stevens' contributions to the Jackson hit "Smooth Criminal".

True to form, it was another five years before Jackson released his next album, 1992's Dangerous. For this release, Jackson decided on Guns n' Roses guitarist Slash (a move that left a lot of GNR fans scratching their heads). You can hear Slash wailing on "Black or White" and "Give it to Me".

The almost decade long stretch between Dangerous and 2001's Invincible has been well-documented, and needs no further analysis here. On a musical level, Jackson struggled in the studio for much of that time, trying to find a sound that would push him back to the forefront of the pop music world. While Invincible clearly failed in this regard, it did feature some nice contributions from Carlos Santana, who added a guitar and whistle solo to the latin-tinged "Whatever Happens".

Invincible proved to be Jackson's last attempt to live up to his self-appointed status as the "King of Pop". And, although he never managed to recapture the magic of Thriller, guitarists should still be able find something to appreciate in his later records.

J. EDWARD KEYES - Michael Jackson: The Essential Playlist

2010-03-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

Michael Jackson: The Essential Playlist

J. EDWARD KEYES Posted Jun 26, 2009 8:03 AM

Look back at the King of Pop's remarkable career in Rolling Stone's archives. Check out photos, cover stories, album reviews and more at our Michael Jackson hub.

Culling a playlist from an artist as estimable and earth-shaking as Michael Jackson is a monumental task. There's always going to be the one that got away — the shoulda-been classic that got dwarfed simply because his classics were just too towering to allow any runner-ups. But whether chart-topper or quiet victory, what stands out about the best Michael Jackson songs is how the music mostly cleared the way for his outsized personality. His vocal style was marvelously flexible, often favoring simple attack over cheap pyrotechnics, and he applied it to some of the most indelible melodies ever written. It's those qualities that cement his legend as pop legend bar none.

"I Want You Back"
What better place to start than at the beginning? If anything, this whirling R&B number sounds even better some 40 years on than it did when it was released. Eleven-year-old Michael's voice on this tune is a wonder: aching and expressive like the best of his years-older soul peers, dicing up syllables on the verses and clinging on to long sustains in the chorus. As close to perfect as pop songs can get.

"Rock With You"
And with this song, the template for Justin Timberlake's career was established. What's remarkable about "Rock With You" is how unobtrusive it is: a silky string section and barely-there twitch of guitar — Michael doesn't even hit the word "Rock" all that hard — he just glides over it, preferring to charm with a wink and a smile rather than with aggression or ferocity.

"Billie Jean"
Michael practically sobs out the verses on "Billie Jean," his wrung-dry, pained performance at the center of this stormy pop classic. Jackson and producer Quincy Jones load the song with weird, wonderful touches: that sudden, diving string section, the stray doodles of organ, Michael's sampled gasp turning up between measures like he's coming up for air. It's been said before, but it's worth repeating: "Billie Jean" is a masterpiece, and one that doesn't lose its strange, dark power, no matter how many times you hear it.

"Give In to Me"
Michael Jackson was often at his best when he was indulging a dark streak, and this strange, sinister number about obsessive love from Dangerous is all ice and shadows. Jackson sounds agonized on the chorus, and Slash's eerie descending arpeggios envelop the song like spiderwebs — one of Jackson's more masterfully ominous numbers.

"Thriller"
And speaking of masterfully ominous. "Thriller"'s 13-minute video is so rife with camp charm it's easy to overlook the song's inherent, cheeky darkness. This is, after all, a song that begins with something evil lurking in the dark, makes a brief stop at demon posession before ending with an army of zombies descending on their prey. But Jackson and Quincy Jones surround those lyrics with such spectacular robo-funk — that simple six-note synth riff rolling over and over, unmistakable and unforgettable — that it's easy to miss the skeletons crouching in its shadows.

"Human Nature"
Simple, stark, quiet and beautiful and boasting a windswept synth-string part that Nas would later sample for "It Ain't Hard to Tell," "Human Nature" is one of Jackson's most subtle and affecting ballads. The way his voice tumbles down the notes in the chorus is a master class in vocal delivery, and his pleading repetition of "Why? Why?" is the sound of quiet heartbreak.

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' "
The refrain sounds like confrontation, but in between the title's repeated jabs come genuine sympathy: "You're stuck in the middle, and the pain is thunder." The song is Motown revisited, its roaming synth-bass a stand-in for James Jamerson, its edges rounded out with roving horn charts and gospel-tinged backing vocals.

"The Way You Make Me Feel"
Four and a half minutes of unadulterated bliss, "The Way You Make Me Feel" cruises slowly on a rubberband bass line elevated by Jackson's ecstatic whoops and yelps. Every piece of this song is in perfect place, the big brass punctuating each of Jackson's heartfelt demonstrations of affection.

"Smooth Criminal"
Tense and agitated, Jackson turns his voice into a machine gun, reducing the verses to a hail of tiny sounds. He pulls off a mean feat in this one, seeming to sympathize with both the aggressor and the aggressee, his hoarse, whispered "Annie, are you OK?" sounding like the set-up in some odd horror film.

"Black or White"
It's the weird facial morphing at the end of the video that everyone remembers, but the lead single from Jackson's Dangerous is a tidy bit of pop, Jackson's soulful vocal framed by a bright, ringing guitar phrase. Jackson had the tendency to skew obvious when being topical, but "Black or White" keenly smuggles social commentary into a love song, using matters of the heart to erase racial barriers.

"In the Closet"
Jackson's minor hits are just as fascinating — if not more so — than his blockbusters. On this 1991 song, he seems to be imagining the whole of post-'00s pop music. The beats are Timbaland-tiny, and Jackson's voice is barely more than a stutter until the chorus, where he stretches out long and lean and limber.

"Scream"
The much-vaunted collaboration between Michael and sister Janet was viewed by some as a disappointment when it was unveiled in 1995 — bolstered by what was, at the time, the most expensive music video ever shot. Now, though, it's a terrific bit of pop paranoia, the Jacksons bitterly lashing out against doubters and naysayers over a fierce electro backdrop — one periodically pierced by Jackson's pained yelps.

"I Can't Help It"
Michael does Stevie: a light, elegant Wonder-ful ballad finds Jackson scaling back his vocal assault, floating just above a lush bed of organ and bass. He takes his time on this one, making its pleasures simple but irresistible.

"Leave Me Alone"
Picking up where "Scream" left off, "Leave Me Alone" finds Jackson taking a toothier tack against his tabloid assailants. The song works because the music sounds like vintage Michael: a batch of thick chords for Jackson to vamp over, a kind of darker inversion of "The Way You Make Me Feel." This time, though, that way was worked-up and angry, and Jackson's aggressive scraping of the high notes makes plain his frustration.

"P.Y.T."
Another of Jackson's elegant R&B numbers, he cruises cleanly up the center of the burbling backdrop; like most early hits, "P.Y.T." finds Jackson at his most controlled, saving his big yearning yelps for the chorus, and making them all the more indelible by their infrequency.

"Beat It"
And why not end with another bona fide classic? This song is so familiar it hardly bears much exposition, but what stands out now is its marvelous simplicity: that simple, toothy guitar attack and one of Jackson's fiercer vocal attacks. This is edgy Michael at his best, and Eddie Van Halen's searing central solo only serves as a mirror of Jackson's own urgency. Again, the song is a sly subversion: What Jackson's advocating isn't attack, it's retreat. "Beat It" is, in the end, a celebration of the spot-on of the confidence that comes from knowing you have nothing you need to prove.

Michael Jackson by Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy

2010-03-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

100 greatest singers of all time
25 | Michael Jackson
by Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy

Born
August 29th, 1958
Key Tracks
"I Want You Back" (the Jackson 5), "Billie Jean," "Man in the Mirror" (solo)
Influenced
Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Usher

Michael Jackson is a perfect storm of innate talent and training. His singing as a child is astounding: He just nailed "I Want You Back" — there's maybe one bum note on that song, which is crazy to me, because he was only 11 years old.

One of the key elements of his style is how he uses his voice as an instrument. His signature grunts — "ugh," "ah" and all that — are rhythmic things that guitar players or drummers usually do. He's one of the most rhythmic singers ever — Prince emulated James Brown a lot more, but Michael Jackson approximated it more naturally.

25 | Michael Jackson
by Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy
And he has insane range. I can sing pretty high, but I had to drop "Beat It" a half step when I sang it. He sings this incredibly high note — I think it's a high C or even a high C-sharp, which no one can hit — on "Beat It," as well as "Billie Jean" and "Thriller." What people don't realize is that he can go pretty deep too. You hear that on "Burn This Disco Out," on Off the Wall — he goes deep into his range, which blows me away.

When somebody gets as big as he did, you lose sight of how avant-garde and revolutionary they are, but Michael Jackson pushed the boundaries of pop and R&B. Think about it: On "Beat It," you had an R&B singer doing a full-on rock song with Eddie Van Halen. Or the intro on "Man in the Mirror": He's got this reverb in his voice, and any time he goes "uh!" it goes for miles. To me, that's up there with some Brian Eno shit. That's how far out there it is.

Playlist
1. I Want You Back
2. Billie Jean
3. Man In the Mirror
4. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
5. Beat It
6. Smooth Criminal
7. The Way You Make Me Feel
8. Bad
9. Rock With You
10. P.Y.T.
___________________
P.S.: Locul 24 e ocupat de Van Morrison şi 26 de Jacksie Wilson. Locul I e ocupat de Aretha Franklin.

Sylvie Laurent - Il était une fois Michael Jackson

2010-03-05T17:23:00.000-08:00

www.laviedesidees.fr
Il était une fois Michael Jackson

par Sylvie Laurent [29-06-2009]

Michael Jackson était bien plus qu’un chanteur : Sylvie Laurent retrace l’histoire de cette star devenue « monstre », dont la quête de blancheur et d’androgynie révèle à bien des égards les tiraillements de la communauté afro-américaine confrontée au racisme et au sexisme.

Télécharger ce document: Il était une fois Michael Jackson (PDF - 105.2 ko) par Sylvie Laurent

C’est en découvrant dans les pages d’un magazine l’image d’un visage brûlé par les produits éclaircissants que Barack Obama – ainsi qu’il le raconte dans son autobiographie – s’est senti noir pour la première fois, irréductiblement noir. Celui que l’on allait accuser plus tard de n’être « pas assez noir » a senti ses entrailles se serrer devant une telle apostasie de soi. Cela explique peut-être le silence du président américain à l’heure où une bonne partie de l’Amérique pleurait Michael Jackson et son évocation, tardive et par porte-parole interposé, de la nature « tragique » de la vie de l’artiste. On rappelle en effet fréquemment depuis sa disparition que Jackson a désespérément blanchi sa peau, par volonté, dit-on, d’effacer toute négrité, identifiant cette dernière à la brutalité virile de son propre père. Mais, en ne disant que cela de ses troubles identitaires, on réduirait à tort son oeuvre, sur lui-même et en musique, à une excentricité raciale et à l’extravagance d’une diva mégalomane. Sans doute l’art de Jackson procéda-t-il en réalité d’une démarche plus compliquée, qui trouve ses racines à la fois dans l’exemplarité d’une schizophrénie unique, une folie magistrale dont on peut essayer d’interpréter certains traits et aussi, plus globalement, dans l’histoire de la représentation douloureuse de soi dans le monde afro-américain.
1
L’enfance de l’art
Michael Jackson laisse l’image d’un homme torturé par ses démons, qui étouffèrent son génie et le transformèrent en figure fantomatique. L’ultime image du moribond, obscène, celle d’un visage blême enturbanné de draps d’hôpital et à demi caché par le matériel d’intubation qui tente en vain de le réanimer, est tragiquement fidèle à ce qu’il fut : un homme aux masques, évoluant dans un espace liminal entre la vie et la mort, la haine de soi et la fascination pour le double qu’il aurait aimé être. Issu d’un milieu ouvrier pauvre de l’Indiana, il fut élevé par une mère témoin de Jéhovah fervente, qui éduqua ses enfants dans la rigueur d’un dogme qui refuse, en attendant la fin des temps imminente, de corrompre les siens dans la société qui les entoure. Michael raconte dans son autobiographie, Moonwalk, qu’il demeura fidèle aux préceptes jéhoviens jusqu’à l’âge adulte, intimement persuadé que, comme sa mère le lui a toujours dit, ses dons lui venaient de Dieu : « J’ai toujours fait rire en disant que je n’ai pas demandé à chanter et à danser, mais c’est vrai : dès que j’ouvre la bouche, la musique sort. Je suis honoré d’avoir ce don. Je remercie Dieu chaque jour pour cela. J’essaie de cultiver ce qu’Il m’a donné. C’est un devoir pour moi de faire ce que je fais »1.
Michael dut pourtant prendre sa place dans le monde lorsque son père, Joseph, fait signer en 1967 à cinq de ses fils un contrat avec le label Steeltown. Il devient alors un parmi plusieurs, soumis au même rythme que ses aînés, clonés comme eux en petites vedettes de Motown, avec coiffure afro et bague d’or au doigt. Ce qui lui appartenait en propre serait un ailleurs, une vie en songe dans laquelle le petit génie, auquel on fit chanter à dix ans déjà des paroles d’adultes2, vivrait son destin. Car, officiellement, il doit abjurer l’enfance. En effet, lorsque le petit prodige chante en solo, éclipsant ses aînés, qu’il danse comme le sensuel James Brown, le titre paradoxal de son premier succès « Big Boy » (grand garçon) apparaît comme une révélation de sa contradiction existentielle. Michael prétend qu’il est « grand » désormais et qu’il ne croit plus aux contes de fées, affirmant qu’il n’y voit plus que des chimères et des jouets brisés :
1 Moonwalk, cité in Dyson, « Michael Jackson’s Post-modern Spirituality », The Michael Eric Dyson Reader, New York, Basic Civitas Book, 2004, p. 272.
2 Dans la chanson « ABC », enregistrée en 1968, il prétend apprendre l’amour à une jeune fille, lui demandant de se défaire du savoir scolaire pour laisser s’exprimer son corps, secouant vigoureusement son derrière « Shake it baby ! » Dans « I want you back », il réclame le retour d’une femme qui le laisse insomniaque depuis qu’elle est partie et dans « The love you save » il met en garde la jeune femme coeur d’artichaut à qui il aurait offert une bague de fiançailles lorsqu’ils étaient à la fac.
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3 « Take life easy, so easy nice and easy/Like a child so gay and so carefree/The whole world smiles with you/As you go your merry way/Oh with a child’s heart/Nothing’s gonna get me down ».
« Fairy tales, fairy tales I don’t enjoy Fairy tales and wishful dreams
Are broken toys
‘Cause I’m a big boy now »
« Les contes de fées, les contes de fées
Ne m’amusent pas
Contes de fées et rêves illusoires
Sont des jouets brisés
Parce que je suis un grand garçon maintenant »
Pourtant, dès ses premières années d’explosion médiatique (1968-1979), Michael Jackson laisse deviner une volupté particulière lorsqu’il réinterprète une enfance qui lui file entre les doigts. Sa chanson « With a child heart » (1973) annonce sa croyance viscérale en la pureté de l’enfance, seule capable de rendre le monde supportable et lumineux3. Son apparition sous les traits de l’épouvantail pas très effrayant Scarecrow dans le remake du « Magicien d’Oz » en 1978 (The Wizz) a précisé l’iconographie de son identité d’artiste. Ce conte pour enfant, écrit en 1900 par l’américain L. Frank Baum, est une mise en abyme de la vie du jeune chanteur puisqu’il raconte l’histoire d’une toute jeune fille dont la maison est emportée dans le monde magique d’Oz, dans lequel les épouvantails ne font plus peur et les lions sont peureux.
Jackson rencontre à cette occasion le réalisateur de la bande originale du film, Quincy Jones, apprenti sorcier justement. En 1979, le producteur natif de Chicago, musicien « arrangeur » inspiré et Pygmalion professionnel, comprend que ce recours à l’enfance est un diamant musical qu’il faut transformer en énergie créatrice : dans l’album qu’il lui produit en 1979, Off the wall, le premier que Jackson chante en solo, Jones le laisse s’exprimer avec cette voix unique de falsetto, celle d’un jeune homme prépubère dont des dizaines d’interprètes se sont inspirés depuis. Il y ajoute sa connaissance inégalable de ce que la musique africaine américaine a produit de plus efficace et de plus brillant : jazz, rhythm & blues, funk et surtout « pop », cette musique de l’ère du temps que James Brown avait réussi à rendre noire. Bien que continuant à chanter avec ses frères, Michael Jackson cultive son imaginaire enfantin, peuplé de monstres extravagants, d’enfants immaculés et de créatures fabuleuses. Cette étrangeté, une pathologie disent certains, ne peut pourtant guère se comparer
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4 A.S. Byatt, « Inquiétante et délicieuse étrangeté des contes », Le Monde, 26 juin 2009.
5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g40WCBaUXR4
aux égarements névrotiques d’Elvis ou de Marlon Brando, car elle ne s’inscrit pas uniquement comme une négation, un parasitage de la carrière de l’artiste, mais en est également une condition de possibilité, et même une raison d’être. Quincy Jones mit intuitivement en scène et en partitions les errances psychologiques d’un être qui ne pouvait vivre au milieu des autres que derrière un filtre, un masque, un rideau de théâtre, un déguisement. Il lui permit de vivre artistiquement son refus du monde réel. Thriller, titre de l’album le plus vendu de tous les temps, signifie excitant mais aussi terrifiant. Dans ce chef d’oeuvre de 1982, Jackson partage avec le monde sa narration d’un conte pour enfants dont il est le héros et où, par définition, « le terrible et l’extravagant sont admissibles »4.
Contes terrifiants et fantastiques
Il a ainsi créé un personnage à l’image de ses fantasmes, conciliant l’expression de ses dons, les exigences d’une industrie musicale qui dénicha très vite la pépite et son besoin inassouvi d’être l’enfant idéal. Si l’on regarde attentivement son oeuvre, on discerne donc dès les premières années de sa carrière sa nature de petit Poucet égaré, entraîné par la vague de son talent, semant les cailloux qui le ramèneraient à l’enfant étrange qu’il ne cessa d’être. Ainsi, sa chanson « Ben »5, irrésistible mélodie de 1972, est la chanson titre d’un film d’horreur qui narre l’amitié d’un jeune homme introverti avec un rat apprivoisé. Il y chante la solitude de deux êtres unis dans un monde de conte de Grimm, qui établissent un pacte d’amitié éternel contre l’ordre raisonnable des adultes. Le monde d’ici-bas n’a jamais été celui dans lequel il a voulu s’épanouir et son goût du songe fleura d’emblée le parfum du fantastique et du terrifiant comme le sont les contes pour enfants qu’on ne lui a sans doute jamais lus.
Dans sa Psychanalyse des contes de fées, Bruno Bettelheim explique que le conte est un espace qui ne camoufle pas les complexités de l’âme humaine, mais qui propose une initiation dialectique à l’ambivalence morale, permettant au jeune rêveur de forger sa personnalité. « Les personnages de contes », souligne-t-il, « ne sont pas à la fois bons et méchants, comme nous le sommes tous en réalité. De même que la polarisation domine l’esprit de l’enfant, elle domine le conte de fées. Chaque personnage est tout bon ou tout méchant ». L’enfant parvient à l’âge adulte lorsque, acceptant les ambiguïtés, il a
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6 Bruno Bettelheim, Psychanalyse des contes de fées, Paris, Hachette littérature, 1976, p. 24.
7 http://www.henrysheehan.com/essays/stuv/spielberg-1.html
8 Voir Chris Jenks, Childhood Critical Concepts in Sociology, Londres, Routledge, 2005.
9 Danseur de claquette virtuose du début du siècle, il demeure une idole. Bob Dylan lui a même consacré une chanson. On peut voir certaines de ses prouesses sur le lien suivant :
http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&ei=f91FSvzLBsfMjAfM0NBi&resnum=0&q=bojangles%20dancer&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#
« solidement établi sa propre personnalité »6. Michael Jackson est resté à la phase première, opposant le bien de l’enfance et la corruption du monde, conviction entretenue dans la culture populaire américaine par des gens aussi talentueux que Steven Spielberg qui, dans son E. T. de 1983, entama une longue filmographie dans laquelle les êtres étranges et bienveillants venus de loin n’ont comme interlocuteurs fiables que les enfants, préservés du mensonge. Certains critiques ont même évoqué une « peter-panisation » du réalisateur7. Incontestablement plus fragile que la moyenne, Jackson ne fut lui aussi que l’incarnation hyperbolique d’une idéalisation pathologique de l’enfance propre à l’Amérique8.
Le manichéisme analysé par Bettelheim est au coeur de l’oeuvre de Jackson et son malaise personnel, son « moi déchiré », est une tentative mimétique de réconciliation. De cette incompatibilité, de cette improbable négociation entre l’enfance idéale et l’expérience mortifère de la vie est né un monstre, une créature se défiant des lois de l’humanité. Au travers de son art, et sa vie personnelle en est une partie intégrante, il cherche alors à incarner toutes les polarités pour les dépasser et les annuler : innocence/culpabilité, jeune/vieux, noir/blanc, homme/femme, religieux/séculier. Il a ceci de commun également avec Spielberg d’avoir compris le rôle de l’image et de l’écran dans la recréation d’une psyché enfantine dans laquelle tous se retrouvent, les adultes se redécouvrant enfants.
Le critique Michael Dyson y voit un signe du caractère « postmoderne » du chanteur, dont « l’iconisation » eut lieu selon lui lors d’une épiphanie télévisuelle que l’on peut précisément dater : le 16 mai 1983, Jackson l’étrange apparaît dans l’émission « Motown 25 ». Il y exécute un numéro époustouflant de danse dont le point d’orgue est le célèbre Moonwalk, hérité bien davantage des grands danseurs et ménestrels afro-américains – depuis le génial Bill Bojangle9 jusqu’à Sammy Davis – que de Fred Astaire ou du mime Marceau. Plus de cinquante millions de personnes regardent le show et sont ensorcelées par ce zombie qui danse.
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10 Pascal Quignard à propos des contes de Grimm « L’enfant incorrigible », Le Monde des Livres, 26 juin 2009.
11 Référence à la chanson « Le freak » du groupe funk Chic qui connu un succès phénoménal en 1978 avec ce titre rythmé.
On évoque régulièrement le syndrome de Peter Pan pour appréhender Michael Jackson, soulignant ainsi son refus de grandir. Il s’identifiait certes lui-même volontiers au héros de James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937), baptisant « Neverland » la propriété irréelle qu’il occupa plusieurs années et qu’il peupla de hordes d’enfants et d’animaux exotiques. Mais, en réalité, Peter Pan, tel que le conteur écossais l’a imaginé, est un personnage morbide, plus proche du héros de Günter Grass Oskar dans Le Tambour que du petit lutin joyeux façon fée Clochette ou « Bambi » de Walt Disney. Günter Grass offre le récit d’un petit garçon, Oskar, qui décide le jour de ses trois ans de ne plus jamais grandir. Lorsqu’il raconte son histoire a posteriori, Oskar a trente ans et gît dans un hôpital psychiatrique. Bien sûr, tout le propos de Grass est de décrire la démence d’un enfant au milieu d’une Europe balayée par le nazisme et l’analogie avec Jackson ne peut qu’être partielle. Néanmoins, ce qui les rapproche est non seulement leur nature de Puer Aeternus qui dénie le cours du temps, mais leur qualité commune de prodiges précoces. Oskar est en effet un remarquable joueur de tambour, doué également d’une voix de crécelle capable de briser le verre. Au milieu des adultes qui les prennent pour des attardés et des bêtes curieuses, Oskar comme Michael Jackson refusent d’entrer dans le monde jugé sordide des adultes et jouent les aliénés afin de vivre à la marge. Leur monde est sourd et vulnérable. Ils n’ont comme anticorps que leur voix. Michael Jackson a rendu indissociable son expression artistique de cet « ailleurs » fantasmagorique qui fonctionne comme « une tête rebelle dans la tête ».10
« Le freak, c’est chic »11
Quoi de plus ambivalent et déroutant qu’une voix angélique de castrat sous le costume d’une bête revenue d’outre-tombe. Une opposition binaire entre l’univers factice de la lumière et le monde obscur des morts-vivants et du mal structure son album Thriller, en particulier la chanson éponyme. On l’y voit, dans un vidéoclip devenu légendaire, danser au milieu des cadavres rendus à la vie l’espace d’une chanson, campant un monstre qui terrifie ses semblables. Loup-garou, il est conforme à la légende terrifiante d’un être humain capable de se transformer en loup, devenant aussi puissant et féroce que l’animal. Pour la réalisation de ce qu’il a voulu être un film à part entière, il utilise les artefacts du film d’horreur : maquillage, effets spéciaux, musique terrifiante et voix off. On annonce en préliminaire que cette plongée dans l’occulte n’est pas l’expression du prosélytisme jéhovien de l’artiste. Mais le jeune démiurge n’y expose pourtant rien moins que sa vie, celle d’un homme qui, à
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12 Moonwalk, op. cit., cité in Dyson, op. cit., p. 458.
13 http://www.superiorpics.com/wenn_album/La_Toya_Jackson_-_Helping_Baby_Birth/latoya_jackson_001_010807.jpg
l’approche de minuit, au milieu de nulle part après une panne de voiture, confie à sa petite amie qu’il est « différent », avant de se transfigurer en loup-garou puis en mort-vivant. « Billie Jean » (1982), récit autobiographique d’une femme démente qui l’accusa d’être le père de ses jumeaux, est également accompagné d’un film angoissant, fidèle à l’esthétique du film d’horreur. Plus tard, la chanson « Bad » (1987) reprend cette dichotomie entre le monde de l’obscur (le métro souterrain, la délinquance, le blouson noir, la mort promise) et la vie paisible de l’amitié et de la réussite.
L’étrangeté de Jackson est mise en image dans chacune de ses apparitions, ses vidéos fonctionnant comme des métaphores de sa vie. Nous devenons voyeurs de ce « freak », ce dingue, cette bête curieuse qui, glabre et androgyne, suggère pourtant sans pudeur dans « You are not alone » son union charnelle avec sa jeune épousée, Lisa Marie Presley. Ailleurs, il propose un monde sans race, sans guerre, sans famille et sans mal, une utopie qu’il partageait avec les nostalgiques des années 1960. D’ailleurs, non seulement il chanta avec Paul McCartney et racheta les droits de nombre de chansons des Beatles, mais il se réfère explicitement à John Lennon, John Kennedy et Martin Luther King lorsque, à propos de son titre messianique « Man in the mirror » (L’homme dans le miroir) il explique que chaque homme est responsable du monde qui l’entoure et qu’il se doit à lui-même de l’améliorer12.
Le vidéoclip de « Thriller » révèle donc plus qu’aucun autre peut-être les tourments de Jackson. Il ne peut y réprimer l’altération de son visage qui perd inexorablement les traits de la jeunesse pour s’abîmer en gueule de loup puis en faciès de cadavre. Une même logique de transfiguration se retrouve dans nombre de ses vidéos jusqu’à la fin de sa carrière. Il est difficile de ne pas relier cette représentation à la vie réelle de l’artiste qui, par les mains expertes d’un essaim de chirurgiens, s’est transformé en quelque chose de sub-humain, assez cadavérique somme toute. Michael Jackson n’a cessé d’être confronté à son reflet, au milieu de huit frères et soeurs, les premiers lui ressemblant lorsqu’il est enfant habillé et coiffé comme eux, sa voix se mêlant à celles de la fratrie. Adulte, il est imité dans sa défiguration chirurgicale par sa soeur La Toya13 et dans une moindre mesure par sa jeune soeur Janet dont le corps souffre d’autres tourments. Lui semble vouloir être une créature, à la fois Galatée et
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14 Roland Barthes, « Le visage de Garbo », Mythologies, Paris, Seuil, 1957.
15 Franz Fanon, Peaux Noires, masques blancs, Paris, Seuil, 1952, p. 90.
16 Toni Morrison, L’oeil le plus bleu, traduction de Jean Guiloineau, 10/18, Paris, Christian Bourgeois éditeur, 1970.
17 Jackson a « conçu » trois enfants avec son infirmière blanche, Debbie Rowe. Les enfants sont blonds et de type européen (http://www.breakingthetape.com/keeping-pace/Shirley%20Temple.bmp).
reflet de Dorian Gray. Son visage peut se lire comme un objet, comme un discours et les mots de Roland Barthes à propos de Garbo semblent étonnamment lui correspondre :
« Le fard a l’épaisseur neigeuse d’un masque : ce n’est pas un visage peint, c’est un visage plâtré, défendu par la surface de la couleur et non par ses lignes ; dans toute cette neige à la fois fragile et compacte, les yeux seuls, noirs comme une pulpe bizarre mais nullement expressifs, sont deux meurtrissures un peu tremblantes. […] ce visage […] rejoint la face farineuse de Charlot, ses yeux de végétal sombre, son visage de Totem »14.
Peau noire /masque blanc/lunettes noires/gants blancs
Franz Fanon, sensible bien avant Obama au désir masochiste de certains Noirs de supprimer le bistre de leur visage, espérant ainsi effacer une identité qu’ils jugent aliénante, donne une explication « psychopathologique » à un phénomène qui semble avoir touché la famille Jackson (à l’image de nombre de Noirs américains) et le décrit avec effroi et ironie : « Depuis quelques années, des laboratoires ont projeté de découvrir un sérum de dénigrification ; des laboratoires, le plus sérieusement du monde, ont rincé leurs éprouvettes, réglé leurs balances et entamé des recherches qui permettront aux malheureux nègres de se blanchir, et ainsi de ne plus supporter le poids de cette malédiction corporelle »15.
La haine de son reflet, née du regard avilissant du Blanc, est un trope tragique de l’histoire et de la littérature américaine. Le prix Nobel Toni Morrison a, dans son roman l’OEil le plus bleu, décrit le désir étouffant d’une petite fille noire, Pecola Bredlove, qui voudrait être aimable, c’est-à-dire blanche, blonde, un sosie de Shirley Temple. En désespoir de cause, Pecola demande l’aide d’un guérisseur douteux et pédophile, Soaphead, qui est bouleversé par la demande de la petite :
« Il a pensé que c’était la demande la plus fantastique et la plus logique qu’on lui ait adressée. Voici une petite fille très laide qui demandait la beauté… Une petite fille noire qui voulait sortir de la fosse de sa négritude pour voir le monde avec des yeux bleus »16.
Un tel désir, s’il existe sous une forme comparable chez Jackson, s’exprime particulièrement dans l’apparence qu’il a « donnée » à ses enfants, Paris ressemblant toute jeune à ce canon stéréotypé de la beauté occidentale que pourrait évoquer Shirley Temple17.
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18 Voir « Couleur de peau et négritude », disponible sur http://www.afrik.com/article1516.html.
Mais on est frappé d’entendre résonner l’écho de cette quête raciale impossible, imposé par le regard de l’autre lorsque l’on regarde la statue que Jeff Koons dédia à Jackson en 1988. Sur une céramique dorée, Jackson est présenté avec le visage et une partie du corps recouvert d’un glacis blanc, portant un maquillage ostentatoire, une boucle écarlate en particulier. Il tient dans ses bras un singe, lui-même grimé de façon identique. Le mimétisme entre le visage de Jackson et la face du chimpanzé laisse pantois et les propos de l’artiste révèlent toute l’ambiguïté de la représentation d’un idéal de beauté, à la fois féminin et (donc) blanc. Koons affirma ainsi qu’il avait voulu rendre hommage à la quête de perfection physique du chanteur. Il va donc de soi pour Koons, qui n’est pas soumis aux mêmes troubles identitaires que son modèle, que le Beau est d’albâtre.
Cette représentation de Jackson, soulignant à gros traits son caractère asexué, a le mérite d’illustrer l’articulation subtile entre l’identité de genre et l’identité raciale, dans le monde afro-américain tout particulièrement. Il est vrai que si la conscience raciale torturée de Jackson s’exprime dans son apparence physique, elle s’exprime également par son refus apparent de tout attribut viril ou clairement masculin. La peau blanchie et poudrée est évocatrice d’une féminité coquette et, de manière traditionnelle dans l’histoire africaine comme américaine, c’est sur les femmes que pèse l’impératif de la clarté de la peau18.
L’androgynie de Jackson fonctionne très certainement comme un déplacement de la problématique raciale et il a inspiré en cela d’autres artistes noirs américains, qu’il s’agisse de Prince ou d’André 3000, rappeur talentueux du groupe Outcast. La virilité de l’homme noir est toujours en effet peu ou prou associée dans l’imaginaire racial américain à la menace du viol de la femme blanche.
En ce sens, revendiquer par l’accoutrement son travestissement est une forme de protection dans une Amérique raciste à bien des égards. Ainsi, d’une certaine façon, moins on souscrit à l’échelle de valeur de l’oppresseur (dans laquelle la virilité figure en bonne place, comme le remarquait également Fanon), moins on se vit et on est perçu comme noir. Dans le même temps bien sûr, la confusion dans le genre transgresse la bienséance que constitue l’hétérosexualité pour l’ordre dominant. La confusion de genre et – donc – de race entretenue par l’artiste maquillé fit d’ailleurs l’objet d’un colloque académique à l’université de Yale en
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19 Voir James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son, Beacon Press 1984.
20 Jean-Paul Rocchi, « Littérature et métapsychanalyse de la race », Tumultes, n° 31, 2008.
21 Je remercie vivement Arthur Goldhammer pour son aide précieuse dans la traduction de cette phrase de James Baldwin dont la version originale est citée dans Dyson, op. cit.
2004 (« Regarding Michael Jackson: Performing Racial, Gender, and Sexual Difference »), les chercheurs invités se penchant notamment sur l’homosexualité « déniée » de Jackson, la mise en scène énigmatique de son personnage de père de famille et enfin sa reconstruction d’un mythe masculin acceptable pour lui dans le vidéoclip « Thriller ».
« Le meilleur d’entre nous »
L’écrivain afro-américain James Baldwin, né à Harlem en 1924 dans un foyer pauvre où il subit la violence d’un beau-père qui lui reprochait, comme Joe Jackson le fit de Michael, d’avoir par trop « la tête d’un nègre »19, transforma lui aussi en art la violence de ses tourments : être raillé tout à la fois pour être noir et pour être efféminé. La folie le guettait, relate-t-il, avant que Paris ne l’accueille en 1948 et qu’il y entame son oeuvre littéraire. Cette dernière, romanesque pour l’essentiel, articule les dialectiques raciales et sexuelles qui l’étouffèrent conjointement dans une Amérique qui connut par ailleurs l’émergence de concert des mouvements de défense des droits des Noirs et de ceux des homosexuels. Il faut comprendre, analysa Baldwin, que l’idéalisation de la masculinité et le racisme sont les deux faces d’une même pièce.
La stratégie qui s’impose est donc de « vivre dans le fantasme de l’autre » et, « utilisant la métaphore contre elle-même »20, de s’appliquer à soi-même les perversions et pathologies que l’on vous prête ou les désamorcer en se rendant inoffensif. Jackson fait l’un et l’autre, à la fois efféminé certes mais aussi entiché sur scène de son pénis, qu’il agrippe compulsivement avec un cri. Ce geste est emblématique et parfaitement ambigu. Cela permet de comprendre que l’éclaircissement pigmentaire de Michael Jackson, corollaire de son androgynie assumée, est perçu par nombre de Noirs comme un symptôme du racisme et ne lui a jamais aliéné la communauté dans son ensemble. Bien au contraire. Baldwin lui-même salua en 1985 les tours de passe-passe de l’artiste « enmasqué », portant gant blanc et lunettes noires : « Jackson, on ne lui pardonnera pas de si tôt d’avoir donné le change, car y’a pas de doute qu’il a raflé la mise »21. Il salua en lui un autre « freak », s’identifiant à la monstruosité du chanteur, épinglé comme une bête de foire par le pays de l’homme blanc. Ce dernier,
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22 « Freaks and the American ideal of manhood », Playboy, 1985. Repris dans James Baldwin: Collected Essays, édités par Toni Morrison, New York, Literary Classics of the United States, 1998.
23 Membre des « Dominoes », il est un grand nom du Rn’B et de la soul music noire américaine dans les années 1950 (http://www.history-of-rock.com/jackie_wilson.htm).
24 J’emprunte cette évocation à Dyson, op. cit.
coupable aux yeux de James Baldwin de ses propres turpitudes, nomme « freak », cinglé, dépravé, ceux qui le forcent à se confronter à ses désirs inavoués22.
Michael Jackson n’a ainsi jamais cessé d’être reconnu comme afro-américain et, plus encore, comme un héros du monde noir. Musicalement, son talent inégalé et son succès indiscuté ont permis que, pour la première fois, un artiste noir conquière toute la nation sans distinction, Blancs et Noirs de tous âges et de tous milieux sociaux. On revoit en lui les génies qui l’ont précédé, de Brown à Hendrix, de Jackie Wilson23 à Marvin Gaye. Premier Noir dont la musique fut diffusée sur la chaîne musicale MTV, il fut surtout le premier à dominer de la tête et des épaules l’ensemble de l’industrie du divertissement. Plus encore, son succès est le fruit d’un talent qui crève les yeux et les oreilles, ses innovations musicales marquant une date dans l’histoire de la musique. Jackson doit ses succès à son génie propre mais aussi à l’aide de son orchestrateur, Quincy Jones, unanimement respecté dans l’univers afro-américain. À la sortie de « Thriller », Jones s’exclama dans les colonnes de Time Magazine qu’enfin, avec Jackson, les musiciens noirs cessaient d’occuper le second rang, rendant enfin à tous les Noirs du pays la place qui leur revient.
Plus que les Blancs en effet, ce sont les artistes afro-américains (dont les plus jeunes d’entre eux lui rendirent l’hommage que l’on doit à un maître lors des BET Music Awards ce 28 juin) qui furent subjugués par le talent du showman étrange. Ainsi extasia-t-il le public lors des Grammy Awards de 1988, dans une atmosphère d’église noire du Sud. Interprétant sous la forme d’un gospel le début de son titre « The way you make me feel », il s’interrompit pour réaliser à la perfection son légendaire Moonwalk. Puis, le funambule interpréta au micro « Man in the mirror », ode au pouvoir de changer le monde. Lorsqu’il acheva son interprétation, il était en transe, épuisé et à genoux, martyr sublime de sa « sur-humanité ». Quincy Jones bien sûr, mais aussi Prince, Anita Baker, Little Richard et Whitney Houston applaudirent debout, dans une commune ferveur autour de ce Christ noir, qui leur donnait fierté et sentiment de reconnaissance mutuelle24.
La passion selon Jackson ne pouvait que bouleverser un monde noir sensible au langage de la religiosité raciale, fût-elle séculière en apparence. La catharsis que suscite
11
25 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dma9fvOmbJs
26 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqDOsKKhb88
27 http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/16/arts/review-rock-new-video-opens-the-jackson-blitz.html?pagewanted=2
28 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1d4qm_michael-jackson-black-or-white_music
29 Voir Sylvie Laurent, « Peaux blanches, masques noirs », Revue internationale des livres et des idées, n° 9, janvier-février 2009.
30 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5t2y_m-jackson-p-mc-cartney-say-say-say_music
l’exhibition de ce mystique rendu fou par sa quête de transparence physique trouble mais séduit aussi : en chaque Noir, il y a un Jackson, une conscience tourmentée après des siècles de sujétion par la couleur de sa peau. Les stigmates de Michael Jackson, rendus tristement cliniques après son décès, ne pouvaient que susciter la terreur et la pitié : il était malingre et sous-alimenté, imberbe et chauve, son ossature était de verre et sa peau décapée laissait apparaître des dizaines de contusions et de plaies dues aux innombrables injections qui faisaient son quotidien. Il y a quelques mois, on le disait à demi-aveugle. Vouloir sortir de son propre corps dans une ascèse folle (la « prison de l’égocentricité raciale » écrivit Baldwin) fit peut-être de lui un « hyper-noir ».
Qu’il tente d’apprendre à danser à Michael Jordan (« Jam », 1992)25, qu’il chante à l’unisson des accords du guitariste hard-rockeur blanc Slash (entre autres dans « Give in to me », 1991)26, qu’il prétende, avec des bons sentiments un peu dégoulinants27, que la couleur de peau ne compte pas (« Black or White », 1991) ou qu’il crée la polémique en s’identifiant à l’image sulfureuse des Black Panthers dans la vidéo de ce même titre28, il ne quitte jamais le monde noir. Quincy Jones avait même compris sa capacité à dépasser l’imagerie ambiguë des ménestrels noirs29 en l’habillant d’un costume noir, d’un noeud papillon et de gants blancs, image stéréotypée du musicien noir aux États-Unis. Espiègle, Jackson ne garda qu’un seul gant mais subvertit effectivement le jeu de mascarade raciale.
Blackface
De façon en effet audacieuse, Jackson se joue de l’imagerie racialisée de l’Amérique en mettant en scène avec Paul McCartney dans le vidéoclip de « Say, say, say » deux artistes de vaudevilles, ces spectacles itinérants dans lesquels les Blancs singeaient grossièrement les musiciens noirs à l’aide d’un maquillage clownesque et d’une pantomime raciste30. Les deux acolytes, à la fois bonimenteurs et comédiens de fortunes, trouvent un public complaisant dans une Californie frappée par la Grande Dépression. La force politique de cette évocation n’est accessible qu’à ceux qui maîtrisent le langage codé de l’oppression raciale. Jackson y
12
31 Voir W.T. Lhamon Jr, Peaux blanches, masques noirs, Paris, Kargo & L’Éclat, 2008.
32 http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/15/arts/in-new-lyrics-jackson-uses-slurs.html?scp=11&sq=Michael%20Jackson%20-%20HIStory&st=cse
33 http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3584463360/tt0373732
prouve ainsi la filiation culturelle indéniable dans laquelle il s’inscrit31. La dimension militante de son travail, le plus souvent suggérée comme dans « Say, say, say », est parfois plus explicite comme dans le titre « They don’t care about us » (History, 1997) dans lequel « they » se réfère à « eux les Blancs » et « us » à « nous les Noirs ». Dans ce texte, il dénonce les brutalités policières, suggérant par son « Don’t you black or white me » que les allégations sur la couleur de sa peau ne sont elles aussi que pur racisme. Sur un arrière-plan musical hip-hop dans lequel un choeur d’enfants entonne le refrain, et avec Spike Lee aux commandes du vidéoclip, Jackson se fait militant de la cause noire. Il se dit victime de la haine intrusive du policier blanc qui « viole » littéralement sa « fierté » noire, celle célébrée par James Brown. Il pousse d’ailleurs la rhétorique raciale au point de la rendre polémique puisque, dans ce même titre, il utilise des formules raciales équivoques pour désigner les Juifs et fut, comme Africa Bambata, James Baldwin ou Jesse Jackson, accusé de participer au discours antisémite rampant dans la communauté noire américaine. Chose improbable : la presse voit en lui un « homme noir en colère »32.
Jackson, dont on dit qu’il voulait à tout prix (dont celui de sa santé) être blanc, reprend ainsi le masque noir lorsqu’il fait siens les discours essentialistes de la communauté noire : ainsi en est-il des accusations de racisme, formulées plus tard à l’adresse de Tommy Mottola, président de Sony, lorsque son album Invicible peine à décoller en 2001. Il mobilisa également le registre de l’injustice raciste lorsqu’il fut accusé dès 1993 de pédophilie après avoir confié qu’il dormait avec des enfants. Plus encore, la menace d’un procès en 2002 le rapprocha paradoxalement d’une communauté noire habituée aux dénis de justice et qui, huit ans plus tôt, avait collectivement soutenu le footballeur O. J. Simpson lorsque ce dernier, vraisemblablement coupable, fut jugé à Los Angeles. Jackson crie à l’injustice et c’est à l’unisson de sa jeune soeur, Janet, que dans le duo « Scream » (History, 1995) il dénonce à nouveau le système pourri dans lequel il vit et son envie de hurler devant tant de calomnie.
Plus frappant encore, le groupe radical Nation of Islam proclame son soutien à Jackson, comme il le fit pour Simpson, dénonçant le complot raciste, accentuant encore ce que le créateur du dessin animé « The Boondocks » (figurant des personnages noirs)33, Aaron McGruder, a nommé la « re-négrification » du chanteur dépigmenté. Jackson aurait d’ailleurs
13
34 Gary Younge, « Back into the fold », 6 janvier 2004. Disponible sur :
http://floacist.wordpress.com/2008/03/18/re-gary-younge-is-michael-jackson-turning-black-again/
35 Depuis les métis à carnation très pâles qui « passent » pour blancs et les albinos qui sont exhibés dans les foires, l’histoire afro-américaine est marquée par cette dissociation entre phénotype et race comme construction sociale. Voir l’ouvrage de Charles D. Martin, The White African American Body: A Cultural and Literary Exploration, Rutgers University Press, 2002.
36 Antonin Artaud, Van Gogh. Le Suicidé de la Société, Paris, Gallimard, 2001.
37 Will I Am, musicien membre des Black Eye Peas et producteur, collabora aux reprises de son dernier album. Il réalisa également le clip de campagne de Barack Obama.
été, selon un journaliste du Guardian34, très proche du mouvement de Louis Farrakhan. À ceux qui douteraient des complexités de la race aux États-Unis et qui ignoreraient la longue histoire des Noirs à peau blanche35, Jackson offre un exemple frappant. Discours plus que couleur de peau, la conscience noire passe en Amérique par des codes auxquels Jackson a toujours souscrit. En 2003, on l’entendit à Harlem, aux cotés du candidat à l’élection présidentielle Al Sharpton, dénoncer une industrie du disque raciste. Lors de la mort de James Brown, légendaire parrain, c’est entouré de Jesse Jackson et d’Al Sharpton qu’il rendit hommage à celui qui l’inspira plus qu’un autre.
Conclusion
Antonin Artaud a écrit à propos de la mort brutale de Van Gogh : « Si Van Gogh n’était pas mort à 37 ans je n’en appellerais pas à la Grande Pleureuse pour me dire de quels suprêmes chefs d’oeuvre la peinture eût été enrichie, car je ne peux pas, après les Corbeaux, me résoudre à croire que Van Gogh eût peint un tableau de plus. Je pense qu’il est mort à 37 ans parce qu’il était arrivé au bout de sa révoltante histoire de garrotté d’un mauvais esprit »36. Sans doute Jackson était-il arrivé au bout de sa route artistique, au bout d’une énergie créatrice que même les jeunes héritiers talentueux de la star qui ont tenté de le faire revenir ne sont pas parvenus à ranimer37. Jamais plus il n’aurait offert au monde, après cinquante années dont vingt au moins semblent miraculeuses, la magie et la démence qui, mixée dans une alchimie prodigieuse, firent de Michael Jackson le plus grand ménestrel de l’Amérique moderne.
Pour aller plus loin :
- J. Randy Taraborrelli, Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness, Pan Books, 2004.
Publié dans laviedesidees.fr, le 29 juin 2009
© laviedesidees.fr

Si vous souhaitez critiquer ou développer cet article, vous êtes invité à proposer un texte au comité de rédaction. Nous vous répondrons dans les meilleurs délais : redaction@laviedesidees.fr.

Inside Neverland (2009) - dailymail.co.uk

2010-03-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

www.dailymail.co.uk (fotografiile sunt puse deoparte pentru Prăvălie - pentru o plimbare de week-end...)

Inside Neverland: The stunning photographs of Michael Jackson's empty fantasy

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 10:57 AM on 03rd July 2009

Gone is the zoo with its elephants, tigers and giraffe. The exotic snakes have long since slithered away, and the amusement rides have been dismantled.

The gates to Michael Jackson's fabled Neverland Ranch swung open yesterday to reveal a shell of the fantasy the boy-man had created when he was the King of Pop.

The front of the main house at Neverland Ranch

In the days since Jackson's death on June 25 thousands of fans - and some of the biggest names in U.S. television - have descended on the ranch.

The gates have become a makeshift shrine, adorned with handwritten notes, flowers, photos and other tributes.

Hundreds of parked cars have lined both sides of the two-lane road leading to the ranch. About two hundred people crowded outside the estate, their view of Jackson's English-style manor and other Neverland fixtures obscured by a slope of golden brown hills dotted with oak trees.

But inside the five-bedroom house, with its gigantic kitchen and media room where Jackson liked to screen his beloved Disney films, was nearly empty. His big-screen TV was gone, only a mounting bracket remained.

There were some traces of the playland that the place had been in its glory days, when Jackson opened it to neighbourhood children by the thousands and presided over the ensuing parties as the lord of the manor.

In its empty game room, for example, the door knobs shaped like miniature basketballs, baseballs and soccer balls remained. In a closet in the pool house, sandwiched between the pool and the tennis court, was a bucket of tennis balls.

And on a hill overlooking the house stood the fabled train station - a near replica of the one at Disneyland with its huge floral clock. It was still a stunning site from Jackson's front yard, although the railroad tracks behind were overgrown with weeds.

In the station lobby was a snack bar, and above that, accessible by only the smallest of spiral staircases, was a crow's nest of sorts with a fireplace. There, presumably, Jackson must have stood and watched his trains fill up with children taking trips around his 2,500-acre (1,000-hectare) estate.

But the ranch is not entirely the land of innocence that Jackson wanted it to be. It is also the site where authorities alleged that the singer had sexually molested a boy.

He was acquitted in 2005 - but the scandal nearly ruined him, driving him from Neverland forever. Over the last four years, the property fell into disrepair, and at one point it was weeks from being sold at a public auction.

After his acquittal in 2005, Jackson moved to Bahrain. The following year, he dismissed many of the Neverland staff after agreeing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages to avoid a lawsuit by state labour officials.

Left largely untended, the once manicured grounds grew wild and the train and carnival rides gathered dust. Eventually, much of it was removed.

The darkness of the accusations seemed to echo through the empty, silent rooms.

Visitors wandered through the first-floor, back bedroom where authorities said the incident occurred.

ackson once acknowledged in a television interview that he sometimes let children sleep with him in his bed. He called them innocent sleepovers.

Colony Capital LLC, the Los Angeles firm that established a joint venture with Jackson to rescue Neverland from foreclosure last year, opened the home to scores of journalists yesterday after a non-stop barrage of requests for access after Jackson died.
Colony has declined to say what it plans to do with the house, saying only that an answer would come 'in due time', and none of the handful of officials present would speak on the record.

There is speculation it could be turned into a tourist attraction celebrating the King of Pop, much like Elvis Presley's Graceland pays homage to the King of Rock and Roll.

But others ask if it may be restored for his heirs to use, or put on the market to cash in on the sudden interest in all things Jackson.

Last night Jackson's brother Jermaine allowed CNN's Larry King to film inside the ranch.

'This is his creation. This is his wonder and his joy, his happiness, his peace. And I feel him everywhere. I feel him all around here,' Jermaine said.

'It's like he's never left. And to come here and to feel him here, I'm happy.'

He made it clear that the Jackson family still holds out hope that Californian officials will change the laws to allow Jackson to be laid to rest at Neverland.

Although California law is firm on the King of Pop having to be buried in a cemetery, Jermaine said: 'Yes, but as you know the ones who make the laws they can also change them, too. I would love to see him here.

'I really felt, and still feel, that this is where he should be rested, because it's just him.'

Visitors were allowed to roam freely for the most part, as more than a dozen gardeners and maintenance workers went about their duties.

The two-story house has a number of maze-like hallways and stairways. A large copper bathtub sits in the middle of a hallway.

Across from the front door of the main home was the guest house where Jackson's friend Elizabeth Taylor stayed when she married Larry Fortensky in 1991, at a Neverland wedding briefly interrupted by a skydiving gate-crasher.

Off-limits yesterday was the estate's now-empty amusement park, where Jackson and others once rode bumper cars, a merry-go-round and a Ferris wheel.

'My kids used to go out there and they had a good old time,' Los Olivos resident Frank Palmer said earlier this week. 'He was just a big kid himself, was what they told me. Michael loved it when they'd crash the go-carts.'

Among other things, Jackson left behind dozens of metal sculptures of children in various states of play. They were scattered across the estate, some showing children in modern dress, others looking more like kids who stepped out of a Charles Dickens novel.

One was a kid climbing on monkey bars, another boy helped a girl reach a tree branch.

A slightly larger sculpture had the name Michael Jackson written beneath it. From a distance, it looked nothing like him.

The ranch was valued at $33 million in 2006, according to an accounting firm's report from 2007.

It's likely that property has dropped in value since then because of the housing market - but Jackson's death may change things.

'If they'd put it on the market right after the trial, I think it would have not been well received,' said Rick Goodwin, publisher of Ultimate Homes and its parent publication, Unique Homes. 'At that point in time, the dark cloud hung over that place.

'Death has a tendency to let people be more forgiving.'

Un interviu cu Joe Jackson la emisiunea lui LARRY KING (2009)

2010-03-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

CNN LARRY KING LIVE

Interview with Joe Jackson

Aired July 20, 2009 - 21:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. (sursa: transcripts.cnn.com)

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, Joe Jackson exclusive -- live, unedited in his own words. For the first time since his son died, what Joe knows about Michael and drugs; challenges to wife Katherine's guardianship; and the foul play he blames for M.J.'s death.

Who is Joe accusing?

Plus, the never before asked question and answer -- how he said good- bye to his son.

Joe Jackson exclusive is next on LARRY KING LIVE.

Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the Jackson family, is in Las Vegas.

In Atlanta, is Leonard a lot of time, the music and concert promoter and longtime friend of Michael Jackson.

Before we get started, I should say we got a lot of e-mails, blog comments, Kings Things, Tweets, asking if we paid for the interview. And the answer is simple -- no, absolutely not.

Joe, I have -- I have not heard the answer to this -- how did you learn of Michael's passing?

JOE JACKSON, FATHER OF MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, I -- I learned that by some of the fans, you know. They called me and they told me that the ambulance was leaving Michael's house and it looked it was headed toward the hospital. And he said the fire truck was following the ambulance. And they said we are following the fire truck.

That's how I learned.

KING: Wow!

Did you turn the TV on right away?

JACKSON: No, I did not. I was trying to find out more of the things, you know, by the fans and that sort of the thing.

KING: Wow!

So fans were the first to tell you?

JACKSON: Yes, they did. They always keep me abreast of what's going on.

KING: How are -- how are you doing? It's four weeks later.

Is it any easier?

JACKSON: Well, it -- you know, I took it very hard. But, you know, I'm sort of a tough person myself. But I took it very hard, but I didn't let nobody know about it. Yes.

KING: We -- by the way, Leonard will be -- we'll bring Leonard into the conversation shortly.

How is Katherine coping?

JACKSON: Katherine is taking it very, very hard. You know, she's -- she's really, really taking it harder than I have ever seen her take anything. Yes.

KING: Yes.

Were you surprised at all at that?

JACKSON: Yes, of course, I was surprised, because, you know, it's the first time something like this ever happened to us. And -- and the whole world suffered behind Michael's loss, you know -- our loss, I'll put it like that. And we all are grieving about it and still is.

KING: How are the children doing?

JACKSON: Oh, everybody's fine. Thank you. Very fine.

KING: How about Janet Jackson?

You know, where she stood up for the family at the funeral. And I was there at the award -- at the memorial. It was a heartbreaking moment. She seemed rather shaken.

How is she doing now?

JACKSON: Well, she's fine. You know, it happens with, you know, everybody practically I mean. But she's got to keep on doing what she's supposed to do and that's to try to be Janet Jackson. Yes.

KING: Jermaine said in an interview that he wished that he'd been the one to die and not Michael.

As a father, how do you react to that?

JACKSON: Well, I can't. That's Jermaine talking, you know?

And I...

KING: Yes, but how do you feel when you hear it?

JACKSON: Well, because we -- that's what Jermaine thought and maybe that's what his reaction was. But he's living and Michael is dead. And so -- and so that's the way it is. It's not him. KING: Isn't it hard -- isn't it hard to accept?

JACKSON: Accept what, Larry?

KING: That your son is gone?

JACKSON: Oh, of course. It's very hard. It's not just me, it's so hard for the whole family -- and the world, because Michael was -- did so much for the -- for the whole world and which he never was -- he never was -- well, he never -- the people never give him his just due, what the things that -- for all of the things that he has done.

KING: Well, we'll get to some of that.

When little Paris spoke at the end, everyone, of course, was immensely touched and impressed. A lot of people were especially moved.

What do you -- why -- how do you think she was able to do that, get up and talk in front of that crowd?

JACKSON: Well, she's a Jackson you know?

And that's all I can say about that at the moment. But she's got a lot of nerve, yes.

KING: Are you saying it's in the genes?

JACKSON: Of course it's in the genes.

Where else could it be?

KING: Do you think these children might go into show business?

JACKSON: I can't get into that right now, Larry, because, I mean, I just can't. But they like to watch movies and things and that show -- they watch hit shows on TV and stuff, you know.

What can I say?

KING: But I mean down the road, down the road, if they expressed an interest -- I mean, you raised a family and they all got into show business.

If the grandchildren wanted to, would you encourage them?

JACKSON: Larry -- Larry, I know where you're trying to go with that. And I don't want no (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: I'm not trying to go anywhere, I'm asking you would you encourage them...

JACKSON: Well, I'm not...

KING: ...to (INAUDIBLE) business?

JACKSON: I'm not encouraging them to do nothing -- not (INAUDIBLE). They have to be what they are, kids, at the moment -- yes, and be raised properly.

KING: So those rumors that you wanted to tour the Jackson 3 are not true?

JACKSON: Not true. That's a bunch of jive. That's a bunch of -- I wish I could say what I should say. That's a bunch of bull. That's a bunch of bull.

KING: Do you spend a lot of time with the grandkids?

JACKSON: I don't spend -- I'm -- I live in Las Vegas and they live in L.A. and I go back and forward sometimes, yes.

KING: Where is -- where is Michael's body?

JACKSON: I don't know. You'd have to ask somebody that knows. I don't know. All I know is that...

KING: You're the father.

JACKSON: I was at the memorial and where they took him from there, I have to find out. I'll let you know later, Larry.

KING: OK. But as the father, one would think you would have the most imminent right to know.

JACKSON: I do have that right. But I'm not talking about that right now.

KING: OK. Jermaine talked to me about seeing Michael's body and saying good-bye.

Did you get a chance to say good-bye?

JACKSON: Yes, I said good-bye to him when he was up -- well, when he was up there in front of us, you know?

And I say -- I'm saying good-bye to him now. But -- and what the others say, that's what they say. And what I'm saying is I do feel the loss of my son, Michael Jackson, who was an international star all over the world.

KING: But you -- you didn't get to see the body or say anything...

JACKSON: No, I did not.

KING: ...to the remains?

JACKSON: No I did not.

KING: Do you wish you could have?

JACKSON: I could have. But -- but I wanted to see Michael -- I wanted to remember Michael alive, because I didn't want to see him -- I didn't want to see him laying up in a casket, you know?

KING: Yes, I understand that.

JACKSON: Yes.

KING: If -- do you expect to be asked about burial?

JACKSON: Well, they could ask me...

KING: I mean, do you expect to be included in the decision?

JACKSON: Yes, I do expect a lot of things. But a lot of things you expect don't ever happen.

KING: How true.

We're going to talk about lots of things. And we'll be bringing in -- we have not forgotten your friend, Leonard, right there. And we'll be bringing in Leonard shortly to talk about...

JACKSON: There you go.

KING: Hold on right, Joe.

Hold on.

We'll be right back.

We're going to talk about the reported drug use and what you thought about that and what he did to help his son.

We're back with Joe Jackson. And we'll bring in Leonard a lot of time, as well, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Oh, what a family Joe Jackson raised.

And, Joe, also with us is Leonard a lot of time in Atlanta, the music and concert promoter, a longtime friend of Michael Jackson. We're going to include Leonard in a lot more in a couple of moments.

But, Leonard, quickly, were you at that -- that last rehearsal of Michael's?

LEONARD ROWE, MUSIC & CONCERT PROMOTER: No, I wasn't.

KING: Did you make it -- what do you make of -- did you have any inkling that he might have a medical problem?

ROWE: Yes, I did.

KING: Based on what?

ROWE: Well, based on his physical appearance, based on his weight, based on his actions, based on his mental capacity. When I was with Michael, I didn't see the Michael that I'd normally have seen in the past. I've been knowing Michael for about 30 years. And I know when he was well, in good health. And I know when he's not in good health.

KING: Joe, what do you think of what Leonard just said?

JACKSON: Well, Leonard's telling the truth, because, you know, he knew Michael -- well, I'm the one that started Leonard a lot of time into being a concert promoter many years ago. And he did promote my -- my boys in the earlier years, of course.

KING: Yes, but I mean what do you think of what he just said, that he thought Michael was not well?

JACKSON: Well, he was not well, you know. This -- we tried to find out what the situation was, but there were a lot of times that we couldn't get to him like we should.

KING: You're not surprised, then, at what Leonard just said?

JACKSON: No, I'm not surprised.

KING: The official autopsy results have not yet been released. They've been delayed a while, I guess.

But you had a private autopsy.

What can you tell us it said, Joe?

JACKSON: Well, I haven't -- I don't know yet. I haven't heard it. I haven't read it.

KING: Didn't you get a private autopsy for the family?

JACKSON: Yes, but they haven't -- they haven't reported nothing to me yet.

KING: Well, I don't understand. You're the father. And a...

JACKSON: Yes, of course I'm the father.

KING: So don't you have the right to say to the people, we have a private autopsy, will you show it to me?

JACKSON: Well, they have not showed it to me, Larry. I'll put it like that.

KING: OK.

And you haven't asked for it?

JACKSON: Well, I figured I would get it pretty soon, so I didn't ask for it.

KING: Do you frankly think that drugs were involved in your son's life?

JACKSON: Something happened there, Larry. This wasn't just only drugs. This -- there's something else behind all of that.

KING: And what do you mean?

What do you -- what is -- where is it -- what are you thinking?

JACKSON: Well, I'm thinking that there's foul play, you know?

That's what I'm thinking. And...

KING: Well, but explain that.

Foul play meaning what, somebody trying to harm him?

JACKSON: Of course. A lot of time, you -- you get into that, a lot of time.

ROWE: Larry?

Larry?

KING: You get into the -- I don't know what you said. I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said.

JACKSON: I told a lot of time to get into that. So he knows all that stuff about the, you know, what happened (INAUDIBLE).

KING: OK, Leonard, what do you know about foul play?

ROWE: Well, Larry, let me explain this to you. During Michael's final days, the final days of Michael's life, and during the final days that was leading up to his life, as well as the final days that surrounded his death, there was a lot of suspicious activity going on in his surroundings.

KING: Like?

ROWE: Michael Jackson's life, at the end, was being controlled and manipulated. Michael Jackson was not allowed to make his own decisions. He was not allowed to hire who he wanted to hire to work for him. Michael Jackson was being told what to do and people was controlling Michael Jackson.

KING: By whom?

Who was that?

ROWE: The same people that was controlling Michael Jackson financially, the people taking care of Michael Jackson, the people that was paying his bills. Those are the people that was controlling Michael Jackson.

KING: Who is that?

Is that the corporation that owns Neverland?

Are you referring to them?

ROWE: No. It was the promotors who were promoting him in London...

KING: You're talking...

ROWE: ...which was AEG. They was -- at the time of Michael's death, they were the ones that was controlling Michael's life. And this is (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: But what did that have to do with foul play?

ROWE: Well, let me say this. Foul play would have to be determined with an investigation. But what we are saying is there was a lot of suspicious activity that was surrounding Michael.

KING: By AEG?

ROWE: I mean...

KING: Well, why would...

ROWE: Let me...

KING: Why would AEG want to harm him when he's going to perform for them?

ROWE: Listen, let me -- let me correct you about something here. I'm not saying that. I'm going to repeat myself. There was a lot of suspicious activity that was occurring around Michael Jackson and I'm willing to explain it.

Michael Jackson, at the end, was not allowed to make decisions of his own. Everything was being told. Michael Jackson...

KING: You said that.

ROWE: OK. Let's...

KING: I understand that, Leonard. But that's not foul play.

ROWE: OK. Let me explain what -- what I'm saying to you when I say suspicious activity.

KING: Right.

What do you mean?

ROWE: People was brought in to run Michael Jackson's life...

KING: OK.

ROWE: ...that he had dismissed from his life in the past, OK, by AEG. AEG brought people in that Michael had dismissed in the past. I found that to be very unusual. I was one of the people that Michael Jackson personally hired to come in, but everyone was against that...

KING: But I -- but, Leonard...

ROWE: ...everyone from AEG.

KING: I understand -- I understand that.

ROWE: OK.

KING: But I don't understand how that constitutes foul play.

ROWE: OK. Let me say this to you. There was a doctor in the house with Michael Jackson -- the healthy Michael Jackson, the Michael Jackson that AEG said was in perfect health. That doctor was put in the house with Michael Jackson and he was paid a large sum of money per month.

KING: To do what?

ROWE: To (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: To take care of him, right?

ROWE: Yes.

But why would you put -- why do someone that's completely healthy, as they say, need someone to take care of them?

I consider myself...

KING: So you're implying...

ROWE: I consider myself healthy, Larry. I don't have a doctor living with me.

Do you have one living with you?

So...

KING: So you're implying foul play by sending a doctor there?

ROWE: No, Larry. Let me say this to you. Michael Jackson was addicted.

Do you understand that?

We all know that.

KING: Correct.

ROWE: It's not a secret.

KING: OK.

ROWE: Would you put a cocaine seller in the house with a cocaine addict? No, you wouldn't do that.

KING: Are you saying they put a cocaine seller in the house -- the doctor was selling cocaine?

ROWE: I didn't say that, Larry. But he was able to write...

KING: Well, what did you say?

ROWE: He was able to administer drugs.

KING: Joe, what do you...

ROWE: Do you understand that?

KING: I understand .

Hold on, Leonard.

Joe, what do you think of what Leonard has had to say?

JACKSON: Well, this is what -- you don't take a doctor and stick him in the room there and the doctor give him something to make him rest and then he don't wake up no more. Something is wrong there. The doctor -- the doctor -- the doctor just -- somehow, I understand that he left or went to sleep or something. I don't know what happened there.

But he tried to bring Michael...

KING: Are you implying, then, that the doctor committed foul play...

JACKSON: Something went wrong...

KING: ...Joe?

JACKSON: Something went wrong, Larry, because when he -- when they tried to bring Michael back, he was dead. Something went wrong. Let me...

KING: All right. Let me get a break here. We ran a little over. I'll be right back.

We'll ask our guests whether they ever talked to Michael directly about drug use.

More next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Joe Jackson in Las Vegas and Leonard a lot of time in Atlanta.

Joe, did you talk to Michael about drug use?

JACKSON: No, I did not. KING: Why not?

JACKSON: I never got a chance to.

KING: I'll go back to -- you're his father.

If you pick up the phone and you call your son and you're worried about him and you know he's had some problems with this, why wouldn't you counsel him?

JACKSON: Larry, I'm going to cut through the chase on this. I could never get to him. I tried all I could and I could never get to him because he -- I was barred away from him by securities and all that type of thing. I could not get to him.

KING: They cut you off?

JACKSON: That's right, Larry. They cut me off.

KING: Now, what if Michael asked to see you?

JACKSON: Well, that's a horse of another color. If he asked to see me, then he probably could have seen me.

KING: All right.

So why do you think he didn't?

JACKSON: Well, I couldn't -- I can't answer that, Larry. All I know is I was barred from being around there to see him.

And we were just talking about foul play.

You want to know about foul play?

If a doctor's there that couldn't bring you back -- and this doctor, he ran away. They had to look for him three days to find him.

So what do you think there that's happened?

To me, that's foul play.

KING: All right. That's your explanation. That's fair enough.

Do you -- what do you say about all these things that have been said over the years, that you harmed Michael as a child?

JACKSON: Oh, that's a bunch of bull S. That's a bunch of bull S.

KING: Straighten me out.

JACKSON: You know, that's not true. I would never...

KING: You never physically harmed him?

JACKSON: Never. Never have. And I -- and I raised him just like you would raise your kids, you know?

But harm Michael, for what?

I have no reason. That's my son. I loved him and I still love him.

KING: And we'll be back with more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joe, sometimes in a family, when a family member dies, the other family members feel some sense of guilt. For instance -- it might be unwarranted.

Do you feel any guilt at all?

Do you ever say to yourself, I could have done more?

JACKSON: Well, I wish -- I wish I had done more. I wish I had have broke those gates down they had me barred out from him and went in there and got past the security guards myself. But, you know, I was (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: That's understandable...

(CROSSTALK)

KING: ...to have guilt or -- I would have guilt over that.

Now, what about that unseen footage, that notorious '84 Pepsi commercial shoot made public last week by "Us Weekly?"

It was pretty graphic. It's been shown many times.

Do you think that was a big turning point for your son?

JACKSON: Well, I imagine so, because, you know, he got his hair singed off his head. And -- and it took a long time for that thing to heal, you know?

So -- so it had to have some kind of damage to him, of course.

KING: Did he -- did he talk to you about it?

JACKSON: No, he did not.

KING: Leonard, what did you make of it?

ROWE: What did I make of his hair burning, Larry?

KING: Yes.

ROWE: It was just a...

KING: I mean do you think it had a telling event on his life, affecting drug use and etc.? ROWE: I think so, Larry. When I first met Michael Jackson, he would hard -- he wouldn't drink a Coca-Cola. So as far as taking any kind of drugs, that was totally out of the question. And that was something that him and I used to talk about quite often.

Michael Jackson was against drugs and he was against alcohol at the time when I first met him. So I think...

KING: So something went wrong?

ROWE: Well, he began taking those drugs -- I think that was in 1984, because he had a lot of excruciating pain.

KING: Right after the incident?

ROWE: Sure.

KING: Yes.

ROWE: And, you know, like a lot of people do, I think he became addicted, which he said and which he had told me before.

KING: Do you think it might have started, also -- Joe, do you think it might have started a lot of plastic surgery, because of that burn?

JACKSON: It could have, you know. I don't know the reason when it started. But it could have started a lot of plastic surgery.

KING: Yes. Because he sure -- he must have had a lot of it, right?

(AUDIO GAP)

KING: Joe, you all right?

JACKSON: I'm OK. Yes, I'm good. Thank you. Yes, I'm good.

KING: Let me get a break.

We'll be right back with Joe and -- and Leonard.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joe, in a minute, I want to clear up some business involvement -- a question involving Leonard and Michael.

But are you surprised, Joe, that you were left out of the will?

JACKSON: Well, I wasn't too surprised, because, you know, that's what his -- it was his will. That's the way he wanted it. And it's not going to hurt me that I was left out of his will. But it happened. And I can't (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: Were you estranged from Michael? JACKSON: Well, he left it to his mother, you know, as much as he could. And -- and I figure that it will be -- she's pretty fair a lady to be able to -- to be fair with everything about the will.

KING: Are you and she separated?

JACKSON: No, we're not.

KING: You're still marr -- a married couple?

JACKSON: That's right.

KING: All right, now to the business thing.

What involvement, if any, did either of you have in Michael's business affairs?

And this is a note to you, Leonard. Leonard, apparently, you have a letter March 25th addressed to AEG's Randy Phillips, purportedly signed by Michael Jackson.

In the letter, Michael reportedly says that "effective from this date, Mr. Leonard a lot of time is my authorized representative in matters concerning my endeavors in the entertainment industry."

Is that true?

Do you have that letter, Leonard?

ROWE: Yes, I do.

KING: OK.

Now how about another letter that comes forth, dated May 20th, the same year: "Dear Mr. A lot of time, I hope you are well. After further consideration, I've decided to streamline my business opportunities at this time. Accordingly, this is to inform you that you do not represent me and I do not wish to have any oral or written communication with you regarding the handling of my business and/or personal matters. With respect to my touring matters, please -- please feel free to contact Frank DeLeo or Randy Phillips of AEG."

Did you get that letter?

ROWE: Never received that letter, Larry.

And let me say this to you, Larry. Michael Jackson knew very well how to reach me by phone, by mail and a couple of more ways. I've never received that letter, Larry.

But this letter is back to what I was saying to you at first.

Michael was being controlled. I was not on AEG payroll. I was not one of their people. They did not want me around Michael Jackson nor did they want anyone around Michael Jackson that they did not control. Because if they could keep people from around Michael Jackson that was trying to look out for his well being and people that actually cared about Michael, they could reach their goal of stripping Michael.

That's what I truly felt.

KING: Are either of you -- Joe, are you going to go -- were you going to go to the London concerts, Joe?

JACKSON: Yes, I was going to be there. They didn't want me there, but I was going to be there. They didn't want me around my son at all, you know, because they know that I'd be watching everything they do.

KING: Leonard, were you going to go?

ROWE: Yes, I was going, Larry, because Michael had hired me to oversee his finances, number one. And to look...

KING: So do you discount this purported -- this letter which appears to have a signature...

ROWE: I've never received a letter, Larry. I have to receive it first. And I don't think Michael meant for me to receive that letter. You know...

KING: When was the last time you spoke to him?

ROWE: Let me say something, Larry. I think you are missing something here.

KING: All right, go ahead.

ROWE: But I can't stand it, Michael was being controlled.

KING: I understand that.

ROWE: And I'd like to understand that. I don't think you understand.

KING: Well, he could get to a phone. Did he talk to you on the phone?

ROWE: I spoke to Michael. I was also in a meeting with Michael and Randy Phillips, one of his employees, Mr. Jackson and his mother, about three weeks before Michael passed. If they wanted me to receive that letter, they could have easily hand that letter to me. But that letter was never handed to me. And Joe could verify that.

JACKSON: That's right.

KING: So Michael never said anything to you about breaking off the relationship?

ROWE: What Michael said to me is, "Rowe, I need you to look out for my money. I have kids. I can't come back from London with no money." And I gave him my word that I would do that.

But you know what? I was in the way, Larry, like anyone that was going to look out for Michael's money because I think other people had a different agenda about Michael's money. Do you understand me?

KING: Yes, I understand what you're saying. So you're saying this letter is not what it's supposed to be?

ROWE: What I'm saying is I've never received that letter, I've never seen it. So how can I tell you that?

KING: But you're saying -- you are saying you were with him three weeks before he died and gave you no indication he was going to break off with you.

ROWE: Just -- his father is here on your show. And he could verify that I was with Michael.

JACKSON: That's right, he never received that letter, Larry.

KING: Right.

ROWE: Three weeks before he passed we met at the Beverly Hills Hotel. And I was trying to discuss different things with Randy Phillips concerning Michael's finances in London, England.

KING: And...

ROWE: As far as scalping of the tickets and things that I thought they were doing unethical to Michael Jackson. I was doing my job for Michael Jackson. That's what he hired me to do.

KING: Joe, how did that meeting end?

JACKSON: That meeting ended with me out there and shouting on the floor and talking to Larry Phillips about...

ROWE: Randy.

JACKSON: ...they wanted...

KING: Randy.

JACKSON: ...to pay him in U.S. dollars and I wanted him to get paid in pounds. And he said, by the time his tour starts, the U.S. dollar will be much more than the pound.

ROWE: Which was totally untrue.

JACKSON: And that's not untrue, because the U.S. dollar was never more than the pound. And they said they were going to straighten all this stuff out and get back with me. I never heard from Randy Phillips at all...

KING: Ok.

JACKSON: ...until I called him. And then when I called him and asked about all this stuff he said he never said that.

ROWE: And Larry, can I say something here really quick. KING: Yes.

ROWE: I want you to hear me and I like you to hear me well.

If people cared about Michael's well-being like they paraded they did, they really paraded around like they was Mother Teresa. But I told Michael in numerous occasions that they wasn't. But if they really cared...

KING: I'm going to get to break. All right, hold it, Joe, hold it Leonard.

ROWE: Ok.

KING: Joe was answering your questions tonight, too. You go to CNN.com/Larryking, ask him what you'd like to know. Don't forget our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Back with Joe Jackson and Leonard Rowe right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Leonard, you described the actions of AEG as unethical. What do you mean, Joe? What was unethical?

ROWE: Can I answer that, Joe, please?

JACKSON: Yes, you go ahead and answer that. You better put it there.

ROWE: Ok and Larry, I would like to answer that question, please.

KING: Go ahead.

ROWE: Larry, the first conversation I had with Michael Jackson. The night, it was a Friday night, the night he asked me to come and go to work for him. This is what he told me.

He said, "Rowe, I only agreed to do ten shows for AEG. I never agreed to do 50. He said I can't do no 50 shows, Rowe." He said "I never agreed."

I said, "Well, Mike, what is your deal? He said, "I don't know what my deal is." He said, "I need you, Rowe to straighten that out. I need you to get with Randy Phillips on Monday morning and take care of that." He said "I would like for you to schedule the shows out and stretch them out to a schedule that is doable for me."

KING: So you're saying that they set 50...

ROWE: Hold on Larry, would you please give me...

KING: Hold on, hold on, you're wandering off. Are you saying, when they said 50, that was against Michael's wishes?

ROWE: Totally. Michael wasn't capable...

KING: But they were selling tickets for 50?

ROWE: I said that. But he didn't approve that Larry. He was telling me that he didn't approve 50; he only approved 10.

KING: But we have a statement from -- we have a statement from AEG President and CEO Randy Phillips...

ROWE: Did you have a contract?

KING: ...on the number of concerts.

ROWE: It's isn't even approved.

KING: Read. And he says, "Our original agreement with Michael Jackson called for 31 shows. It was our option as the promoter to only announce the first ten concerts, knowing that based on the response to the presale we could and would add the additional 21 shows.

The presale response was so overwhelming that we went back to Michael's representative at the time, Dr. Thome (ph), to inquire whether Michael would be willing to increase the number of shows." He reported that Michael was willing to increase the number of performance to 50.

And I would expect that AEG is going to probably dispute these allegations tonight. But they're saying Michael agreed to it.

ROWE: Ok, let me just say this to you Larry.

KING: Could that be after their spoke to you?

ROWE: Let me say this Larry, no, it couldn't be. But first of all and let me say this...

KING: So you're saying they're lying?

ROWE: Let me say this. Listen to me say this, they'll say anything, ok?

But what they should do is produce to you a contract showing what was signed by Michael to do 50. Do you have that?

KING: I don't have any contract, no. Ok.

ROWE: But you have my contract with Michael. You have that one.

KING: Ok, yes, I think we have that.

ROWE: Yes, you do.

KING: All right Joe "People" magazine quotes what is described as a source close to the family as saying, that you are willing to sign papers saying that you don't live with Katherine and won't be involved in raising Michael's kids.

Is that true or false?

JACKSON: I've never said I was going to sign any papers to that effect. But...

KING: Well, there's a lot flying around here.

JACKSON: And they got wings. They fly around with a lot of stuff that's not true.

KING: Ok, we have a blog question for Joe.

JACKSON: Square.

KING: A lot of questions posted for Joe on the Larry King blog. Did Michael convert to Islam? Was he a Muslim when he died?

ROWE: Joe don't know that, Larry.

JACKSON: I don't know that.

KING: Ok. Joe, what do you make of the document that's been filed in court as Michael's will? Do you think -- do you have any complaints about his will?

JACKSON: Well, I don't like the people -- because all these people that was involved with the will -- Michael fired those people. Now all of a sudden they're popping back up here.

ROWE: Larry, there was a lot of complaints about the will. Not about the will. No one is contesting the will. So let me say that and let me repeat myself. No one is contesting the will.

But what may be contested is the trustee of the will...

KING: All right.

ROWE: ...because there's a question whether Michael Jackson wanted these people, those trustees over the will, in place, at the time of his death.

KING: Joe, do you have any...

ROWE: These are the people -- I'm sorry, Larry, but these are people Michael had dismissed from his life earlier.

KING: All right, I got you.

Joe, do you have any at all bad feelings about the way Michael was raised? I know you are denying the stories about violence. But as you looked at it, were there any mistakes you made?

JACKSON: I didn't make no mistakes, Larry, because Michael, Michael was raised properly. He didn't run the streets like most of those other kids that was in his neighborhood.

KING: Why did he said... JACKSON: Listen, listen. Listen, now. You've got to understand me. Don't cut me off here, Larry. Michael has claims that he had a troubled life -- Michael never had -- he had his own brothers and sisters to play with. And most of those kids that was Michael's age during their time, they're not living now. So, you know...

KING: So when he -- didn't he once say that you were physically/emotionally abusive to him?

JACKSON: I've never been abusive to him, never have.

KING: But did he say that? Did he ever say that to your knowledge?

JACKSON: Well, I don't know whether he said that or not. But I hear the media keep hollering about that I abused him, I've never abused my son.

ROWE: Larry -- could I say something, Joe?

JACKSON: Wait, wait, wait, Rowe, let me handle this right here.

KING: That's right, Joe.

JACKSON: Let me handle this. The media keep hollering about saying that I beat Michael. That's not true. You know what this beat started -- beat started in the slavery days. Where they used to beat the slaves and then they used to torture them.

That's where these beating started. These slave masters, and that's where that come from. But, hey, there's a lot of people in America, Larry, a lot of people in America spank their kids, you know? They say they don't, they're lying. They're lying.

Now, Michael was never beaten by me, I've never beaten at all.

KING: Ok, you're on record.

Was Joe Jackson responsible for the kids' success? That's tonight's quick-vote question. Go to CNN.com/Larryking, tell us what you think.

So far, by the way, the majority says yes. The father was responsible for the success.

Back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joe, another Twitter question. If you could do it over with Michael -- raising -- what would you do differently?

JACKSON: Are you speaking to me?

KING: Yes, Joe. What would you do differently if you could do it all over again?

JACKSON: Well, I'll tell you what I would do differently. I think I would make sure that all this media talk about what I'm doing to Michael and the family, hey, I would be more cautious about the media because the media can -- well, you know, naturally they do all this stuff for ratings and they get a check. They get a check for all of this stuff they put out. But most of this stuff is not true. And that's unfair.

KING: And you think you should have handled it better initially?

JACKSON: Not too much better I could have done. Because I was working two jobs and then promoting my boys as well and I kept them eating and then, that's a lot to do. But I did it. I worked two jobs.

KING: All right, back with some more of -- back with some more of Joe and Leonard, don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: John King sits in for Anderson Cooper. He'll host AC 360. John what's up?

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE NATION": Larry, fascinating conversation you've got going there.

Coming up at the top of the hour on "360," we'll have more on what you're talking about: the Michael Jackson case including the latest details on the investigation and the big question -- whether or not criminal charges might be filed in Jackson's death.

Plus, President Obama's health care plan on the ropes. The crown jewel, you'll remember, of candidate Obama's campaign platform. But now, some of those in his own Democratic Party threatening to derail it. We'll look at how any compromise might be reached and how that would affect the future of your health care.

And new details in the Billings murder in Florida: new details about a past relationship between Billings and one of the suspects.

Plus, police say they're looking at what they're calling a second motive in the killing. We'll talk to the sheriff right here tonight.

All that Larry, at the top of the hour on "360."

KING: That's John King 10:00 Eastern and 7:00 Pacific.

A couple other quick things, fellows, from our blog. What, Joe, is your favorite Michael song?

JACKSON: The "Earth" song. I like that "Earth" song that he always sang about the animals and all that stuff because he was crazy about animals.

KING: How do you think he'll be remembered?

JACKSON: Well, he should be remembered -- how he would be remembered? KING: Yes.

JACKSON: All over the world?

KING: Yes.

JACKSON: Because he was a fan to everybody all over the world and also he's in the "Guinness Book World of Records" as selling more records than anybody in show business history. And he should be remembered by that. I just wished he could have -- go ahead. I'm sorry.

KING: It stands on its own.

Leonard, do you think the legal issues here are going to be resolved?

ROWE: Which legal issues?

KING: Well, the question of whether do you had any part of this they had, your charges about AEG that's a lot up in the air here?

ROWE: Larry, I couldn't answer that question. I know nothing about legal charges about AEG or nothing. I mean I have...

KING: Well I mean, you've made statements about AEG. Do you think that might ever be resolved?

ROWE: Larry, I hope that we have a Congressional investigation into Michael's death. And that is something that I have spoke to Joe about. I'll be speaking to his mother about and we will be asking the Congress to do that. Because there's something that I ...

KING: Joe, do you support that idea? We are almost out of time. Joe, do you support that?

JACKSON: Of course I do. I want to find out all I can about his situation there with certain people. For instance, Dr. Thome...

KING: All right.

JACKSON: Dr. Thome, he's no doctor. And he was fired by Michael and this is a terrible guy, he got about nine -- eight or nine different aliases.

KING: We're going to do a lot more on this. Thank you both very much.

Joe Jackson and Leonard Rowe, thank you.

By the way, tomorrow night, Liz Cheney will be here and a week from tomorrow night an hour with Colin Powell.

Some serious allegations have been made about AEG here tonight. And I suspect AEG will likely dispute the charges being leveled.

Debbie Rowe has stayed out of the spotlight. Her good friend is here to tell us why next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We now welcome Iris Finsilver to LARRY KING LIVE; a return visit for the former attorney for Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe and still a close friend of Debbie's. What did you make of the Joe Jackson interview?

IRIS FINSILVER, DEBBIE ROWE'S LONGTIME FRIEND: Well, I think it is a real bombshell, Larry. It's certainly surprising a lot of the things that were said today.

KING: When did you last have contact with Debbie?

FINSILVER: Last Friday is the last time I talked to Debbie.

KING: Not long ago and how is she doing?

FINSILVER: Well, yes, I try to talk to her every day.

KING: Has she seen the children?

FINSILVER: No. Not yet.

KING: What does she plan to do?

FINSILVER: Well, as far as I know...

KING: Plus, the hearing has been postponed, right?

FINSILVER: Correct. It's my understanding that certainly the family would try to work something out. I believe that that's what the judge said in open court. And that's always the best thing to do in a family situation is to have the parents and the grandparents sit down and talk about what their concerns are, what they might be afraid of.

KING: What does Debbie want with her children?

FINSILVER: Well, obviously, she would like to have a relationship with her children.

KING: Not custody?

FINSILVER: I don't know -- I really -- I don't know if she wants every day hands-on custody of the kids. The thing is, when she was married to Michael and having children with Michael she wanted to be a part of their lives but she recognized in her mind that Michael would be a better parent.

KING: She did?

FINSILVER: Yes. She thought he would be a great...

KING: That's an honest way to look at it.

FINSILVER: Yes, she said... KING: With all the rumors swirling around, did she ever tell you that Michael wasn't the father?

FINSILVER: I know that Michael was the father.

KING: Was the father.

FINSILVER: One hundred percent, Michael is the father of those two children. Yes.

KING: So if it's not custody, you think an arrangement will be worked out?

FINSILVER: I think so. I would hope so certainly. Sure.

KING: Why do people have negative feelings about Debbie, do you think?

FINSILVER: I think that the Jackson family doesn't know Debbie. Michael knew Debbie. I don't think that Katherine has ever met Debbie as far as I know. I don't think that Joe has ever met Debbie.

I don't know about the brothers and the sisters. But I think because they don't know her, they're fearful that she might do something or say something or you know it's...

KING: She blew-up at some paparazzi a couple weeks ago last week I think. Did that surprised you?

FINSILVER: No. I mean, it's not in her character to blow-up. But it certainly didn't surprise me to see a pack of photographers on her heels and for her to make a comment like that. I think that she's been very upset. I've spoken to her about it. She's had the paparazzi camped outside of her house.

KING: Still?

FINSILVER: Still. Still.

KING: How has all of this changed, you knew her before Michael, right?

FINSILVER: Yes and I've known Debbie before, during and after.

KING: Events changed life, right?

FINSILVER: Absolutely.

KING: People don't change, circumstances change. How has she changed?

FINSILVER: Debbie is still the same caring, loving person. Debbie has always loved those children.

I want to tell you something about her kids. She used to have pictures in her house of herself with her children. And one day I went in to her closet and it was like a shrine in the closet with all these pictures. So I said "Debbie why do you have all the pictures of your children in your closet?" And she said, "I can't leave them out. When people come in to my home they steal these photographs."

KING: What's wrong with that?

FINSILVER: She doesn't want her guests to come in the house and steal photographs of her children.

KING: Oh, steal them.

FINSILVER: Steal. Yes, yes.

KING: So why do you think she doesn't want them, now?

FINSILVER: Oh I didn't say it...

KING: She thought Michael would be a better father but he's gone.

FINSILVER: Right, so I didn't...

KING: Does she think Katherine is a good mother?

FINSILVER: I know, I...

KING: ...a good grandmother?

FINSILVER: I don't want to put those kinds of thoughts out there that she would say that. I think that she wants to step up to the plate. She's always loved those children, Larry. Always.

KING: Is she very emotionally distraught over Michael's death?

FINSILVER: Yes. Yes. She loved him more than any other person in the world. And you asked me a question, Larry. You asked me, did I see this change in Debbie.

KING: Yes.

FINSILVER: And I remember the night that she was leaving Beverly Hills to fly to Australia to get married to Michael. and I said, "Debbie, your world is going to change completely." And she said, "No, no. I'm still going to be the same me," and she skipped out the door and ran-off to get married.

She really had no idea that the world would be interested in her.

KING: Why did they break up?

FINSILVER: I really don't know the exact facts. I think that she didn't like life in the public eye. She had been in Paris with him. She had gone on various tours with him.

KING: It wasn't her style? FINSILVER: It's not her style.

KING: Was it -- was Michael -- but was that in vitro with Michael or was it natural sex?

FINSILVER: That I don't know. I know that they had sex together. That's what she told me.

KING: Now that -- Arnold Klein said that the other night, you have no about that, right?

FINSILVER: That Debbie had sex...

KING: Sex with Michael.

FINSILVER: I have no doubt. I wasn't in the bedroom. But I have no doubt that when she would tell me her -- these little things about their private life -- that it would...

KING: Will you attend the custody hearing when she attends.

FINSILVER: No. I don't believe so.

KING: Why not? You're her friend, you were her lawyer?

FINSILVER: I'm her friend. I'm there for her in her personal life. I want to stay out of the courtroom when she's in the courtroom so.

KING: But you do think it'll be resolved so that she can get visitation, Katherine will raise them. They'll work it out?

FINSILVER: I think if the Jackson family gets to know Debbie and if they sit down and talk to her, whatever fears they're thinking...

KING: They'll work it out.

FINSILVER: Yes, absolutely.

KING: Good seeing you again, Iris.

FINSILVER: Great to see you, Larry.

KING: We'll call on you again.

FINSILVER: Thank you.

KING: Iris Finsilver, our connection to Debbie Rowe and maybe Debbie will come here one night.

FINSILVER: Maybe, that would be great.

KING: It might be nice.

FINSILVER: Yes.

KING: Earlier, we heard about allegations from Dr. Thome. We will try to get reaction.

And tomorrow, Liz Cheney will be with us and as we said, a week from tomorrow Colin Powell.

Time now for John King and "AC360" -- John.

Paul Slayer Grigoriu: A murit Michael Jackson (2009)

2010-03-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

vineri, 26 iunie 2009
A murit Michael Jackson

Nu ştiu cum şi de ce şi nici nu-mi pasă. Am fost fan Michael Jackson în copilărie, cu toate gesturile ridicole pe care le presupunea acest lucru. Îmi descheiam brusc cămaşa într-un dans la serile organizate de profesorii noştri, îmi lăsasem şuviţă, colecţionam fotografii şi abţibilduri. Şi multe altele. Dar astea sunt poveştile prosteşti la care toată lumea se gândeşte într-un asemenea moment şi care, de fapt, nu interesează pe nimeni. Oricât de banal ar suna, a murit un mare artist al timpurilor noastre. O voce aparte, o sensibilitate deosebită şi un dansator desăvârşit, aşa cum spunea însuşi Fred Astaire. Michael Jackson a fost un om al vremurilor noastre şi le-a împărtăşit o parte dintre metehne. Nu cred povestea cu pedofilia – n-am crezut-o niciodată – însă relaţiile familiale dubioase, schimbările de ideologie de la un an la altul, extravaganţele şi ciudăţeniile ne spun clar că Michael nu poate fi un model. Poate şi de aceea m-am despărţit cândva de el. Pentru că îl pusesem pe un piedestal care se prăbuşise şi astfel uitasem dimensiunea lui umană. N-am nici un chef să aud acum seria de necrologuri pompoase şi, în fond, goale de orice sentiment: „cel mai mare artist al tuturor timpurilor” etc. Sau prostia formulată de un amic acum ceva timp, „regele muzicii”. Michael Jackson n-a fost nici una, nici cealaltă, deşi în asta au încercat să-l transforme industria şi media, pentru ca apoi să-l poată distruge, după bunul lor plac. Michael Jackson a fost un om singur şi de aceea poate „Stranger In Moscow” este una dintre piesele care-l descriu cel mai bine. Şi din singurătatea şi tristeţea lui, a reuşit să ne dea nouă un zâmbet, o atingere pe aripile muzicii. Am înţeles asta când am redescoperit artistul şi omul din el, dincolo de tevatura media şi dincolo de defectele omeneşti. Nu am de gând să-l idealizez nici acum, după ce a murit, pentru că i-aş altera adevărata personalitate. Dar mărturisesc că, pentru o clipă, am sperat şi eu că totul nu e decât o manevră mediatică şi că Michael se ascunde, viu şi nevătămat, în vreun nou avatar al fermei sale, Neverland. Îl regret enorm. Pentru că dincolo de toate, Michael Jackson e partea aceea din copilăria mea în care, rotofei şi tuns castron, am insistat din răsputeri să-mi las o şuviţă pe frunte. Dumnezeu să-l ierte!
(articol postat pe blogul Thoughts/cugetări)

Petru Popescu: Din nou, Michael... şi Paul McCartney, Popescu, şi banii (2009)

2010-03-05T09:47:00.000-08:00

Din nou, Michael... şi Paul McCartney, Popescu, şi banii
de Petru Popescu
10/08/2009

Petru Popescu, lui Paul McCartney: Ce v-a facut să vindeţi albumul Beatles lui Michael Jackson? Paul McCartney, lui Popescu: Nu l-am vândut lui Jackson direct, deşi aşa se crede. Dar am fi făcut-o şi direct, fiindcă anul acela, ca-n multe alte dăţi, mă certam mereu cu John (Lennon), şi aveam amândoi o nevoie disperată de bani.

Obsesia despre Michael Jackson continuă. Au fost depăşite diverse ştachete tabloide care păreau imposibil de depăşit:
- odiseea Michael Jackson, per timp scurs de la moarte şi per spaţiu pătrat de tipar, ecran şi bandă sonoră, ocupă mai mult loc în presă şi conversaţia Americii decât Obama per timp scurs de la alegere.
- ultimii doi "megastari" ai Americii sunt amândoi africani.
- cuantumul de succes al lui Michael în moarte îl depăşeşte pe al lui Michael de-a lungul vieţii.
- înainte de moarte, Michael era grav insolvent financiar. După moarte, moştenirea lui Michael, tot ce-a făcut Michael, tot ce-a atins Michael, e aur pur. Făcându-se reinvestiţiile necesare, descendenţii lui Michael vor fi (poate sunt deja) cei mai bogaţi copii de celebrităţi din lume.
Şi... viaţa merge înainte!

La zece minute cu maşina de Beverly Hills există un canion muntos, Franklin Canyon, parte din parcul federal Santa Monica Mountains. Eu (Petru Popescu) bat cărările acelui canion de trei ori pe săptămână.
Întâlnesc celebrităţi sosite să-şi menţină condiţia fizică. Barry Diller, fost şef de studio hollywoodian (Fox), se plimbă prin canion. L-am întâlnit în canion pe Arnold Schwartzenegger. L-am cunoscut în canion pe Janusz Caminski, operatorul de film preferat al lui Steven Spielberg. Şi alţii, de diverse anverguri. Sir Paul McCartney îşi face apariţia suficient de des prin canion ca să moţăim amândoi din cap când ne-ncrucişăm paşii. Mulţi dintre cei de sus, în mod specific Sir Paul, ies în public cu bodyguarzi. Dar nu în canion; prima oară când l-am întâlnit pe McCartney îşi plimba fiica de 5 ani, pe Milly - a cărei mamă e Heather Mills. Erau singuri. M-am uitat surprins la ce ţinea tatăl în mână: o sticlă de bere desfăcută, golită pe jumătate.
- E nealcoolică, m-a asigurat Sir Paul, spontan.
- Don't worry, it's a free country, i-am răspuns eu (Nu-ţi face probleme, e o ţară liberă - n.a.).

Celebrităţile sunt atente la ce spun în public. Dar în ziua aceea, cu fetiţa blondă de mână şi cu berea în cealaltă mână, Sir Paul avea chef de vorbă cu un bărbat necunoscut. După un pic de pălăvrăgeală, l-am întrebat de drepturile pentru albumele Beatles. Mi-a spus că nu le cumpărase iniţial Michael (Michael nu murise încă - n.a.). Mi-a spus istoria, ori versiunea lui proprie. Ca să scape de fiscul britanic, The Beatles a vândut drepturile la publicarea textelor cântecelor unei companii publice, Northern Songs, care a fost revândută magnatului Lew Grade, care a vândut diverse bucăţi din colecţie altor companii ori indivizi (Lennon şi McCartney, certându-se pe atunci, nu s-au pus de acord cum să-şi recumpere drepturile). Textele la 159 de cântece (251, dacă clasăm unele variante drept cântece separate) le-a cumpărat în 1985 Michael Jackson, sfătuit că ar fi o investiţie bună. Bani albi pentru zile negre - celebrităţile se tem să nu sărăcească. Sunt anxioşi. Simţitori, de... artişti... Când Sir Paul a vrut să publice cupletele la "Eleanor Rigby" şi alte cântece pe care le scrisese în programele turului mondial din 1989, s-a trezit că trebuia să-i plătească procente lui Michael Jackson! Dar să nu ne îngrijorăm. Fraierit la propriile cântece, Sir Paul a cumpărat şi el nişte albume celebre, între care "The Buddy Holly Story".
- Asta-i viaţa, a oftat Sir Paul către mine (Petru Popescu). N-ai niciodată bani destui!

Subtext: divorţuri costisitoare, noi căsătorii ori legături şi mai costisitoare, copii cu prima, cu a doua, cu a treia... scandaluri, avocaţi... evadări din ochiul public la un cost de $ 100.000 pe zi... aaaaagghhhhh!

M-am gândit in petto, la Mozart, care cumpăra cai de curse, dar n-avea cu ce plăti chiria. Şi la nenumăraţi alţi iluştri în situaţii similare. Asta era acum un an; Michael, încă viu şi încă falit, dispera că nu putea să aranjeze concertele de la Londra ca să-l scoată din mlaştina financiară. Dar le-a aranjat până la urmă, şi a murit istovindu-se la repetiţii, şi acum, mort... e bogat! Banii nu-s niciodată destui. Pare să fie tâlcul poveştii.

Artiştii nu ştiu să se chivernisească. America n-a ştiut să se oprească din ciclul împrumuturi/datorii. Obama a promis mântuire economică, dar se pare că a promis prea mult, prea repede. Şi banii... nu sunt destui, nicăieri, niciodată, în nici o pungă! Dar au fost vreodată destui?
Nici Marx şi Keynes împreună n-ar putea răspunde la această întrebare!

Iubiţi cititori români, cei care citiţi acest text, vreau să vă ofer o bucurie simplă... şi nu foarte costisitoare. La chioşcuri în România se oferă zilele astea romanul "Prins". Retipărit în cadrul proiectului Jurnalului Naţional "Biblioteca pentru Toţi". Romanul iubirii mele pentru Bucureşti. Dacă nu l-aţi citit vreodată, cumpăraţi-l şi citiţi-l, vă promit o lectură nu doar plăcută, ci chiar plăcut tulburătoare. A fost scris când eu şi generaţia mea n-aveam bani, dar aveam idealism. Da, da, idealism, atunci, în acei ani! The Beatles îşi revărsa muzica din difuzoare peste tot pe lume, inclusiv în lifturi. Lumea era divizată, dar într-un fel unită. Ce paradox!
(articol apărut în Jurnalul naţional)

Petru Popescu: Adio, Michael Jackson, 4 - Ce simte un muritor când întâlneşte un megastar (2009)

2010-03-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

Adio, Michael Jackson, 4 - Ce simte un muritor când întâlneşte un megastar
de Petru Popescu
6/07/2009

Ştiţi deja probabil că poliţia a găsit cantităţi mari de Diprivan la el în casă. Diprivan (propofol) e un sedativ extrem de puternic, care se administrează intravenos.

Dragi cititori compatrioţi, înainte să merg mai departe cu această serie, vă mulţumesc că mă citiţi.

Vă fac o surpriză plăcută, sper, informându-vă că la sfârşitul lui septembrie voi publica în România un roman scris direct în româneşte.

Am reînceput să scriu proză în româneşte anul trecut, cu multă emoţie şi bătaie de inimă. Ştiu şi alţi scriitori care au trecut de la română, rusă, cehă sau poloneză, la engleză ori la franceză. Nu ştiu nici un alt scriitor care are privilegiul să aibă o producţie literară în două limbi. Am scris un roman nou, în româneşte, după treizeci de ani de scris proză doar în engleză. Nu una din cărţile mele "istorice", nu ceva tradus din engleză, ci un roman nou nouţ, pe o temă neabordată niciodată înainte.

Sper să-l citiţi şi să vă placă.

Şi acum, înapoi la Michael Jackson.

Ştiţi deja probabil că poliţia a găsit cantităţi mari de Diprivan la el în casă. Diprivan (propofol) e un sedativ extrem de puternic, care se administrează intravenos.

De fapt, e cel mai cunoscut şi mai folosit anestezic. Prin lege, Diprivanul nu poate fi administrat extraspitalicesc, decât în prezenţa unui medic care să aibă la dispoziţie aparatele necesare ca să monitorizeze eventualele simptome de scădere a tensiunii sângelui, încetinire a respiraţiei şi niveluri de oxigen brusc scăzute în sânge şi la creier.

Cu alte cuvinte, cu o injecţie de Diprivan în corp poţi să te cureţi. În ultimii zece ani în America, dintre 25 de indivizi care au luat abuziv Diprivan, şapte au murit.

Michael Jackson lua Diprivan intravenos ca să doarmă.

De aceea avea întotdeauna în jurul lui infirmiere şi/ori medici, ca să-l vegheze cineva când adormea sub influenţa Diprivanului. Ce individ care s-ar putea lipsi de Diprivan l-ar folosi?
Michael Jackson suferea nu numai de insomnie cronică, dar şi de o anxietate atât de adâncă şi de pronunţată, încât ideea unei nopţi nedormite îl paraliza de groază.

Îmi închipui (teoria mea, Petru Popescu) că aceia din jurul lui care fuseseră incluşi în "secretele somnului" lui Michael Jackson aveau o putere colosală în viaţa artistului, îi influenţau deciziile, îi manipulau banii, şi, ca în cazul infirmierei Debbie, puteau obţine de la el să se declare tatăl unor copii neînrudiţi cu el.

În artă şi în viaţă în general, multora le place să se audă pe sine povestindu-şi tragedia personală. Dar de la a trăi o viaţă tristă, până la a-ţi provoca propriul sfârşit trist, e o distanţă. Nu cred că Michael Jackson s-ar fi sinucis dacă avea opţiunea să-şi reclădească şi să-şi continue viaţa.

Diprivanul a fost un accident, cum au fost şi drogurile care-au dus la stingerea lui Heath Ledger, alt megastar cu care mi-am încrucişat paşii.

Când am venit la Hollywood, la începutul anilor '80, ţin minte cu câtă acurateţe stranie am simţit, când am început să întâlnesc staruri de cinema, să mă duc la întâlniri la studiouri cu ei, să discutăm proiecte, să socializăm în aceleaşi cercuri - că erau înconjuraţi tot timpul, clipă de clipă, nu numai de bodyguarzi, ci de un zid invizibil de gelozie şi de invidie.

Oricât pare de meritat succesul, mai ales atins târziu (dar la Michael a fost atins devreme), oricât e de respectată arta, şi de venerat talentul, mulţimile doresc ca un star să se prăbuşească ori să sufere, în mod compensator pentru notorietate şi pentru bani. Mulţi oameni de film şi de scenă pretind că sunt victimele vieţii, ştiind din instinct că peste toate noroacele de a fi megastar, a mai fi şi raţional şi cu scaun la cap, bine chibzuit, cetăţean disciplinat, tată decent, mamă decentă, frizează un fel de crimă a prea bunului. Deci, compensator, Michael Jackson era ţicnit. Winona Ryder era (e) cleptomană. Marlon Brando era bulimic. OJ Simpson a ucis. Mel Gibson e alcoolic.

Gelozia e în fond un sentiment sănătos: viaţa unui megastar este anormală, şi chiar bolnavă. Ceva trebuie să reinstituie echilibrul - intră în scenă tragedia, şi toţi muritorii deduc că viaţa megastarului respectiv este, în fond, blestemată.

Dar, oare nu e blestemată?

E posibil să fii fericit în mod normal, cazanier, cu adevărat liber de consecinţe, ştiind că se uită la tine toată planeta? Şi dacă te admiră, te şi detestă, şi nu poţi să ai încredere în nimeni, fiindcă nu ţi-e nimeni cu adevărat frate, prieten, ori consoartă. Toţi cei din jurul tău îţi sunt impresari, agenţi, avocaţi, parteneri, bodyguarzi, dar nu-ţi sunt egali, şi nu sunt dezinteresaţi. Deci sunt întemeiate anxietatea patologică şi dorinţa de a tăia realitatea cu o injecţie în vână, şi gesturile extravagante, şi declaraţiile, ca a lui Michael Jackson: "I am an alien"... ("Sunt un extraterestru" - n.r)?

Probabil.

Dar... moartea eliberează megastarul şi dărâmă zidul invidiei şi al bârfei.

Ai murit, Michael Jackson? Eşti exonerat. Păcatele ţi se povestesc şi repovestesc, dar îţi sunt curăţate de judecată morală.

Toţi te iubesc din nou. Toţi te invidiază din nou, dar în alt fel. Cu mult mai puţin venin, şi cu mult mai multă admiraţie autentică. Pentru că ai devenit megastar pe planul istoriei, nu numai pe cel al notorietăţii imediate.

Marţi dimineaţă, Michael va fi înmormântat, şi la Staples Center în LA va avea loc o vecernie laică, un omagiu final, la care vor participa mii de persoane.

Am să încerc să vă relatez sentimentele acelui omagiu. Am să fiu acolo.

Pe curând, din California, Petru Popescu.

(articol apărut în Jurnalul naţional)

Petru Popescu: Conditia de Megastar si presa (2009)

2010-03-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

Conditia de Megastar si presa
de Petru Popescu
30/06/2009

Corespondenţă de la Los Angeles Evan Chandler (tatal adolescentului Jordan Chandler, care sustine ca Jordan a fost ademenit de Michael Jackson): "Daca il dau in judecata pe Michael, nu exista sa pierd procesul! Am sa capat de la Michael orice-am sa-i cer, si am sa-i distrug si cariera!" (text inregistrat pe banda de magnetofon; mama aceluiasi adolescent sustine cu tarie ca Michael Jackson nu l-a molestat pe tanarul Jordan Chandler)

Cumva, atata vreme cat ai un public urias, sa fii megastar e o stare sacra. Chiar si un public scarbit, daca e suficient de urias, iti asigura situatia de star. Cu exceptia omorului (uneori scuzabil, vezi cazul O.J. Simpson), a fi megastar inseamna a fi judecat dupa legile celebritatii si la tribunalul legendei. Cat de labil si nefiresc e acest tratament se vede dupa cum sunt revizuite, din nou si din nou, informatiile initiale: la cinci zile dupa moartea lui MJ, injectia fatala e contestata. Ora exacta a atacului de inima si cea a decesului au fost, ambele, rectificate. Doctorul prezent la conacul lui MJ la ora mortii, Dr. Conrad Murray, a acceptat sa raspunda intrebarilor politiei, dar cu avocatul langa el. Politia, pana una alta, i-a confiscat automobilul (!), declarand ca automobilul doctorului ar putea contine indicii despre conditiile decesului pacientului.

E ca si cum s-ar prabusi un imperiu, chiar daca imperiul e facut dintr-o singura persoana. Exact ca la trecerea unui imperiu,"ce?", "cum?", "de ce?", "in ce fel?", "cand?", si "cu cine?" capata o importanta fanatizata. Exact ca la trecerea unui imperiu, apar de-a valma eroii, tradatorii si profitorii. Un profitor urias al mortii lui Michael Jackson este TMZ. Intelesul acestor initiale e: the thirty mile zone. Zona de treizeci de mile.

Zona de treizeci de mile e o expresie imprumutata... de unde? De la Hollywood, fireste. In limbajul productiei de film, daca filmezi in LA, peisajul cel mai interesant, dar si cel mai dificil din punct de vedere trafic, aglomerare umana, si permise de la politie, e in raza de treizeci de mile de la centrul orasului. In aceasta raza, zumzetul oricarei informatii e mai asurzitor decat oriunde in California ori in lume. Tot in aceasta raza traiesc mai multe celebritati decat oriunde pe metrul ori arul patrat de palat personal si de resedinta fabuloasa.

Acum cativa ani, numele TMZ a fost adoptat de un website nou: TMZ.com. TMZ.com se ocupa de celebritati. Zi de zi, ora de ora, minut de minut, TMZ exaleaza stiri, barfe si acuzatii despre celebritati. TMZ a aflat prima ca MJ a murit in ziua de 25 iunie, la 2:26 pm. La 2:44, moartea a fost inserata pe website. "We broke the story," am dat stirea in exclusivitate, a declarat fondatorul TMZ-ului, Harvey Levin, el insusi un fost reporter al statiei de televiziune KCBS-Los Angeles. Apropo, Levin si-a invatat meseria si si-a rafinat metodele ca reporter la procesul lui O.J.Simpson.

Anuntarea mortii lui MJ e ultimul scoop de anvergura de la TMZ, a carui atentie celebritatile o doresc cu lacomie, dar in acelasi timp tremurand de frica. Fiindca nu pot sti cum le vor fi afectate carierele daca devin material de TMZ. TMZ recunoaste ca isi plateste informatori, unii de meserie, altii spontani si benevoli. (Cateva minute dupa moartea lui Michael Jackson, cineva din anturajul lui Jackson s-a repezit la telefon si a sunat biroul lui Harvey Levin la TMZ, si a si fost platit ca atare. Identitatea informatorului si suma platita pe informatie inca nu se stiu).

TMZ si-a facut o specialitate din a raporta inaintea tuturor tot ce e mai socant, ori mai tragic. Platind pentru prioritatea vestilor deprimante ori dezgustatoare, TMZ a informat lumea despre tirada anti-semita a lui Mel Gibson cand a fost prins de politia din Malibu conducand beat turta. A informat si despre luptele gretoase dintre Alec Baldwin si fosta consoarta pentru custodia unicei lor fiice. Si despre faptul ca frigiderul lui Anna Nicole Smith era bucsit cu metadonul care i-a inlesnit probabil moartea. Cantareata pop Rihanna, unde si-a vazut oare obrajii si falcile tumefiate, dupa ce a fost batuta mar de amantu-i gelos? La TMZ. Si asa mai departe. Ramatorii de scandal sunt multi in presa americana, dar in general un anume simt al limitelor inca exista. Inainte de a pune pe unde o stire negative ori bizara, alte canale telefoneaza publicistilor celebritatilor, cerandu-le permisiunea, ori confirmarea. Uneori, super-celebrii colaboreaza de buna voie, ori contacteaza chiar ei presa galbena, ca sa planteze fabulatii despe ei insisi. Michael Jackson a recunoscut ca stirea ca dormea intr-o camera de oxigen hiperbaric, care ii incetinea procesul natural de imbatranire, fusese pusa pe unde chiar de el!

TMZ se mandreste in a nu cere permisiune de la megastaruri. Si inca n-a fost prins cu minciuna, cum ca starurile insesi i-ar vinde informatii despre ele! Intre timp, moartea lui Michael Jackson e aproape la fel de discutata... ca alegerea lui Obama! Ori e poate si mai discutata? La televizor, in presa, pe bloguri, in conversatii, Michael Jackson e mai viu ca oricand, si contributia lui la muzica si dans sunt evocate cu admiratie si cu regret, desi devierile sexuale sunt in general (dar, nu foarte sincer, cred eu) deplanse. Deepak Chopra, un urias personaj pop intelectual, tocmai a declarat ca MJ era victima insingurarii si a surmenarii si ca anturajul, constient ori nu, il impingea la moartea prin drogare. (Deepak Chopra e considerat un geniu medical si spiritual, si a fost interviewat de Oprah. Intre altele, Deepak Chopra il citeste pe prozatorul roman Petru Popescu; i-a dat o lauda semnata pe coperta noului roman Girl Mary, pe care Popescu il publica in toamna la editura Simon&Schuster! Ei, ati vazut in ce lume ma misc? Fac si eu parte, desi nu ca megastar, din aceasta lume a excesului! Si apropo, l-am intalnit pe Michael Jackson, aici la Hollywood. Si am teoria mea personala despre ce presiuni fatale i-au curmat viata).

Conditia de a fi mega-star e asa de fascinanta, voi reveni asupra ei in urmatoarea mea corespondenta. Dar vreau sa fac o distinctie: numai unele celebritati creaza legende, numai unele celebritati sunt sortite sa fie megastar. De la sublim la respingator, TMZ nu pune pe unde decat material de megastar. Michael Jackson a fost acest tip de om. Dece devine un om, si nu altul, semnificativ pentru noi toti, chiar daca il ironizam ori il criticam? Ce combinatie de date si fapte personale duce la supernotorietate, si cat din aceasta combinatie e meritat ca munca onesta, si cat e nemeritat, adica e, omeneste vorbind, noroc chior? Exista raspunsuri la aceste intrebari. Daca va intereseaza, cititi corespondenta mea urmatoare.
Pe curand, din California, Petru Popescu
(articol apărut în Jurnalul naţional)

Petru Popescu: Adio, Michael Jackson! (2009)

2010-03-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

Adio, Michael Jackson!
de Petru Popescu
29/06/2009

Oprah Winfrey (ironică, dar enervată pe dedesubtul ironiei): Spune-mi, Michael, de ce şi cum se face că ai devenit alb la piele? Michael Jackson (foarte rănit de întrebare; vocea aproape îi suspină): Pentru că, Oprah, am o boală de piele, care pur şi simplu îmi distruge melanina cutanee, deci negreala mi se dizolvă şi devin alb. Crede-mă, nu e intenţionat. (Oprah intervievându-l pe Michael Jackson în 1993, după ce "albirea" lui devenise bârfa nr. 1 a culturii pop)

Îmi pare rău ca s-a stins Michael Jackson. Eram un fan.
Michael Jackson a devenit un star gigantic la începutul anilor '80. Scriam multe scenarii la Hollywood în acei ani. În viaţa mea hollywoodiana, să fiu la curent cu cultura pop e o obligaţie profesională.

Serile, în anii '80, dădeam drumul la televizor şi urmăream canalul MTV, ca să-l văd pe Michael Jackson. Ce-mi plăcea la el? Afară că era un entertainer excepţional, viaţa lui era o explozie nesfârşită de neaşteptat şi nefiresc. Dansa pe scenă cu o energie asudată şi cuceritoare; era negru ca tuciul, dar în faţa lui obstacolele vieţii, inclusiv cele de rasă, parcă cădeau de la sine.

La 10 ani era starul formaţiei Jackson Five; după opinia mea, fără el, cei patru fraţi ai lui n-ar fi avut nici un viitor în muzică ori pe scenă. Idem tatăl lui, care era impresarul grupului. Junele Mozart pop din Gary, Indiana ducea în spate toată familia.

Michael Jackson a devenit o sursa de legendă foarte devreme. Maltratat ca şi copil de papa Joe Jackson - bătut cu cureaua, îmbrâncit, insultat, a precizat Michael în interviul dat lui Oprah în 1993, de tatăl-impresar care îl silea să exerseze istovitor în studio când alţi copii jucau baseball ori se dădeau pe patine -- Michael a avut o carieră de vis. Câteva jaloane:
● 1966, cei cinci fraţi Jackson cântau încă la... baruri de strip;
● 1968, cei cinci semnează primul contract cu Motown;
● 1978, Michael e star în filmul muzical The Wiz;
● 1982, cântecul Someone in The Dark, făcând parte din coloana sonoră a filmului E.T., câştigă premiul Grammy. Şi băieţelul cu coşuri pe bărbia ca tuciul, cântând cu o voce subţirică şi ţopăind cu microfonul în mână de parcă avea oase de gumă, devine emblema internaţională a culturii pop;
● Albumul Thriller devine cel mai vândut album pop din lume;
● Tânărului i se zice the King of Pop;
● Alte patru discuri de Michael Jackson, Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous şi HIStory, intră în topul celor mai vândute discuri.

La primul Grammy se vor adăuga încă 12. În cuvintele unui sociolog, americanii încep să cumpere muzica lui Micheal Jackson nu ca pe un produs de lux (un vin scump, să zicem, ori bilete la un meci super-aşteptat), ci ca pe un produs "staple". De larg consum. Ca laptele zilnic, ori benzina pentru automobil.

Şi apoi, soarta lui Michael Jackson se schimbă. Începe reversul, inevitabil spun unii, al mega-succesului. Începe tragedia: droguri, psihiatrie, revelaţii de perversiune sexuală. (Deşi... biletele de concert continuă să se vândă!).

La nici 35 de ani, Michael Jackson e acuzat de pederastie, abuz de medicamente şi insulte aduse comunităţii negre, într-o ţară în care mii de devianţi cu adevărat acuţi sunt toleraţi ori iertaţi. Un atac homosexual (nedovedit) împotriva unui minor e aplanat cu preţul a 14 milioane de dolari. La 21 de ani, Michael cade şi îşi fracturează nasul pe scenă - s-a crezut că nu va mai putea vorbi, ori nu va mai putea cânta. Începe un lung şir de chirurgii plastice. Nasul lui Michael e reconstruit, dar faţa lui Michael începe să se schimbe aproape la fiecare trei luni de zile. Pielea îi devine tot mai albă. Publicul afro-american îl respinge făţiş pentru că arată prea alb. Se dezbate aprins dacă albirea pielei e rezultatul unor arderi repetate cu laser, ori rezultatul unei imbalante chimice ori autoimune. Michael înfiază un copil alb (primul din trei). Michael cheltuieşte anual 100 de milioane de dolari, şi numai câştiga anual decât 30 de milioane. Tabloidele îl descriu ca pe un psihopat.
În fine, la 50 de ani, ca să-şi achite datoriile şi să-şi plătească avocaţii, Michael Jackson se obligă prin contract la 50 de concerte începând în iulie 2009, la Londra. Muzicianul cel mai cunoscut din lume, dar declarat atât de falit încât unele asigurări îl refuză ca şi client, începe repetiţii zilnice pentru concertul de debut. Poţi să cânţi şi să dansezi zilnic, la 50 de ani, fără să te doară încheieturile? Michael se plânge de dureri sfâşietoare în tot trupul. I se fac injecţii cu demerol (morfină) de mai multe ori pe zi... În fine...

La 25 iunie 2009, câteva minute după miezul nopţii, după o injecţie cu demerol, Michael Joseph Jackson se prăbuşeşte şi încetează să mai respire. Paramedicii chemaţi de urgenţă sosesc 3 minute şi 17 secunde mai târziu. Nu reuşesc să-l reanimeze. La centrul medical Ronald Reagan de la UCLA (Ronald Reagan l-a avut pe Michael oaspete la dineu la Casa Albă), Michael e declarat decedat. Cântăreţul/dansator, idolul iubirii de viaţă şi de oameni (We Are the World!), nu mai e... Şi, pe când preţul muzicii lui se înzeceşte instantaneu, un calcul simplu arată ca Michael Jackson, mort, va deveni solvent financiar, şi chiar o uriaşă sursă de venit pentru cei trei copii. Şi pentru toţi ceilalţi supravieţuitori care au dreptul la o bucăţică din moştenirea lui muzicală!
Trebuia să mori, Michael Jackson, ca să-ţi achiţi datoriile, să-ţi mulţumeşti copiii şi să-ţi amuţeşti criticii!
Şi ai murit, paradoxal şi simbolic, nu numai în vârful societăţii, care în America înseamnă în vârful notorietăţii! Dar ai murit şi alb la piele!

Cineva care a trăit o viaţă de asemenea exces continuă să inflameze imaginaţiile. În acelaşi timp, tristeţea publicului demonstrează că în ciuda anilor de bârfe, undeva în sufletul publicului Michael Jackson a fost iertat, nu numai pentru discurile lui, ci pentru că el ca personalitate contribuie la o înţelegere a lumii de azi.
Michael Jackson a fost un inocent, chiar dacă gusturile lui erau atât de controversate. Excesul vieţii lui nu era creat de el; era creat de Hollywood, de presa senzaţionalistă, şi de fanii avizi de noţiunea obligatorie a vieţii de exces. Michael Jakcson a contribuit la această noţiune, luptând să continue să arate tânăr, şi să se schimbe fizic ca să hrănească o imagine obligatoriu şocantă şi unică. De fapt, a murit pentru că imaginea lui şi el însuşi erau în conflict.

I-am fost un fan lung şi fidel, pentru că eram convins de sinceritatea lui.
O anume performanţă pe scenă, acel "moonwalk", mersul pe lună - cei care-l ştiau pe Michael Jackson ştiu la ce mă refer am văzut mersul pe lună în concert, şi încă mă urmăreşte. Dansul acela aparent imposibil, de unde şi comparaţia cu paşii săltaţi ai unui astronaut fără gravitaţie, era dansul unui inocent care trăia pentru succes pentru că succesul era obligaţia lui fundamentală faţă de public. Restul, banii, bârfele, surpriza pretins şocată a societăţii faţă de stilul lui de viaţă, erau detalii periferice. Michael Jackson era un inocent, şi ca mulţi inocenţi, a profitat de succesul lui mai puţin, mult mai puţin decât propriul lui anturaj. Şi când a venit timpul să plătească pentru succes, a plătit singur.

Şi acum, fireşte, se face multă zarvă dacă cumva injecţia cu demerol l-a ucis accidental şi prematur. Nu l-a ucis injecţia cu demerol. Candelele care ard cu asemenea flacară nu ţin mulţi ani; deja, Michael Jackson e un caz de longevitate. Pentru un geniu al muzicii pop, Michael Jackson a avut cea mai dulce şi mai bogată viaţă, şi cea mai lungă. Moartea tragică e cea mai răsunătoare reintrare în scenă a unui geniu al scenei de la care publicul cerea performanţa supremă: accidentul fatal.
Adio, Michael Jackson, sau mai bine zis la revedere.
Pentru că legenda ta va continua.
Cei care te ştiau în România sunt, ca şi tine, nişte inocenţi bucurându-se de o plimbare pe lună.
Dragi cititori din România, cei care l-am iubit pe Michael Jackson am pierdut o mică bucăţică din tinereţea noastră.
(articol apărut în Jurnalul naţional)

Petru Popescu: Adio, Michael Jackson, 3 - sau ce fel de destine contin "megastardom" (2009)

2010-03-05T09:27:00.001-08:00

Adio, Michael Jackson, 3 - sau ce fel de destine contin "megastardom"
de Petru Popescu
2/07/2009

CORESPONDENTA SPECIALĂ DE LA LOS ANGELES Berry Gordy (fondatorul imperiului Motown, omul, zic multi, care i-a creat cariera lui Michael Jackson; catre fiica sa, care tocmai a intrat pe usa): De ce intri fara sa bati? N-am zis ca vreau sa fiu singur cu Michael?

Fiica lui Berry Gordon (trecuta de douzeci de ani) se aseaza pe un scaun, se uita tacuta si morocanoasa la Michael Jackson, apoi la tatal ei): Daddy, da-mi cincizeci de mii de dolari.

Berry Gordy (sarind de pe scaun): Alti cincizeci? Cand i-ai prapadit pe ailalti cincizeci?

Fiica lui Berry Gordon: Daddy, ce importanta are? Sunt leftera.

Michael Jackson (agasat): Berry, ai zis ca azi ne ocupam de cariera mea. Nu de banii de buzunar ai fetei. Da-i cincizeci de mii, avem lucruri mai importante de discutat.

Berry Gordy - ofteaza... si se cauta de carnetul de cecuri.

5013-95814-095610thumb_446_x_0_6b950335b1618d483acf9dcc036e033c.jpgScena i-a fost relatata lui Petru Popescu de catre consultantul financiar al lui Berry Gordon, cu care Popescu e vecin in mahalaua Beverly Hills. Din aceasta anecdota, se desprinde... tocmai ceea ce voi toti, iubitii mei cititori, si de altfel si eu, gandim subliminal cand ne gandim la persoanele din specia umana megastar: Fac bani cu galeata, cu dulapul, cu camionul. Isi ineaca familiile in bani. Pot cumpara tot... sau aproape tot... afara de fericire (aahhh, ce bine ca fericirea ii ramane saracului!). Sunt total rupti de realitate (aaahhh, ce bine, ce echitabil, ca si realitatea ii ramane saracului!).

Persoanele megastar se uita la omul de rand ca si cum ar vedea prin el. Si... acest destin de exces e oare un pacat, pentru care vor trebui sa plateasca? (Nota autorului: Baremi daca esti sarac, nu te vaneaza presa daca ai cancer, daca esti deviant sexual, daca-ti schimbi culoarea pielii, ori daca era sa-ti scapi in strada pruncul de la balconul camerei de hotel. Baremi daca esti sarac, ai liniste!)

L-am intalnit in persoana pe Michael Jackson, la Hollywood. Eram invitat la un party de vreo doua sute de persoane, la studioul Fox. Michael a intrat catre sfarsit, imbracat intr-una din tunicile lui de husari, si inconjurat de bodyguarzi. Fata de cel de pe scena, dansatorul a carui fluiditate de miscare era fenomenala, MJ se misca in seara de la Fox cu frica sa nu se loveasca de obstacole ascunse.

Purta o palarie fedora coborata pe frunte, lasand libere cateva cosite de par parca date cu cerneala neagra. Nasul sculptat si resculptat, i l-am vazut sub borul palariei, avea un varf atat de neverosimil, arata aproape ca un nas de lepros. Pe sub borul palariei, ochii cautau sa nu faca contact cu nimeni, dar, fireste, tot timpul se izbeau de ochii vulgului.

Nu tin minte cine ne-a facut cunostinta. Am dat mana, am motait amandoi din cap, si ne-am uitat unul la altul vreo trei secunde poate. Am vazut in acei ochi un adult stanjenit de faptul ca era in public, si incercand sa se achite de obligatie, cand de fapt vroia sa fie in vacanta, ori pe scena, cantand si dansand.

Pe scena, omul indraznet, liber in miscari, ingenios in stilul personal de dans, care a transformat MTV, music television, in DTV, dance television, remodeland simultan si cultura pop, si economia de entertaiment, era, in mod clar la largul lui, vesel, pasionat si fericit.

Chiar si acum cateva saptamani, cand dupa repetitii il dureau crunt incheieturile de quinquagenar, Michael se regasise. Exuda scop si finalitate, si creativitate regasita, si implinire personala. Cand l-am cunoscut la studioul Fox si m-am uitat cat am putut mai adanc in prapastia privirii lui, am avut o senzatie greu de descris. Sigur, am ghicit ca era timid ca persoana, si de atata notorietate era anxios: orice multime putea sa contina un atac impotriva lui. Nu cu oua stricate (suntem in America, please!), ci cu gloante. Moartea prin impuscare a lui John Lennon a creat o fobie tipica a starului.

Uitandu-ma in ochii lui Jackson, parca i-am descifrat gandul. Undeva, nestiut, cineva imi va da intr-o zi omagiul final al celebritatii: sa ma ucida. Dar am vazut si altceva. Am vazut urcusul serpentin si lung de la copilul minune de cinci ani la adolescentul de 15, la tanarul briliant de 25, la maturul adorat de 35, la insinguratul controversat si hulit de 45 -- cred ca atat avea cand l-am intalnit, si schimbarea culorii, datoriile, scandalurile pedofile, si declaratiile ticnite il transformasera din cel pe care adoram sa-l ovationam, in cel pe care adoram sa-l plangem ori sa-l dispretuim.

Era in privirea lui o carare de padure lunga-lunga, plina de coturi si de poticneli, de pietre aruncate in drum, de copaci prabusiti, de impiedicari si ingenuncheri. Viata unui star. De ce el, megastar, si nu un altul? Am explicatia mea. Si apropo, stiu cate ceva despre indivizii megastar, am intalnit destui din ei. Elton John, Samuel L. Jackson, Heath Ledger, Paul McCartney, si altii. Pasii lor s-au intretaiat cu ai mei.

Era talentat MJ, fara indoiala. Era inovator (dansul fara gravitatie, plimbarea pe luna! - n-o tineti minte?). Era obsedat de cariera, isi intelegea publicul, si avusese noroc cu carul. Norocul la un megastar e o interesanta combinatie de a fi bun artist, si individ reprezentativ pentru o generatie, o natiune, o lume chiar. Si in acelasi timp de a frustra ori chiar a enerva si jigni publicul.... un pic. Nu excesiv, ci exact cat trebuie. Si acest exact e o dozare pe care nu o face individul, ci destinul.

Destinul a voit ca, atunci cand a inceput Michael Jackson, America sa fi fost mult mai putin dispusa sa adore africani, si africanii adorati erau deja tipificati: jucători de baschet, cantareti de jazz cativa actori. Stilul de muzica neagra rap, cu cantareti imbracati ca in ghetou, cu cuplete obscene, cu furie ucigasa data pe fata catre "puterea alba," era acceptat cu rezerve, mai mult printre teribilistii de culoare.

Pe de alta parte, un baietel fragil, apoi un adolescent cu par afro, subtirel si neagresiv, era ca o usurare fata de cliseul negrului razbunator, agramat, si drogat. MJ nu era ostil pe teme rasiale, nu era ostil deloc, niciodata: MJ era copilaros, si usor. MJ era diafan. MJ era aerian... MJ era negru, dar apartinea si negrilor si albilor. O chimie similara a acceptarii de public a avut si Oprah (teoria destinului unic al lui Oprah, ca si al lui MJ, e a mea, Petru Popescu).

Oprah a aparut ca o negresa tanara si desteapta luptandu-se din greu si in mod public sa nu fie obeza. Femeile albe au reactionat cu simpatie, curiozitate, si... recunoscandu-se in Oprah. Femeile albe, prin numarul publicului si prin forta portofelului, au transformat-o pe Oprah intr-un megastar, pentru ca Oprah, nefiind nici alba si nici silfida sexuala, nu starnea gelozia intima a nimanui, nici alb nici negru.

A propos, elementul de rasa si de simpatie de rasa e important in crearea unui mega-public, in America. America e la ora adaptarii la cetatenii ei de culoare, ca si la noii-veniti exotici. Un scriitor alb, de pilda eu, nu trezeste simpatie ori curiozitate ca alb. Dar am si eu un element de exoticism personal care ma face simpatic la Americani.

Sunt Roman. Nascut si crescut, get-beget, neaos din Romania, functionez ca autor, deci operand cu magia cuvintelor, in engleza. Am iesit de pe rol, cum se zice. Americii ii place sa te vada iesind de pe rol, asta face parte din American Dream. Michael Jackson a iesit de pe rol, cum se zice, si si-a creat un rol nou gigantic. Copilul MJ, dansand si cantand frenetic, a creat subliminal comparatia cu copiii de culoare de pe cine stie ce meridian fara noroc, dansand langa o cutie de plastic in care arunca turistii banuti.

Cum sa nu-i dam toata simpatia si toata inima? Michael era pe deasupra si fragil si visator, Michael era candid, pana si daca se freca pe genitale in public si pe scena, isi pastra cumva o nevinovatie stranie. Da, era asexuat, tot ce se poate. Da, nu prea cunostea distinctia dintre discretie si exhibitionism, dar care om nascut pentru scena nu e exhibitionist? Aplanand controversa de moravuri cu modestia personala si cu legenda copilariei strivite, ambele bine plasate in media, cu tunicile de husari si palariile ascunzandu-i fata iar si iar transformata chirurgical, cu pielea data la laser, cu... ma rog, nu-i destul? - dar avand talent, talenl, talent! - de lipsa de talent nu te iarta nimeni, stiu din experienta - ajungem in fine la conditia de megastar!

Michael Jackson, imi pare rau ca te-ai dus. Ai fost si esti unic.

Vineri va avea loc un pelerinaj de omagiu final, de la Los Angeles, la ranchul Neverland. Fiindca distanta e de 125 de mile, va fi un pelerinaj cu masina, fireste - cat de in stilul Californiei si al Americii! Am sa incerc sa particip. Daca soselele sunt prea intesate, am sa incerc sa descriu la televiziunea romana atmosfera petrecerii in vesnicie a lui Michael Jackson.

Dragi fani romani, tineri ori tineri in suflet, il vom omagia impreuna pe Michael Jackson.

Pe curand, din California, Petru Popescu
(articol apărut în Jurnalul naţional)

Aphrodite Jones

2010-02-20T20:40:00.001-08:00

La 11 martie 2010 va fi lansată, la Investigation Discovery, emisiunea realizată de Aphrodite Jones, "True Crime". Printre cele mai importante subiecte se află cele legate de procesele intentate lui Michael Jackson. Ăsta e promoul.
Să sperăm că serialul va fi inclus şi în programul diviziei europene (secţia România-Ungaria-Cehia-care-or-mai-fi) a ID-ului... Când? Habar n-am.
Deocamdată - trăncăneli despre cartea sa, "Michael Jackson Conspiracy":

Celebrităţi...

2010-02-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

Interesantă colecţia de fotografii, colecţie făcută de youtuberul MGMpresentsSEB. Evident, e şi...

Thomas Mesereau la Larry King

2010-02-14T01:57:00.000-08:00

Emisiunea în care avocatul Thomas Arthur Mesereau a fost invitatul lui Larry King a avut loc în seara zilei de 14 iunie 2004. Sursa transcrierii este transcripts.cnn.com.

CNN LARRY KING LIVE

Michael Jackson's Attorney Speaks Out About Trial

Aired June 14, 2005 - 21:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, a prime-time exclusive: Michael Jackson's defense lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, how he won yesterday's total victory in Jackson's child molestation trial. How Michael is really doing right now and more.
Thomas Mesereau for the hour with your phone calls, a prime time exclusive next on LARRY KING LIVE.

He comes to us from Santa Maria, California, his great victory there yesterday, a shutout victory.

By the way, Tom, on your skills on cross-examination, Loyola law professor Lauri Levenson said she's the best she's ever seen. Is that an art or a science?

THOMAS MESEREAU, MICHAEL JACKSON'S LAWYER: It's really an art, Larry. And I'm very flattered by the comment. I don't know if it's well deserved, but it is an art. It's something that you're always learning about, you never completely master. And you have to always be open-minded about how to do it.

KING: How did you get this case?

MESEREAU: I had known Randy Jackson for many years. Initially, when the search of Neverland took place, I did get a call about flying to Las Vegas to meet Michael Jackson. I could not do it then. I was tied up in the Robert Blake case, getting ready for trial and, eventually, I had a falling out with Mr. Blake.

And about three months after that, I got another call to fly to Florida and meet Michael, and one thing led to another.

KING: Is -- is it common in criminal cases for lawyers to be switched, like Blake drops you, you go somewhere else?

MESEREAU: I don't know if it's common, but you know, the criminal defense business is a very tense, high stakes business, and clients do get very upset at times. They're very vulnerable emotionally, and changes do happen from time to time.

KING: Did you work with Jackson's preceding lawyers?

MESEREAU: A little bit. Mark Geragos was very gracious and very professional at all times. I've known him for a long time. He's a very, very decent and very, very skilled lawyer. And he was very helpful in the transition. KING: You said that you were not surprised by the verdict, meaning you were confident. But most lawyers say never predict a jury. Never be confident. Explain.

MESEREAU: I was confident. I thought that we had really destroyed their case very effectively on cross examination, and I thought we had called a lot of very effective witnesses in our case. And I thought when you put that whole package together, they were going to have trouble.

KING: How do you psychologically prepare a client for something like -- like for example, do you make him aware that he might be in jail that night? Do you discuss that at all, or do you only go the positive routes?

MESEREAU: It depends on the client, Larry. You have to be candid with your client. You have to explain the possibilities and the options without sounding defeatist. And at no time did I ever take a defeatist attitude with Michael Jackson, because I always thought we'd win this case.

KING: What kind of client was he?

MESEREAU: He's a wonderful client. He's one of the easiest clients to deal with that I've ever experienced. He's very kind. He's very gentle. He's very cooperative. He's a very, very honorable, decent person. And I thoroughly enjoyed representing him, and I consider him a friend.

KING: Was there any thought of him taking the stand?

MESEREAU: Yes, there was. When I gave my opening statement, I intended to put him on the stand, and he intended to testify. As the case developed, it became very clear to me that he didn't have to.

We had cross-examined very effectively. We had shown the jury a videotape of a two hour and 45-minute interview with Michael Jackson, where he explained his life and his philosophy of music and living and his experiences growing up. And when we put all that together, we decided there was nothing really to be achieved by it.

KING: Was there ever a point, Tom, where you were, during this, down?

MESEREAU: You know, Larry, it's interesting. All trials have ups and downs. And all trials have surprises.

But in this case, I felt that we were very aggressive from the opening bell, in our opening statement, in our cross examination of their initial witnesses. And our plan was to be extremely aggressive and put them on the defensive as quickly as possible. And I think we achieved that.

So, we had a lot of good days in this trial, particularly in their case, and particularly in our case. And I was always confident.

KING: There were some who were saying the prosecution was obsessed with Michael Jackson. Do you share that view?

MESEREAU: Yes, I do. I share it completely. I think they were not objective about this case. They were not objective about their witnesses. They were not objective about the theories they tried to prove, which were unprovable, because they were false. And I think their obsession really hurt them.

KING: You think it goes back to the settlement years back?

MESEREAU: I don't know where it began, Larry. It would appear around that time there developed an obsession about Michael Jackson in this prosecuting agency, but, clearly they were not being objective when they put this case together.

KING: Now, why, Tom? I mean, they had people come to them. They had a lady come to them, the son telling them stories. They had other people who were witnesses. Why did they make a mistake in going ahead with this?

MESEREAU: Well, first of all, they never thoroughly investigated the accusers and the accuser's family, in my opinion. And if you look at the early interviews with the accusers, you'll see the police basically accepting their story before they even investigated who they are.

It was really us that found all the problems with these witnesses, what their history, with their backgrounds. The prosecution almost turned a blind eye to what was really going on. And I think even in the middle of the trial, they were trying to deny reality, and it caught up with them.

KING: How big a factor was Macaulay Culkin?

MESEREAU: He was a big factor. He was a wonderful witness for Michael Jackson. And I will always have tremendous respect for Macaulay Culkin. He's on top of the world. He didn't have to go to bat for his friend. And he did it anyway.

And there never was any doubt that he was going to come and testify. He always said, "I want to be there. I want to help Michael Jackson, and I want to tell the truth." He was a big factor, and he was a man of really strong character.

KING: Do you like to talk to jurors after trial, win or lose?

MESEREAU: I do. I haven't had the opportunity to do it here, but, yes, I do. You always learn things from jurors. And I've never had the privilege to be a juror myself. So -- and I've always liked to have the opportunity, but I never did. I always get bumped off when I get called for jury duty.

KING: I would imagine. We had one of the -- we had the foremen on last night. We also had one of the jurors who said he believed that Michael Jackson was or is a pedophile. It's just that this prosecution didn't prove this case. How do you react to a statement like that? MESEREAU: Well, I think he's wrong. Michael Jackson is not a pedophile. He's never been a pedophile. The prosecution has spent years trying to put together a story which they hoped they could prove and failed to prove. Michael Jackson is not a pedophile. He's never molested a child, nor would he ever even conceive of doing such a thing.

KING: So these were concocted stories?

MESEREAU: Well, certainly, they were concocted by the main accusers, and certainly, the prosecution tried to create the impression that other people were molested. And they all came in and said they weren't.

KING: The amazing thing, though, is when you have a guy who's certainly different from the norm, an older -- a man who sleeps with boys, to get a jury, as my friend Edward Bennett Williams used to say, what you have with a jury is to get the jury to put themselves in your client's shoes. If the jury can put themselves in your client's shoes, you win.

How does someone put themselves in Michael Jackson's shoes?

MESEREAU: Well, first of all, Larry, this notion that he sleeps with boys was a concoction by the prosecution. What he said very openly was that he allows families into his room.

Now, his room is the size of a duplex. It's two levels. He's had mothers sleep there, fathers sleep there, sisters sleep there, brothers sleep there. The prosecution concocted this little saying about sleeping with boys, because they thought it would turn off the jury, and they failed.

But yes, we did have to explain who Michael Jackson was to the jury, that he's a very creative spirit, a very gentle soul, a brilliant musician, a brilliant choreographer, and a very sensitive person who's very concerned about the world and the problems in the world. And he has a very childlike spirit and essence to him, and he attracts children all over the world.

We did have to explain who he was. But this is a country which prides itself on diversity, on the freedom to be who you are. And we never diverted our attention from who Michael was. We never tried to make him look like anything but himself. He never tried to dress differently for the courtroom. Our whole intention is to show who Michael is and be proud of it and embrace it.

KING: We'll be right back with more of Thomas Mesereau, Michael Jackson's very successful defense attorney. We'll have more questions. We'll take your calls, as well. He's with us for the full program. Don't go away.

THOMAS SNEDDON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY D.A.: When a victim comes in, the victim tells you they've been victimized, and you believe that and you believe that the evidence supports that, you don't look at their pedigree. We look at what we think is what's right. You do the right things for the right reasons. If it doesn't work out, that's why we have a jury system. But we did the right thing for the right reasons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Thomas Mesereau is our special guest.

What's it like in your gut? Now, you can be as confident as you wish, but when they walk in, before those words are uttered, what goes through you?

MESEREAU: You know, Larry, it's a very tense, uncomfortable moment. You never really get used to it. Your heart skips a few beats. And it's something that I never look forward to, in a sense, because it's never easy.

KING: Did you, at all, clutch Jackson's arm or he your arm?

MESEREAU: Yes. When the verdicts were being read, I did grab Michael's hand. And he seemed to appreciate it. I wanted to show him my support. And I also wanted to send the message, "We are winning this case."

KING: What did he say to you when all 10 counts were read?

MESEREAU: He said the word, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." His first reaction was gratitude. Gratitude to God, gratitude to his defense team. Gratitude to his family and friends. That's really all he said.

KING: And that's the joy of a criminal defense lawyer, right?

MESEREAU: You bet.

KING: What happened -- he posted bail, did he not? Is that returned immediately? How is his -- what, did he take a lien on the house? How is that done?

MESEREAU: Well, that was done early in the case. It was done, actually, before I was -- appeared on the case as council of record. And bail was posted by a bail bondsman. It was secured by property.

KING: And is that then torn up immediately?

MESEREAU: Yes, yes. When he was acquitted, the provision was made for bail to be revoked, and he moves on and he's free.

KING: When your friend, Mark Geragos, who was on this program last week, he was highly critical of pundits, television pundits, 24 hour news, round-the-clock people knocking, making forecasts. He was even giving thought that maybe the British system of not allowing coverage of trials is better. What are your thoughts about pundits? MESEREAU: By the way, I used the word "revoked." Bail was exonerated, not revoked.

KING: Good.

MESEREAU: I share Mark Geragos' comments. I think that we have developed an industry of would-be experts who are not professional, who are not experienced, who are very amateurish about their comments about what's going on in courtrooms and who are willing to give opinions when they're not even there. And I think it has become the theater of the absurd, and I think it reached its lowest level in this case.

KING: What was it like for you to -- you weren't under an order not to watch it. What was it like to watch it?

MESEREAU: Well, I didn't watch it that often, Larry. I was too busy working on the case.

KING: But you knew it was going on?

MESEREAU: I knew a lot of it was going on. When I would take a break in my apartment while I was preparing, I would turn on the TV set. And a lot of it was appalling: the factual inaccuracies, the obvious bias among people like Court TV, who I felt was really an arm of the prosecution through this case. It was very amateurish and very unprofessional and very disturbing.

KING: Would you say it is -- it is hard or impossible to predict an outcome of a trial you didn't attend?

MESEREAU: It's very hard, because you don't know the chemistry of the courtroom. You're not watching the interaction between the witnesses and the jury and the judge and both sides. There's just so much that you miss if you're not there.

And plus, how do you compress, you know, six to eight hours of testimony into a sound bite? You can't possibly be accurate.

KING: What about the British system? Once an arrest is made, no coverage?

MESEREAU: Well, there's certainly a lot to be said for that. I frankly like freedom of the press. But it's reaching an absurd state when it comes to trials in America.

We are obsessed with celebrity trials. It's become an industry of pundits who really are trying to be movie stars and not real legal experts. And it's just -- it just reached the bottom of the barrel in this case.

Fortunately, the jury was not affected. They did the right thing.

KING: The prosecutor, Mr. Sneddon, said that there is celebrity justice, like in California. Blake is an example. This is an example, O.J. How do you react?

MESEREAU: That's sour grapes on his part.

I'll tell you what celebrity injustice was in this case. It was sending 70 sheriffs to raid Michael Jackson's home in a search. It was putting more experts, more sheriffs and more investigators on this case than they do with serial killers. That's what I call celebrity injustice.

So in a sense, he's correct; he just is looking at it the wrong way.

KING: Does...

MESEREAU: Michael Jackson was treated differently because he was a celebrity.

KING: Does, though, a celebrity have an edge in that we can assume going in most of the people like them?

MESEREAU: I don't consider that necessarily an edge. I think that jurors tend to be very mindful that they're not supposed to treat celebrities differently, and they might even go -- bend over backwards to make sure they don't do that.

So, there's a lot of injustice that's directed at celebrities. They're bigger targets for prosecutors. They're bigger targets for sheriffs and police officers. They're bigger targets for people who want fame and fortune.

KING: What do you make of -- what's your assessment of the performance of the prosecution in the courtroom?

MESEREAU: They were extremely aggressive and extremely prepared and very determined. I think their biggest problem was they were not objective about their case. They believed things they wanted to believe. They tried to prove theories that were absurd. And they tried to demonize Michael Jackson in a way which looked absolutely ridiculous when you really took a close look at the evidence. And they went way over the edge, and it hurt them.

KING: Weren't you very concerned, though, when that tape was allowed in at the end?

MESEREAU: I was concerned. I didn't think there was a legal basis for it. But after looking at it a second time and realizing how many conflicting statements this accuser had made in that interview and how that interview showed the police officer was willing to accept his story before he even investigated the case, the more I looked at it, the more I thought it would probably help us. And based on some of the juror's comments, it did help us.

KING: Emotionally, is it hard to press when you cross-examine an accuser, a young accuser, a mother?

MESEREAU: Well, you have to gauge your cross-examination to the witness. You don't want to look like a bully. You don't want to look like you're -- you're really taking advantage of your position.

However, you have to adjust, depending on the personality in front of you. Some young kids are -- have a level of maturity that's extremely high. And as Chris Tucker said about the accuser, he was very cunning and very smart. We had to take all of that into account and factor our cross-examination accordingly.

And I think you also want a cross-examination -- you want to cross-examine at different speeds with different tones, and you want to do whatever you think will be effective for that particular witness.

KING: We'll be right back with more of Thomas Mesereau. We'll be including your phone calls.

Tomorrow night, Jermaine and Tito Jackson, Michael's brothers, will be our special guests. And Thursday night, a very special hour with a very special man, Reverend Billy Graham.

We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNEDDON: We believed in the child. We believed in the case and we believed that there was sufficient corroboration for what the children said occurred.

And so, whether it be Michael Jackson, or John Smith, or whoever it may be, this is the kind of case that a sheriff investigates. The sheriff believed in this case, and their detectives believed in this case, and we believed in this case. And like I said, I'm not going to apologize for what we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: I guess, Tom Mesereau, the jury didn't agree?

MESEREAU: They certainly didn't.

Michael Jackson was acquitted of every felony count and every misdemeanor count.

It was a clean sweep.

KING: Did you expect any -- did you have any worries about some of the misdemeanor counts?

MESEREAU: I really didn't, because to convict him of any of the misdemeanor counts, you had to believe the accuser beyond a reasonable doubt.

And that was not going to happen, in my opinion.

KING: So, even as small a thing as serving liquor without any intention for sex was turned down as well by the jury?

MESEREAU: They were completely turned down by the jury. They did not believe these accusers. They did not believe any of these -- this family's testimony on any significant level.

KING: Would you like cameras in the courtroom?

MESEREAU: You know, I have mixed feelings about it. I'm glad there were not cameras in this particular courtroom.

I think it would have created more of a circus-type environment than existed outside the courtroom, already. I like the idea of the public seeing what goes on in courts, because we're supposed to conduct public trials.

But I think given the media's repeated attempts to make a circus- liken environment out of criminal trials, I'm beginning to change my opinion of that, and maybe they don't belong in courtrooms.

KING: Do you like gag orders?

MESEREAU: I don't particularly like them. I think in this case, it worked very well. I think the temptation among lawyers and prosecutors to become movie stars, and essentially promote themselves on camera is something that's got to be avoided, if we're going to have justice in our criminal justice system.

KING: Mr. Mark Geragos a good witness for you?

MESEREAU: He was an excellent witness.

He was a very, very honest witness. He really spoke for his client. He explained, very simply and very carefully and honestly, what he had done to surveil this family because of his suspicions. And he really did go to bat for his client.

KING: There were some Jackson supporters concerned over the fact there was no black on the jury -- composite of that community, of course.

There was a black alternate.

Were you concerned about the race issue?

MESEREAU: Well, certainly Michael Jackson is part of a very prominent African-American family and initially, we did hope there would be some African-American representation on the jury.

But once the jury was picked, I always had a good feeling about this jury. I always felt they were very independent-minded. Nobody was going to intimidate them. They were going to take their job very seriously and be very fair.

And I was correct.

KING: Do you like jurors who take notes? MESEREAU: I don't know how to answer that, Larry.

I think note-taking is an indication that someone is paying attention and very concerned about their job. But on the other hand, you can also be paying attention and absorbing what's going on without taking notes.

So, I don't really know how to answer that question.

KING: All right.

When the jury asked a couple of questions of the judge, they were not revealed to the press or the public.

Were you concerned about any of that? Anything you can tell us about what they asked?

MESEREAU: You know, I really don't want to reveal that.

I don't know if Judge Melville has unsealed those questions, or not.

So, at this point, I'd rather not discuss that.

KING: Were you concerned by any of them, without telling us what they were?

MESEREAU: I was not concerned. I was actually encouraged by them.

KING: So, when you heard the question, that furthered your confidence?

MESEREAU: Yes, it did.

KING: How well did the judge do?

MESEREAU: The judge was an outstanding jurist.

I think all judges in America should learn a lesson from the way Judge Melville conducted this trial.

He was determined, from day one, that this was not going to get out of control. He was determined that justice was going to be done in and outside that courtroom.

He employed some very creative procedures to make sure that order was kept throughout the trial. He did a masterful job and I have total respect for Judge Melville and his wonderful staff.

KING: Even though he got mad at you a few times?

MESEREAU: Yes, he did, but he got mad at the prosecution, also.

He was very fair-minded.

KING: That's all you want, right? balance and fair?

MESEREAU: That's, I think, the most we can expect, and we had it with Judge Melville. He's an outstanding judge.

KING: We'll be right back with more a Thomas Mesereau.

We'll be including your phone calls on this edition of LARRY KING LIVE.

Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... The mother, when she looked at me and snapped her fingers a few times, and she says, "You know how our culture is," and winks at me. I thought, "No, that's not the way our culture is."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a mother to -- the values and stuff that she has taught them and they've learned -- and that is really hard for me to comprehend, you know, because I wouldn't want any of my children to lie for their own gain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with Thomas Mesereau. We certainly thank him for giving us this time tonight, exclusively. Let's take a few calls.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the victorious defense attorney. Hello.

CALLER: Hi. Um, Mr -- hi, Larry.

KING: Hi.

CALLER: Mr. Mesereau, do you have any idea when Michael might make a statement?

MESEREAU: You know, I really don't. I have not talked to him about that. Michael is going to have to go through a period of physical recovery. He's exhausted. He was not sleeping. He was not eating. It was a very, very traumatic experience for him and it's going to take a while for him to recover. I don't anticipate his making a statement very soon, but I suppose it's possible. But I have not discussed it with him.

KING: You then would not recommend any immediate in-depth interview?

MESEREAU: I really would not. I think Michael needs to spend time with his children and his family. He needs to savor his victory. He's a very, very grateful, very spiritual person. I think he would like to be left alone, and would like to heal and mend and move forward.

KING: They all took off in their cars back to Neverland. Where did you go right after the verdict?

MESEREAU: After the verdict, we went to see Judge Melville and his staff to thank them for their very professional behavior towards all of us and then we went to Neverland as well.

KING: Indiana, Pennsylvania, hello.

CALLER: Hello. My hats off to you, Larry, for your fairness during this thing and to you, Mr. Mesereau. My question is, the media has branded Michael Jackson as a freak and pedophile. How can he recover as the consummate talent he is?

KING: Good question.

MESEREAU: Well, I think he can recover because Michael is a very resilient person. Yes, he has been a target for many years. He's been maligned. He's been scandalized, but he's also one of the world's greatest artists and one of the world's greatest talents and also one of the world's greatest humanitarians and Michael has all the tools and the skills and the support to recover and go forward and do very well.

KING: Do you expect him to return to the stage?

MESEREAU: Larry, I'm not an expert on the music industry or the entertainment business, but I know Michael is an artist. He's a creative soul. You can't stifle his creativity and I would not be surprised if he makes a rebound and does it very effectively.

KING: Was the family easy to deal with for you? They're such a tight-knit group.

MESEREAU: The family was lovely to deal with. They're very, very wonderful people. They were all very supportive of Michael. There were a lot of rumors about dissension that were not true. They were a joy to deal with, a very lovely family.

KING: What happened to Raymone Bain?

MESEREAU: Well, you know, I worked with Raymone for many months. We worked very effectively together. We had a few differences towards the end, but that happens in big cases, but I have a lot of respect for Raymone, and always enjoyed seeing her and working with her.

KING: Why let her out that late in the case, though?

MESEREAU: You know, there's some confidential reasons why we had some differences at the end, but they're really insignificant. The fact of the matter is we were a team and we won and she did a very fine job.

KING: There's the famous tape of you apparently having an argument with, I guess, Brian Oxman and there was strong -- of course, correspondents went nuts with that tumult in the Jackson defense. What was that about? MESEREAU: I'm not going to talk about that, Larry. I think that's a matter of confidence. Brian was a very hard worker. He has known the Jacksons for a long time. He has given them very effective representation in many areas. We had differences. It happens in big cases when the stakes are high.

KING: None of our business?

MESEREAU: That's correct.

KING: You have said that Michael was a victim of bad advice in the past, that settling past molestation claims led to greed begetting greed. Are you saying he shouldn't have settled anything?

MESEREAU: That's correct. I think, looking backwards -- you know, we can all be Monday-morning quarterbacks in life and change things we've done, but I think if Michael could go back, he would never have settled those cases. He would've fought them to the end and the message would have got out, don't make false claims against Michael Jackson or you're going to trial.

KING: Oxman still represents -- he told Paula Zahn -- he still represents the family, right?

MESEREAU: That's my understanding. I have not talked to Brian since he left the defense team.

KING: Are you concerned there might be civil suits against Michael after this? Or does this wash that out?

MESEREAU: Well, I think it would be crazy to file a civil suit against Michael, given what happened in this trial. It's always possible. But, if it's done, he will fight it until the end and he will win.

KING: His ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, was called by the state. She appeared to help the defense. Do you agree?

MESEREAU: Yes, I do. She helped us a lot.

KING: Why, then, was she called?

MESEREAU: You'll have to ask the prosecutors about that. They wined and dined her at a local restaurant the night before. From what I understand, a lot of pressure was put on her to say what they wanted her to say. When she got on the witness stand, she told the truth and she explained who Michael was and was very effective for us.

KING: Anyone you called you regretted?

MESEREAU: Not really, Larry. You know, there were a couple of witnesses that didn't pan out exactly as we had hoped, but we did pretty well. We put on a very strong defense after, I think very effectively cross-examining their witnesses. So, we had an extraordinarily large number of good days in this trial.

KING: Sometimes defendants are a very important part of their case, sometimes not. Was Michael very involved in the defense?

MESEREAU: Yes, he was, but Michael is an artist. He's a musician. He's not a criminal defense lawyer and he was very willing to listen and to do what he was advised was the correct thing, and he was actually a joy to work with.

KING: So, in other words, if you had told him, Michael, I think you should take the stand, he would have?

MESEREAU: He absolutely would have. In fact, he expected to.

KING: We'll be back with more, and more phone calls for Thomas Mesereau on this edition of LARRY KING LIVE. Don't go away.

KING: We're back with Thomas Mesereau. Let's take another call. Glenolden, Pennsylvania, hello.

CALLER: Hello, Larry. I'd like to ask Mr. Mesereau if there's a possibility that a malicious prosecution case be filed against the D.A.'s office of Santa Barbara and Mr. Tom Sneddon?

MESEREAU: I think it would be warranted but I have not discussed it with Michael Jackson. We just got the verdict, you know, recently. He's now recovering. Nobody has really discussed that issue. But if you ask me...

KING: But you think it was malicious?

MESEREAU: I do. I think that he was treated in a way that no one else would've been similarly treated. It was because he was a mega-celebrity. Why 70 sheriffs searching Neverland Ranch, based upon what this accuser and his family said, before they'd even investigated the background of the accuser and his family?

KING: So, you're saying, if he wanted to, he could bring a malicious prosecution suit, and be successful?

MESEREAU: I don't -- I'm not going to say right now what the merits or demerits of the suit would be. That would have to be explored. But do I think this was done maliciously and unfairly? Absolutely.

KING: You had a tragedy happen to you during this trial. Your sister died of lung cancer, right?

MESEREAU: That's correct.

KING: How did that affect this whole thing for you, I mean, emotionally?

MESEREAU: Well, it was very difficult emotionally. It happened right as the trial was beginning. Judge Melville gave me some time to handle the funeral and all the things related to that. It was very difficult, but I will say that one of her last messages to me was that she thought we were going to win. And I thought about her throughout the trial, yes.

KING: How old was she?

MESEREAU: She was 53.

KING: She smoked?

MESEREAU: Yes, she did. She smoked from the time she was 13, and, unfortunately, it took a toll.

KING: Was Michael compassionate about that death?

MESEREAU: Michael was not only compassionate; he sent her the most beautiful, the largest bouquet of flowers you've ever seen. He wrote a little poem for her. It came from he and his children. And it was one of the most meaningful and most wonderful things that he could have done for her during her final days.

KING: How does he interact with his kids?

MESEREAU: Beautifully. He loves his children. They love him. He spends a lot of time with them. He is a loving, doting, caring father. And his children just adore him.

KING: Are they well mannered?

MESEREAU: Yes, they are. They're wonderful children. I was with them yesterday.

KING: When you were doing your pre-trial questioning of Michael, when you have to get into a lot of subjects that are not everyday table conversation, was that hard? When you have to ask your own client, did you do this to this boy?

MESEREAU: I'm not going to go into the questions I asked Michael; they're privileged and confidential.

KING: Of course, but were they difficult for you?

MESEREAU: Frankly, no, because the more I got to know Michael Jackson and the more ridiculous I realized these charges were, and the more of a gentle, charitable, kind-hearted, decent person he is, the less difficulty there was. I mean, he always was a very straightforward, honest, down-to-Earth person to deal with. And the Michael Jackson that I know doesn't even come close to the Michael Jackson they tried to portray.

KING: And when you asked...

MESEREAU: So he was an easy person to deal with.

KING: And when you asked him questions, he answered you directly?

MESEREAU: Of course he did. He's very honest and he's very down-to-Earth. If you look at the few interviews he has done, you see a very, very simple, down-to-Earth person who is very honest about who he is, honest about his loneliness, honest about his childhood. He is a very, very decent, kind person and easy to deal with.

KING: And trusting?

MESEREAU: Too trusting. That's been his downfall. He has trusted the wrong people. He has felt sorry for the wrong people. He has tried to heal the wrong people. And they have turned on him and tried to take advantage of him through the legal system.

KING: Will he be tougher?

MESEREAU: Yes, he will. We've already had a talk about that. He will, for sure. This was a horrible experience for him, and he's not going to allow people to just run wild through his home, and -- because he feels sorry for them and wants to take care of them and wants to heal them. He has to get much firmer and he will.

KING: You said earlier, you let him be him. You didn't tell him what to wear or anything, but the pajama incident that got a lot of press, did that bother you?

MESEREAU: Well, but that was not something anybody planned. He had to go to the hospital. He expected to be there for a short period of time. Judge Melville took a very firm position, which he had the right to do, and said, get him here quickly or he was going to issue a bench warrant. So Michael had to run right from the hospital to the courthouse. He complied with Judge Melville's order. That was not something anybody planned or wanted. It just happened.

KING: You think it was much ado about nothing?

(CROSSTALK)

MESEREAU: I agree. Absolutely.

KING: So, therefore, you didn't deal with you telling him how to act in court? Sit up, sit this way, do this, do that, wear this, wear that?

MESEREAU: No. I wanted Michael Jackson to be who Michael Jackson is. And you know, jurors are smart. They're intuitive. They're instinctive. They know what they're being asked to do to somebody at the counsel table. And you don't want to have your client to do something that is phony or unrealistic. I wanted Michael Jackson to be exactly who he was and is, and be proud of it, and that's what he did. There was nothing phony about our side of the table. There was a lot that was phony about the prosecution's side of the table.

KING: Phony?

MESEREAU: Yes.

KING: Meaning they knew they were doing something that wasn't right? MESEREAU: I don't see how they could not have known that. Look at their conspiracy theory, for example. They were trying to say that Michael Jackson had a financial motive to essentially abduct a family and ship them to Brazil. It was the most ridiculous theory I have ever heard of. I don't know how they did it with a straight face. And it backfired on them, as it should have.

KING: We'll be back with more of Thomas Mesereau, some more phone calls, too, on this very interesting hour of LARRY KING LIVE. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back. You mentioned earlier how you boosted your client and always tried to be optimistic. But do you have to give -- do you have to talk at all about the possibility of a guilty verdict, tell him what might happen to him? Deal with what might happen?

MESEREAU: Well, Larry, you have to be honest with your client at all times. You do have ethical and professional obligations to explain the situation the client is in, but at the same time, you know, if you really believe in your case and you really are optimistic about your chances, you also have to convey that as well. And I was always optimistic about this case once I learned about it, because the more you looked into who these accusers were and who the witnesses the prosecution was going to call were, the more ridiculous everything looked.

KING: So, there was no reason to say, Michael, be prepared, you might be in jail tonight?

MESEREAU: Well, you never know what a jury is going to do. You don't know those 12 people. They're not personal friends of yours. You don't know what makes them tick. But I always had a good feeling about this jury. I always felt that our case was going in very well. And I always thought the truth would prevail. And I really felt that these jurors were very independent-minded, that nobody was going to push them around, they were going to follow the law and do what's right.

KING: Tempe, Arizona, for Tom Mesereau. Hello.

CALLER: Hello, Larry, I love your show.

KING: Thank you.

CALLER: My question is, how do you think the media coverage affected this case, Mr. Mesereau?

KING: Yeah. Did it?

MESEREAU: Well, ultimately, we had the right result. Justice was served. An innocent man walked free. So, I can't say that, in the long run, the media had the damaging effect that I was worried about at certain points in the trial. The problem I have with the media was they tried to turn it into a circus. They tried to pursue biases and prejudices against Mr. Jackson, because they thought it would generate interest and ratings, and they tried to make a circus out of the case. And to some extent, they did. But in the end, justice prevailed, because this jury was not going to be unduly influenced by other people. They were going to do what was right, and they did.

KING: Do you believe, therefore -- do you believe the jury didn't watch television?

MESEREAU: I believe they didn't. I believe this jury took Judge Melville's orders very seriously. I believe they took their job very seriously and I believe they were determined not to be unfairly or unduly influenced by anybody.

KING: Manillapan, Florida, hello.

CALLER: Hi, Mr. King. I love your show.

KING: Thank you.

CALLER: I'd like to know if Mr. Mesereau could disclose the approximate cost of the defense.

MESEREAU: I'm sorry. I didn't totally understand the question.

KING: If you could disclose the approximate cost of the defense.

MESEREAU: I will not talk about legal fees or cost. That's confidential.

KING: What did it cost the state?

MESEREAU: It had to have cost them many millions of dollars. I have been told that the board of supervisors of Santa Barbara county has been up in arms about the cost of this case and if you look at the number of sheriffs and investigators and experts and people and prosecutors put on this case, it's absurd. They wouldn't do it in a murder case. They wouldn't do it in a serial killer case, but they did it because Michael Jackson is a superstar and they wanted to take a superstar down.

KING: How important was your investigator, Scott Ross?

MESEREAU: He was extremely important. Scott Ross did a fabulous job, as did Jesus Castillo, our second investigator. They were critical to our defense. They were relentless. They were professional. They dug up the facts. They found the witnesses. They got them to court. These guys were just terrific.

KING: Do you use your team a lot, Tom? Did other lawyers work with you?

MESEREAU: Yes. My co-counsel and law partner, Susan Yu, was absolutely essential to this defense. She was tireless in the way she put the evidence together, the way she assisted me in preparation. Bob Sanger, my co-counsel from Santa Barbara was an unbelievably effective lawyer. He was a trial lawyer in the trial court. He argued in the appellate courts. He did law in motion. He knew the local procedures and system. We had a lot of assistants helping us out in his office and my office and it was a great team effort and it succeeded.

KING: And, we'll be back with some more moments with Thomas Mesereau, ask about him, his future. Don't go away.

KING: One more call. Gainesville, Georgia, hello.

CALLER: Yes. I'd like to ask Mr. Mesereau if he believes that Tom Sneddon is responsible for the grand jury testimony being leaked to the press.

MESEREAU: I don't know if Tom Sneddon is personally responsible for that, but certainly somebody in the prosecution side, it would appear, was responsible and when I say prosecution side, I'm including the sheriff's department.

As you know, those transcripts were leaked just as the trial was beginning, and it's my belief they were leaked to try and prejudice the entire process. Do I know that Tom Sneddon did it personally? I do not have any understanding of that, but I think somebody who favored the prosecution did it. That's my belief.

KING: You said Michael's going to stay at Neverland?

MESEREAU: I don't know the answer to that, Larry. We just haven't had a chance to talk about his future very much.

KING: He's got such an interest in kids. Do you think he'll still have some come over? Or are you going to advise him against...

MESEREAU: Again, well, I really haven't talked to Michael very much about the future. I do know, as we said before, that he has to get a lot tougher with who he lets into his life and who he feels sorry for and who he wants to heal and help because he's a real target.

KING: We'll ask his brothers tomorrow.

One other thing I didn't cover. Were you surprised -- I know you left the case -- were you surprised at the Robert Blake verdict?

MESEREAU: No, I was not. As you may recall, I did the three- week preliminary hearing in that case.

KING: I remember.

MESEREAU: I thought the case was full of holes and full of problems.

KING: You told me that.

MESEREAU: I was not surprised at all.

KING: You told me then you thought he would win.

MESEREAU: Yes.

KING: Sorry you left it?

MESEREAU: No. You know, life goes on. We had a falling out and those things happen in the high-pressure world of criminal defense. But he hired a very, very excellent lawyer who did a very excellent job and he's free.

KING: Interesting thing about Thomas Mesereau, born in West Point, father, lieutenant colonel; worked for his in-laws restaurant business, Mama Leone's, one of the most successful restaurants ever in America, famous in New York; was an amateur boxer; and represented defendants in death penalty cases in the south, pro bono, didn't charge; gives free legal assistance through the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in L.A. -- were you glad about that apology yesterday, for slavery and (INAUDIBLE) hangings?

MESEREAU: Well, what -- you know, Larry, yesterday was a wild day. Which apology...

KING: The Senate -- the Senate apologized for the treatment in the past of the American black.

MESEREAU: I'm absolutely in favor of that, if that's the way it was done and it was articulated properly, I am absolutely behind that.

KING: Are you looking forward to a lot more criminal cases? I mean, you're famous, widespread now. You know, it's obvious you're going to get a lot of calls. Are you ready for an onslaught of new business?

MESEREAU: No, I'm ready to get some sleep.

KING: But you seriously know you're going to get a lot of attention now?

MESEREAU: I'm sure I will, and, you know, I'll take it as it comes. I have strong views about my profession. I love what I do. I have a strong belief in civil rights and in making sure our justice system works and we'll just move forward. I feel very blessed by god to have been in the case.

KING: How many partners in your firm?

MESEREAU: Just four partners. It's a small firm.

KING: Might you expand?

MESEREAU: I don't know. We'll have to take it as it comes. I don't have any plans, other than to get some sleep, see my family and friends and move forward.

KING: Take a vacation for a while?

MESEREAU: I could definitely use one, yes.

KING: Thomas, thank you so much for a very informative hour. I appreciate you giving us an hour. We know how tired you are.

MESEREAU: Well, thank you for having me.

KING: Thomas Mesereau, very successful defense attorney, quite a career, quite a life, quite a story.

Tomorrow night, Tito and Jermaine, Jermaine and Tito Jackson, Michael's brothers who promised to appear on this show when the trial was over, no matter what the verdict, will appear on this show.

And on Thursday night, Billy Graham. That should be extraordinary. And Friday night, Shania Twain. Speaking of big stars, we have a big star right here in New York where I'm here with my whole family. I got father of the year award today. I was humbled. It was tremendous day for me to have the whole family here.

AARON BROWN, HOST "NEWSNIGHT": And that's the terrific thing, you know?

KING: I mean, it was really...

BROWN: No jokes aside, you're a great dad to a range of kids in a range of ages, and you love them all in a big way, and god bless you for it.

KING: Thank you so much, Aaron. Carry on, Mr. Brown!

BROWN: Thank you, Pops.

sursa: transcripts.cnn.com

Emisiunea lui Larry King din seara zilei de 13 iunie 2005

2010-02-14T01:51:00.000-08:00

La 13 iunie 2005 s-a pronunţat verdictul în procesul desfăşurat vreme de mai multe luni împotriva lui Michael Jackson. În seara aceleiaşi zile, emisiunea difuzată de CNN, Larry King Live, făcea o trecere în revistă a acestui proces, discutând cu numeroşi oameni implicaţi în proces, printre care şi câţiva dintre juraţii care l-au achitat pe Jackson. Iată transcrierea acestei emisiuni (sursa: tanscripts.cnn.com)

CNN LARRY KING LIVE

Jackson Found Not Guilty

Aired June 13, 2005 - 21:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, in the above-entitled case, find the defendant not guilty of the...

(CHEERS)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Tonight, Michael Jackson walks away a free man, acquitted on all counts in his child molestation trial. We'll hear from reporters who were inside the courtroom, and outside, among the fans, for the dramatic climax to this trial. And, we'll speak with Jackson camp insiders, and more, and it's all next, on LARRY KING LIVE.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Momentarily, we'll be talking to a whole panel of people.

And I'm joined here in New York by Cynthia McFadden, ABC News senior legal correspondent. We spoke on the phone earlier with Jermaine Jackson, one of Michael's brothers, and we'll -- hopefully -- we'll be talking with him by phone tonight during the program.

And tomorrow night, Tom Mesereau, the defense attorney, will be our exclusive prime-time news guest. That's tomorrow night, Tom Mesereau, the defense attorney.

But let's begin in the opening segment with Paul Rodriguez, better known as juror number 80, the jury foreman, the retired high school counselor.

How tough was this for you, Paul, first, to serve on jury duty?

PAUL RODRIGUEZ, JACKSON JURY FOREMAN: It was tough because it's been at it since about the middle of January when I first got my summons to appear for jury duty. So, it's been tough. It's been a long, long haul.

KING: What was the -- was there a key to this decision?

RODRIGUEZ: Was there a key to this decision?

KING: Yes.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes. We just couldn't buy the story of the mother for one, and the corresponding stories of the children, they were too much like the mother's. Although, you know, it's almost like they rehearsed it in so many ways. And anyway, some of the timelines weren't matching up. So, yes. Those were the things we probably looked at.

KING: It -- was it difficult not to hold all the prior things against him? The film? The settlement years ago? Does that enter into the discussion?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, it did. Entered into the discussion and we probably spent quite a bit of time referring to that case and coming back to it on various occasions, just depending on what we were talking about or deliberating about at that moment. So, yes, it did enter into it, but in the final analysis, that's not what we needed to use for determining the guilt or not guilty verdict.

KING: When you left on Friday, did you have a pretty good idea it would be over on Monday?

RODRIGUEZ: No, we did not. When we left on Friday, we all decided that we needed to into something to get away from this and just think about other things because we knew it was going to be -- we thought it was going to be another few days before we would finish up and we just didn't think it would go this quickly, especially not today, on a Monday.

KING: So what happened today?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, what happened today is that we started out with this whole thing on the conspiracy charges, and that was on day one, and we couldn't get anywhere even after reading the instructions over and over again. There's 98 pages of instructions, and so we'd refer to that. Since we couldn't -- we were just at opposite ends on too much many issues there, so we decided to go onto something else, and after we did that just a few things were left, plus the conspiracy charge. So, we went back to that and we had a clear mind and a clear focus on what we needed to do and that's how we ended the day or ended the whole scenario.

KING: Are you saying the other charges were clearer than the conspiracy?

RODRIGUEZ: No. There was some -- we had to do a time line in order to get the charges clear in our minds as far as the molestation charges. But that seemed to come together a lot faster than what we thought it would. We thought that would be one of the toughest things, but it came together a lot faster than the conspiracy.

And the conspiracy, we might've been able to get that done sooner, but we decided that, let's go see if we can get some other issues taken care of and come back to that and that's basically the way we approached it.

KING: I don't want to knock pundits, Juror 80, but most of the pundits said the conspiracy was the easiest one. That would be not guilty. The hardest would be the others. RODRIGUEZ: Yes, it was. That's why I say we came back to it and I don't know why we just tabled it, but we decided to table it, and you are right, it was one of the easier ones to do. But I think that also what balanced out was just by completing the other charges against him.

KING: What did you -- how did Michael appear to you in court? What was it like to look at this for all these days?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, there for a while, you look at him and you watch his demeanor, you watch his body language, and yes, there was days he looked awful. You know, there was days where he looked like he had plenty of sleep, but after a while, you lose concentration that he's even there. You know, you're focusing on what's being said in the courtroom, what the lawyers are saying, what witnesses are testifying to, so he became secondary to the whole thing, although that's why we were there in the first place, is because of him.

KING: When it was finally decided unanimous, not guilty, were you happy for him?

RODRIGUEZ: No, not really. I think it's just a job that we had to get done and we did the best that we could and we just felt that the job was completed, and rather -- I don't know. There were some tears from some of the jury members. I don't know if there was tears of happiness or tears it was over with. But I had, you know, really, personally, had no real feelings one way or the other. I just felt like we needed to leave there with a clear mind and saying we did the best that we could under the -- with the evidence that we had presented to us.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: Couple of other quick things -- I thank you for giving us the time. Did his lifestyle, which had to be uncommon to 99.5 percent of all of the people, did that throw you?

RODRIGUEZ: We did consider that a lot, you know, just him sleeping with children and so on, so forth. There's not too many grown men that we know that would do that. But, again, we had to base it on the evidence presented to us, and come out of there with -- deciding on everything with -- beyond a reasonable doubt. I can't emphasize that strongly enough. So if the evidence was there, we would have worked with it but there was a lot of things lacking, so we just didn't have anything that we needed to complete the case.

KING: One other thing before I let you go. Cynthia McFadden has a question for you. Cynthia?

CYNTHIA MCFADDEN, ABC NEWS SR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. I was wondering, the allegations of past abuse that the prosecutor presented, the so-called 1108 evidence. Did you find any of those other allegations credible?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, we did. To a certain degree, we didn't -- again, we couldn't take that as complete evidence, to use that as information that we needed to complete this case. We could just use that as information presented to us of what a pattern could be developed to -- so on and so forth.

MCFADDEN: So, you did think there might've been a pattern, just not proof beyond a reasonable doubt in this case. Is that what you are saying?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes.

KING: Yes, Paul, I thank you very much. Thank you for the time, man. It was terrific of you. I know it's been a tough day for you. Thank you very much and thank you for your service.

RODRIGUEZ: OK, thank you.

KING: Joining us now by phone is Tito Jackson, one of Michael Jackson's brothers. He's on a cell phone kicking in now. Are you there, Tito?

TITO JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: Hey, Larry, how are you?

KING: How are you? Where were you? Were you in the courtroom?

T. JACKSON: Yes, I was in the courtroom.

KING: Did you drive back with Michael?

T. JACKSON: I'm sorry, Larry?

KING: Did you drive back in the car with Michael?

T. JACKSON: I was in the car behind -- of Michael's vehicle. Third car, I was in the third car.

KING: What happened when they announced the verdict in your heart? What was your feeling? Were you worried?

T. JACKSON: Of course, everyone would be worried. But they kept reading the counts. The pressure was lifting off me, and I was holding my mom tight, and we all cried through every count. We cried through every count. Justice has finally been served and Mike's a free man.

KING: What's first thing he said to you?

T. JACKSON: He told me he loved me and I told him, I love you, too.

KING: How did he hold up today?

T. JACKSON: Well, it would be hard on anyone, you know? Michael kept his strength and he hung in there. He didn't do any events and I think it was a very personal thing on Tom Sneddon's part. We want to come onto your show and we'll be able to get more into that, but Larry, you know, I also have here with me is my brother Jermaine. So, he wants to get on the phone as well.

KING: OK, put him on.

T. JACKSON: So, I'm going to pass it over to him.

KING: All right.

JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL'S BROTHER: Hi, Larry.

KING: Hi, Jermaine. I look forward sitting down you in person, but I thank you for joining us with Tito. Did you ride back with Michael or were you in a different car?

JERMAINE JACKSON: I was in the third car but we were very, very, very, very happy, and, like we always felt from the very beginning and knew that he was (INAUDIBLE) innocent. And, I'll just say this, it takes one person to tell the truth, but it takes many to concoct a lie and that's what you saw there. And I just feel that the community up there in Santa Maria is a wonderful community. They are wonderful taxpayers, but the people who are in power and who are in authority, whoa. They need some work, because what they have done to -- well, what they tried to do in the lies they put out there against my family and Michael is just ridiculous.

And, at the same time, to report -- there were reporters reporting all this stuff and going on and on and on and then, go take a poll and try to see what the poll is going to be, around the U.S. -- it's just unfair. I mean, we kept quiet because we knew all the time justice was going to be served. It was on our side, but we can't control what the media is going to say, because they weren't reporting the right thing. So they were suading all the viewers and all the public's opinion.

KING: Were you surprised, though? Therefore, in view of that, with public opinion polls and the condition of the Santa Maria power structures you cite (ph), were you surprised by any part of his verdict?

JERMAINE JACKSON: I wasn't surprised by any part of the verdict, because I always felt and always said that Michael is 1,000 percent innocent. I know why this was done, and I'll say it again, Tito and I would love to sit down with you and share with the world, because what's important is that people know who we are and really know who Michael really is, and that's what's most important. He's a wonderful, wonderful person. And Neverland was never built to do what they tried to say. Neverland was built to bring happiness to the kids who were terminally ill, and he just wanted to give them a brighter day. That's all it was built for.

KING: How -- how are his kids?

JERMAINE JACKSON: His kids are fine. They're all fine, and the family is just strong -- stronger. We were strong before, but we're stronger now. And so I dare anybody to try to stand up against us, because we're very strong, and that's what a family's supposed to be. Michael is 1,000 KING: What are you doing tonight?

JERMAINE JACKSON: Excuse me?

KING: What are you doing tonight?

JERMAINE JACKSON: I'm going to go to sleep early. We're going to just probably rest, because we've been tired. This has been a long two years and more of just grueling and just -- just -- we're just going to just hug each other and jump up and down, and we can't wait to share this with you when we see you.

KING: Yeah, I look forward to it. And is Michael going to work again soon?

JERMAINE JACKSON: I really don't know. Right now, he's going to rest, but you know, it's in his blood. It's in his bones. And so -- but he's going to rest right now and get past all of this. But I will say, thank you to all the supporters around the world and the people who always believed and still believe in my family, in Michael, in all of us. So thank you very, very much, Larry.

KING: Thank you. Do you want to stay on or you want to come on later in the week?

JERMAINE JACKSON: I want to talk to you in person, so you can really -- because Tito and I got so much to say, because we were the ones there and just really...

KING: All right.

JERMAINE JACKSON: We got something to say. We got...

KING: We'll set it up for you...

JERMAINE JACKSON: We need to talk.

KING: ... and Tito. And thanks so much for doing this.

JERMAINE JACKSON: Thank you, Larry.

KING: Thank you, Jermaine and Tito Jackson, two of Michael's brothers.

The whole panel will assemble. Your calls later. We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We the jury in the above-entitled case find the defendant not guilty of conspiracy, not guilty of a lewd act upon a minor child, not guilty of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony as charged in count seven of the indictment.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Here's your shot of Neverland.

Let's meet our panel. In Santa Maria, CNN correspondent Ted Rowlands. In Neverland -- at Neverland is Brooke Anderson of CNN. In Santa Maria, Jane Velez-Mitchell, the correspondent for "Celebrity Justice." Michael Cardoza, defense attorney and former Alameda County prosecutor. Craig Smith, the former Santa Barbara County prosecutor and Superior Court commissioner. He knows Tom Sneddon quite well. He teaches law at Santa Barbara Ventura Colleges of Law. And here in New York, you've already met her, Cynthia McFadden, ABC News senior legal correspondent, co-anchor of "Primetime Live." And broke a lot of exclusives during this Jackson case.

All right, Ted, were you surprised?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. Because we really didn't know which way this was going. It was an amazing scene inside and outside the courthouse. I was outside when the verdicts were read. The fans, there were hundreds of them, were so quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Everybody listening to the audio feed from inside the courtroom, and with each not guilty, they would erupt, and then quickly get quiet again. Go ahead.

KING: But you weren't surprised, you yourself?

ROWLANDS: Well, I sat through this entire trial except for a few weeks, and I think that the jury did an excellent job of evaluating the case and mulling it over. And if you listened to the jurors afterwards, they were a conscientious jury and they did go through it. And you heard Mr. Rodriguez say that they just didn't feel like it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

KING: Brooke, were you surprised?

RROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Larry, you know, like Ted said, we did not know what to expect. The fans here, they were gathered as the verdict was read. And as each count was read not guilty, we heard elation and cheers.

KING: I know that, but were you surprised? I'm asking you.

ANDERSON: Honestly, you know, I guess I was a little bit surprised that all 10 counts not guilty, but then you never know what these 12 jurors are thinking, and this is what the jury found, and this is what we're going to go with.

KING: Cynthia, you're surprised?

MCFADDEN: Yes, I was surprised, Larry. I'll tell you why. Usually when the state gets to offer evidence like it did in this case, the 1108 evidence, which is really powerful evidence, these past allegations of bad acts, it's very difficult for the defense to prevail. So yeah, I was surprised. I think this was an absolute rejection of the prosecution argument. KING: It was a wipe-out, right?

MCFADDEN: It was a wipe-out. And I have to say, I was surprised that the prosecution was able to get absolutely not one vote for...

KING: Jane Velez-Mitchell, were you surprised?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, CELEBRITY JUSTICE: I was surprised, Larry, because I was sitting in the courtroom. And when the jurors filed in, they looked grim. They looked very serious. And then they did not make eye contact with Michael Jackson, and normally that's not a good sign for the defendant. Michael Jackson, by the way, looked terrified as he walked in, almost as if it was an effort to get to the defendant's chair.

But then boom, boom, boom, not guilty across the board. So it was an absolute stunner, and the room was surrounded in sobs. I had sobs behind me. The fans sobbing. Mother Catherine, two seats in front of me, sobbing. Michael Jackson had a tissue going up to his eye, and those on the side who could see him said he was crying. His attorney, one of them, Susan Yu, was sobbing. Then I look over at one of the jurors, who's mother of four, and she was sobbing outright. So a lot of tears in that courtroom.

KING: Michael, same question as everybody, were you surprised?

MICHAEL CARDOZA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, I wasn't. But remember what happened in the beginning of this case, Larry. All the legal pundits were saying, not guilty all along. Then as this trial progressed, and that prior sexual misconduct came in, the famous 1108 evidence, as that came in, some people started to say, uh-oh, we might get a guilty verdict in this case.

And then closing arguments came. I thought Mesereau gave a very, very good closing argument. Ron Zonen, I think he really outargued him. Gave a great closing argument, brought the case even closer.

Anything could have happened. I was really expecting, either way wouldn't have surprised me. Was I surprised? No. But I'll tell you what, the jury did the right thing in this case, because they isolated out the accuser's crime in this one. They took the accuser, the accuser's family, looked at that and said, did not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt and shoved that 1108 aside.

KING: Craig Smith, what did you think?

CRAIG SMITH, FORMER SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Well, was I surprised? Yes and no. We knew all along that it was a very close case, that it was on the fence. Certainly when the case went to the jury, people thought it could go either way. No one could call it. I really thought there was going to be some kind of split verdict, some type of compromise. I thought at the very least they would find Michael Jackson guilty of one of the lesser-included offenses of simply furnishing alcohol but they didn't even find him guilty of that. So I am surprised. KING: We'll take a break and come back, and when we come back, Angel Howansky a Jackson family spokesman and Majestic Magnificent, Michael Jackson's friend, confidante, and personal magician -- I never had one of those -- will join us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're joined now in Santa Maria, California, by one of Michael Jackson's closest friends and confidantes, Majestic Magnificent, who's called Michael's personal magician. What does a personal magician do?

MAJESTIC MAGNIFICENT, MAGICIAN, FRIEND OF JACKSON: That's something the press is labeling on me. I'm not Michael's personal magician. I just happen to be a magician from Muhammad Ali transferred to Michael.

I want to answer that question that you asked everybody else. I had no doubt whatsoever that Michael would be acquitted on all the charges. Neither did Michael. From the very beginning, he said over and over again, justice will prevail and I will be acquitted and you will see, I'm innocent.

KING: So, are you saying, Majestic, then, this morning, when you got up, you weren't worried at all?

MAJESTIC MAGNIFICENT: Not even a little bit, because I know his character. I know he would not hurt a child, and if justice is going to be fair, not like -- not unlike these tabloids shows. You're a credible journalist, but these people like Nancy Grace, Diane Dimond, all these people trying Michael in the press, that is not in courtroom. It's the normal people and the jurors that make the decision. That's how I knew he was going to be acquitted.

KING: How's the family doing?

MAJESTIC MAGNIFICENT: Great, wonderful. I just spoke to Randy, everybody enjoying the moment of happiness and they all together and having this like, hey, it's over, and Michael will be making music. He will be singing. He will be dancing. You know, can't nobody do what Michael do on a stage. So, people say, he can't make a comeback and all this. He never been nowhere. Ya'll just -- they just tied him up for a while.

KING: So you're saying he's coming back?

MAJESTIC MAGNIFICENT: Oh my god. Can you -- name somebody who can sing and dance like Michael, Larry. Of course the world want to see that.

KING: Did you talk to him today?

MAJESTIC MAGNIFICENT: No, I haven't. I just spoke to Randy today.

KING: When are you going to see him? MAJESTIC MAGNIFICENT: Probably this week some time. I'm going over there -- I am sure there's going to be something in the next couple -- coming days. I'll probably go out to the ranch sometime.

KING: Thank you, Majestic. Always good seeing you. Majestic Magnificent.

MAJESTIC MAGNIFICENT: You, too. Take care, Larry.

KING: Not a personal magician, just happens to be a magician. Thank you. Glad we cleared that up.

MAJESTIC MAGNIFICENT: Thank you for being fair. Thank you so much!

KING: Thank you. We always try to be that.

Ted Rowlands, the crowd outside, as you discussed them earlier, they were jumping, they were happy, et cetera. What was the Jackson family like when they came out?

ROWLANDS: Very subdued. Relief, I think, would be the way to characterize them. Michael Jackson waved to the crowd, but no means were they raising their fists or smiling or high-fiving, not by any stretch of the imagination. Tom Mesereau was also very business-like, almost as if, you know, they were relieved and almost angered, too, that they had to put forth so much effort, so much heartache to get to this point, but not maybe what you would think. At least not -- that surprised me.

I thought there would be more smiles and a more of a pleased aura around them. But it was, pretty -- it was just, let's get out of here. Let's get home time type of feeling you got.

KING: And Brooke Anderson, what happened when they got home?

ANDERSON: Oh, when they got home, Larry, they were greeted by hundreds of fans. I even saw part of Jackson's staff at Neverland walk to the gate. I saw housekeepers. I saw chefs waving at him, cheering him on. The mood of the fans has definitely changed today from tense and anxious to celebratory and excited. We've seen some of the family members leave. We've seen Randy and Tito and Joe leave.

We haven't seen signs of Michael Jackson yet and I estimate there are about 200 fans here right now. Some of them tell me they're waiting to see Michael, hoping that he'll invite them into Neverland.

KING: Jane Velez-Mitchell, what do you gather public opinion will be of this, generally?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, in general, I think that people are going to say, that's the way it goes with celebrities. There's a celebrity justice and then there is justice for everyone else, although I do think that they will accept the jury's decision. I think people really feel this jury did as good a job as anyone could possibly do. They weighed the evidence. They worked hard, and they really fought to be fair, and I think they acquitted themselves in how they handled this. So, I think the general public, while possibly thinking well, something fishy's going on over there, is going to accept that Michael Jackson is not guilty of these particular charges.

KING: We'll take a break and be right back. We'll meet Angel Howansky, a Jackson family spokesperson; Debra Opri, attorney for members of the family; Jesse Jackson, more of our panel. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM SNEDDON, SANTA BARBARA CTY D.A.: Obviously, we're disappointed in the verdict, but we work every day in a system of justice. We believe in the system of justice, and I've been prosecutor for 37 years, and 37 years, I have never quarreled with a jury's verdict and I'm not going to start today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back on what will be a historic day, June 13th. Joining us now from Santa Maria is Angel Howansky, the Jackson family spokesman. First, people have been asking this, Angel, how's Michael's health?

ANGEL HOWANSKY, JACKSON FAMILY SPOKESMAN: Michael -- this was definitely a long trial for Michael. I believe he just was a little dehydrated. But other than that, I know right now he's probably eating and having a good time. I'm not sure.

KING: Where were you when the verdict came in?

HOWANSKY: I was actually upstairs. There's a section where they have the family upstairs in the courthouse.

KING: Yes.

HOWANSKY: I was upstairs. And then when I heard that, when I -- when everybody started running, I ran downstairs so I could hear everything, too. There is only so many seats for the family in the courtroom, and family comes first. So I wasn't in there, but I was upstairs.

KING: Did you talk to Michael?

HOWANSKY: I had not spoken to him yet. I have spoken to the parents.

KING: What did they say?

HOWANSKY: And I know -- they are so happy this is behind them. They are so overwhelmed. This was a very long trial. And I really admire Mrs. Jackson. Every day she came to court, never missed a day, and that was a lot for her, and I'm so glad. And they're happy that this is over with, so they can put this behind them and move forward. And I just love that family. They are very generous people. And Michael should not have gone through this. And he was finally able to tell the world that he is innocent. And no one else can question that anymore. And I'm so proud.

KING: But they also are, as Jermaine and Tito spoke with us earlier, they're also angry. Do you understand that?

HOWANSKY: Absolutely. I understand that. He shouldn't have gone through this in the first place. And for him to have to go through all of this, publicly -- his family went through a lot as well, and there is definitely going to be a lot of anger, I understand. Because this should not have happened in the first place.

KING: Majestic says he's definitely going back to singing and performing. Do you concur?

HOWANSKY: I concur. The world would be at a loss if Michael Jackson did not get back out and sing and perform. His music -- I talked to some Koreans today, and they told me that Michael's music liberated them, liberated Hong Kong. And I'm just -- there is no one in the world like him.

KING: What happened to the other spokesperson?

HOWANSKY: Raymone?

KING: Yeah.

HOWANSKY: I wasn't involved in that. I am not sure exactly what happened. I've been with the family for 15 years. I've been a longtime family friend. Then I started representing the parents, probably since the last time, 1993. But I wasn't involved with the other spokesperson, and it wouldn't be fair to me to make a comment on that at all.

KING: What do you think the public's perception of Michael is now? Do you think they'll view this as a celebrity who got off, or a guy who got a fair trial and was judged fairly?

HOWANSKY: When I was out with the family, when I was out with the parents specifically, you would not believe the people that came out of nowhere and told the family that they support them and that Michael should have never gone through this. I don't believe he's going to be known as a celebrity that got off. From my understanding and what I know of the family, they're very generous people, they're very loving and they're very sharing. And those who really know them really know that that's how they are.

Michael loves children. He gives millions and millions of dollars to children and to charities. And people -- you know, the media made it seem like the public was anti-Michael, and we found quite the opposite. The public loves Michael Jackson. And the minute the verdicts came in, I got calls from Norway, I got calls from South Africa, all over the world with people crying, singing in their different languages for Michael, and just tears of joy. And I'm so happy for him, that he stood and he stood strong. KING: Thank you. Angel Howansky, the Jackson family spokesperson, from Santa Maria.

Back to Santa Maria and Michael Cardoza. Did the prosecution goof?

CARDOZA: No, I don't think they did goof in this case. Well, maybe a little goof. And what I mean by that is with Sneddon, back in '93, '94, he loses the Jordy Chandler prosecution because of that $20 million settlement. All right, that said; then what he does in my opinion is put Jackson in his crosshairs. He's looking to get Michael Jackson.

And I'm sure he believed Michael's a pedophile. So he's saying, I got a pedophile loose in my county, not going to happen. Then this family walks in. I think he was a little too quick to believe them and didn't really look at their background that carefully. Didn't look at the J.C. Penney case. Didn't look to the fact that they committed perjury in that case. Brought this case, and what he did, he bolstered this case with a prior misconduct, sexual misconduct. That made this case a lot stronger, but as I said, the jury did the right thing. They looked at this case and said, you didn't prove it.

KING: Cynthia, you think they were too zealous?

MCFADDEN: The prosecutors?

KING: Yeah.

MCFADDEN: Well, listen, I think they certainly appeared that way, at least to the public. You know, we didn't ask the jurors about what their opinion of the prosecutors were. But listen, I think if you're a prosecutor, and a young man comes into your office and says that he has been sexually molested by a man who you know has previously settled several other similar cases for multi millions of dollars, you have an obligation to investigate.

Now, maybe Michael is right, maybe a due investigation would have suggested that the case shouldn't go forward, because we knew from the start there were credibility problems with this accuser and his mother. But I certainly don't think the prosecutor was misguided in bringing these charges initially. Now, whether or not they should have proceeded, I don't think they tried the case very well. Listen, when you make your opening statement and say your witness is going to say one thing and then either you don't produce the witnesses or they say the direct opposite, you've got a problem, and we all know that's what happened.

KING: Craig Smith, you're a former prosecutor. Was this -- do you have questions about the way this was prosecuted?

SMITH: I really don't. And I have to disagree with what my friend Michael Cardoza had to say. Tom Sneddon has not had Michael Jackson in his crosshairs ever since 1993. He did have the rug pulled out from under him with the settlement of that earlier case for the $20 million or so. But he was not pursuing Michael Jackson all these years. This case came to him.

And so once this case came to him, and there was credible evidence to believe there was probable cause that Michael Jackson had done these things, I think Tom felt he had an obligation to follow through. And indeed, many of the things they did to try to check out and corroborate this story -- and what ultimately led to the filing of the conspiracy charge. The fact that there were these surveillance tapes found in the office of Mark Geragos' investigator, when they went out and executed the search warrant. That added strength.

Unfortunately for the prosecution, when they actually got into trial, every time there was a break, it could have been a good break for them or a bad break. It always went a bad break. For instance, they had more evidence before the grand jury on the conspiracy and the furnishing of alcohol than they had in front of the trial jury. Remember, they lost their crucial witness because their crucial witness got arrested and therefore, was unable -- or unavailable to testify at trial.

KING: Let me get a break and we'll come back with more. Don't get away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very uncomfortable with that. A lot of the witnesses looked over at us from time to time, but then they'd look back. But she didn't take her eyes off of us, so that was a very uncomfortable feeling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I disliked it intensely when she snapped her fingers at us. That's when I thought, don't snap your fingers at me, lady.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back on LARRY KING LIVE. That's the fingers of Ted Rowlands holding the latest edition of "The Santa Maria Times." Not guilty on all counts. I understand, Ted, you also have a poll result, right?

ROWLANDS: Yeah, CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll is out already on this. Verdict in the Michael Jackson case: 34 percent of those polled say they agree with it, 48 percent say they disagree. This is an interesting one. Outraged by the verdict in the Jackson trial is the question: Yes, 24 percent; no, 73 percent. Clearly people, maybe not agreeing with the verdict, but by no stretch of the imagination outraged, and then the question you asked everybody, are you surprised by the verdict? Yes, 47 percent; no, 52 percent. The latest.

KING: Surprised, Cynthia?

ROWLANDS: From the polling of CNN and "USA Today."

KING: Are you surprised at that poll? MCFADDEN: I think that's -- I think that's really interesting.

KING: Thirty-four percent support it and 47 don't?

MCFADDEN: Forty-eight percent disagree with the verdict. You know, it's really hard, especially when you're not in the courtroom, Larry. I mean, it's easy to have a 3,000-mile-away opinion. And I think that you know...

KING: Well, you haven't attended the trial is what you're saying.

MCFADDEN: Yeah, we haven't seen it all. I mean, one the virtues of having a camera in the courtroom is that the public actually has a much more informed opinion, because they get to evaluate the witnesses for themselves and not through the filters of those of us (INAUDIBLE).

KING: Jane Mitchell, why do you think more people aren't upset? They may disagree with it, but only 30 percent -- less than 30 percent are upset?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Because they've been hearing about this case from the beginning, and they've been hearing about the problems with this case. The timeline, the conspiracy charge that was so problematical of the cover-up, the conspiracy begins 19 days before the alleged molestation. And people, pundits have been saying what are they covering up before an alleged incident even occurs? And the jurors themselves said during their news conference that the timeline did bother them. There were a lot of things that just didn't make sense and add up about the prosecution's case, and they never fully explained them away. And you can't convict somebody because you have a gut feeling, or something doesn't seem right, when you have a 98- page jury instruction book.

KING: Chicago to Reverend Jesse Jackson, the spiritual adviser to Michael Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow/PUSH coalition. Were you surprised, really?

JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: Well, I had a queasy feeling. Really, I felt the pain, the stress. I hoped for the best, I really expected the worst. In the sense that the jury was never sequestered. And there were really two trials. There was the public media trial, and there was the courtroom trial. And then in the media trial, you had the talk show hosts, whether it was Nancy Grace or O'Reilly and a thousand others saying Michael was guilty over and over again, Court TV, Michael is guilty. And yet in the courtroom, they discern opinions and impressions from fact in evidence. And they were able to make the distinction. And I was delighted that they did, but I was not sure that they could.

KING: Did you talk to Michael?

JESSE JACKSON: This morning. He called me this morning. We did have a talk today. Michael's had the combination a of the extreme excruciating pain in his back, the fall he had in Munich, Germany, complicating that by the stress he's going under, and I suppose with that kind of pain and stress, it takes away your appetite. So he lost a lot of weight. Somebody with his own sense of his own innocence, and he felt confidence in this jury, confidence in Mesereau, and he felt that he would be, in fact, exonerated today, and in the end, that happened.

KING: Did you pray with him on the phone? What was the call about?

JESSE JACKSON: Well, he called because there was concern about the outcome of the trial today. And throughout the thing -- excuse me -- I've said to Michael, that if he declared his innocence, that if you have -- the jury has the faith, you must have the faith and God has the power. That you are a champion. And sometimes -- excuse me -- champions fall down. You get up again. The ground is no place for a champion. I tried to keep his spirits boosted.

KING: Thank you very much, Jesse. Reverend Jesse Jackson, the spiritual adviser to Michael Jackson, from his hometown of Chicago. We'll be back with more of our panel. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Tomorrow night on LARRY KING LIVE, an exclusive prime-time interview with Tom Mesereau. A very happy man tonight, the very successful defense attorney in this case.

What happens to his career, Cynthia?

MCFADDEN: Home run. I mean, nothing could have been more high- profile. Tom Mesereau has a lot to applaud (ph) tonight.

KING: He's through the roof now, right?

MCFADDEN: He is. I mean, he will be getting phone calls from everybody who gets in trouble, certainly.

KING: Cardoza, are you jealous?

CARDOZA: Am I jealous? You know? On a certain level, sure, I would have loved to have tried this case, but kudos to him. He tried a heck of a case. He put it on the line. He did it all. He did it right. He won. That's great. I'm really happy for him. I think he's a great guy.

I talked to him a little bit during the trial because the bailiffs would shoe us off, you know, don't talk, you can't talk. But I think it's great for him, and I'm really happy for him.

And if I might add -- you know why people are mad, Larry? Remember that poll you just talked about? Because there are some people who by that 1108, the past prior sexual misconduct, think that Michael Jackson's a pedophile. And if they have that mind-set, they are going to say, I don't care if he did this one, I would have found him guilty and I would have kept him off the street. I am not letting him at another little boy, and those are the people who say they're outraged. KING: Craig, do you think people, the viewer at home, was thrown by the pundits? That they may have built an opinion based on what the pundits were saying that had nothing to do with what jury was thinking?

SMITH: Well, I don't know that people were really thrown. And I don't know that the pundits were uniformly predicting a verdict of guilty on the molestation charges. I think for every pundit or analyst that you could find that thought it was going well for the prosecution there were at least one or two others who thought that the defense was going to pull it out. So, I don't think people were fooled by whatever the pundits were predicting.

KING: I'm going to take a break, come back and get a final comment from all our panelists on what happens to Michael Jackson now. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all came in with our personal beliefs, and some of those did differ. But we spent a lot of time really seriously studying the evidence and looking at the testimony, and the jury instructions, and obviously came to an agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Before we get some final thoughts from our panel, we're going to meet another juror. Raymond Hultman is joining us from Santa Maria.

Raymond, what did you think of the prosecution and how well -- or didn't -- not well -- they presented this case?

RAYMOND HULTMAN, JACKSON TRIAL JUROR: Larry, I think they presented the case probably as well as they could have under the circumstances. I think where the jury was left with some questions was the fact that there was not enough evidence to directly point to the accuser, and I think that was the most troublesome issue with the whole deliberation thing.

KING: Did you ever, Raymond, come close to guilty on any of the counts yourself?

HULTMAN: Well, to be quite honest, and everyone in the deliberation room was aware of this, I had some real strong feelings toward guilt after I viewed the sheriff's interview with Gavin Arviso, and I don't know if it was because of some naivete on my part, but in any event, it was quite -- it was quite compelling to me. But that's really not completely what this trial was all about, or what deliberation was all about. It had to do with other circumstances that were taking place, and just basically the credibility of the witness.

KING: Did other jurors, say, talk other jurors out of opinions? Did someone say, I think this and another juror would say, well, you ought to think this.

HULTMAN: No, I don't think anybody was really talked out of an opinion. It was more of presenting additional information about the timing of certain events. I mean, it's very conceivable that somebody can appear to be telling the truth and their demeanor would indicate that and everything else. But when you look at past history of the accuser, there's some doubt. There's room for reasonable doubt, and really, that's what it was all about.

KING: And you didn't let -- you didn't let the past record of Michael Jackson affect you with regard to this charge?

HULTMAN: No. It affected me. It affected me, certainly. There were -- there were some jurors that I think would have you believe that this was all about the accuser and all about the Arvisos in this particular case but I tried to make it quite clear that I felt it was very important to consider all of the evidence in the case including the evidence that was presented from 93-94, all of the other circumstances surrounding the actual molestation accusation.

But that evidence could only be used in the case of the 93-94 case to show a possible pattern that Michael Jackson may do this kind of crime, and -- but when it came right down to it, we were looking at 10 counts in this case that dealt with very specific items, and they were all directed at the accuser, the -- Gavin Arviso -- and we had to make a decision on that and it showed that there could be reasonable doubt.

KING: So you will sleep well tonight?

HULTMAN: I will sleep well. I mean, I don't think I lost any of my convictions. I -- I feel that Michael Jackson probably has molested boys. I cannot believe that, after some of the testimony was offered, I can't believe that this man could sleep in the same bedroom for 365 straight days and not do something more than just watch television and eat popcorn. I mean, that doesn't make sense to me, but that doesn't make him guilty of the charges that were presented in this case and that's where we had to make our decision.

KING: Thank you, Raymond. Raymond Hultman, a very honest appraisal. Thank you, Raymond, very much. Extraordinary, huh, Cynthia?

MCFADDEN: Yes, really, these two jurors have been just fascinating. Both of them suggest that they thought there was some truth to the allegations of past molestation, but there wasn't enough in this case. Very interesting.

KING: Yes, isn't it to you, Jane?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, absolutely. I think what that juror just said hits the nail on the head. Michael Jackson obviously still has huge image problems, but America is willing to forgive, as long as the individual in question admits mistakes they did make and is willing to change and grow, and I think that's the real challenge for Jackson: can he change and can he grow and learn from all of this? KING: I apologize to the rest of the panel, but they will be back as we are, as they say in the business, plumb out of time. Ted Rowlands, Brooke Anderson, Jane Velez-Mitchell, Michael Cardoza, Craig Smith, Cynthia McFadden, and all of our other guests.

Don't forget, Tom Mesereau, exclusive prime-time appearance tomorrow night on LARRY KING LIVE. We will include your phone calls for the very successful defense attorney. My whole family was supposed to be on the show tonight but because of this, we taped them earlier and it will air Sunday night on Father's Day night.

Speaking as one father to another, Aaron Brown joins us now to host NEWSNIGHT. Nice seeing you earlier. You were wearing a loose sports shirt before. It looked good.

AARON BROWN, HOST "NEWSNIGHT": I'm wearing the same shirt now. I just put a coat on it, Larry.

KING: Oh, I see. You faked me out.

BROWN: Thank you. Put your glasses on.

KING: Bye.

BROWN: Thank you, sir.

sursa: transcripts.cnn.com

Thomas Mesereau în vizită la "The Tonight Show"

2010-02-14T01:01:00.000-08:00

Emisiunea a avut loc vineri, 17 iunie 2005. Întâlnirea cu Jay Leno poate fi găsită la Prăvălie. Iată transcrierea (sursa: popdirt.com):

Michael Jackson’s defense attorney Tom Mesereau visited ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ on Friday night to discuss the singer’s acquittal on all ten counts in his child molestation trial. Mesereau was critical of CourtTV and DA Tom Sneddon, and reasoned that media spin is to blame for the majority of Americans who felt he was guilty. Asked why Sneddon was out to get the singer, he responded, “You know, I don’t know exactly why he got so interested in Michael Jackson, but. He flew to Australia at one point in the mid-90s, to try and find an alleged victim. And the person said, ‘Take a a hike, get out of here.’ You know? He had a website at the sheriff’s department to try and see if he could find witnesses to build a case. It was like an open casting call on Michael Jackson. And the best they could come up with was this family that we thoroughly discredited from A to Z. From A to Z.” Read on for a rough transcript.

Jay: As you all know, my first guest successfully defended michael jackson in a a three-month trial that attracted worldwide attention to say the least. Please welcome tom mesereau.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Jay: First off, thank you so much for coming. We kind of play different roles in these things. I’m a comedian, and my job obviously is to make light of all of this. And you’re, of course, as a a defense attorney, take it all very seriously. You know, the michael, sort of, we see is obviously different from the one that you knew. Tell us — we all know the one that we know. Tell us about the one you know.

Tom: The michael jackson I know is a very sensitive, honest, down-to-earth, kind-hearted person. Much more simple in his taste than you probably think. Very kind-hearted. Loves people, loves to help people who are in trouble. He’s too nice to too many people, and that’s how he got in the trouble he was in.

Jay: Right. [popdirt.com]

Tom: But he’s one of my favorite human beings. He’s misunderstood. And one of my jobs in the trial was to make sure the jury understood who he was. And I think they did, and that’s why they acquitted him of every count.

Jay: Now you refer to him and you make this point of innocence versus not guilty. Explain.

Tom: Well, he’s innocent of these charges. And michael is the kind of person, when you sit down with him and get to know him and hear his philosophy of life and what he would like to achieve in life, you realize he could never hurt a child, that he never has hurt a child. Now, thousands and thousands of children and their parents have flocked to michael jackson
all over the world. A couple suddenly invented some claims and wanted money. And he made a mistake in the early ’90s of paying them money to get rid of them. And it was really insignificant money, given what he was making. He’s probably grossed over a a billion dollars in his life. And all of his business advisers were saying, “michael, you’ve got bigger fish to fry. Just pay whatever it takes. Get rid of the cases.” Unfortunately, once he did that, others thought they could get an easy payday, you know, as well. And hence, he got in this kind of trouble.

Jay: Do you believe in all your clients? Is that an important part of your defense? Do you personally have to believe or can you defend someone you don’t quite believe but maybe the law has been violated? You know what I’m saying.

Tom: There are two major purposes that I have in my progression. One is to make sure that innocent people like michael jackson are not convicted. And two, to make sure this system works so prosecutors and cops don’t abuse their power. Because if you let them do it, they will routinely do it, and they have throughout american history.

Jay: Now does it bother you that I think only 34% of the public did not believe the verdict. [popdirt.com]

Tom: It does bother me. Because it’s a result of spin from the media and not knowing the evidence. If you really looked at the evidence in the case, they had nothing. They had absolutely nothing. And networks like court tv did their best to spin a a conviction. But you can’t spin a a conviction. You’ve got to have evidence to support it. The evidence wasn’t
there.

Jay: Let me ask you about the jury for a second. Now, I know you were instrumental in picking the jury. And again, I’ve been told this, that michael was quite concerned that there was no african-americans — I mean, literally like, what’s going on here?

Tom: Well, michael’s from a a prominent african-american family. And as you would expect, he was hoping to have some african-american representation on the jury. But I got to tell you, once the jury was picked, I had no problem with this jury. I thought they were a very strong-willed, independent-minded people. Smart. Nobody was going to push them around, and they were going to follow the law and do the right thing. And that’s exactly what they did.

Jay: So how do you pick a a jury? I mean, what do you look for in a case like this? ‘Cause, you know, I have to admit, watching the sidelines, this one’s a parent, three children. This one’s a postal worker possibly or something. Those seem like pretty conservative — this seems like a little out of main stream. I mean, not out of the — you know, not hollywood, kind of wacky, you know.

Tom: I wasn’t worried about conservative people. Santa maria is a conservative community. The communities around santa maria are conservative. What I wanted were people who I thought were strong willed, independent-minded and open to look at the evidence and not be hook-winked or influenced by outside forces, which were trying to basically spin the case in a way that wasn’t realistic. We got some very honorable, courageous people, and they did the right thing. [popdirt.com]

Jay: Did it bother you that some of the jurors came out afterwards and said they think he might have been guilty of something in the past but couldn’t prove it this time?

Tom: Well, they think he might have been. That’s like saying, you know, we suspected but nothing’s ever been proven. Because nothing was proven. The prosecution in an act of desperation tried to say he molested people in the past. They mentioned three young men, all of whom came in, one of whom was macauayulknd1 3 said nothing ever happened to us. We were not molested. They mentioned a fourth person who never showed up, and they mentioned a fifth person who showed up and said, “I ws o f1 tickled improperly, and I wanted money and I took it,” after denying that it had happened. His mother took money, and she also sold the story to a a tabloid.

Jay: It didn’t seem like there were ever any young girls there. I mean, we hear of children going to neverland, but it all seems to be boys.

Tom: False, absolutely false. Women testified that they stayed in his room. And by the way, his room is a a two-story duplex, a huge duplex. That’s what we call his room.

Jay: Right.

Tom: And women stayed there, mothers stayed there, parents stayed there, kids stayed there. And any time a child came up to him and said, “we want to play in your room,” which he has arcade games and that kind of thing, he always said, “I want your parents here right now, and I want their permission.” And the parents were free to stay. And we had parents testify who did stay. So a lot of this was spin by the prosecution because they wanted to y and ont him they had nothing to deal with in the courtroom.

Jay: Is he childlike? I mean, it’s almost hard for me to believe that yo cn s a polished entertainer — I mean, when you spend time with him, it is like spending time with a child?

Tom: He is childlike. And he’s been very vocal when interviewed about why he is childlike. He had no childhood. He was working clubs at 3:00 in the morning when he was a very small child. He said he used to gaze to schoolyards and wonder what it was like to be just a a spontaneous kid. He couldn’t so that. He was disciplined very strictly. And feels as if he never really had a free and spontaneous childhood. And he also — he also is just — he feels as if he’s been let down by adults most of his life. He was child, asked to sign papers. He didn’t know what money was. All his money was spinning all around him. He got taken advantage of, and he has an empathy for children because he thinks children need more attention in the world. He’s helped kids with aids around the planet. He’s helped kids with all sorts of diseases. Ryan white, the young man who had aids and died of it, he took care of him. When a little child in the early ’80s was doused with gasoline by his father in orange county, michael paid his bills. He’s paid bills for injured children all around the world. A lot of this, the prosecution tried to bury, because they wanted to make him look like a a monster. And they failed.

Jay: When that documentary came out, and michael said about sharing your bed and that type of thing, wt should the prosecution have done? I mean, when people say — let’s say I live in a a neighborhood and I know there’s a 45-year-old man over there. I see young boys going in and out, other children going in and out. And I hear rumors of alcohol, rumors of pornography, locks on the doors, should they not have investigated?

Tom: Well, first of all, what he said in the documentary was, “I gave this child my bed, and I slept on the floor. And I’ve never done anything sexual with a child.” That’s in the documentary. There’s also some outtakes there were not included in the documentary where he even expanded on that. He said, “I would slit my wrists before I would a hurt a a child.” Okay, so the prosecution tried to spin this so that you didn’t know that’s in the documentary. The second thing is, yes, if you think there is a valid claim of child molestation, you should investigate. And they did. 70 officers raided neverland. They couldn’t find any forensic evidence to support the claims. No dna, no hair, no fiber, no fluids, nothing.

Jay: Is that uncommon? I mean — well, I’ll tell you what. We’ll take a break. And we’ll follow up in this line. Permission to treat him as a a hostile witness. Be right back. Tom mesereau, ladies and gentlemen.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Tom: Wild men on motorcycles, running you off the road, doing dangerous stunts on the open highway, and selling the videos for profit. Blowing by roadblocks, leaving cops in the dust. Why can’t they stop the

[ Cheers and applause ]

Jay: Welcome back. Talking with tom mesereau, the lead defense attorney in the michael jackson trial. It is fascinating to hear your side of it. We were just talking about dna evidence. And you mentioned, when they went to the neverland ranch, they found not a trace of dna evidence. No fluids, no hair.

Tom: No trace of it.

Jay: Is that — I mean, people who are pedophiles –is that common? That they would, sort of, be very careful or no, you don’t think?

Tom: Well, I don’t know what the answer to that is. But, certainly, they do find, in this day and age, dna. It’s an easy thing to find. And it lasts for, you know, hundreds of years. So, it’s significant. They couldn’t find any forensic evidence whatsoever, to prove this crime, okay. Because the crime didn’t happen.

Jay: Let me ask you about the jury. I was sort of stunned to hear that the jury was not sequestered. Because this is all anybody has talked about. And if I’m on that jury and I walk in to mcdonald’s or anywhere. Someone is gonna go, “hey.” You’re gonna hear something. It’s on every tv. It’s on every radio, you hear jokes, you hear information that maybe they shouldn’t be privy to. Weren’t you worried about it?

Tom: I really wasn’T. The judge was a very, very good judge. He had the full respect of the jury, I could tell. And he told them very clearly, “you cannot listen to any media. You cannot expose yourself to any outside influence. You must follow the law and look at the evidence in the courtroom.” And, in my opinion, sequestered juries tend to be uncomfortable juries. You know, they’re confined. They have limitations. People are watching them. Generally, I don’t like it. And I really had a feeling they’d be fair and they were.

Jay: Yeah. The media circus, were you surprised at the extent of people hiding in the bushes, seeing whether you put two sugars in your coffee?

Tom: No, I wasn’t surprised. I expected that. I mean, this had real international interest. You know, michael is a a megastar. He is popular all over the world. And we had support all over the world for our side. So, I’m not surprised.

Jay: Now, they’re not aloud to watch the pundits, but you, when you go home, would you turn it on and see what some of the experts were saying?

Tom: Once in a while. I was working very hard. Normally, I read three newspapers a day. I wasn’t reading any except on the weekend. So, once in a while, for a a break I would. And, generally, I was pretty unimpressed.

Jay: Yeah. Were they accurate?

Tom: Generally, no.

Jay: Agenda? Did they have an agenda?

Tom: Oh, take court tv, for example. I’d always been a fan of court tv. I’d always respected court tv, particularly when steve brill was running it. In this particular case, in my opinion, they became a tabloid. They had their own agenda. They misstated the facts. They didn’t understand the significance of what was going on in the courtroom, and that’s why their major critics were stunned by the verdict. And why, now, they’re trying to say, “there’s something wrong with the jury. They’re something wrong with the system.” They were humiliated because they never really understood what was going on in the courtroom. [popdirt.com]

Jay: Now, the district attorney, sneddon, is he a fair guy?

Tom: In my opinion, no. In this particular case, he had a personal vendetta against michael jackson. He wasn’t objective. He saw things that didn’t exist. When you’re not objective, when you are too personally involved, you can really mischaracterize your case. And he mischaracterized his case from day one.

Jay: I mean, was he — because of the events from 10 years ago?

Tom: You know, I don’t know exactly why he got so interested in michael jackson, but. He flew to australia at one point in the mid-90s, to try and find an alleged victim. And the person said, “take a a hike, get out of here.” You know? He had a website at the sheriff’s department to try and see if he could find witnesses to build a case. It was like an open casting call on michael jackson. And the best they could come up with was this family that we thoroughly discredited from a to Z. From a to Z.

Jay: Now, have you talked to michael since the verdict?

Tom: Oh, sure.

Jay: And how’s he doing?

Tom: He is very drained, physically and emotionally. He was dehydrated. He had trouble eating and sleeping. He’s gonna have to spend time recovering.

Jay: Let me ask you a a question. And this is something I saw people speculate on. Every time it seemed like the trial was going one way or the other, he would go to the hospital. And — I don’t mean this to be flippin’, but — there’s the umbrella guy, and there’s the magician, why isn’t there a doctor with him all the time? Why would he have to get up?

[ Light laughter ] No, I am not being a wise guy. I mean, it seems like in the middle of the night, he would be taken to the hospital. I mean, it seems like he could have a staff of physicians there, sort of, around-the-clock.

Tom: I’ve never asked him that question. He hasad personal physicians, certainly, in the past. He didn’t intend to make these trips to the hospital. He had legitimate physical problems.

Jay: Okay.

Tom: I mean, he has a very serious back problem. And he had serious – he really had emotional problems. He had trouble eating and sleeping. Michael was not emotionally built for this kind of a a process. Month after month of sitting in a courtroom, listening to all this nonsense thrown at you. Knowing your life and your freedom are on the line. It was a very hard process for him, emotionally.

Jay: Now, I know a lot of people are critical of you. But I know you do an awful lot terrific within different communities. Is that why you took this?

Tom: [missing text] A long time. He’s a good friend of mine. He asked me if I would talk to michael about his case. And I flew to florida and met michael. I talked to him extensively about it. And I just — very quickly – and I am a very intuitive person. I said, “this cannot be the monster they’re portraying. What is this?” Because what they were saying was that this kid had cancer, and that he intentionally applied him with alcohol so he could molest him. And you get to know michael, and you say, “this is absurd.” They were also saying he masterminded a conspiracy to abduct a family to brazil. Michael jackson wouldn’t even know how to conceive of such a a thing. Michael jackson is an artist. He is a creative spirit.
He likes to sit in a tree and compose music. You know, and he freely says that.

Jay: That’s where my part comes in. Sitting in the tree. I have to do the sitting in the tree joke.

Tom: Well, he was climbing trees. He says, “other people like football and baseball. I like climbing trees.” He freely admits that.

Jay: Well, tom, I appreciate oming here and telling us your side of the story. Thank you very much.

sursa: popdirt.com

Expo MJ - Londra, octombrie 2009

2010-02-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

Whoopi Goldberg, John Landis, Miko Brando, Quincy Jones, John Legend - vorbind despre Michael Jackson

2010-01-18T21:39:00.000-08:00

John Legend vorbea despre Michael Jackson în iunie 2007 într-un interviu acordat lui Tommy Theunisz:

Şi un bonus...:

Frank Dileo talks about Michael and the TII tour

2010-01-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

Frank Dileo talks about Michael and the TII tour

Last Updated on Thursday, 30 July 2009 11:20 Thursday, 30 July 2009 11:04
FRANKLY SPEAKING An exclusive HITS interview with Frank DiLeo

Industry vet Frank DiLeo, who was the manager of Michael Jackson from 1984 through 1989, returned to the fold to help guide the superstar through his “This Is It” concerts and presumably beyond, but it was not to be. Here, the industry veteran shares his thoughts with HITS’ own ambulance-chasing Roy Trakin.

Q. This is like Godfather III… Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in. How did you get involved with Michael again?
Michael first called me a couple of years ago, after he came back from Bahrain, then was in Ireland and Vegas for a while. We chitchatted, he called again and we started communicating about film projects. There were a couple of scripts we wanted to develop and produce. Then he got involved in this concert deal.

He called me in March and said, “Frank, I need someone with a little bit of experience. Would you like to manage me again and take care of all this stuff?” And I said, “Yeah, sure.” By the time I came in, everything was signed. Dr. Thome Thome—who is someone I don’t want to talk about in this interview—had miscalculated the scheduling on the dates, which is something I had to take care of, because Michael didn’t want to perform more than twice a week.

Q. Was Michael aware that he was signing for up to 50 individual shows?
Absolutely. I read the contract. I know what the minimum amount of dates were, as well as the maximum number of dates. That contract was read to Michael by three different lawyers, as well as Dr. Thome. He wanted to beat Prince’s record and be in the Guinness Book of World Records. He was the one who picked the number 50. There were enough ticket sales to do 85 shows, but he was zeroed in on 50. That’s what he wanted and that’s what happened. Dr. Thome had him doing three or four shows a week, though. I was adjusting and moving dates to try to make it more palatable for Michael to do.

Q. What had you been doing since managing Michael the first time?
I was in New York with a management company in the ’90s. I retired for a while and spent some time with my son and daughter, seeing them through college. My kids didn’t get a lot of time with me growing up because I was on tour so much, so I felt I owed them that. And that lasted seven years. I did a lot of consulting work. I owned a piece of Tribeca Grill with Robert DeNiro, which did very well.

In 2004 I lost my eyesight, and it’s taken six operations to enable me to see. I still have limited vision. It was a diabetic condition that separated the retina. I lost complete sight in one eye and 80% in the other eye. It took two years for them to figure that out. There’s a lot of scar tissue still, and I don’t see well in light. I have to wear dark glasses all the time. I have to move my head to see certain letters because I have a permanent “V” in my vision.

Q. You sat in on most of the rehearsals.
Every single one. He was in good condition. He was working out with Lou Ferrigno. He was dancing over three hours every day after his workout. He was prepared. A lot of times he would watch and direct. These are songs he’s sung his whole life. He didn’t have to go full out every day. The last couple of weeks, he stepped it up.

On the night before he died, when he came down after doing 10 or 11 songs, Kenny Ortega was at the bottom of the stairs, we all hugged and Michael put his arm around us and we around him, to walk him to his dressing room. And he said, “Frank, I’m ready. I’m doing all 50 shows. Don’t even think that I’m not.”

We talked about possibly doing stadiums after the 50. He said, “Frank, I’ve never been happier. Since you’ve been back, things are going well. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We did it once. This is our time to do it again.” And that was the last time I saw him alive.

Q. People were saying Michael was down to 110 pounds and wasn’t in good physical shape.
No, that’s all bullish. He was not down to 110 pounds. He was around 140. At his maximum, he was maybe 155.

Q. You’re telling me this is a very confident guy, ready to take on this challenge.
He knew he was 50 and that the other dancers were young. He built his stamina up to the point where he knew he could do it. Michael’s a competitive guy.

I don’t care whether you’re five years old or 40, you’re not going to out-dance Michael Jackson. He’s gonna put it to you sooner or later. And he worked himself up to that.

Q. How did you originally hear about Michael falling ill?
A fan called and said there was an ambulance in front of Michael’s house. I had just sat down to lunch. I called Michael’s assistant and asked what was going on, and I was told there was something wrong and he was on his way over there. So I got in my car and drove over. When I got to the gate, they told me everyone had already left. I turned around and went to UCLA Medical Center, and while I was in the car, Katherine called and I told her she should meet us at the hospital.

So we went in the back, and they were working on him in the room. So I thought he was going to be OK. Then the nurse came out, she looked at me and I looked at her… I almost fainted. The look told me it was over, but they would keep working on him until his mother arrived.

Meanwhile, the kids were all there, in another room. I had to go in with a doctor and a social worker to tell them what happened. And those are two things I never, ever want to do again. Excuse me a minute, I might cry here. Let me get a sip of water.

Q. What was the children’s reaction?
Exactly what you think it would be: [they] ran up to me, grabbed me, crying and screaming. Finally, Jermaine and LaToya showed up, then Randy… And a social worker started talking to all of them. Meanwhile, I was dealing with the press, trying to keep everybody out, and set up some security.

At that point, they said the kids wanted to see their dad. So they moved Michael into a room and covered him. I went in first, got a chance to hug him, kiss him and say goodbye, and 20 minutes later, the kids and the rest of the family got to do the same thing.

Everybody forgets. Michael wasn’t just a client to me; he was my friend. I always managed him from that basis. We were friends in the ’80s, and we were friends after he fired me. We were always friends.

Q. Were you aware that Michael had a prescription drug problem?
I didn’t know. I realize it’s come out that he did go to rehab. I asked him in March about it, and he got very indignant. He said, “Frank, do you think I would do something that would jeopardize my kids and leave them alone? Don’t be ridiculous.”

So what do you say? Do addicts ever admit they’re doing drugs? No. So, I got to take the man’s word. He’s 50 years old. How far could I push him? I never heard of the stuff he supposedly took [propofol]. When I heard about that on TV, I couldn’t believe it.

Q. Do you have any opinion about the two doctors under investigation, Dr. Arnold Klein and Dr. Conrad Murray?
Michael’s gone to Dr. Klein for years. I don’t know how Michael met Dr. Murray. Michael brought him up to me when he mentioned that part of his contract required AEG to hire him a doctor to be with him in London, and he specified he wanted Dr. Murray, claiming he was his family doctor. The original price he asked for was outrageous. I told Michael I could buy him a whole hospital for that kind of money.

Q. The press reports said AEG was paying him $150k a month.
That’s what I OK’d. What he originally asked for was astronomical. AEG did not hire the doctor. That was Michael’s doctor for months. AEG just advanced him the payment, which was part of the budget.

I had one meeting with him, making sure Michael had the right vitamins, what kind of smoothies to make, should it be G2 or Gatorade after the show? He told us he was a cardiologist, and I said, “Michael, this is perfect. Because I’ve already had three heart attacks and I have seven stents in my heart. If I drop over in London, this guy’s right there.”

Q. Dr. Murray was the last man to see Michael Jackson alive.
He was, yes. Nobody knows what happened in that room. We have to wait for the toxicology and the autopsy. I do know the preliminary autopsy said Michael’s organs were in good shape, his liver was good, his heart was strong. They said he did not have a heart attack. It had to be some sort of allergic reaction or something that didn’t blend right. There was some sort of reaction.

Q. Where does that leave you at this point?
There are a few things that have to get cleared up. I have to make sure the estate understands some of the things that I know. I’ve been appointed to the board of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. So I have a role to play there.

Michael wrote the letter getting me appointed. After they removed Dr. Thome, they added myself and Joel Katz.

Q. Does it sadden you to see how the family’s inner disagreements are now being aired in public?
It’s sad to the point that there’s a lot of misinformation. The family didn’t know what was going on. They didn’t see Michael every day like I did. He was the closest to his mother and his kids. But I gave him that personal space to be with his family.

Some of them are talking about things I don’t think they have the knowledge to talk about. That’s just emotion. They have to face the facts and make some decisions.

Q. What was Michael’s relationship like with his father?
Joe was his father, and that’s what Michael wanted. He didn’t want to know about any business. He just wanted him to be his father. He wanted to be loved as a son, not a commodity.

Q. Did he ever get that?
I don’t know. Watch the Larry King interview with Joe Jackson and you make that determination. It was a train wreck.

Q. You must still be in a state of shock.
Michael created one of the greatest shows ever, a $27 million production. I went through it with him every day. It’s sad that people will never get to see that. But the key thing here is that I lost my friend. That’s what matters to me. All this other stuff is what it is.

Q. Where is your nickname “Tookie” come from?
That’s derived from the name “Tookie.” The chief of police in Pittsburgh came to see my dad when I was born and called me that. Then it became “Tukkie” when I met my wife. Everybody I know from childhood calls me “Tookie.”

For everybody after I met my wife, it’s “Tukkie.” We’ve been married for 32 years. I’m the only guy in the record business who’s never had to go to rehab or get a divorce.

Streetwalker

2010-01-15T07:10:00.000-08:00

(Why don't you give me some time)
(Won't you give me some time)

Pretty baby
Kisses for your loving
I really get it when you're
Next to me yeah yeah
I'm so excited how you
Give me all your loving
I got it coming and it's ecstacy

Streetwalking baby

Cause everyday I watch you
Paint the town so pretty
I see you coming in and off
On my thought yeah yeah
You don't believe me then
You can ask my brother
Cause everyday at six
Home alone

Because
Baby I love you
Baby I love you
Baby I want you
Baby come love me
Baby I need you
You're so satisfying

I hear you walking
Cause your body's talking to me
I chase you every step of the way yeah yeah
An invitation to some
Faraway hot island
If I can show you baby
Home with me

You see I never met a girl
Just like you
Come so easy
Don't you break my heart
Cause I love you

You see I never met a girl
Just like you
Come so easy
Don't you break my heart
Cause I love you

Streetwalking baby

(Why don't you give me some time)
(Won't you give me some time)
(Why don't you give me some time)
(Won't you give me some time)

I have to tell you
That you give me strong hot fever
My every thought is you
And that's a fact yeah yeah
I'd like to take you places
How about New York City
Or Paris, France
What do you think of that

Because
Baby I love you
Baby I love you
Baby I want you
Baby come love me
Baby I need you

You see I never met a girl
Just like you
Come so easy
Don't you break my heart
Cause I love you

You see I never met a girl
Just like you
Come so easy
Don't you break my heart
Cause I love you

Streetwalking baby
I got it coming baby

Baby I love you
Baby I love you
Baby I want you
Baby come love me
Love me baby
Got to have some loving
Got to make you mine
Got to give some loving
Gonna give you loving
Make you mine
Got to get your love
Got to give some love
Got to make somebody
I told you
I told you

You see I never met a girl
Just like you
Come so easy
Don't you break my heart
Cause I love you

Streetwalking baby
_______________
www.sing365.com