Subsequently, Jackson's Neverland Ranch was searched by police. Other children and family members had stated that Jackson was not a pedophile; Jackson's older sister, La Toya Jackson, accused her brother of being a pedophile, but later retracted her statement saying her abusive husband of the time, Jack Gordon , forced her into making such comments. Jackson became dependent on drugs as the stress of the allegations mounted, and canceled the remainder of his Dangerous World Tour. He went into rehabilitation overseas, and began a relationship with Lisa Marie Presley. On his return to the United States, Jackson agreed to a 25-minute strip search, which was required to see if the description of his genitals provided by Jordan Chandler was accurate. Doctors concluded that there was not a definitive match. Jackson proclaimed his innocence, and criticized the media coverage. Jackson's friends and legal advisers took over his defense and finances, persuading him to settle the allegations out of court.
Tabloid reaction to the allegations was negative towards Jackson; they were accused of bias, accepting stories of criminal activity for money, and engaging in illegal activities themselves. Public polls at the time reported that a large majority of people believed Jackson was innocent. On January 1, 1994, Jackson insurance company settled a civil suit out of court with the Chandler family and its legal team for $22 million against Jackson and his lawyers' wishes.After Jordan Chandler refused to testify in the criminal proceedings, the state closed its criminal investigation citing lack of evidence, and Jackson was not charged with a crime. Jackson's support amongst the public began to waver, and his public image was tarnished to a degree. Prosecution evidence from the 1993 allegations would also be used against the entertainer in the 2005 People v. Jackson child sexual abuse trial, where he was acquitted on all counts.
Friendship, tape recording, allegations and negotiations
By the summer of 1993, it was revealed that Jackson allowed children to sleep over at his Neverland ranch a fact which came under much media scrutiny when child sexual abuse allegations were brought against him. Jackson became firm friends with Jordan Chandler and his family after a meeting in May 1992, as he was a fan of Jackson. Their friendship became so close that the National Enquirer ran a featured story with the title "Michael's New Adopted Family", which implied that Jackson had "stolen" the boy from his estranged father, Evan Chandler, who was admittedly jealous over Jackson's influence on his son. Communications between Jackson and the father broke down further when Chandler asked, "Look, are you having sex with my son?" After Jackson denied doing so, Evan Chandler's opinion of Jackson then changed, to the extent that he invited Jackson to build an extra wing on their home so that the singer could move in with them permanently. However, Chandler's concerns about the close friendship soon returned, and he tried to prevent Jackson from seeing his son, using a prior custody agreement.
On July 2, 1993, in a private telephone conversation, Chandler was tape-recorded as saying,
There was no reason why he [Jackson] had to stop calling me...I picked the nastiest son of a bitch I could find [Evan Chandler's lawyer, Barry Rothman], all he wants to do is get this out in the public as fast as he can, as big as he can and humiliate as many people as he can. He's nasty, he's mean, he's smart and he's hungry for publicity. Everything's going to a certain plan that isn't just mine. Once I make that phone call, this guy is going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty, cruel way that he can do it. I've given him full authority to do that. Jackson is an evil guy, he is worse than that and I have the evidence to prove it. If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever...Michael's career will be over.
—Evan Chandler
In the same conversation, when asked how this would affect his son, Chandler replied, "That's irrelevant to me...It will be a massacre if I don't get what I want. It's going to be bigger than all us put together...This man [Jackson] is going to be humiliated beyond belief...He will not sell one more record". The recorded conversation was a critical aspect of Jackson's defense against the upcoming allegation made against him. He and his supporters argue that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort money from the singer.
In early August, Chandler, a registered dentist, extracted a tooth from his son's mouth, and was later forced to admit that he used the controversial sedative sodium Amytal during the procedure. Under the influence of the drug, Jordan alleged that Jackson had touched his penis. Experts state that the drug sodium Amytal "makes patients extremely susceptible to suggestions". Dr Lewis Strong, a Los Angeles psychiatrist stated, "You can't trust it, I never use it in my practice. I have found it to be unreliable. It's certainly not a truth serum".Dr Kenneth Gottlieb, a San Francisco psychiatrist who has used the drug, stated, "I would never want to use a drug that tampers with a person's unconscious unless there was no other drug available, and I would not use it without resuscitation equipment in case of allergic reaction".
Over the next couple of months both parties engaged in unsuccessful (out of court) financial negotiations, with Chandler and his legal team asking for $20 million, or the issue would be taken to criminal court. Jackson declined the offer, saying, "No way in Hell". A few weeks later, Jackson's legal team gave a counter-offer to the value of $1 million, which was declined by Chandler.The father then lowered his request to $15 million; Jackson rejected this and lowered his original counter-offer to $350,000. With both sides unable to reach an agreement, Chandler decided he would take it to court. Chandler then took his son to see a psychiatrist called Dr. Mathis Abrams, and during the three-hour session with the doctor, Jordan Chandler said he had had a sexual relationship with Jackson that included incidents of kissing, masturbation and oral sex that went on for months. He then repeated these allegations to police and gave a detailed description of what he alleged was Jackson's penis.
Allegations made public, investigation and La Toya Jackson
On August 18, the Los Angeles Police Department's Sexually Exploited Child Unit began a criminal investigation into Jackson. The same day, Jordan Chandler's mother told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested her son. On August 21, a search warrant was issued, allowing police to search Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Police questioned 30 children who were friends of Jackson, with all denying that the singer was a child molester. A police officer involved in the investigation told The Los Angeles Times that no evidence (medical, photographic or video) could be found that would support a criminal filing. The same day the allegations were made public, Jackson began the second leg of his Dangerous World Tour in Bangkok. On August 24, Jackson's investigator held a press conference accusing Chandler of trying to extort $20 million from the singer, although the investigator failed to mention that Jackson had given several counter-offers. On August 25, Jackson's young friends Brett Barnes and Wade Robson held a press conference where they stated that they had slept in the same bed as Jackson, but nothing sexual in nature had occurred. Jackson's family soon held a press conference of their own to show support, saying it was their "unequivocal belief" that Michael has been made a victim of a cruel and obvious attempt to take advantage of his fame and wealth." The police then began an investigation into Evan Chandler's prior actions and found that he was $68,400 behind in his child support payments, even though he was well-paid as a dentist. On November 8, police searched the Jackson family home, Hayvenhurst, but found nothing of importance to add to their investigation.
In the winter of 1993, despite not seeing or speaking to Jackson for a number of years, La Toya Jackson claimed that her brother was a pedophile and that she had proof, which she was prepared to disclose for a fee of $500,000. A bidding war between US and UK tabloids began, but fell through when they realized that her revelations were not what she had claimed them to be. Then in Israel, she stated, "I cannot and will not be a silent collaborator in his crimes against young children... Forget about the superstar, forget about the icon. If he was any other 35-year-old man who was sleeping with little boys, you wouldn't like this guy".She also claimed that checks had been made out to several boys and that Jackson's own physical abuse as a child had turned him into an abuser. She would later claim that Jackson had tried to kidnap and kill her. The rest of the family disowned her, and in subsequent years she would insist that she was forced to make the allegations by her then husband for financial gain. Just prior to making the allegations, her husband was arrested for striking her in the face, arms and legs with a chair. By the turn of the millennium Jackson had forgiven his sister.
Lisa Marie Presley, health concerns, rehabilitation and Elizabeth Taylor
Jackson first met Lisa Marie Presley (the daughter of Elvis Presley) in 1974, during one of Jackson's family engagements at the MGM Grand.In 1993, Jackson was reconnected with Presley through a mutual friend, staying in contact every day by telephone. As the child sexual abuse accusations became public, Jackson became dependent on Lisa Marie for emotional support; she was concerned about his faltering health and his addiction to drugs. Lisa Marie explained, "I believed he didn't do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it."In one phone call he made to her, she described him as high, incoherent and delusional. Jackson proposed to Lisa Marie over the telephone towards the fall of 1993, saying, "If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?". The marriage was, in her words, "a married couple's life ... that was sexually active". They divorced less than two years later, remaining friendly. The entertainer began taking painkillers, Valium, Xanax and Ativan to deal with the stress of the allegations made against him. A few months after the allegations became news, Jackson had lost approximately 10 pounds in weight and had stopped eating. In a court deposition unrelated to alleged child abuse, Jackson was visibly drowsy, lacked concentration and repeatedly slurred while speaking. He could not remember the dates of his prior album releases or names of people he had worked with and took several minutes to name some of his recent albums. Jackson's health had deteriorated to the extent that he canceled the remainder of his tour and flew with Elizabeth Taylor and her husband to London. When the singer arrived at the airport, he had to be held up; he was then rushed to the home of Elton John's manager and afterwards to a clinic, but when he was searched for drugs on entry, 18 vials of medicine were found in a suitcase. Jackson booked the whole fourth floor of the clinic, and was put on Valium IV to wean him from painkillers. The singer's spokesperson told reporters that Jackson was "barely able to function adequately on an intellectual level".While in the clinic, Jackson took part in group and one-on-one therapy sections.
Strip search
Michael Jackson in 1988, two years after he was diagnosed with vitiligo, pictured in the early stages of the disease
In December 1993, Jackson was served with a warrant for a strip search of his body, as police wanted to verify Jordan Chandler's description of Jackson's genitals, and details of patches of vitiligo, an illness Jackson was diagnosed with in the mid 1980s,[5][27] on his body. The order stated that officers were to examine, photograph and videotape Jackson's entire body, "including his penis, anus, hips, buttocks and any other part of his body".[5][27][28] The warrant stated that refusal to comply would be used in court as a possible indication of guilt. The strip search took place on December 20 at the entertainer's ranch. Those present for the prosecution were District Attorney Tom Sneddon, a detective, a photographer and a doctor. Those present on behalf of Jackson were his two attorneys, a physician, a detective, a bodyguard and a photographer. The attorneys and Sneddon agreed to leave the room when the examination took place, and Jackson demanded that the prosecution detective should also leave, which he subsequently did. In an emotional state, Jackson stood on a platform in the middle of the room, took off all his clothes and was examined for approximately 25 minutes, although he was never physically touched. The search report concluded that there were some similarities between Chandler's description and Jackson's body, but they were not a definite match. Included in the inconsistencies was an inaccurate claim of circumcision.Jackson's autopsy report confirms that he was uncircumcised and shows no signs of foreskin restoration.
Jackson's response
On December 22, Jackson responded to the allegations and everything that had occurred for the first time via satellite from his ranch:
As you may already know, after my tour ended I remained out of the country undergoing treatment for a dependency on pain medication...There have been many disgusting statements made recently concerning allegations of improper conduct on my part. These statements about me are totally false...I will say I am particularly upset by the handling of the mass—matter by the incredible, terrible mass media. At every opportunity, the media has dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions. I ask all of you to wait and hear the truth before you label or condemn me. Don't treat me like a criminal, because I am innocent. I have been forced to submit to a dehumanizing and humiliating examination...It was the most humiliating ordeal of my life...But if this is what I have to endure to prove my innocence, my complete innocence, so be it.
—Michael Jackson
A poll at the time, conducted by A Current Affair, found that nearly 75 percent of people believed Jackson was telling the truth in his response.[30] While Jackson sought medical help for his faltering health, his legal team and friends, such as Presley and Taylor, took control of his defense and finances. Much of Jackson's legal team would meet three times a week at Taylor's home to discuss the case. Taylor then called in more legal professionals on Jackson's behalf. Eventually Presley, Taylor, and Jackson's team all agreed that the singer should settle out of court; it was their opinion that the entertainer's health had deteriorated to such a degree that he could not endure a lengthy trial.
Media reaction and civil suit settlement
Complaints about the coverage and media included using sensational headlines to draw in readers and viewers when the content itself did not support the headline, accepting stories of Jackson's alleged criminal activity in return for money, accepting confidential leaked material from the police investigation in return for money paid, deliberately using pictures of Jackson's appearance at its worst, a lack of objectivity and using headlines that strongly implied Jackson's guilt.
The New York Post ran the headline "Peter Pan or Pervert", despite minimal information being disclosed by the police. Just two weeks after the allegations were reported, the headline, "Michael Jackson: A Curtain Closes" reflected the attitude of most tabloid-orientated media. In a piece for Hard Copy, Diane Dimond—a journalist who would spend the next 15 years trying to prove Jackson was a pedophile—ran a story stating, "And one more shocker, Hard Copy has obtained new documents in the criminal investigation of Michael Jackson, and they are chilling; they contain the name of child movie actor Macaulay Culkin". The document itself stated that Culkin strongly denied being harmed by Jackson.
Two tabloid television shows accepted confidential leaked documents from the Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services for $20,000.[9] A number of Jackson's former employees—most of whom had worked at his ranch—sold stories to the tabloids of alleged prior sexual misconduct on Jackson's part, instead of reporting their claims to police. One couple initially asked for $100,000 claiming that Jackson sexually caressed Macaulay Culkin. They were prepared to expand upon this allegation for a fee of $500,000, whereby they would allege that Jackson put his hands down Culkin's pants. When the story broke, Culkin strongly denied the allegation, and did so again in court during the 2003 trial of Michael Jackson.A former security guard made various allegations about Jackson, saying he was fired because he "knew too much",[33] and alleged that he was ordered by Jackson to destroy a photo of a naked boy. Instead of reporting this to police, Hard Copy accepted the story in return for $150,000. Afterwards, Jackson's maid, Branca Francia, alleged that she "quit in disgust" after seeing Jackson in a shower with a child, but did not inform the police. It later emerged that Francia was actually fired in 1991, but nevertheless sold her story to Hard Copy for $20,000.
When Jackson left the US to go into drug rehabilitation, the media showed the singer little sympathy. The Daily Mirror (UK) held a "Spot the Jacko" contest, offering readers a trip to Disney World if they could correctly predict where the entertainer would appear next. A Daily Express headline read, "Drug Treatment Star Faces Life on the Run", while a News of the World headline accused Jackson of being a fugitive. These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have cosmetic surgery that would make him unrecognizable on his return.Geraldo Rivera set up a mock trial, with a jury made up of audience members, even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime.
[edit]Public reaction prior to civil suit settlement
Despite the negative attitude of the media, the public still supported Jackson. A phone-in poll conducted by A Current Affair—known for its unfavorable coverage of the allegations—found that more than 80 percent of callers did not believe the Chandlers.A poll of teenagers—Jackson's central fan base at the time—also reported that 75 percent did not believe the allegations; this rose to nearly 90 percent amongst African-American teenagers. Two-thirds of children between the ages of 13 to 15—the approximate age of Jordan Chandler at the time—believed he was innocent.A poll conducted by Entertainment Weekly showed that only 12 percent of adults believed the allegations, and only eight percent of respondents indicated that they were less likely to buy a product endorsed by the entertainer. The same poll also concluded that public opinion of Jackson had risen since the allegations, with Jackson's past records selling at a faster rate.
Out-of-court settlement of the civil suit
By January 1, 1994, $2 million had been spent by prosecution departments in California, two grand juries had questioned two hundred witnesses, but Jordan's allegations could not be corroborated. A few weeks later, Chandler's attorney, Larry Feldman, petitioned the court that he should be allowed access to Jackson's finances over concerns that the singer's wealth would give him an unfair advantage in court. One adviser to Jackson stated, "You can take pictures of Michael's dick and he's not gonna like it, but once you start trying to figure out how much money he has, that's where he stops playing around." On January 1, Jackson's insurance company settled with the Chandlers out of court for $22 million. After that, Jordan refused to testify in a criminal trial, neither the police nor the grand jury pressed criminal charges, citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, and Jackson was not charged with a crime. Both parties signed a legal agreement declaring they would not speak about the case details. When asked why he paid off his accuser, Jackson answered, "I wanted to go on with my life. Too many people had already been hurt. I want to make records. I want to sing. I want to perform again...It's my talent. My hard work. My life. My decision." He also wanted to avoid a "media circus".
Aftermath
Three years later Jordan Chandler's alleged account of the relationship was detailed in a book by journalist Victor M Gutierrez. The book was said to be based on a diary the boy had kept at the time and included details of alleged sexual encounters between Jackson and himself.[14] In 1995, Jackson filed a civil suit against Guitierrez for slander, the jury found in the singer's favor awarding the singer $2.7m in damages.
In 1996, Evan Chandler sued Jackson for around $60 million, claiming Jackson had breached an agreement never to discuss the case. In 1999, a court ruled in Jackson's favor and threw out the lawsuit.
Today, Jordan Chandler is in his late twenties living in a $2.35 million home in Long Island under an assumed name. He and his family also own a high-rise apartment in Manhattan and a condominium in Santa Barbara. June Chandler's second marriage ended sometime afterward. Jordan Chandler and Jackson never spoke to each other again; he received his last installment from Jackson in June 1999.
In 2006, Jordan accused Evan of attacking him with a barbell, choking him and spraying his face with Mace. The charges were later dropped. Several months after Jackson's death, Evan Chandler was found dead following an apparent suicide on November 5, 2009. On November 25, 2009, Jermaine Jackson claimed the 29 year old Jordan Chandler came forward since Jackson's death, admitting the late superstar never molested him.
Effect on Jackson's career
Jackson's commercial appeal and public image declined in the wake of the case and while further controversies damaged his image further, Jackson's sales remained relatively strong, if not quite the blockbuster numbers of Thriller, Bad and Dangerous.
The album he had released prior to the allegations was Dangerous in 1991, which sold in excess of 30 million copies sold worldwide, including 7 million units in the US. The album stands as one of the world's best-selling records.The album's appeal meant that singles were still being released through 1993 (at the time of the allegations) and Jackson was still traveling the world on his Dangerous World Tour. The last charting single from Dangerous was the ballad "Gone Too Soon", released in December 1993 and dedicated to the memory of Jackson's friend Ryan White, a teenager from Kokomo, Indiana who came to national attention, after being expelled from his school for having HIV/AIDS. A rumored tenth single release of the title track "Dangerous" was canceled. The government of Dubai barred Jackson from performing in response to an anonymous pamphlet campaign that attacked him as immoral. After performing 24 shows of the second leg of the Dangerous Tour, Jackson canceled the remainder of the tour to seek treatment for his pain medication addictions.
PepsiCo stopped all promotional activities with Jackson, ending their ten-year partnership. Jackson's fans boycotted the company, and its stock value fell 20 percent the following year.Jackson had contracted to create a new horror-themed song and video that would be cross-promoted with the film Addams Family Values. He was unable to finish shooting the video, and his song was dropped from the soundtrack. A brand of his and hers fragrances were canceled because of Jackson's drug problems at the time. A spokesman for the marketing group behind the fragrance deal called it "somewhat of a fiasco."
His next studio album was HIStory; released in the summer of 1995. It was a double album, making its level of success difficult to compare up against Dangerous. Worldwide sales were 20 million copies, but as a double disc album, it sold 40 million individual units. It was Jackson's second-best album in terms of grossed revenue, behind Thriller, and is the best-selling multiple-disc album of all time.
Jackson produced a special show for cable-network HBO titled "For One Night Only", with the show to be record in front of a special invited audience at New York City's Beacon Theater on December 8 and 9, 1995 for transmission on HBO on December 10. However, the shows were canceled after Jackson collapse at the theater on December 6 during rehearsals. Jackson was admitted overnight to Beth Israel Medical Center North. The shows and the HBO special were never rescheduled. The following year, Jackson began the HIStory World Tour including 82 show jaunt across 5 continents, the tour became his most successful ever show with 4.5 million tickets sold. Despite the show's success, Jackson's only concerts in the USA were two shows performed at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jackson never performed another world tour.
The allegations also had an effect on the content of Jackson's music: HIStory, which was released shortly after the allegations, "creates an atmosphere of paranoia," according to one writer. Its content focuses on the public struggles Jackson went through just prior to its production. In the songs "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", along with the ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson directs much of his anger and personal hurt at the media. In the track "D.S.", Jackson launched a verbal attack against a character who is often cited to be Tom Sneddon, the District Attorney that requested his strip search. He describes the person as an antisocial, white supremacist who wanted to, "get my ass, dead or alive". Of the song Sneddon said, "I have not, shall we say, done him the honor of listening to it, but I’ve been told that it ends with the sound of a gunshot."In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments over his "swift and sudden fall from grace".He completed the video that was originally supposed to accompany Addams Family Values and released it as Ghosts; the finished video included a framing story about an eccentric maestro who entertains children and is pursued by a bigoted local official.
Jackson's last album, Invincible, was released six years later, in 2001, his longest period between full studio records, although the remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix was released in 1997 and contained 5 new tracks. Invincible, however, was seen as a relative commercial disappointment when compared to Jackson's prior solo material; selling 13 million copies worldwide, including 2 million in the United States. The album spawned three singles: "You Rock My World", "Cry" and "Butterflies", but only one reached the U.S. top 10. Sony refused to releases a commecial single in the US, so both "You Rock My World" and "Butterflies" charted on airplay only. The low sales were attributed to the lack of a supporting world tour, the release of only two music videos to promote the album, and a label dispute. Just before the release of Invincible, Jackson had informed the head of Sony Music Entertainment, Tommy Mottola, that he was not going to renew his contract. As a result, all singles releases, video shootings and promotions concerning the Invincible album were canceled.
As part of a settlement deal to end Jackson's contract with Sony, a number of compilations of greatest hits packaged with previously unreleased material were released, including the 10 million selling Number Ones in 2003, the 4CD/1DVD box set The Ultimate Collection in 2004 and double-album The Essential Michael Jackson in 2005, which has sold over 6 million double-units. New agreements between Sony and Michael Jackson saw the release of the singles collection Visionary: The Video Singles in 2006, a 25th anniversary edition of Thriller in 2008 and Jackson's final release before his death - the King of Pop album celebrating Michael's 50th birthday with tracks voted for by fans. King of Pop has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.
Jackson's posthumous career began in October 2009, with the release of the soundtrack album This Is It which debuted at number-one in more than 15 countries, including the US Billboard 200 chart.
People v. Jackson
A fan showing support for Jackson in 2004, as he becomes the subject of a second set of child sexual abuse accusations
In 2003, Jackson was charged with seven counts of child sexual abuse and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in order to commit a child sexual abuse felony against Gavin Arvizo, who was under 14 at the time. Earlier that year, a Granada Television documentary, called Living with Michael Jackson, showed the pop star holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with Arvizo. Jackson denied these allegations, saying that the sleepovers were in no way sexual in nature. Sneddon again led the effort to prosecute Jackson. These prosecutions led to complaints that Sneddon was motivated by a "vendetta" against Jackson. Evidence to support these claims include Sneddon joking about Jackson's greatest hits album being released on the same day as his arrest and saying, "Like the sheriff and I really are into that kind of music." He then proceeded to call Jackson "Wacko Jacko" and shouting "We got him, we finally got him" to the media, when he had only just began an investigation and had gathered limited information or evidence.
The People v. Jackson trial began in Santa Maria, California, two years after Jackson was originally charged. During the trial, the judge allowed the prosecution to bring in evidence needed to determine whether or not a defendant had a propensity to commit certain crimes. This meant that the prosecution was allowed to use any evidence it had against Jackson from the 1993 allegations to help secure a conviction. Although evidence from 1993 was used, Jordan Chandler did not appear in the Jackson trial. The trial lasted five months, and Jackson was found not guilty on all counts in June.
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