Michael Jackson_ The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story, 1958-2009 Part 32

'Jordie will never forgive me...'

The next day, 18 August 1993, Bert Fields and Anthony Pellicano gave Michael Jackson the stomach-churning news that the Los Angeles Police Department's s.e.xually Exploited Child Unit had begun a criminal investigation of him. 'Oh, my G.o.d,' Michael asked, 'is my life over?'

'No,' Bert answered. 'We'll defend it, Michael. And the odds are that we'll win.'

'And you know how it goes with you and the odds,' Anthony added, optimistically.

'That's what I'm afraid of,' said Michael, miserably.

Anthony embraced Michael. 'Man, you never lose,' he said, according to his later recollection. 'Look at your life, Michael. Look at who you are. You're not gonna start losing now.'

Michael began to sob. 'I have worked so hard,' he said. 'All of my life, I've been working so hard. I can't lose it all now, Anthony. I just can't lose it all.'

'You won't,' Bert injected. 'I swear to you, you won't.'

That same day, June and Dave Schwartz were interviewed by the police. They weren't so sure, they maintained, that Michael was guilty of abusing Jordie. They both felt that the youngster was so controlled by Evan, they didn't know what to believe, they said. 'I think I believe, maybe, half of it,' she said, reluctantly. Now, June would lose custody of Jordie, at least for the time being. She was heartbroken by this decision made by Child Protection Services, even if it was said to be temporary, however there was nothing she could do about it. Anyway, Jordie had told the authorities he wanted to be with his father, which was persuasive.

Later that day, Michael met with another one of his a.s.sociates, a publicist who had to determine a course of action to take if the allegations were made it into the press. 'I met him at the Los Angeles hide-out,' recalled the representative. 'He looked absolutely terrible, as if he hadn't slept in days. He wasn't wearing his makeup, so his face seemed broken out, splotchy. He looked thin and sickly. He had on his pyjamas. "What am I going to do now?" he asked. "I can't believe this is happening to me me, Michael Jackson. Do you think the police will ask me questions about me and Jordie?"'

The publicist told Michael that there was little doubt he would be questioned by the authorities, and soon. Michael began to cry. 'But I can't answer questions,' he said through his tears. 'I can't talk about Jordie. Don't you get it? He's my soul mate. I won't know what to say.'

'Just tell the truth, Mike,' suggested the publicist as he patted Michael on the shoulder.

'But no one will believe me,' Michael said, sounding defeated. 'It's my word against Evan's. Poor Jordie,' Michael added, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. 'I can't believe his father would do this. We were so close. Evan is so jealous of me, so, so jealous of me.'

The publicist then asked how Michael wanted to handle the media when the allegations became news. 'Oh, screw the media,' Michael said, going from sadness to fury in a nanosecond. 'I don't care what they say about me. They're gonna make stuff up, anyway. Screw them. Screw them all. It's because of them them that I'm in this trouble, anyway.' that I'm in this trouble, anyway.'

The publicist recalled being confused by Michael statement. 'How is the media responsible?' he asked.

Michael began jabbing his finger at his a.s.sociate as he spoke. 'It's because ofyou allowing the media to write these things about me that people think I would do this thing,' he said, furiously. 'It's allowing the media to write these things about me that people think I would do this thing,' he said, furiously. 'It's your your fault. No. It's fault. No. It's their their fault.' Michael collapsed in a chair, looking bereft. 'I have been trying to stop the rumours and for years and years and they've just been going on and on and on,' he said. 'The oxygen chamber. The Elephant Man. The plastic surgery. Now, this.' fault.' Michael collapsed in a chair, looking bereft. 'I have been trying to stop the rumours and for years and years and they've just been going on and on and on,' he said. 'The oxygen chamber. The Elephant Man. The plastic surgery. Now, this.'

On 20 August 1993, Michael left for Bangkok on the second leg of his Dangerous tour. How ironic for him to start again in a city known as the s.e.x capital of the world.

Michael was swamped with feelings about leaving Los Angeles. He could not fathom that Jordie would not be with him on the road. He had planned an exciting time for the two of them on continents all over the world, and the only reason to even go, in his view, would have been to be with his 'soul mate'. Now, he would be going alone. Of course, he would be with about 250 people, all integral to the ma.s.sive, multimillion-dollar production, from musicians and stage hands and dancers to bodyguards, secretaries and a.s.sistants. However, as far as Michael was concerned, he was alone if he was to be without Jordie.

Also, he didn't want to leave home because he simply wasn't sure what would occur in America during his absence. Yet, he also couldn't wait to go, just to get out of town and not have to deal with whatever terrible thing was about to happen. He felt he needed to escape from his life, if at all possible. As it would happen, Michael Jackson left town just in time because, the next day, all h.e.l.l would break lose.

The News is Out.

On Sat.u.r.day 21 August 1993 a search warrant was issued for the police to gain access to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road in Los Olivos, Santa Barbara. The authorities hired a locksmith in order to gain access to all of the many rooms on the estate, including Michael's private quarters. Moreover, the search warrant permitted the authorities to search Michael's 'hideout' at 1101 Galaxy Way, #2247 in Century City, California, for evidence. Of course, anyone who thought the authorities would find anything incriminating during such searches would have been naive. Obviously, because of the chain of events that had led up to the day, Michael's camp expected that a search warrant would be issued.

Adrian McMa.n.u.s, Michael's personal maid and the only employee with access to his Neverland bedroom, recalled, 'People were running all about the place, employees taking things off the property in boxes and crates, as if they couldn't get the stuff out fast enough. They took sheets, pillows, bedspreads, towels and wash clothes. They took boxes of makeup and eyeliner and lipstick and creams and gels. They took stacks of magazines. They took pictures. I remember that one person who worked for Michael held up a photograph and everyone else gathered around to ask, "Who is that? Who is that?" "Is that Macaulay Culkin in his underwear? It is!" Then, they would take the picture and put it in a box with a lot of other pictures of children in their underwear. I heard them mumbling things like, "This guy is nuts, isn't he?" as they went through his things. "How many pictures of Elizabeth Taylor does one person need?" I felt badly about the whole thing.

'My job was to hide all of Michael's women's perfumes, of which he had many bottles. He only used female fragrances, no male, and I guess they thought that might look bad.

'The next day, when the police came they looked around and one of them said, "Hmmm. Slim pickings, I see." They knew. Of course, they knew.'

When the authorities found a large, walk-in, black safe the size of a closet, they could not contain themselves. Imagine what might be found in such a thing owned by the enigmatic, secretive Michael Jackson. The officers ordered the locksmith to figure out the combination. For hours, he worked on the safe. Finally, voila voila. It was opened. It was also empty, except for one small black briefcase. 'Open it. Open it,' the officers exclaimed. Inside was a single slip of paper. On it was written the combination to the safe. Someone in the Jackson camp had quite a sense of humour.

Despite the earlier clean-sweep, the police did manage to seize books, videos, pictures, sc.r.a.pbooks and anything else they could find that they thought might be evidentiary. A year later when I conducted a telephone interview with Michael, he told me of the search: 'Imagine having someone going through all of your stuff while you're a million miles away. They took all kinds of things, stupid things like videotapes of me at Disneyland, pictures of my friends, boxes and boxes of personal things. And diaries! Imagine having some stranger reading your most private thoughts, his filthy hands turning all of those private pages, thoughts about [my] Mother and the way I feel about G.o.d. It was vicious. And we still haven't gotten back a lot of that stuff. It makes me cry when I think about it. But in all of my private stuff, there wasn't one piece of evidence to prove I had done anything wrong.'

The authorities took photographs of the rooms at Neverland in order to be able to compare them to Jordie's descriptions, as evidence that he had complete access. They seized Michael's telephone and address journals and would use them to later question more than thirty children and their families. (Those interviewed included Emmanuel Lewis, Jimmy Safechuck and Jonathan Spence; all three insisted that Michael had never acted in any improper way toward them.) On 23 August, a Los Angeles television station reported the startling news that a police raid had occurred at Neverland. Michael Jackson was suspected of committing a crime, the police confirmed. However, the officers would not be more specific. Even with the lack of details, the story became the focus of more than seventy news broadcasts and Special Bulletins in the Los Angeles area alone over the course of the next day. Within hours, the investigation was the subject of international headlines. The New York Post New York Post ran with a dreadful photo of Michael looking his worst, and the blazing headline: 'Peter Pan or Pervert?' One thing was clear: nothing would ever be the same for Michael Jackson. ran with a dreadful photo of Michael looking his worst, and the blazing headline: 'Peter Pan or Pervert?' One thing was clear: nothing would ever be the same for Michael Jackson.

Though the television reports about Michael did not mention the subject of child molestation, rumours about it were strong enough for the Jackson camp to decide to just come out and deny them. It fell upon Anthony Pellicano to make the statement that, indeed, Michael was being accused of s.e.xually abusing a minor, that he was innocent of any wrong-doing. Anthony's comments were the first the public had to confirm that it was, indeed, a matter of molestation about which Michael was being investigated. The police department then held a press conference to reveal more details. They had reason to believe, they said, that Michael had molested a thirteen-year-old boy. This was a shock. The pop star who was regularly seen in the company of youngsters, and who was known for his interest in children and in charities devoted to them, might actually be a paedophile? In a matter of hours, Los Angeles was descended upon by reporters from foreign countries doing their own independent investigations into what Michael had done, and to whom. He had always been so secretive, so strange. Now, it was a.s.sumed, the questions about him had been answered. Anyone who knew Michael feared that his career, and maybe even his life, was now ruined. 'I thought he would kill himself,' said one of his staff members at the time.

The next day, Anthony Pellicano explained to the media that Michael had been the 'victim of an extortion attempt gone awry', and one which his camp had been investigating for the last four months. 'A demand for twenty million dollars was made,' he told the a.s.sociated Press. 'It was flatly and consistently refused. The refusals have, in our opinion, caused what has transpired in the last few days.' He didn't mention the fact that the Jackson camp had entered into negotiations that involved proposals and counter-proposals.

Michael's camp hired high-powered criminal defence attorney Howard Weitzman to represent him; he read a statement prepared by his client: 'I am confident the department will conduct a fair and thorough investigation and that its results will demonstrate that there was no wrong-doing on my part. I intend to continue with my world tour.'

On 25 August, in an effort to do more so-called 'damage control', the day after Michael performed his first show in Bangkok, Anthony Pellicano arranged that the media have access to two young friends of Michael's, Brett Barnes and Wade Robson. In front of lights, cameras and microphones from news outlets around the world, Brett admitted that he and Michael had slept together on many occasions, but with no s.e.xual overtones. 'He kisses you like you kiss your mother,' said the eleven-year-old. 'It's not unusual for him to hug, kiss and nuzzle up to you, and stuff.'

Wade, who was ten, also said he had slept in the same bed as Michael, but 'just as a friend'. He said, 'Michael is a very, very kind person, really nice and sweet. Sure, I slept with him on dozens of occasions but the bed was huge.'

Anthony Pellicano's offering of Wade and Brett to the press did little to help Michael's case: in fact, it was thought by many observers to have made things worse. Michael was actually unhappy about Anthony's decision to put the boys forth when he heard about it in Thailand. 'That's not good,' he said according to an adviser of his at the time. 'That makes me look even worse, I think. It's not good.'

Rarely had a show-business story taken flight like the Michael Jackson molestation scandal, with the world's press running blazing headlines that strongly implied that Michael was guilty, even if not yet charged. When the confidential and s.e.xually charged statements Jordie Chandler gave to the authorities about his sleepovers with Michael were released, all objectivity about how the story should be reported seemed to go right out the window. The press had a story allegedly rife with s.e.xual content and illegal activity between the biggest pop star in the world and a thirteen-year-old. It seemed impossible for much of the media to remain objective about it. Michael certainly appeared to be guilty, at least if Jordie's statements were to be believed.

On 26 August 1993, I appeared on CNN stating my view that we in the press might use some restraint in reporting the story. To my surprise, after the worldwide broadcast of my appearance, Michael telephoned me from Bangkok.

A day earlier, Michael had performed for an audience of 70,000. He ended his show accompanied by a stageful of young children while singing his personal anthem, 'Heal the World', to the appreciative crowd. He had seen the CNN report while backstage, he said, and called to thank me for my remarks. 'How are you feeling?' I asked him.

'Bad,' he said. He sounded weak, his voice a whisper.

'Is there anything I can do?' I asked.

'No,' he answered. 'I'm just very, very... sad. It's such a terrible world, isn't it? No love in the world at all.'

He promised to send a gift from Neverland to show his appreciation for my report. 'Maybe a llama,' he said, his spirits seeming lifted by the thought. 'Do you have room for a llama? I'll send you a nice, big llama!' He chuckled, softly.

'Tell me, how you are able to perform with all of this business going on?' I asked.

'Last night's first show was good,' he said. 'But after every song I had to run backstage and get oxygen. It was so hot and humid, I thought I would die. Now, I'm sick. I think I'm dehydrated. I can hardly take a deep breath. I don't know how I will ever be able to sing tonight.'

'Have you talked to any of your family?' I asked. 'Did you know they are planning a press conference in support of you.'

'Oh, great,' Michael said, sounding unenthused about the notion. 'That's just... great.'

That same evening, Michael was scheduled to give his second concert in Bangkok. However, the show was cancelled, the first to be cancelled over the next few months with excuses that would range from dehydration to migraine headaches to dental work.

Shortly thereafter, the Jackson family held their press conference to 'take this opportunity, when our family has come together in unity and harmony, to convey our love and unfailing support for Michael.' In front of camera crews from around the world, the family members said that 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 success. We know, as does the whole world, that he has dedicated his life to providing happiness for young people everywhere. We are confident that his dignity and humanity will prevail.'

Also at the press conference, the family confirmed that they would soon leave the country to be at Michael's side.

In truth, Joseph could not have been more bereft about what was going on with his son. They had their differences, obviously. However, it was almost more than he could bear to see the televised news broadcasts relating to the scandal. In his view, Michael's success reflected upon him in a good and positive way. He felt that all Michael had achieved as a superstar was inextricably tied to what he had been in his son's life. He was proud of Michael. The last thing he wanted to do was see Michael's world laid to waste, yet there was nothing he could do about it, other than to be supportive. The problem, of course, was that Michael didn't want Joseph's support. Their history had been so volatile for so long, Michael had a strong, negative reaction to Joseph.

As for Katherine, Michael didn't want her involved in his life at this difficult time, either. He felt that she could be manipulated by the family to convince him to do the one thing he didn't want to do: another reunion show with the brothers.

Michael had always been the son Katherine was the proudest of, her favourite from the time he was a little tyke. However, lately she had been disapproving of him because she couldn't condone his private life. She simply didn't understand it, and with good reason: he wouldn't explain it. All she knew was that he was... different different. Unlike his siblings, he had never been in a serious, romantic relations.h.i.+p. She was worried about him. She would also support him, regardless of his quirks and eccentricities, and be the first to speak in his defence. In truth, though, she didn't really know Michael. She only knew the parts of himself he felt free to reveal to her, certainly not unusual in many complex, mother-son relations.h.i.+ps.

Before the scandal broke, the family told him of plans they had for an upcoming Jackson Family television special revolving around an achievement award that would be given to certain celebrities. Again, it was Jermaine's concept. Michael was clear; he wanted no misunderstanding about it: he wanted just limited partic.i.p.ation in the special; the best they could expect of him was that he might give out an award and sit in the audience. In a manner so typical of Jackson family business, there was a great deal of back-and-forth about Michael's partic.i.p.ation and, at one point, he wanted to back out, altogether. Now, with the family coming forth with their support at this difficult time in his life, he felt as if he was being backed into a corner where the programme was concerned. How could he disappoint them after they'd been so publicly loyal?

Enter: Lisa Marie Presley.

Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of rock and roll trailblazer Elvis Presley, had known Michael Jackson since 1974; the two met in Las Vegas during one of the Jackson family's engagements at the MGM Grand. Lisa was six, Michael, sixteen. Elvis brought her to see the show because she was a big fan of the group's. 'I always liked him,' Lisa Marie, who prefers to be called Lisa, recalled. 'Michael fascinated me with his talent. I loved watching him dance. He wanted to know me better, but I always thought he was sort of freakish. I didn't really want to know him any better than I already did.'

Born on 1 February 1968 to Elvis and Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie was destined for controversy just by virtue of her ill.u.s.trious lineage. She had a privileged childhood. Her father lavished her with gifts, including jewels and a fur coat for a five-year-old! Or, as her mother once put it, 'She had everything a child shouldn't have and couldn't appreciate.' She was spoiled or, as she bluntly recalled it, 'When I was a kid, forget it! I was a f.u.c.king little tyrant.'

She would also say of her childhood, 'There is not one bad memory about any of it, I have to admit. There was always a lot of energy around him [Elvis] and all over the house [at Graceland] when he was around. He was very mischievous.'

She would sit outside his bedroom at Graceland for hours, just waiting for him to awaken. Then, she would cuddle in his lap and, for no apparent reason, say things like: 'Daddy, please don't die.' She sensed that his time on earth would be brief. 'I was aware of the drug use,' she would later admit. 'I sensed it, knew it. His temper was bad at times. He didn't seem happy. I saw him taking pills, like c.o.c.ktails of pills. But I think he tried to hide it from me as best he could. Still, I knew. I felt sort of helpless. It hurt. It still hurts. He was such a good man, so decent.'

Lisa was nine when her father died in 1977. Horribly, she was present when his body was found on a bathroom floor, and watched as people attempted to revive him. 'What's wrong with my daddy?' she tearfully demanded to know. At the funeral, she seemed in complete shock as she walked about Graceland in a daze, saying to relatives, 'You know, I just can't believe that Elvis Presley is dead.'

In October 1988, Lisa married musician Danny Keough, already pregnant with their first child. Danielle Riley was born the following year, and Benjamin Storm in 1993. The relations.h.i.+p would last six years.

In February of 1993, Lisa and Michael were brought together again at a private dinner in the Los Angeles home of artist Brett Livingston-Stone, a mutual friend. At this time, Lisa had recorded four songs produced by her husband. She felt she had a lot to say about her unusual life as daughter of an icon, and was looking for a way to say it through her lyrics and music. 'I had a voice,' she once told me, in retrospect, 'but I didn't have the experience. Things always got too wild when people found out that Elvis's daughter wanted to sing. It became a matter of deals and money, money, money: I lost my fire for it. I lost the urge to create. I was scared, I guess, so I pulled back.'

'She had no confidence in herself as a vocalist,' said Brett Livingston-Stone. 'She was afraid of being compared to Elvis, afraid of rejection. When I suggested that Michael could help her, she said, 'He's a superstar. Do you really think he'd help me?' After dinner at my house, Lisa played tapes of some of her music, and Michael was blown away. He told her, "You have real talent... a fine voice. You could be a star. Let me see what I can do for you."'

As she sat with him and listened to stories about his life in the business, she found herself falling under his spell. According to Brett Livingston-Stone, when Michael was about to leave, he offered Lisa a penetrating look and, in a conspiratorial voice, said, 'You and me, we could get into a lot of trouble. Think about that, girl.'

In days to come, Michael and Lisa forged a surprising friends.h.i.+p, speaking on the telephone nearly every day. They realized that they shared the same kinds of backgrounds, both had been sheltered and protected from the real world, both felt they had missed out on their childhoods, both were mistrustful of outsiders after having spent most of their lives feeling exploited by outsiders. They had problems with the media. She was raised in Graceland. He lived in Neverland. On some strange level that only they understood, as Lisa recalled it, they seemed to be soul mates. 'The difference between them was that Lisa was working on herself, trying to come to terms with her celebrity,' said Brett Livingston-Stone. 'She didn't see herself as a victim. Michael did. I think she wanted to help him view himself in a different way.'

He truly was misunderstood, he told her. 'I know you think I'm gay,' he said. 'But I'm not. I get tired of people thinking I am gay. But, oh well, f.u.c.k them. I know you have heard a lot of things about me, in fact,' he continued, 'but most of it isn't true. And the stuff that is true, you shouldn't hold against me.' He winked at her.

'Hey, I'm a married woman,' Lisa said. 'And you're coming on to me.'

'Yes, but are you happy?' Michael asked.

'No.'

'See?' Michael remarked. 'I knew that. You look like a woman who needs to let go and have some fun. You look like a woman who needs to hook up with me me.'

Lisa was unable to disguise her surprise at his candour and his... normality. She recalled staring at him thinking, Who is is this man? She was right to be perplexed; he sure wasn't acting like the Michael Jackson others had known over the years. It was as if he had taken macho lessons from Joseph! Unbeknownst to Lisa, many people along the way had tried to put together the puzzle pieces of Michael's mercurial psychology, often flattering themselves into thinking they and they alone understood him better than others. It usually ended badly for them; they would learn that Michael is truly the only one who understands Michael. this man? She was right to be perplexed; he sure wasn't acting like the Michael Jackson others had known over the years. It was as if he had taken macho lessons from Joseph! Unbeknownst to Lisa, many people along the way had tried to put together the puzzle pieces of Michael's mercurial psychology, often flattering themselves into thinking they and they alone understood him better than others. It usually ended badly for them; they would learn that Michael is truly the only one who understands Michael.

Lisa recalled, 'I thought to myself, Wow, this is a real guy. He swears. He's funny. I told him, "Dude, if people knew who the h.e.l.l you really are, they would be so surprised. People wouldn't think I was so crazy for being into you if they saw who you really are; that you sit around and you drink and you curse and you're f.u.c.king funny, and you have a bad mouth and you don't have that high voice all the time."'

'He said, "Well just don't tell them." I thought he was normal and that everything you saw of him publicly was just a mask.'

Lisa recalled, 'As time went on, Michael and I talked more, I thought, I'm getting to know the real man here. He puts on an act for outsiders, this sort of victim thing, I thought, but I'm the one seeing the real deal, the real person. I started thinking I was special, that he was opening up to me as he never had to anyone else. He made me feel that way. He can be very seductive when he's pulling you in.'

In truth, as a potential mate, Michael did seem to have it all: intellect, drive, brains, energy, vision, success... money. As for his appearance, well that, admittedly, was a bit off-putting, with the plastic surgery and pale skin colouring. And his s.e.xuality still seemed ambiguous. However, he was kissing her fairly pa.s.sionately and, from many accounts, in public places. He seemed to enjoy doing it, too. Either he was playing some kind of manly role, perhaps an emotional consequence of the damaging allegations, or he was really interested in her. Lisa was definitely into him. 'I'm not a woman who goes for the norm, anyway,' Lisa said in explaining her attraction to him. 'I like strange guys, the ones on the edge, the ones with with an edge, the ones with fire in their bellies. That was Michael, to me.' an edge, the ones with fire in their bellies. That was Michael, to me.'

Lisa was Elvis's kid; she'd been around 'strange'. When she was seven, she and her daddy were eating breakfast in front of the TV when singer Robert Goulet happened to appear on the screen. For some reason, Elvis hated Robert Goulet. When he saw his image before him, he pulled out a .22 shot gun and blew the TV away, blasting it to smithereens. Then, he calmly went back to his ham and eggs. Lisa just sat in her chair, stunned. At least Michael was afraid of guns...

As far as Lisa was concerned, she and Michael were dating, and her motive was to see where it could take her, romantically. Most people in his circle, though, were not as certain as to his motives for being with Lisa, though he did seem to like her. There was talk that he was after her money, which was ludicrous as if he didn't have enough of his own.

As Elvis's sole beneficiary, Lisa would come into a fortune of about $300 million, but not until she turned thirty. Most of Lisa's money would be the result of the savvy Priscilla Beaulieu Presley's business ac.u.men. While Elvis had earned roughly $250 million in his life, by the time he died his estate was valued at $5.4 million. It was his ex-wife, Priscilla, who turned Elvis's failing Presley Enterprises around to make a profit. Turning Elvis's fourteen-acre estate, Graceland (purchased by him in 1957) into a tourist attraction, in 1982 was one stroke of genius on her part. It brought in $20 million a year.

Throughout 1993, during the time Michael seemed obsessed with Jordie Chandler, he was dating Lisa, intermittently. When the molestation allegations surfaced in his life, however, Michael's relations.h.i.+p with Lisa became a more urgent matter to him. Ironically, if not for Jordie's accusations and the ensuing scandal, he and Lisa may never have become anything more than just friends, a coupling similar to the innocuous, non-s.e.xual 'romances' he had with Brooke s.h.i.+elds and Tatum O'Neal. However, after Michael began the second leg of his Dangerous tour and the investigation intensified, he began to depend on Lisa for emotional support, telephoning her from overseas, seeming desperate and alone. During such anguished calls, Lisa would attempt to counter his sadness with humour, cheerfulness and good advice. As he grew to depend upon her, their relations.h.i.+p strengthened.

'I was in on the beginning of the molestation stuff, and I was getting the phone calls, and he was telling me that it was extortion,' she recalled. 'I believed him at the time. I mean, I was convinced. He was freaking out. I believed that he didn't do anything wrong, and that he was being wrongly accused and, yes, I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it.'

Elizabeth Taylor to the Rescue.

In the midst of all of the turmoil, there was some good news for Michael Jackson when he heard that Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, Larry Fortensky, would be joining him in Singapore, his next tour stop, to lend their emotional support and celebrate his thirty-fifth birthday with him.

Many people have wondered about Michael's relations.h.i.+p with Elizabeth, thinking it an unlikely friends.h.i.+p. However, they actually have a great deal in common and much more than just having been child stars. Like Elizabeth, Michael has known loneliness, he has lived in fear of not being able to fully love... and of not having love returned.

Michael once explained to me that he and Elizabeth first met in the early 1980s. Out of the blue, he had sent her a dozen tickets to one of his Los Angeles concerts at Dodger's Stadium. 'I didn't know it, but it was her birthday February 27,' Michael recalled. 'I thought I was giving her great seats because they were in the VIP box. But when Elizabeth got there, she became very angry because the seats were so far away from the stage. And she left, upset! The whole time I was performing, I was thinking, Oh my G.o.d, Elizabeth Taylor is watching me. Elizabeth Taylor is watching me! But, she wasn't even there. When I got offstage, they told me she had gone home, mad. The next day, I called her, and I cried because I felt so awful.'

According to Michael's memory, Elizabeth was cordial, but direct. 'Michael,' she said, 'a major star such as myself never never sits in the cheap seats.' sits in the cheap seats.'

'After that, we talked on the phone every day, on every stop of my tour,' Michael said. 'And I thought, Wow. Doesn't she have other things to do? After all, she's Elizabeth Taylor! At the end of the tour, I asked her if I could come by for tea. She said, "Yes." I brought Bubbles along. She didn't mind...'

When asked, Michael will always say that no one is a better, more understanding friend than Elizabeth Taylor. She can deal with any problem; nothing shocks her and she is always available with a warm hug and an understanding ear. Because she is also extraordinarily charismatic, it's easy to become swept away by Elizabeth just as it is easy to be swept away by Michael. The two became so fascinated with one another so quickly that, in 1989, Elizabeth toyed with the idea of moving Michael into her home so that they could spend all of their waking hours together. At the time, Michael was about to move out of his family home in Encino, and was considering buying Neverland.

'But why do you need all of that s.p.a.ce when you and I can live together in my home,' Elizabeth suggested, according to what Michael told me. 'Imagine the fun we'll have. Maybe we'll even get married.' She was probably being facetious; she, no doubt, realized that the ever-so-secretive Michael was troubled and in need of love and acceptance. Maybe she also sensed that he was ashamed of his inability at that time to truly connect with and be intimate with anyone, male or female. 'But will we have to have s.e.x?' an alarmed Michael wanted to know. 'Oh, of course not, you silly boy,' Elizabeth told him, cackling in her inimitable way. 'Why, I don't know any any married couples who have s.e.x!' Michael considered her proposition. 'In the end,' he said, 'I thought that might be taking things too far.' Instead Michael bought Neverland, but he and Elizabeth remained close friends. In fact, Elizabeth married her seventh husband, Larry Fortensky, under a gazebo at Neverland in 1991 amidst swans, doves and at least one giraffe in a million-dollar ceremony. married couples who have s.e.x!' Michael considered her proposition. 'In the end,' he said, 'I thought that might be taking things too far.' Instead Michael bought Neverland, but he and Elizabeth remained close friends. In fact, Elizabeth married her seventh husband, Larry Fortensky, under a gazebo at Neverland in 1991 amidst swans, doves and at least one giraffe in a million-dollar ceremony.

It speaks well of Elizabeth that she was so vociferous in her defence of Michael, especially since it wasn't a popular stance; such public support was certainly not forthcoming in the same degree from his other high-profile friends, such as Diana Ross, Jackie Ona.s.sis or Liza Minnelli. * *

'Michael is one of my best friends in the world,' Elizabeth Taylor told a reporter on the plane to Singapore; she and Larry Fortensky took the trip surrounded by a coterie of press people. 'I can't think of anything worse a human being could go through than what he's going through now,' she observed. 'He's a very sensitive, vulnerable, shy person. I believe that he will be vindicated.' When asked about the reason for such allegations, Elizabeth became irate. 'Ext-oooooortion,' she exclaimed in a shrill voice. 'I think that's clear. Well, isn't it? Well, isn't it?' she demanded, wanting the writer to agree with her.

On arrival, Elizabeth and Larry checked into the same hotel in which Michael was staying, the exquisite Raffles. As soon as she checked in, she rushed to her friend's room. When Michael answered the door, he collapsed into her arms in a heap. 'Oh, there, there, you poor thing,' she said, patting him on the back. 'I'm here, now. Elizabeth is here.'

Michael did manage a show that night, 29 August, his birthday. At the end, forty thousand people sang 'Happy Birthday' to him. Later, Elizabeth hosted a small party for him in his suite.

The next stop was Taiwan, which is where Joe, Katherine and some of the Jackson boys had decided to join Michael. 'Just what I need,' he told Elizabeth, according to a witness. 'Why do they have to come?'

'They are your family, Michael,' she said. 'You must put up with them.'

'My father,' Michael said, burying his face in his hands. 'I can't even stand to be in the same room with that man.'