Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (84 page)

Somehow by November 12, Michael was able to perform at his final concert in Mexico City, delivering a lackluster performance and acknowledging
the Fortenskys as his special guests of honor. But instead of going on to San
Juan, which his hectic schedule called for, Michael greeted Elizabeth backstage. Then, in the dark of night and concealed in a blanket in a limousine, he
was driven to the Mexico City airport. There, an MGM Grand 727 (a chartered jet) waited to take him to London.

Afraid of Heathrow and its paparazzi, the private charter landed at Luton
Airport on the outskirts of London. After disembarking, Michael, along with
the Fortenskys, was taken to the Charter Nightingale Clinic, an establishment
originally founded by Florence Nightingale.

As the world asked, "Where's Michael?" an audio-taped message was
released to the media:

`As I left on this tour I had been the target of an extortion attempt, and shortly thereafter was accused of horrifying and outrageous conduct. I was humiliated, embarrassed, hurt and suffering great pain in my heart. The pressure
resulting from these false allegations coupled with the incredible energy necessary for me to perform caused so much distress that it left me physically and emotionally exhausted. I became increasingly more dependent on the
painkillers to get me through the days of the tour. My friends and doctors
advised me to seek professional guidance immediately in order to eliminate
what has become an addiction. It is time for me to acknowledge my need for
treatment in order to regain my health. I realize that completing the tour is no
longer possible and I must cancel the remaining dates. I know I can overcome
the problem and will be stronger from the experience. "

Later that night, Elizabeth and Larry, with a Michael Jackson look-alike,
flew to Switzerland in a deliberate campaign to trick the media.

Meanwhile, federal marshals waited in vain at the San Juan airport for
Michael's arrival. The plan was to hold him for questioning about the child
molestation charges. When a plane arrived from Mexico City, Michael was
not aboard, of course.

On the morning of November 12, Michael's publicist announced that the
remainder of the Dangerous tour had been canceled, and that Michael's addiction to painkillers began when his hair caught fire in 1984 during the taping
of a Pepsi-Cola commercial.

When confronted with the cancellation of the remainder of the tour, executives at Pepsi breathed a sign of relief. Some youth organizations were threatening a boycott of the soft drink. "When Michael canceled the tour we were
sponsoring, we were off the hook," said an executive off the record. "There's
no way that Pepsi wants a spokesman who's implicated as a child molester."

In contrast, at least publicly, executives at Sony stood by Michael, affirming their "unconditional and unwavering support."

Weitzman then called Michael with horrific news. The police had
obtained a warrant for a strip search, although there was a fear that Michael
had been out of the country long enough to "alter" the identifying markings
on his genitals. "There is no way in hell I'm going through with a strip
search," Michael shouted. "Get me out of this, or else find new employment.
I'll hire a lawyer who can get me out of this. I've never heard of anything so
humiliating!"

During all this turmoil, Michael had five bodyguards he trusted-Leroy
Thomas, Donald Starks, Aaron White, Morris Williams, and Fred Hammond.
However, by 1995 he turned on them and fired them. The men sued Michael
for wrongful dismissal, claiming that the only reason they were fired was
"because we knew too much." One security guard reported that Michael had
called him, asking him to destroy a photograph of a nude boy, perhaps ten
years old, that was in a bathroom in the family home at Encino. The bodyguards' case was thrown out of court in July of 1995.

Michael had been slated to perform the theme song and appear in a video for the film Addams Family Values. But he dropped out. Nevertheless, his
image appeared in the final release. A kid sees a Michael Jackson poster and
recoils in horror.

The November 29, 1993 cover of People magazine blared the headline:
MICHAEL JACKSON CRACKS UP.

As part of a separate development, Fields made some indiscreet statements to Judge David Rothman of Santa Barbara County on November 23,
1993 when he was fighting for a delay in the trial. "You have a DA sitting up
in Santa Barbara County about to indict, and if they do, we are going to have
a criminal trial very soon." Judge Rothman rejected Fields' request for a delay,
scheduling the trial for March 21, 1994.

Michael was infuriated that his attorney was even daring to suggest that a
trial was imminent. Weitzman, recognizing potential damage, claimed that
Fields had "misspoke." Hearing of this, it was reported that Elizabeth Taylor,
working through her own lawyer, was behind the move to oust Fields. Michael
abruptly fired him. With Fields removed from the case, so went the investigative skills of Pellicano.

Michael sensed that he needed a powerful figure on his legal team. As his
security guard, Bill Bray, had recommended, Michael hired the high-profile
lawyer, Johnnie Cochran, who would later be immortalized in 1995 for his
role in the O.J. Simpson trial, "that great trash novel come to life." During the
Simpson trial, even Margaret Thatcher and Boris Yeltsin dropped their busy
schedules to watch its televised proceedings, especially the skill of Cochran in
evading overwhelming evidence against Simpson.

Cochran's first assignment from Michael involved a confrontation with
the insurance company, Transamerica. Michael wanted the company to pay
for any cash that flowed to Jordie. When the executives there received
Michael's outlandish demand, they went into an emergency huddle. Before
the day was over, they had rejected Michael's claim. To retaliate, Cochran
began to fire off threatening letters.

He warned the company that if they did not participate in the settlement,
"Mr. Jackson will pursue all civil remedies available to him against
Transamerica for a host of claims, including failure to pay defense costs, failure to contribute toward settlement costs, and/or for punitive damages for bad
faith."

Russ Wardrip, a claims analyst at Transamerica, shot back that Michael
Jackson's policy covered injuries in an accident-"not acts of sexual activity."

Although Transamerica officials had valued Michael as a client, executives privately expressed astonishment that any celebrity could possibly think
that an insurance policy would cover a client's criminal child molestation.
Cochran admitted privately to friends that he hated writing such a letter to Transamerica, knowing how spurious the claim was.

In his dossier, Wardrip also asserted that acts of child molestation are
"inherently intentional, wrongful, and harmful,"-and hardly accidental.

In one of the most amazing stories ever recorded in the insurance industry, Transamerica under "heavy beating up" by Cochran agreed to pay an
undisclosed amount. Even more amazingly, Michael rejected the offer. "I want
them to pay every penny-not just part of the settlement to the kid."

Under Cochran's direction, Michael's camp upped the ante to nearly a
million dollars, but that is only a fraction of what Evan was willing to settle
for now, as he saw a vast fortune possible for Jordie and money for himself.

In addition to Cochran, Michael wanted John Branca back on his legal
team, not for his defense in the child molestation case, but to handle his
increasingly complicated business affairs. After three years in exile, Branca
was back. Michael immediately demanded that the attorney ask for an even
higher royalty rate from Sony than that which had previously been agreed
upon.

Under the urging of his new attorney, Cochran, Michael agreed to return
to Los Angeles. Shortly before dawn, he was smuggled out of the Charter
Nightingale Clinic where he was driven in a "hearse-like" ambulance to
Heathrow. There he boarded a 727, the property of one of his greatest admirers, the Sultan of Brunei, who was also the owner of London's very posh
Dorchester Hotel, an address that Michael often used during stays in that city.
As the richest man on the planet, the sultan could afford such indulgences. On
the plane, Michael was accompanied by Frank and Eddie Cascio.

The jet set down in Boston for refueling before flying on to Billings,
Montana. Fearing arrest on the ground, Michael refused to disembark to clear
Customs. Consequently, a U.S. Customs official boarded the plane to check
Michael's passport.

With the young boys, Michael landed at Santa Barbara where he concealed himself within a stretch limo that had been waiting to take him and his
young charges to what he thought was the safety of Neverland. Outside the
gates of the estate, reporters from magazines, newspapers, and TV waited
feverishly.

On January 16, 1994, against the advice of both his attorneys and his
mother, Katherine, Michael hosted his annual party for 250 underprivileged
children at Neverland. Black Entertainment TV covered the event. But one
newspaper asked, "Has Peter Pan become the Pied Piper?"

After the event, the Northridge earthquake struck across California, causing billions of dollars in property damage and even the loss of life.

The earthquake became oddly symbolic for Michael, as his Trophy Room
at Encino, with all his platinum records, was severely shaken. And at the Hollywood Wax Museum, the head fell off the Michael Jackson effigy.

Within three days of his secret return, news people accurately surmised
that Michael was once again in residence at Neverland. The circus lights were
switched on within his own private theme park, and the carousel began grinding out the sounds of "Like a Virgin" once again. The song became oddly
symbolic, since Michael had hired a team of psychiatrists to maintain-in
court if necessary-that he was a virgin in spite of all the crotch-grabbing and
simulated masturbation on stage.

Appearing on both Hard Copy and CNN, Katherine still continued her
increasingly tired defense of her son as a straight shooter. "Sometimes you
look at a person's face and you can say, `Oh, my God, that guy is gay.' Michael
is not gay."

Such appearances inflamed the gay community. "Every time Katherine
Jackson opens her mouth, she costs Michael thousands and thousands of gay
fans," said an activist in Los Angeles.

In references to Michael's attackers, brother Jermaine claimed that
"Michael is ready to kick some butt!"

Eventually, Michael met privately with Cochran. There were no minutes
made of their confidential chat, but the end result was the ordering of Cochran
"to buy Jordie Chandler's silence no matter what the cost." Cochran went on
to inform Michael that all appeals had been exhausted. He would have to
agree to be photographed in a strip search at Neverland on the morning of
December 20, 1993.

Jordie later told police where "mottled pink spots" on Michael's scrotum
and buttocks were, although mottled seems an odd word for a thirteen-yearold to use. Apparently, he also testified that there was "a dark splotch" at the
base of Michael's penis, but it was underneath, where it was not immediately
visible.

Jordie testified
that the first time he
saw Michael in the
nude and noticed the
spots, he mocked the
star. "You look like a
cow!" Michael was
furious. Jordie had
also drawn a detailed
picture of a nude
Michael.

Detail from the cover of the Dangerous album

The prosecutors
in California threat ened to handcuff and arrest Michael and haul him to jail if he didn't agree to
strip and have his nude body photographed. As Cochran told him, "You don't
have much choice. In jail, they could strip you and photograph you any time
they wanted."

Tom Sneddon, the Santa Barbara District Attorney who would become
Michael's nemesis, was part of the entourage who descended on Neverland at
4:45 in the afternoon. Gary Spiegel was the office photographer for the sheriff's department.

Michael was forced to strip and have his genitals photographed. During
the ordeal, Michael, in the nude, stood helplessly by, looking at a picture of
Elizabeth Taylor at her most beautiful from the 1951 release of A Place in the
Sun.

Also present was Michael's Beverly Hills dermatologist, Dr. Klein, as
well as a personal doctor, David Forecast, who practiced medicine in London.

Although calling two detectives "assholes," Michael cooperated to a
degree but only to a degree, refusing to submit to all the photographs authorized by the court. Later Michael issued a statement to the press:

It was the most humiliating ordeal of my life-one that no person should ever
have to suffer. It was a nightmare, a horrifying nightmare. But if this is what
I have to endure to prove my innocence, my complete innocence, then so be it.
I shall not in this statement respond to all the false allegations being made
against me, since my lawyers have advised me that this is not the proper forum
in which to do that. I will say that I am particularly upset by the handling of
this matter by the incredible and 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 to hear the truth before you label or condemn me. Don't treat me like a criminal, because I am innocent.