The Father Michael Jackson Paid Off

Since being home from University for Spring Break television has sadly been some of the best company I’ve had, and for the most part the stimulus for my blog musings. Tonight’s entry is no exception, as last night’s viewing compels me to write on an issue I have thus far refrained from discussing, and that is the child molestation case against Michael Jackson.

Child Sex Sells

It is an issue that last night the BBC raised with the usual sensationalism that surrounds child sex hysteria that, like regular sex before it, is selling like hot cakes and is sure to draw in the crowds. Throw in arguably the world’s most famous most living man and you’ve got yourself a ratings winner. But like most products boasting appeal but lacking substance (think luxury items – chocolates, perfumes, Schwarzenegger movies) the pointedly titled The Boy Michael Jackson Paid Off was exquisitely packaged with deftly edited archive footage, a remixed Jacko soundtrack and (thankfully tasteful) dramatic reconstructions, but ultimately lacking the hard facts to make the tagline, “Is Michael Jackson a lost child or a paedophilic man?” a real conundrum.

The documentary come crime saga come music video dealt with the first of two allegations concerning child sex abuse and Michael Jackson, its recurrence perhaps the only reasoning for serious trial for both prosecutors’ –the Santa Barbara District Attorney trying Jackson and the salacious media prematurely hanging him. Otherwise it told a story that not only seemingly exonerated Michael Jackson but proved him a twice victim of extortion – the scams of this and the last century. You might be forgiven for believing he was guilty of these charges, considering the erroneous media coverage, but you’d be wrong.

From the Dentist’s Chair

Michael Jackson may in fact be guilty of poor judgement, having made himself vulnerable to such charges by not addressing his penchant for the bedtime company of small children since the 1993 allegations, but he is no paedophile. Those allegations, and the subject of the BBC programme, sprung from a sum of child custody, Hollywood aspiration and dodgy dentistry and went public when a private settlement with Jackson was not reached. That original settlement of a movie deal was solicited by dentist and aspiring script writer, Evan Chandler, the estranged biological father privately accusing Michael Jackson of molesting his son, Jordan. When that deal was not met the accusations went public, and as Evan Chandler had promised in a secretly taped telephone conversation, “I will get everything I want, and they will be destroyed forever. June [the mother] will lose custody of the boy and Michael’s career will be over.” When Dave Shwartz, Jordan’s stepfather and the other half of that conversation asked how his plan might help the boy, Evan replied, “That’s irrelevant to me.”

Although ‘the boy’ admitted to sharing a bed with Jackson he had never himself accused the star of any sexual misconduct. That was until Evan performed dental work on his son, during which he decided to intravenously administer sodium Amytal, a psychiatric drug unusual in baby-tooth extraction but known to provide false memories. Evan then took Jordan to a child psychiatrist who was required to file a report with the authorities, a criminal investigation began and the media had something of a field day.

HIStory Repeating

The first case of child sex abuse involving Jordan Chandler, hence the title of the documentary, was settled out of court when it became clear to Jackson and his lawyers that justice might not prevail, not without an agonising ordeal. The LAPD had invested millions of dollars in their investigation, interviewing scores of children all over the world, not one of whom accused Jackson of any wrongdoing, despite the zealous and maverick techniques of detectives: they told interviewees that other children had admitted to it when they had not. A humiliating strip search was then issued on Michael Jackson and photographs were taken of his body but they did not match the description Jordan had given. And although a plethora of ‘witnesses’ had appeared before the court of public opinion, on television and in the press, none agreed to testify against Jackson and when Evan accepted the out of court settlement the LAPD reluctantly announced that no criminal charges would be brought against Michael Jackson citing a lack of evidence.

Despite being investigated by the Department of Children’s Services and dropped, the same district attorney from the 1993 case Tom Sneddon jumped at the chance to pursue claims that arose after the Martin Bashir documentary, Living with Michael Jackson was aired in February last year. In his final year of service before retirement Sneddon, having been ridiculed by Jackson in a 1995 song that accused him of “brothering with the KKK”, could not contain his excitement at an initial press conference where he jokingly encouraged the media attention that might improve California’s failing economy. The excitement wore off when Sneddon twice asked the presiding Superior Court judge Clifford Anderson for more time to gather evidence.

This time however Michael Jackson is going to court. But when you consider the history of the previous case, for which Evan Chandler actually hopes to sell the movie rights, and the history of the current accuser, who has twice previously claimed that her son has been abused to receive out-of-court settlements, we might wonder why the media is seriously asking if Michael Jackson is a paedophile. He might be an idiot most of the time but he is not as Bad or as Dangerous as his album titles would have us believe. And I certainly hope he is not HIStory.