M.O.N.E.Y: The Extortion of Michael Jackson
M.O.N.E.Y: The Extortion of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was an enigma, to say the least. Much has been
written analyzing everything from his psyche to his appearance
to his talent, and there are opinions across the board about
the allegations of molestation leveled against him during his
life. Fan sites abound with opinionated and impassioned statements
and articles about his innocence, most of which simply proclaim
that he was found not guilty in a court of law. But there are
countless details-including FBI files released in December 2009,
court records, and public records-that offer a more well-rounded
and supportable claim of innocence against all the charges,
not just those in the criminal case.
Lisa: I was never a big Michael Jackson fan. However,
having been born in the early 1970's, Michael's music was always
in the background, always there to be heard and enjoyed. On
June 25, 2009, the only news I had received was that Farah Fawcett's
long battle with cancer was finally over. When I returned home
after work that evening, I logged on to Yahoo and was horrified
by the headline "Michael Jackson Is Dead." I began
to text my husband, trying to multitask by running through the
news channels at the same time. I watched CNBC, Fox News, CNN,
and whatever channel happened to be broadcasting information
about Michael's untimely demise. As the world knows, the media
coverage about Michael was non-stop, with everyone seemingly
having an opinion about every aspect of Michael's life and death.
After many weeks of following the story, I continued to be struck
by the fact that while so many mourned, so many others made
cruel jokes. The dichotomy of feelings engendered by this man
was fascinating, albeit in a horrifying way.
Back in 1993, when the first allegations were made public, I
was in college. I didn't really read the accounts of what was
happening, but I knew the basic allegations, and for some reason,
they didn't sit well with me. Even after the settlement, I didn't
believe that Michael Jackson had committed the alleged acts.
In 2005, I was sucked into the media reports and thought that
Michael was going to jail. Again, I did not believe the allegations,
but the evidence being reported at the time was so overwhelming
that it seemed a foregone conclusion. When he was found not
guilty of all 14 counts of the criminal complaint on June 13,
2005, I completely understood why Michael chose to leave his
home country.
However, Michael's death made me want to delve into the evidence
of all the allegations against him in order to determine what
really transpired in 1993, and then again ten years later. With
some apprehension, I plowed into the research. Once I started
even the most basic search I was stunned by how little evidence
there was against Michael-both in the allegations of Jordie
Chandler and the court case of Gavin Arvizo. I was also confounded
that so few credible journalists came to the aid of Michael
Jackson, reporting anything other than salacious allegations.
Christy: My husband walked into my office in the
afternoon of June 25, 2009, and said, "It's a bad day to
be a celebrity." At my puzzled look, he said, "Farrah
Fawcett died. And so did Michael Jackson." I was stunned.
I skipped right over the Farrah Fawcett news; while I certainly
was sorry for what she'd endured, her illness was no secret,
and in many ways I was grateful that her suffering was over.
But Michael Jackson… that caught my attention. Like millions
of others, I immediately became glued to the TV and the Internet,
trying to discern fact from fiction. After Thriller, I had lost
track of Michael Jackson over the years, not really paying attention
to his music or to his life-although it was hard to miss the
sensational stories the tabloids frequently ran on their covers
every time he dared to venture out. But as I listened to the
reports, like Lisa, I was struck by how judgmental and unkind
so many people were. I asked my husband if he thought Michael
Jackson was a pedophile; he didn't believe so. I didn't either,
but I didn't know why I didn't believe so. Neither of us had
followed the 2005 criminal trial in any depth, so I thought
perhaps that was why we weren't inclined to believe the worst.
My curious nature got the best of me, and I donned my 'investigator'
hat and went to work. With so much information available at
my fingertips, it was pretty simple to dig deeper.
I began with that bastion of celebrity, Vanity Fair. When I
began my research, I had great respect for Maureen Orth, a National
Magazine Award-winning journalist and widow of Tim Russert,
the famous host of NBC's Meet the Press. I knew Ms. Orth had
covered celebrities for VF, and after only a few keystrokes,
I had copies of all of her articles on Michael Jackson. As I
began to read, a sense of horror came over me. Sentence after
sentence screamed, "bias." I was appalled at the bias
in the reporting, the evident lack of concern about concealing
that bias, and at the poor writing and editing.
A Note About Our Sources
For those who take the time to plow into the formidable amount
of material that exists on the allegations against Michael Jackson,
the first thing you notice is the lack of evidence. It's just
not there, which we'll point out in great detail in the following
pages. What you'll also notice is that almost no credible journalists
came to his aid during this time.
Throughout this article, we've cited various books and publications
written about Michael Jackson, including the book that Diane
Dimond wrote. While most people agree that Diane Dimond is a
tabloid journalist, meeting all the derogatory descriptions
inherent in that title, we've included her book on Jackson as
a reference. The reason? She claims to be the 'expert' on the
allegations against Michael, saying that she's spent years researching
the topic. It's interesting to note that we've used her extensive
research and her book to disprove the allegations that she set
out to prove. The irony does not escape us.
Lisa is an attorney, and she put her legal expertise to work
here, poring through court transcripts and the recently released
FBI files about Michael Jackson. She was able to cull relevant
and frequently unreported evidence, and it's included here.
Dozens of books and articles about the allegations also served
as source material, and it's our hope that this article will
give readers a well-rounded view of the many false accusations
leveled against Michael, as well as the complete lack of evidence
behind those allegations.
On the surface, it may seem reasonable that no credible journalists
reported anything positive about this case; molesting a child
is a heinous crime whose victim is more often than not silenced
by the abusing adult. On the other hand, an accusation such
as that is almost impossible to overcome; and in Hollywood-where
image is the only thing-it's poison. No one wants to be associated
with even a hint of something so scandalous. Not surprisingly,
the rich and famous, playing to type, turned their backs on
Michael Jackson. Or, if they supported him they did so quietly,
not in front of a camera or to a journalist. Even his self-proclaimed
biographer, J. Randy Taraborrelli, who attended the trial and
must have heard the evidence-or lack thereof-stated that the
"testimony had been damning." In actuality, nothing
could have been further from the truth. And the jury happened
to notice.
It is our hope that learning the truth will clear the name of
one who was devastatingly wronged for doing nothing more than
sharing his talent with the world. He wanted to bring love to
people wherever he went, and rather than recognize that gift
for what it was, the world in which he lived turned it into
something dirty and base. Michael Jackson should be vindicated,
and it's tragic that it didn't happen while he was alive to
know of it. But his children are still alive, and their father's
legacy needs to move forward untainted by the false accusations
that ultimately led to his demise.
So let's start at the beginning….
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