Michael Jackson

by J. Randy Taraborrelli

  Alfredo Bowman maintains an office in Beverly Hills, and another in Honduras. He was treating TLC singer Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes at his ‘USHA Healing Village’ when she died in a car accident there, in the spring of 2002. Bowman apparently got into trouble with the New York State attorney general a couple of years ago when that office objected to his claiming to have found cures for AIDS, cancer and leukaemia. On his website Bowman boasts of never having gone to school – ‘not even kindergarten’. His website also claims, ‘We are proud to inform you that Cosmo Therapy is part of our healing journey realigning with the energy of life which is beyond spirituality. Return to MOTHER!!!’

  Debbie tried to obtain information about Michael’s so-called ‘detox’, but, again, was unsuccessful in contacting him, or anyone around him. The walls around Michael and his children were up, and she was on one side, while the Jackson camp was on the other side. She has always said that Michael is not a paedophile; however, according to sources close to her, she is no longer sure what to believe about him – and until she makes up her mind, she wants guardianship of her two children. She’s even indicated in court papers filed in Los Angeles that the children are not biologically Michael’s, no surprise to his critics who have always been sceptical of the paternity of his children.

  In a court order filed on Friday 20 February 2004, Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl approved an agreement reached by the Rowe and Jackson camps to have retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Lachs preside over the case. The order said his appointment would continue ‘until the conclusion of all matters’.

  Judge Lachs works with a centre for alternative dispute resolution that allows parties concerned about their privacy who are involved in civil disputes to hire private judges at a rate of $650 an hour. ‘They hire private judges so that everything can be done behind closed doors,’ said attorney Dana Cole, an expert in family law who is not involved in this case. However, Lachs has said that much of what occurs in his ‘private’ court room will still be open to public scrutiny. The private judge’s rulings will be as binding as if they were made in a regular family court.

  While Michael does not wish for the matter to proceed as it is in the court system, he has had little choice in it. Ironically, the millions he has paid Debbie over the years have made it possible for her to become one of his biggest adversaries, and maybe one of his biggest nightmares. He’s going up against a woman who can afford to retain legal counsel as powerful as his own – and using money he has paid her to do it! Michael’s signature on the paperwork is big and sprawling, as if he was extremely agitated when he committed it to the document.

  Those in his private world say that Debbie Rowe’s re-emergence in Michael Jackson’s life as an opposing force is as hurtful to him as the allegations of child molestation. In retrospect, Michael handled the matter of Debbie’s discontent the way he handles most problems – he tried to avoid it. As has been repeatedly stated by those who know him, he is childlike in many ways, and, it seems, has become more so in this last, traumatizing year – especially when it comes to dealing with unpleasantness.

  Like a youngster facing some disagreeable situation, Michael simply could not, or would not, cope with it. He was frightened that Debbie Rowe was positioning herself to pose a serious threat to his family. His hands would shake when he would pick up the telephone to call her. He couldn’t follow through, he was so fearful of what it was she wanted from him and how she might impact his relationship with his children, all three of who have given him the greatest joy he has ever known. One of his associates recalled it best: he handed him the phone to call her. ‘Do it, Mike. You gotta call her,’ he said. Michael looked at him with such an anguished expression, it appeared that he was about to let out a long, desperate scream. But he didn’t. Instead, he put the phone down and walked away in tears. ‘Not Debbie too,’ he said, shaking his in disbelief. ‘Not Debbie too.’

  Coda

  In April 2004, a secret Grand Jury convened in Santa Barbara County to hear from witnesses brought forth by District Attorney Tom Sneddon to testify against Michael Jackson – including his present accuser. The jury then handed down an indictment against the entertainer on molestation charges. The decision means that a majority of the members of the Grand Jury felt enough evidence existed in the case against Jackson to bring it to trial. However, a California Grand Jury is simply a function of the prosecution; the defence does not have the opportunity to present its case, and isn’t even present at the proceedings. Therefore, with DA Sneddon vociferously offering everything he has against Michael Jackson – and with no rebuttal or cross-examination of witnesses from Jackson’s team – how could the result have been anything but an indictment?

  After the indictment, to make matters even more complicated, Michael suddenly dismissed his attorneys, Mark Geragos and Benjamin Brafman. They were replaced by Thomas Mesereau Jr., another well-known criminal defence attorney, who represented actor Robert Blake in his murder case (until they parted company, citing irreconcilable differences). In an interview, Brafman indicated that the decision did not come directly from Michael (though he believes Michael had a hand in it), but rather from ‘advisers and family members’. He further added that the parting of ways was ‘for reasons we choose not to discuss publicly’. It was reported that Michael’s brothers Randy and Jermaine were influential in the matter, as was Leonard Muhammad of the Nation of Islam.

  It now seems clear that there are members of Michael’s family who have future career plans in mind for him… and probably for themselves, as well. They are trying to protect their brother (which is admirable) and, perhaps, their own interests (which is probably not as commendable, but also not particularly surprising, if one reviews family history). Again, one is forced to wonder how much decision-making power Michael has, or even wants, in his present dilemma… and how many other key players with mixed agendas may enter stage left and exit stage right before the Jackson show plays before judge and jury.

  It is obviously a tragic turn of events if Michael Jackson is being targeted with untrue allegations of child-molestation. At this writing, he is enduring the saddest, most agonizing period of his life. Ironically, prior to this ordeal, he was beginning to rise to the challenge of looking at his world in a new and profound way, trying to come to terms with the ugliness of some of his past. He seemed to be finding a measure of contentment, perhaps for the first time, as he raised his children. He had also just begun to rediscover the joy of music. Finally, the Jordie Chandler matter of a decade ago was beginning to fade from public consciousness. Then, this new thing happened, a matter so awful as to lay waste to any personal progress he had made – setting him back years, perhaps making it impossible for him to ever reconcile any of his troubles and to take full responsibility for his choices, indeed his life. However, until he does so, perhaps he is destined to repeat the same mistakes, as if he is the beleaguered star of a horrible, Greek tragedy. In truth, there seems to never be a time when he is free of crisis.

  What other famous person has these kinds of problems? Is it that Michael is so different, so unusual, so extraordinary, so… famous… that he is an easy target for one kind of exploitation or another, be it one of the many hundreds of lawsuits filed against him or, now, a second allegation of child molestation? Or, does he somehow bring such madness onto himself by being arrogant, or naïve… or both? Perhaps he is just one of the unluckiest people ever to be in show-business? You have to feel sorry for the guy.

  However, one fact still remains: despite his background – his childhood fame and adult superstardom – at the end of the day it is not reductive of who he is and the challenges he faces to remember that Michael Jackson is only human, no more than the nine-to-five worker trying to support a large family on a meagre wage and no less than the wealthy socialite without a care in the world. Like everyone who draws breath, he is ultimately responsible for making his own decisions. He’s a grown man – not a child. He writes his own story, bringin
g into focus the characters he chooses to have in his world. No one forced Jordie Chandler and his father on him, and no one forced Gavin Arvizo and his mother on him, either. Casting those people to play roles in his life has amounted to some of Michael’s biggest mistakes, of that there is little doubt.

  It’s sad – tragic, even. He’s such a privileged person, a man heaped with every blessing of fame, fortune and family. One wonders why there seems no way then, no way at all, for Michael Jackson to lead a good and dignified – and happy – life.

  THE FINAL YEARS

  What If?

  It hit me while I was standing in Michael Jackson’s kitchen eating a tuna sandwich. I’ll never forget the moment, which was as strange and surreal as one might imagine. It had been a week and one day since his sudden death on 25 June 2009. I had spent practically every moment doing television interviews and reporting the terrible story for CBS News, the television network for which I had covered Jackson’s molestation trial four years earlier. However, this time, it was different. The King of Pop was gone. He was dead. It seemed unfathomable to me, yet somehow, it was true. Still, since I had so much work to do I’d been trying to suppress my heavy emotion and complete the many jobs at hand. I found myself standing in Neverland’s exquisite gourmet kitchen with its steel appliances and fine, antique wood finishes because I was asked to conduct a tour of the famous estate for a CBS-TV broadcast. And it was while standing there eating that sandwich that it finally hit me. This is it, I realized. Michael is gone, forever. The sinking feeling in my stomach that I’d tried to ignore for a week gave way to almost overwhelming despair. It seemed unbelievably unfair. I looked out from the kitchen toward the expansive outdoor patio – the meandering brook, the enormous trees and, of course, the figurines of little children playing – and I tried to conjure up the laughter and music that once filled this cavernous space, the happy times.

  Neverland Ranch was one of Michael Jackson’s greatest creations, the result of his imagination gone wild. He loved it here, and no wonder; it’s truly breathtaking. In many ways, Michael really had it made, I thought to myself as I took a look around. He was so blessed to live here. His entire life, in fact, was one of unbelievably good fortune. So how did it go so wrong for him? When did it happen? Obviously, many things had gone awry, and I had recounted the wrong turns in great detail over the years. But what was it about this place that seemed to bring all of the chaos into focus for me? What was it? In this very kitchen, I decided, that’s where it went wrong. And over there, in the breakfast nook – which is really about as large as most people’s living rooms – it went wrong there, too.

  I walked into the breakfast nook, stood in the center of the room and took a look around. It was completely empty – as was the rest of the house – but the memories remained.

  It was in these very rooms in November of 2003 that Michael Jackson introduced the world to a young boy named Gavin Arvizo, first in the kitchen and then the breakfast nook. He smiled at the youngster and gazed wistfully into a television camera for a Martin Bashir documentary and asked, ‘Why can’t you share your bed?’ Gavin, seeming totally enchanted by the pop star, rested his head on Michael’s shoulder. ‘The most loving thing you can do is share your bed with someone,’ Michael continued. But after Bashir pressed the issue, Michael tried to clarify it. It was almost as if it had suddenly occurred to him that his comments could be misconstrued. ‘Always give the beds to the company, you know?’ he said, now sounding a lot like his mother, Katherine, known to be the consummate hostess. ‘He [Gavin] was gonna sleep on the floor and I said no, you sleep on the bed and I’ll sleep on the floor.’ When Bashir pressed as to why Gavin couldn’t sleep in one of the guest units, Michael said, ‘Yes, but whenever kids come here they always want to stay with me. They never want to stay in the guest units, and I have never invited them in my room. They go, can I stay with you tonight? I say, if it’s okay with your parents, yes you can.’

  As I walked into Michael’s living room, I found myself staring at the fireplace and wondering... what if? What if he hadn’t said those words on national television? What if he had had more sense, especially after the allegations of ten years earlier?

  But was it so bad, really? Yes, it was, I decided at the time. Maybe now, looking back on it – knowing all we know and having been so inundated with nauseating testimony as a result of the subsequent trial – it seems almost inconsequential. But at the time, when those words came tumbling from Michael Jackson’s mouth, yes, it was bad. It was defining. In fact, it was the one moment that, without exaggeration, completely ruined his life. After the show was broadcast on 6 February 2003, certain children’s protection agencies raised questions, and one thing led to another before, finally on 20 September, Jackson was charged and arrested for child molestation.

  If Michael had simply not taped that one segment with Gavin, I wondered, would he eventually have gotten into trouble somewhere else down the line? Who knows? But as I walked back into the kitchen alone with my thoughts, I felt so incredibly sad for him, for his family, for his friends and for everyone whose lives were affected by a single moment Michael probably viewed as totally insignificant as it unfolded.

  Indeed, what if... ?

  Memories of Santa Maria

  Four years ago in the winter and spring of 2005 – 28 February through 4 June – I sat behind Michael Jackson in a courtroom in Santa Maria, California. I’m pretty certain I was the only person present – other than his lawyers and his family members – who had ever even met the defendant or any of the other Jacksons. How well I remember the first day Tito walked into the courtroom to support his brother. Everyone in the press area turned and looked at me with raised eyebrows. I mouthed the word ‘Tito’ and they all then quickly jotted his name in their notes. They didn’t know who he was! It was pretty much the same with all of the family members, who came in different configurations every day to support the most famous of the Jacksons.

  At the beginning of the trial, Michael Jackson – then forty-six – seemed to be in very good shape. He would walk briskly into court and, as we in the press watched, limber up by stretching his body as if he was getting ready for a performance or an athletic event. It was interesting to watch his dancer’s body flex and relax, and I remember thinking that he looked as fit as he did in his memorable videos for ‘Thriller’, ‘Billie Jean’, and ‘Beat It’. When he would turn and smile at his attorneys or even the spectators, his charisma was strong and so evident to me. The magic was still there. He was still Michael Jackson, I thought. People were mesmerised by him, and somehow awed just to be in his presence. And never was that more evident than on 1 March 2005 – the second day of opening statements – when Michael’s lawyer, Tom Mesereau, played the controversial Martin Bashir documentary for jurors, the very one that had gotten Michael into such trouble. As Michael’s music played and photos of his amazing career flashed on the screen, heads began bobbing in the courtroom. People began to smile at one another. For a moment, it was as if we weren’t even in a courtroom. We were transported to some other place – certainly a better place – while Michael’s familiar voice and music filled the room. I thought to myself, This is going to be one very odd molestation trial.

  Then the testimony began.

  Day after day as the prosecution stated its case and paraded one witness after another who spoke of inappropriate behavior between Michael and young boys, the pop star gradually seemed to fold inside of himself.

  On the eighth day of testimony, 9 March 2005, Michael’s alleged victim, fifteen-year-old Gavin Anton Arvizo, testified. Wearing a blue button-down shirt, he seemed nervous, mumbling at times. He recounted the times Michael gave him alcohol and said that Michael had also masturbated him on two occasions. It was disturbing, to say the least. Michael stared straight ahead as if a wax mannequin, displaying absolutely no emotion whatsoever.

  The day after Gavin started his testimony, Michael was an hour late getting to court. After the judge issued a b
ench warrant for him and threatened to throw him in jail, he finally showed up in pajamas. He’d had a serious back problem, it was explained, and needed medical treatment. There was no time for him to change. It was obvious that things were not going well for him. In fact, that bizarre day was pretty much the beginning of the end for Michael. The real story as I saw it – besides the unsettling testimony – wasn’t the fact that he showed up in pajamas as much as it was that Michael seemed to be dying in front of our very eyes. He was clearly in terrible pain, both physical and emotional. Anyone who cared about him would have been heartsick by the sight. It was horrible to watch as he slowly deteriorated to the point where he could barely walk into the courtroom.

  The prosecution’s case had it that twenty telephone calls between Michael and Gavin – which started when Jackson called him in the hospital during the youngster’s cancer treatment – were followed by the first invitation to the Neverland Ranch. That first night, according to Gavin, Michael suggested that he and his brother Starr sleep in Michael’s room. He told them to ask their parents, they did, and it was agreed that they would sleep in Jackson’s bedroom rather than in a guest cottage. That night they supposedly watched Internet porn together. ‘I thought he was the coolest guy in the world, my best friend ever,’ Gavin said, ‘know what I mean? I really liked him?’

  But then, out of the blue, Michael changed his phone number and abandoned the boys. That sounded like Michael to me. He could be very capricious. He may have felt that Gavin was just a fan and that he’d given as much as he was going to give to him. Still, from Gavin’s expression and demeanour on the witness stand, it was as if the boy felt betrayed, or maybe even jilted. In fact, Gavin would testify about the time he was at Neverland and had been told that Michael was not present. But then Gavin ran into him there. ‘It feels like my heart broke right there,’ he recalled, choked with emotion.