Original subtitles

This is my...my inspiration.

Real quick.

The number one artist in the world!

That level of megastardom is not healthy.

People are not gods.

Tonight, Jackson is wanted by police

of multiple felony counts of child molestation.

The Jackson machine just keeps right on rolling.

Sony Corporation believes it has a profitable partner

in Michael Jackson.

Together, they could make $1 billion.

As NBC's Mike Jensen reports tonight, teach your kids to sing.

It's the kind of contract that takes your breath away.

A projected $1 billion for six Michael Jackson albums

plus feature films, videos and video games.

Michael, in the 1980s,

you had the largest selling album in history with Thriller.

Now, with Dangerous, you've given us

the fastest selling album of your career.

We're prouder than ever to have you part of the Sony Music family.

The thrilling fact is that the best is definitely yet to come.

FANS SCREAM

When I joined Sony, Michael Jackson was the biggest star in the world.

He was the guy.

I don't know any other way to describe it.

I mean, we all lived through it.

TV REPORT: The Michael Jackson world tour is on the road again.

It was incredibly exciting.

He was selling out stadiums, making record money.

He was the franchise. I mean, let's be honest.

FANS SHOUT

We are all in the business of succeeding.

And when you're working in a company like Sony Music,

you want Michael Jackson to succeed.

Michael! Michael!

My name is Rosibel Smith,

and for 31 years I was employed by the Los Angeles Police Department.

In 1993,

while working juvenile division at the LAPD,

I was working the Sexually Exploited Child Unit.

I was advised by my supervisor,

who was the officer in charge of the unit,

that a case had come in involving a young boy,

who was 13 years of age,

and that the perpetrator was Michael Jackson.

I was a little, um, in disbelief

that it was Michael Jackson doing this,

because I grew up watching Michael Jackson,

I knew the Jackson 5 cartoons when I was a kid,

and I really enjoyed his music.

CROWD SHOUTS AND SCREAMS

But we had a job to do,

and that job was to go out and just handle it

just like any other case at that time.

Our role was to find out if Mr Jackson

had committed the crime of

sexual molestation against children.

And on the same token,

we have to find out if the children,

they were telling the truth.

We had to interview the victim.

The victim had actually met Michael Jackson at a restaurant.

He was very, very little.

Then years later,

that relationship grew and they began to visit each other.

The victim was alleging that Michael would oftentimes

rub his body against his body.

He alleged that Michael Jackson fondled him and masturbated him.

Um...

He alleged that Michael liked to have his nipples

rubbed, squeezed.

Kissing.

Then they had graduated to oral copulation,

they bathed together

and to the point where eventually

Michael Jackson consumed his semen.

We had heard on the grapevine that there were these

allegations circulating.

And it was a shock to everybody.

Yeah, we knew he was hanging with kids,

but I saw him hang with the kids

and I saw that it was completely innocent.

CHILD SHOUTS, MICHAEL LAUGHS

I saw he was playing games with them.

I saw the kids wanting to hang with him.

Quicksand up ahead!

I really hoped the allegations weren't true.

The feeling was trying to contain it.

Obviously, we were thinking of, you know,

the immediate impact on the tour

because you got to keep the business going, the tour going,

the album sales, everything and the impact of that.

So it was pretty... It was pretty tense.

We went into crisis mode, both with our team and the PR team.

But ultimately, the story was so huge

it was going to get out no matter what we did.

There was no stopping it.

In Southern California, the press, police, lawyers

and private investigators are in orbit tonight over an investigation

of child abuse allegations involving superstar Michael Jackson.

There's still no comment from Michael Jackson this morning

and Los Angeles Police aren't saying much.

But they have confirmed reports of a criminal investigation

of the pop superstar.

All hell broke loose.

Television station KNBC in Los Angeles

first broke the story last night, saying that a mother had alleged

Jackson abused her child.

August 17th, the Los Angeles Police Department initiated

a criminal investigation of entertainer Michael Jackson.

Every news channel, every hour,

the top story was Michael Jackson.

Confidential documents obtained by NBC News

quoted the boy's reference to acts of oral sex and masturbation.

The allegations now surfacing are ugly enough

to shatter any icon's image.

Kids everywhere are talking about the scandalous accusations,

hoping they're not true.

Has Michael Jackson ever molested a child?

Ever done anything improper with a child?

No, never. No, never.

That's crazy. Never.

My son is not guilty.

He'd need a trial.

These people aren't waiting. They're trying to...

Trying to... They're trying him.

That's right. And I'm tired of it.

CROWD CHANTS: Open the window! Open the window!

Everything was suddenly bad.

Everything was, um...

..emotional.

Talking to Michael was different because he was different.

Suddenly, he was no longer the happy Michael that I used to talk to.

He sounded depressed.

I felt like it was over, like there was no way he could come back

from these terrible things being said.

Eventually he came back to America.

We had the information from the victim about

Michael's body,

and specifically the markings on his body.

So the only way that a child would see that

is if Michael was nude.

Then our unit prepared a search warrant to search

or to view Michael's body,

and this included the genitals.

We explained to him, we have a search warrant signed by the judge

to take pictures of your private parts.

He said, "You assholes".

The outcome

was that evidence that was provided

by Jordan Chandler...

..it was confirmed.

INTERCOM: Can I help you?

Yeah, we'd like to talk to Michael Jackson. Has he come back?

I have no comment, sir. No comment, huh?

I don't necessarily think he's guilty,

but I don't necessarily think he's innocent either,

because I don't know.

Well, I don't know if he's guilty or not,

but I think that he needs to come back and face the charges.

He's looking pretty guilty right now.

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Michael! Michael!

TV PRESENTER: There is real fear tonight that the catastrophic

publicity will result in the destruction of a $1 billion empire

and the ruin of a man.

Sony stock has fallen

because investors are very much concerned that the huge investment

that they have in Michael Jackson is, in fact, not going to pay off.

When the allegations surfaced...

..I read them, watched them on TV,

like everyone else did...

..and I felt that they were extremely unfair.

Michael Jackson was unequivocally

the biggest artist in the company.

And if he's not succeeding...

..guess what? Jobs get lost.

Is Michael Jackson going to make any statement?

He's got a whole cadre of international cameras there

every night.

Up to that point, Michael had been laying low.

But once the allegations are out there,

you can't take them back again.

And so we needed to get him in front of the public

to unequivocally deny these allegations.

Michael Jackson came out of seclusion today

without leaving home.

The pop star angrily rejected accusations he molested a young boy

and lashed out at police and the media.

There have been many disgusting statements

made recently concerning allegations

of improper conduct on my part.

These statements about me are totally false.

At every opportunity, the media has dissected

and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions.

I ask all of you to wait and hear the truth

before you label or condemn me.

Don't treat me like a criminal because I am innocent.

Jackson's defiant declaration of innocence

comes as the latest counterpoint in a case

that's saturated with rumour, innuendo

and almost daily revelations about the singer.

Separating fact from fiction can be difficult.

For years I have been working for Michael,

who unfortunately has been the victim of this and other types

of extortion attempts.

The demand for $20 million was made and presented.

It was flatly and consistently refused.

Many people try to extort Michael because of who he is

and, you know, the amount of money he has.

And these people wanted $20 million.

As far as the victim is concerned,

I did not get anything as far as any, like, money motivation.

However, the parents were a different story.

The Hollywood Reporter, an entertainment trade paper,

said today that the boy's father had negotiated with Jackson

for a $20 million movie deal.

The father is a prominent Beverly Hills dentist

and part-time screenwriter.

CBS News has obtained a taped phone conversation.

The voice is reportedly the father of the 13-year-old boy.

The father did in fact ask for money

to keep the situation quiet.

So it did...

..hurt the case a little bit.

I think it's pathetic that somebody would go after someone like

Michael Jackson with such vigour, and it's obvious what they want.

And it seems obvious to me that he is innocent.

I know that there's a lot of people in this business that try

and take advantage of people and, you know,

I'm sure that it will all work out.

And I'm sure that he's innocent, you know?

But only God knows the truth, you know?

CROWD SCREAMS AND CHEERS

More and more, people started to question the allegations.

So the management team started capitalising on that momentum.

The main strategy was to, um,

endear Michael

to the black community

and to get the black community back on Michael's side.

Because once the black community's behind you, you got it

because, you know, we're a big group

and race relations at that time,

it was a hotbed.

SIRENS WAIL

NEWS PRESENTER: Parts of Los Angeles erupted in unrest

after a jury acquitted four white Los Angeles police officers

over the videotaped beating of Rodney King, a black motorist.

SHOUTING, SIRENS WAIL

What happened with Rodney King, it doesn't make no sense to me.

They treating black people like we're dogs, you know?

Like, we can't get nowhere.

We have no rights that the white man respect.

TV COMMENTARY: Race is tearing America apart.

Now, more than ever, minority Americans believe

there are two kinds of justice -

the white kind and the kind they get.

Someone was friends with this African-American attorney

named Johnnie Cochran.

And so he suggested that Johnnie would be the best person

for Michael's case,

not only because he's black, but also because he was brilliant.

Mr Cochran, let me start with you. Why do you think it was important

for Michael Jackson to speak out now?

Well, I think, Katie, that after months of being barraged

with negative attacks, it was time.

Everyone who was on Michael's team knew that having a black face

as the front man for the defence would, um...

..bring the black community to Michael's defence as well.

APPLAUSE

The king of pop, rock and soul - Mr Michael Jackson.

APPLAUSE

Michael's first public appearance after his statement

about the allegations was at the NAACP Image Awards,

and that's the National Association

for the Advancement of Colored People.

APPLAUSE

I was in the audience when Michael walked out on that stage.

The house went crazy.

Everyone was in support of Michael.

No-one wanted to believe these allegations.

For decades, the NAACP had stood at the forefront

of the struggle for equal justice under the law

for all people in our land.

And his speech was based on being a proud black man

and how, you know, we have to stick together

against racial inequality and injustice.

Everyone is presumed to be innocent and totally innocent

until they are charged with a crime

and then convicted by a jury of their peers.

RAPTUROUS APPLAUSE

It was such a powerful speech.

With all of the stuff that was happening to the black community...

..it felt like Michael's innocence was important

and it was what we needed.

Everybody wanted him to be back on top.

The family of a teenage boy is dropping its charge

that Michael Jackson molested the boy.

Larry Carroll tells us the civil suit is now over.

We wish to jointly announce a mutual resolution of this lawsuit.

This boy wanted to get on with his life.

When that case was settled,

and I believe that the pay-out for that settlement was 20 million,

or maybe a little more over $20 million,

the family accepted the settlement.

The resolution of this case is in no way an admission of guilt

by Michael Jackson.

Being a megastar like he was,

he had the advantage with money, with attorneys,

with really coming out and doing pretty much whatever he wanted

in order to defend himself.

So that was pretty much the end of our case.

I felt bad because Rosie and I,

we were certain that we had a good case,

but when the victim doesn't want to testify...

..there is a saying that says "no victim, no crime."

So, nothing that we could do.

Read all about it! Hollywood sex scandals!

Heidi's little black book.

The Hollywood Hooker and Heidi-gate.

Loni Anderson says, "Burt's a dud in bed."

Uh-oh!

In this billion dollar business, there's only one story

that's guaranteed - a big name in trouble.

That's the best news of all.

But of course, the one that's grabbing the headlines right now

are the allegations about Michael Jackson,

the biggest superstar in the world.

Michael Jackson is our window into the new news business

and the magazine shows, talk shows, news chats

that feed off tabloid truth.

Michael Jackson,

violator or victim?

What do you think about Michael? Well...

No, I think it's true. He settled for all that money.

Yeah. He settled for all that amount of money.

I think something's up when he settles for over $10 million

to shut someone up.

I don't know, it's a shame, because I think Michael has been dragged

through the mud a lot. You know, I don't know if he's a victim

or if he did it or not, but like he's lost that wholesome image

forever, you know?

The allegations really changed how the public, I think, thought of him.

And Michael had to kind of rehabilitate that image.

People had been obsessed with Michael's sexuality his whole life.

And his managers thought it would be cool if the press found out

that Michael had a girlfriend.

Michael and Lisa started dating

soon after the allegations had been settled.

Michael Joseph Jackson. Lisa Marie Presley.

He knew that marrying Elvis Presley's daughter

would be headlines everywhere.

Everyone would be talking about that,

and they'd no longer talk about this horrible time in his life.

With this ring I do wed.

With this ring I do wed.

You've heard the talk for weeks.

It's surprising and it's apparently true.

The daughter of Elvis Presley confirms today

she is now married to Michael Jackson.

Let's go to Vince Dementri in New York. Vince.

John, hopefully you can see behind me the throngs of stargazers

right behind me. We are just outside of the world-famous

Trump Tower, where Donald Trump tells us, yes, indeed,

that Lisa Marie Presley and her new beau,

Michael Jackson, are holed up here on the top floor.

Well, I'm very, very happy for them.

I think it's great.

They're very happy

and I think everybody's happy.

They're great people.

I first met Michael in 1988.

Michael was on tour in Germany at that time.

And so they called me and said Michael is a big fan of mine

and he would love to meet me.

And we hit it off.

And he got to know the whole family.

I also knew Lisa Marie Presley

because she spent lots of time in Los Angeles.

So I knew them separately.

And then later Lisa came to me one day and said,

"Look, Michael is hitting on me

"and he actually wants to marry me.

"What do you think? Should I do that?"

So I said, "Go for it."

For him, it was also he liked Lisa

because she was the daughter of The King.

So he was also a king - King of Pop, yeah?

CHEERING

This is a big deal.

We had never seen him get romantic with a woman like this.

Ever.

I'm very happy to be here.

And just think, nobody thought this would last.

LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE

EXUBERANT CHEERING

It did work in the way that Michael wanted it to work,

in that everyone was talking about it.

But at the same time the public wasn't really buying it.

It's all a cover-up.

It's all a cover-up from the little child thing.

That's what I think it is, and that's about it.

You don't think it's true love? No.

I think it's a sham.

Heterosexual marriage would certainly take some of the heat off

being accused of being a homosexual paedophile.

FANS SCREAM

But Michael and Lisa were only together for around 18 months.

It's splitsville for Graceland and Neverland.

Many of you may find this hard to believe,

but Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson are getting a divorce.

So, Tony, it looks like the gloved one is no longer the loved one.

Oh, such a sad story.

Sorry to hear that, sorry to see that.

What a shock, what a surprise.

It was kind of hard to watch.

He was trying to maintain his position as like

the biggest superstar in the world,

and it wasn't quite working.

This is a man who changed the music industry.

He is a musical genius.

And people don't think of him in that sense any more.

They think of him as a freak.

Is there any way that he can lift himself out of this trough

that he has largely dug for himself?

When he was working on the HIStory album,

Michael called me and said,

"Look, I want to use some of your paintings for the artwork."

That was the painting that he really liked.

And then spontaneously he wrote this poem directly on the picture.

"With such confusion, don't it make you want to scream?

"You try to cope with every lie

"To scrutinise somebody

"Please have mercy

"Because I just can't take it."

If you listen to the lyrics and the songs

and the overall vibe of the tracks on HIStory,

they're very aggressive, they're very defensive.

Even the Scream video is very dark for Michael.

Then for the HIStory album promo,

Michael chose a dictator-esque image.

He's got these military troops marching behind him

and a godlike aura.

That's what he wanted to push out there.

Still on top, still, you know,

the biggest pop superstar in the history of music.

NEWS PRESENTER: Tower Bridge was raised this afternoon

to allow a 30 foot statue of rock star Michael Jackson

to pass along the Thames on a barge.

SCREAMING AND CHEERING

I think it's brilliant.

It's just the best thing that's happened on the River Thames.

He's a mega star, yeah, they call him the King of Pop

so if he can afford to do this, why not?

For the HIStory tour,

Michael decided to focus on his fan base abroad.

And his popularity continued over in Europe and the UK, Asia

versus the US, where it was kind of slipping a little bit

because of the allegations and all the media circus around that.

CHANTING: Michael! Michael! Michael!

CHANTING: Michael! Michael!

It's like a dream come true.

I touched him!

I'm not going to wash my hand.

I remember this one time I was with Michael in Budapest...

..and the hotel was surrounded,

under siege by thousands of young people.

CHANTING AND CHEERING

And what he did, he'd draw a curtain a little bit,

and then he had his glove on,

and people screeched. It was like an explosion down there.

FANS SCREAM

He was laughing and said, "Oh, my God, look!

"Did you hear? Do you hear?"

SCREAMING

I think there's a deep desire to look up for people

that are bigger than life, yeah?

As role models or as somebody you can worship.

I mean, I think that's what mankind needs.

But I think the danger is...

..when everybody worships you,

is that you start to believe it in a way that

you start to worship yourself, and I think that's very dangerous.

Can I have a hug, please? Please, may I hug you?

Please?

SHE CRIES: I love you. I love you more.

But he was enjoying that. He liked to have that effect on people.

Love you.

Sir, sir. This way.

Germany loves you, Michael. I love Germany.

Oh, we love you.

GIRL SOBS

CACOPHONY OF NOISE

PAPARAZZI SHOUT

CAR HORN HOOTS

OK, OK, OK. Stay on the side. OK, of course.

Stay in that corner. Stay in that corner.

Stay in that corner. OK. Michael?

Michael?

Step back. Please.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Where's your camera? Yes, yes.

Please.

Please. Please. Please.

Come on. OK, please.

Go, go.

OK?

When I met Michael,

I saw that he was addicted to fame.

I was a well-known rabbi

and Michael and I had become friends.

Michael really needed to be loved,

and he chose to be loved in...

..really, in an unhealthy way,

which was through superstardom

and the devotion of fans.

Sir, you're in the way!

I said to him, "You've made the mistake of substituting love

"for this, this cheap forgery called attention.

"And attention is never a good substitute for love.

"It's never real."

This attention became an addiction

because he interpreted it as love

and it became a monster.

PAPARAZZI SHOUT

I felt that one of my principal objectives

was to tether him back to humility.

And so our conversations became kind of therapy.

He wanted every word

recorded for posterity.

We recorded it on these two flimsy dicta machines,

you know, they're on these tiny little tapes.

CROWD CHANTS: Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael!

FANS SCREAM

He needed something to live for.

And as he explained it to me,

he always wanted to be around kids.

He loved the innocence of a child,

he loved the creativity of a child

because for him, the adult world was people wanting money from him

and people wanting to know him for all the wrong reasons.

CHILDREN SHRIEK

At that time in his life...

..I think that Michael wanted to be a father.

CHILDREN SCREAM

Because kids, as long as you give them unconditional love,

they really give it back.

They are mirror reflections of the love that we give them.

And he was going to give them the greatest love, and they did.

And that's what happened.

Ooh!

Something to wear tonight. Teletubbies.

Who's that?

Lala. That's right, it's Lala.

I think having children gave him a renewed sense of purpose,

a renewed sense of energy and direction.

That's cute.

BABY WHIMPERS

That's a great shot. It is. It is.

It's OK.

MICHAEL JACKSON: I want to be successful at being a great father.

I want... I want them to say we felt completely loved

and he was, like, incredible.

That's my biggest dreams, one day for Prince and Paris

just to say to somebody, "He was the best dad."

One, two, three.

ALL: Surprise!

Wooo!

CLAPPING

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday dear Prince... #

I'd been working with Michael for four years

by the time he had his children.

When Prince and Paris came along...

..I saw a different, a different person.

Can we do one where we all just point at the camera like this?

OK. All of us.

His life was now about the children.

That was his priority.

And he was getting more and more

absolutely clear about his future.

He was saying, "Dieter"...

.."I did everything I could do in my life for the music,

"and I think I did it well, and everybody made a lot of money.

"But new people coming,

"other music is coming."

And he had a feeling he will never be successful like he was,

and he was fine with it.

Michael said he didn't want to be a trained monkey forever.

It's over.

Will you give it to Howie? Come on, let's do it.

THEY LAUGH

But when you start not to do

what this, he called it system, wants,

then you're in trouble.

Let's make it three.

# You never...

# You never thought of before

# When you live, when you love

# And you give them your all

# You can always... #

Sony was pushing him to continue his career.

They were trying to get him to finish this album, Invincible.

Wasn't my business but, you know, screw the album.

We have to make your life healthy again.

So there was a war for the soul of Michael Jackson.

Sony Music was one of the biggest labels in the world, hands down.

And with Michael,

well, there's a lot of money changing hands.

So, yes, it's cut-throat.

But Sony Music was no more cut-throat than any other label.

Michael's relationship was a contentious one

with his record label.

I was there to help facilitate a record

he was putting out, called Invincible,

which was his official last studio record with Sony,

and things were going over budget.

We had rented out the entire floor

at the Plaza Hotel in New York.

And for anybody who doesn't know that,

that is extremely expensive, crazy.

And he wasn't even showing up for things.

FANS CHANT: Michael!

A record company is there to make money.

They are an investment firm in a way

who is invested in you to produce something.

CHEERING

When we got the phone call that this was, you know,

"How dare he? This was the most expensive record we've ever made."

You know? And I'm like, "Oh, OK." I'm like, "How much?"

"30 million." I'm like, ooh, sh...!

So it was kind of... It was a problem.

But everybody was really trying to get him in tow

so we could make a deadline for album release.

CHEERING

Thank you!

There's one time where I was asked to pick up a package at a house

that apparently was being sold and is empty,

and in the mailbox was this package.

And I opened it up and it happened to be full of Demerol,

which is a prescription pain medication,

but a lot of it.

It was a known thing that you don't ask.

I said, "What's going...?"

And I was like, "Oh, OK, um, never mind."

But then he would go to the studio as long as he had his magical pills.

But it was all so confusing at the same time.

It wasn't... I'm not there to look at someone and unwrap the package.

I'm there to get records done, right?

There were so many people who were reliant on him

to be the golden goose that lays eggs again.

But he knew that path was corrosive.

It frightened me.

There was too much conflict going on with him.

And I, I sensed and I saw that I was losing my influence.

And I told him, "I'm not going to watch you drive your life

"off a cliff and clap."

CHEERING AND SCREAMING

FANS SCREAM

TV COMMENTARY: Invincible has sold two million copies in six months

and that ain't invincible.

The flop of Invincible, along with a general downturn in sales,

means that Sony's share price has suffered of late.

Michael told me, "You know what?

"I can't do this any more."

Michael was done with the music

and with touring and all of this.

But Sony was not happy at all with this.

So he knew he has to fight

to come out of this situation.

From my vantage point,

he got a tremendous amount of support from Sony Music.

But you have to understand, they're artists,

they're all narcissists.

They can't help themselves, OK?

If their record's not selling, it's someone's fault.

You know, if their tour's not doing well, it's someone's fault.

Someone is always to blame.

Michael Jackson is the architect of his own destiny.

Like every single human being,

whether you're special or not,

you are the creator of the reality you live in.

I remember we were required to go to New York City,

and then he's whisked off to Al Sharpton's church.

I personally think he was jacked up on something.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Throughout the years...

..black artists have been taken advantage of completely.

APPLAUSE

If Sony, Tommy Mottola...

Tommy Mottola is the president of the record division,

he is a mean, he's a racist...

..and he's very, very, very devilish.

APPLAUSE

You know, this just... It just exploded right there.

NEWS REPORTER: Sony's statement reads,

"We were deeply offended by the outrageous comments Mr Jackson made.

"Mr Jackson has committed a serious abuse of power

"that comes with celebrity."

SHOUTING AND SCREAMING

Look at this.

CROWD SCREAMS

CROWD CHANTS: Sony sucks! Sony sucks!

Sony sucks! Sony sucks!

He told me, "Dieter, you need to help me.

"It's over."

He asked me to terminate all his contracts

with his lawyers, with his team, with everybody.

And he did want that I take over everything.

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Michael Jackson.

And rather than writing you a letter,

I've found this format to be most efficient

for what I wish to communicate.

Dieter Weisner from Germany

and myself have entered into an agreement,

an exclusive long term partnership.

He gave me a power of attorney.

I will personally sign agreements.

I legally authorise my partners to sign on my behalf.

But he told me, "Dieter, the old team,

"they will be after you."

They called once and told me,

"You take our golden cow

"and you have to stop this."

And, um...

But I was on Michael's side, of course, and I did what he'd want.

I remember these words from Michael to me.

"I put my life and my future in your hand."

CHILD CRIES

Wait, wait, wait.

PRINCE CRIES

When it comes to distributing cookies,

we get to see children's real personality.

Here, come here.

Prince, over here,

before I grind you into hamburger.

No! You want the cookie, you behave.

PRINCE CRIES

Here. OK, here. Here's the cookie.

Paris, do you want some of this?

By that time, I wasn't involved in his life.

Paris, are you going to say thank you?

Turn around.

Paris, you want that?

I received a phone call from...

..a producer that worked with Martin Bashir.

Martin Bashir wants to interview Michael Jackson.

OK. You're getting the big one.

I got off the phone and I went to Michael and said, "First of all,

"your life, it's not ready to be open to the public.

"Stay a billion miles away from this guy."

But Michael was an insecure person

who is going to look for the validation of the public.

He wanted to talk about his whole life,

his career,

that people really understand him.

So Martin Bashir followed Michael for eight months.

How do you write a song?

How do you write a song?

When I wrote Billie Jean,

I was writing in my car down Ventura Boulevard.

All I said to myself beforehand,

I want to write a song with a great bass hook, you know?

SINGS THE BILLIE JEAN BASS LINE

You know... Where did that come from?

From above. The dance as well? Yeah, same thing.

How do you do it?

Can you show me how you do it?

Oh, boy. Come on, just get up and... I'm shy.

Oh, come on, just show me. Just show me...

Just show me. Show me what you do.

Teach me.

OK. Er...

Oh, boy. You're putting me on the spot now.

Come on. Now people are discovering something about me.

I'm really shy, I'm embarrassed. OK, you're shy. Just get up and show me.

Erm... OK.

Michael opened the door for everything.

CROWD CHANT AND CHEER

Michael had just had another child.

We was in the room together

and Michael heard the screaming from the fans.

It was a beautiful feeling.

CROWD CHEERS

And Michael was so excited. I was behind him.

He took Blanket...

..but he had him really fast under his arm.

CROWD CHANTS

CROWD SCREAMS

And the next morning I came out of my room

and I saw all over the newspaper.

That was not a nice, not a nice picture.

But, of course, Martin Bashir, he was there.

I love you. Here he is.

But I want to give you this bottle!

Wait, wait. Ah!

Here's the bottle.

It's OK. Just get this off. Ow! Oh, please don't cry, Blanket.

BABY CRIES

OK, OK. Here we go. A-boo. A-boo.

A-boo! Boo, boo, boo!

BABY CRIES

Yes. A-boo!

Blanket. Blanket.

Blanket. Blanket. Blanket! I love you!

Blanket. Yes, yes, yes!

Have you been hearing about what people have been saying?

It's totally ignorant.

I would never do that to my children or any child.

Try to kill them? Come on, stupid.

And why would I put a scarf over the baby's face

if I was trying to throw him off the balcony?

We were waving to thousands of fans down below and they were chanting,

they wanted to see my child.

So I was kind enough to let them see.

I was doing something out of innocence.

When Living With Michael Jackson airs this evening,

these streets are going to be deserted.

Fans and critics alike are saying they're going to be staying in

to watch the programme.

With his reputation in America very much at stake,

for Michael Jackson, it must be a nervous wait.

I didn't want that we watched the documentary

until I know what happened.

But Michael, of course he want to see it.

We watched it on TV together.

Eight months ago, I put a proposal to Michael Jackson -

show me the real man

but show me everything, make nothing off limits.

He thought about it and then he said, "Yes, come to Neverland."

We began a journey together across continents,

through his past and rapidly into the disturbing reality

of his life today.

In the documentary...

..was this young boy, Gavin Arvizo.

And he was taking care of him.

When people hear that children from other families

have come and they've stayed in your house,

they've stayed in your bedroom...

Well, very few.

But you know, some have.

And they say,

is that really appropriate for a man, a grown man, to be doing that?

How do you respond to that?

I feel sorry for them because that's judging someone

who just wants to really help people.

Why can't you share your bed?

The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone.

When I saw this, I got a very bad feeling.

When you're talking about children,

if I said, "Well, I've invited some of my daughter's friends round,

"or my son's friends round,

"and they're going to sleep in the bed with me tonight..." That's fine.

What do you think their parents would say?

If they're wacky, they would say you can't.

I suppose the problem for many people

is what happened in 1993

or what didn't happen.

What didn't happen.

One bombshell after another about his bizarre behaviour

in a new British documentary.

Jackson admits he still has sleepovers with young boys.

I felt...

..shock. Absolute shock.

Have you lost all touch with reality...

..that you don't even know how people are going to

react to that?

He said he slept in a bed with children that are not his own.

I mean, this isn't made up, this isn't fabricated.

What kind of loony would, A, do it,

and, B, go on national TV and admit it?

Michael crossed lines that clearly are uncrossable.

Sharing a bed with a child that's not yours,

even if it's not sexual, it's still insanity.

We got the reaction from all over, of course.

It was terrible.

You can't sleep with strangers' kids.

As much as I love Michael Jackson,

I'm having a hard time defending him right now.

I believe that child welfare services should interview

every child that has been at Neverland

with Mr Jackson in his bedroom or anywhere else in the home

without the presence of their parents,

find out what's going on.

He couldn't talk,

and he was sitting on his bed crying.

What's ahead for Michael Jackson?

What do you think's ahead after this? Oh, a real bumpy road.

I don't think he'll recover from this one.

That documentary led directly or indirectly

to Michael Jackson's death. There's absolutely no question about it.

That was the beginning of the end.

Michael Jackson wasn't the ordinary paedophile.

He had the means to be able to do things

that no-one else I had ever prosecuted could do.

An estate that was 2,800 acres,

and a huge house with multiple locks,

a staff that just ignored what was going on.

That was unique to Michael Jackson.

Gavin, can you tell us what your conversations,

what you guys talked about?

We had lost the opportunity ten years earlier.

And we were determined that that not happen again.