1993 Michael Jackson sexual abuse allegations
In August 1993, as the second leg of Jackson's Dangerous World Tour began, news of the allegations broke and received worldwide media attention.[14] He said he had hired "the nastiest son of a bitch he could find", the lawyer Barry Rothman, to humiliate Jackson, and said:[14] Once I make that phone call, this guy is going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty, cruel way that he can do it.[14] Over a three-hour session, Jordan told Abrams that Jackson had sexually abused him for months and gave graphic accounts of masturbation and oral sex.[37] On August 31, the attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference stating she had been retained on behalf of the Chandlers, and implied a civil suit against Jackson would be made.[55] On December 2, 1993, attorney Charles Mathews held a press conference about his clients allegedly being threatened and harassed by Pellicano's machinations.The lawsuit alleged wrongful termination due to "firsthand personal knowledge of many of [Michael Jackson's] nighttime visits with young boys".Montagna also said the discussions between Jackson's representatives and Barry K. Rothman, Chandler's attorney at that time, appeared to have been attempts to settle a possible civil case, not efforts to extort money.[58] Pellicano vehemently rejected that the discussion was to settle a civil claim, noting that no lawsuit was mentioned and Chandler's lawyer threatened if they don't get what they want they will go public with accusations.[60] According to Diane Dimond of the tabloid TV program Hard Copy, Torbiner's records show that Robinul and Vistaril were administered instead of sodium amytal.[69] According to the LAPD detective and pedophilia expert Bill Dworin, who spoke to NBC News in February 2003, Jordan's description matched the photos of Jackson's genitalia.[76] Jackson's lawyers asked a Santa Barbara County judge to order prosecutors to return the photographs, fearing they would become public, but were denied.[97] While in Mexico on November 8, 1993, in a court deposition unrelated to the alleged child abuse, Jackson appeared drowsy, lacked concentration, and slurred while speaking.[102][103] On January 5, 1994, a few weeks before the settlement, Jackson gave a five-minute speech at the 26th NAACP Image Awards asserting his innocence and received a standing ovation.[108][35] Hard Copy ran a story stating it had acquired "new documents in the criminal investigation of Michael Jackson, and they are chilling; they contain the name of child movie actor Macaulay Culkin".[106] When Jackson left the US to go into drug rehabilitation, the Daily Mirror (UK) held a "Spot the Jacko" contest, offering readers a trip to Disney World if they could correctly predict where he would appear next.[115] The lawsuit claimed that Jackson had committed sexual battery, seduction, willful misconduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and negligence.[119] Since two grand juries deemed there was insufficient evidence for criminal charges by the end of the investigation, the prosecution could have been able to form the elements of a case around the defense strategy in the trial, creating a situation akin to double jeopardy.Rothman denied the motion to delay the civil proceedings until the criminal investigation had been completed, and set March 21, 1994, as the trial start date.[130] According to a motion passed to Judge Melville in 2004, "the settlement was for global claims of negligence and the lawsuit was defended by Mr. Jackson's insurance carrier.Russ Wardrip, a TIG claims analyst, had sent a January 13 registered letter to Jackson's lawyer, Howard Weitzman:[132][133] ...acts of sexual activity do not constitute [accidental] bodily injury.[136] In 2004, Mesereau said: "People who intended to earn millions of dollars from [Jackson's] record and music promotions did not want negative publicity from these lawsuits interfering with their profits.[144][145] On April 11, 1994, the grand jury session in Santa Barbara was extended by 90 days, allowing DA Sneddon to gather more evidence.[150] District attorney Sneddon and Lauren Weis, head of the county DA's Sex Crimes Unit, said that ending the investigation did not reflect any lack of faith in the alleged victim's credibility.[154] A week after the settlement in January 1994, L.A. District Attorney Garcetti announced that he supported amending a law that prohibited sexual assault victims from being compelled to testify in criminal proceedings.At the opportunity of the scandal, Barresi made a taped recording of alleged evidence and told the Globe that he intended to turn it over to the district attorney.[33][159] According to German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, Gutierrez attended meetings of North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), a group advocating the decriminalization of pedophilia and pederasty, as a reporter in the 1980s."[160][161] Jackson also filed a $100 million lawsuit against Diane Dimond after she appeared on KABC morning show Ken and Barkley to discuss Gutierrez's alleged tape.After the report was broadcast, Jackson announced he would sue members of the media who "spread vicious lies and rumors about me in their attempts to make money, benefit their careers, sell papers or get viewers to watch their programs."[170] Jackson completed the video once planned for Addams Family Values and released it as Ghosts in 1996, with a framing story about an eccentric maestro who entertains children and is pursued by a bigoted local official.[173] Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, released shortly after the allegations, "creates an atmosphere of paranoia," according to critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
Michael Jacksonchild sexual abuseLos AngelespsychiatristLos Angeles Police DepartmentDangerous World TourLa Toya JacksonPeople v. JacksonPellicanoTom Sneddoncivil rightsdouble jeopardyNeverland RanchConsequence of SoundRent-a-WreckNational Enquirerplanning permissionWorld Music AwardsAnthony PellicanoJackson familyGloria AllredLos Angeles County Bar Associationpsychiatric interviewDr. Richard GardnerParental Alienation SyndromeHayvenhurstdefenseWade RobsonFox TelevisionHard Copychild supportsodium amytalbarbituratehypnoticintravenouslyfalse memoriesUniversity of ChicagoanesthesiologistDiane DimondRobinulVistarilU.S. Drug Enforcement AdministrationmorphineDemerolgeneral anestheticvitiligowarrantstrip searchReutersUSA TodayNBC NewsKatherineJack GordonKatie CouricBarbara WaltersLisa Marie PresleyJackson 5Elvis PresleypainkillersElizabeth TaylordepositionElton JohnValiumBert Fields26th NAACP Image Awardssensational headlinesNew York PostMacaulay CulkinJackson's 2005 trialDaily MirrorDisney WorldDaily ExpressNews of the Worldfugitivecosmetic surgeryGeraldo Riveramock trialA Current AffairFifth AmendmentindictedHoward Weitzmandiscoveryright to a fair trialJohnnie Cochrantrust fundAssociated PressCalifornia Insurance CodeThomas Mesereauprecedentsoverruledistinguishmedia circusGil GarcettiSanta Barbara CountyindictingLos Angeles CountySanta BarbarahearsayVarietyShowbiz Todaygrand juriescorroboratedFBI files on Michael JacksonPBS Frontlinetabloid sensationalismPaul BarresiSplash NewsDie TageszeitungNorth American Man Boy Love AssociationslanderJermaine Jacksonlegally emancipatedbarbellJackson's deathsuicidepamphletAddams Family ValuesGhostsPepsiCoSonic the Hedgehog 3Beacon TheatreHIStory World TourAloha StadiumHonolulu, HawaiiStephen Thomas ErlewineScream