|
Jackson 60 Minutes Interview Transcript |
|
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Monday, 29 December 2003 |
|
Jackson 60 Minutes Interview Transcript
with Ed Bradley
NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2003
(CBS) For most of his life, Michael Jackson has been in the spotlight, most recently because of what has been described as bizarre behavior -— bizarre behavior that has now led him to be charged with sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy. If convicted, he could spend 20 years in prison.
Now out on bail and awaiting trial, tonight Michael Jackson speaks out for the first time about his arrest, his accuser and the charges that have, for the moment, made his life a shambles.
We sat down with Michael Jackson on Christmas Day at a hotel in Los Angeles –one of several cities where he has been in seclusion since authorities in Santa Barbara officially charged him with seven counts of sexual molestation and two counts of using an “intoxicating agent” — reported to be alcohol — to seduce the boy.
ED BRADLEY: What is your response to the allegations that were brought by the district attorney in Santa Barbara, that you molested this boy?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Totally false. Before I would hurt a child, I would slit my wrists. I would never hurt a child It's totally false. I was outraged. I could never do something like that
ED BRADLEY: This is a kid you knew?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes.
ED BRADLEY: How would you characterize your relationship with this boy?
MICHAEL JACKSON: I've helped many, many, many children, thousands of children, cancer kids, leukemia kids. This is one of many.
Michael Jackson says his accuser is among thousands of children he’s
invited to his 2,600—acre Neverland Ranch in California to play in his
amusement park, visit his zoo, watch movies, play video games, and
feast on their favorite foods.
ED BRADLEY: But tell me why you developed Neverland.
MICHAEL JACKSON: Because I wanted to have a place that I could create
everything that I that I never had as a child. So, you see rides. You
see animals. There's a movie theater. I was always on tour, traveling.
You know? And — I never got a chance to do those things. So, I
compensated for the loss by — I have a good — I mean, I can't go into a
park. I can't go to Disneyland, as myself. I can't go out and walk down
the street. There's crowds, and bumper to bumper cars. And so, I create
my world behind my gates. Everything that I love is behind those gates.
We have elephants, and giraffes, and crocodiles, and every kind of
tigers and lions. And — and we have bus loads of kids, who don't get to
see those things. They come up sick children, and enjoy it. They enjoy
it in a pure, loving, fun way. It's people with the dirty mind that
think like that. I don't think that way. That's not me.
ED BRADLEY: And — and do you think people look at you and think that way today?
MICHAEL JACKSON: If they have a sick mind, yeah. And if they believe
the trash they read in newspapers, yeah. And — and it's not — what —
just cause — remember something. Just because it's in print doesn't
mean it's the gospel. People write negatives things, cause they feel
that's what sells. Good news to them, doesn't sell.
And Jackson says his relationship with this boy he first met a year ago
was positive. He says he was determined to help him with his battle
against cancer.
ED BRADLEY: So when he would come over what would he do? What would you do?
MICHAEL JACKSON: I'll tell you exactly. When I first saw him, he was
total bald—headed, white as snow from the chemotherapy, very bony,
looked anorexic, no eyebrows, no eyelashes. And he was so weak, I would
have to carry him from the house to the game room, or push him in a
wheelchair, to try to give him a childhood, a life. Cause I felt bad.
Because I never had that chance, too, as a child. You know? That the—
and so, I know what it— it felt like in that way. Not being sick, but
not having had a childhood. So, my heart go out to those children I
feel their pain.
Jackson says he tried to help in the healing process by taking the boy
around the grounds of Neverland to Jackson’s favorite places.
MICHAEL JACKSON: He had never really climbed a tree. So, I had this
tree that I have at Neverland. I call it, "My Giving Tree." Cause I
like to write songs up there. I've written many songs up there. So, I
said, "You have to climb a tree. That's part of boyhood. You just gotta
do it." And — I helped him up. And once he went up — up the tree, we
looked down on the branches. And it was so beautiful. It was magical.
And he loved it. To give him a chance to have a life, you know? Because
he was told he was going to die. They told him. They told his — his
parents prepare for his funeral, that's how bad it was. And I put him
on a program. I've helped many children doing this. I put him on a
mental program.
The boy — whose name and face we’re not revealing — has credited
Michael Jackson’s friendship and support with helping him to battle his
cancer. And last February in a British documentary that was filmed
before the boy alleged he was sexually molested — he said that he had
stayed overnight at Jackson’s home many times, and had slept in his
bedroom.
JACKSON ACCUSER: There was one night, I asked him if I could stay in
the bedroom. And he let me stay in the bedroom. And I was like,
Michael, you can sleep on the bed. And he was like, no, no you sleep in
the bed. And then he finally said, ‘Okay, if you love me, you’ll sleep
on the bed.’ I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ And so I finally slept on the bed.
That comment – along with Michael Jackson’s startling confession that
he had shared his bed many times with children – spurred an
investigation last February by the Los Angeles county department of
children and family services, which interviewed the boy and his mother
to determine whether he had been sexually molested by Michael Jackson.
According an agency’s memo, “the child denied any form of sexual
abuse,” and “the investigation by the sensitive case unit concluded the
allegations of neglect and sexual abuse to be unfounded.” Over the next
several months, relations between the boy’s family and Michael Jackson
deteriorated. According to sources close to the family, the boy’s
mother had suspicions that Jackson was serving alcohol to her
13-year-old son, who was still suffering from cancer. Eventually she
took her suspicions to the district attorney and that led to a full
scale investigation by his office and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff.
SHERRIFF JIM ANDERSON: An arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson has been
issued on multiple counts of child molestation. The bail amount of the
award has been set at 3 million dollars.
REPORTER: If Michael Jackson’s watching this right now, what’s your message to him?
DISTRICT ATTORNEY THOMAS SNEDDON: Get over here and get checked in.
With that announcement two weeks ago, Michael Jackson’s future and his
career were in serious jeopardy. He surrendered to authorities and was
booked on child molestation charges of lewd and lascivious conduct with
a child.
ED BRADLEY: What was going through your mind when you're taken into a
police station, in handcuffs, to have a mug shot taken, that you know
is gonna be shown around the world?
MICHAEL JACKSON: They did it to try and belittle me, to try and to take
away my pride. But I went through the whole system with them. And at
the end, I— I wanted the public to know that I was okay, even though I
was hurting.
ED BRADLEY: What happened when they arrested you? What did they do to you?
MICHAEL JACKSON: They were supposed to go in, and just check
fingerprints, and do the whole thing that they do when they take
somebody in. They manhandled me very roughly. My shoulder is
dislocated, literally. It's hurting me very badly. I'm in pain all the
time. This is, see this arm? This is as far as I can reach it. Same
with this side over here.
ED BRADLEY: Because of what happened at the police station?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah. Yeah. At the police station. And what they did
to me — if you — if you saw what they did to my arms — it was very bad
what they did. It's very swollen. I don't wanna say. You'll see. You'll
see.
We were given a photograph said to be taken after Michael Jackson was
released on bail. Jackson says the swelling above his wrist is where
the police handcuffed him.
ED BRADLEY: How did they do it? I mean, what, physically, what did they do?
MICHAEL JACKSON: With the handcuffs, the way they tied 'em too tight behind my back —
ED BRADLEY: Behind your back?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah. And putting it, they put it in a certain
position, knowing that it's going to hurt, and affect my back. Now I
can't move. I — I — it keeps me from sleeping at night. I can't sleep
at night.
And Jackson says there was more …
MICHAEL JACKSON: Then one time, I asked to use the restroom. And they
said, "Sure, it's right around the corner there." Once I went in the
restroom, they locked me in there for like 45 minutes. There was doo
doo, feces thrown all over the walls, the floor, the ceiling. And it
stunk so bad. Then one of the policemen came by the window. And he made
a sarcastic remark. He said, "Smell — does it smell good enough for you
in there? How do you like the smell? Is it good?" And I just simply
said, "It's alright. It's okay." So, I just sat there, and waited.
ED BRADLEY: For 45 minutes?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah, for 45 minutes. About 45 minutes. And then —
then one cop would — come by, and say, "Oh, you'll be out in — in a
second. You'll be out in a second." Then there would be another ten
minutes added on, then another 15 minutes added on. They did this on
purpose.
What about Jackson's allegations? Was he mistreated? Did the police
injure his arm and shoulder? Did they lock him in a bathroom for 45
minutes? To get answers to those questions, we made repeated calls to
both the sheriff's office and the office of the district attorney. They
declined our request for an interview and referred us to the statement
on their Web site, which says about allegations of mistreatment: "That
is not true." It was the sheriff's deputies who executed the search
warrant of the Neverland ranch.
ED BRADLEY: How did you feel when they went into Neverland, I mean,
with a search warrant? I mean, what were they looking for? What did
they take?
MICHAEL JACKSON: My room is a complete wreck. My workers told me. They
said, "Michael, don't go in your room." They were crying on the phone,
my employees. They said, "If you saw your room, you would cry." I have
stairs that go up to my bed. And they said, "You can't even get up the
stairs. The room is totally trashed." And they had 80 policemen in this
room, 80 policemen in one bedroom. That's really overdoing it. They
took knives, and cut open my mattresses with knives. C — just cut
everything open.
ED BRADLEY: Did — did they take anything from Neverland?
MICHAEL JACKSON: A— I'm not sure what they took. They never gave me a list.
ED BRADLEY: But you're saying that they destroyed your property?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes, they did. And then they, what they did was they
made everybody that work at the property, they locked everybody out of
the house. They had the whole house to themselves to do whatever they
wanted. And — they totally took advantage. They went into areas they
weren't supposed to go into — like my office. They didn't have search
warrants for those places. And they totally took advantage. And the
room is a total, total wreck, they told me. I don't think I wanna see
it. I'm not ready to see it yet.
ED BRADLEY: So, you haven't been back there?
MICHAEL JACKSON: I've been back there. But not in my bedroom. I won't
live there ever again. I'll visit Neverland. It's a house now. It's not
a home anymore. I'll only visit there. What time is it? Cause I'm
hurting. You know what? I'm — I'm hurting. I have to go pretty soon
anyway. Yeah. Okay. I don't feel good.
This is not the first time Michael Jackson has been accused of child
molestation. Ten years ago, he was accused of sexually abusing another
young boy. However, after the boy refused to testify, and after Jackson
paid the boy’s family millions of dollars to settle a civil lawsuit,
Jackson was never charged. Although the family in the current case
against him has filed no lawsuit and says it does not intend to,
Michael Jackson is still suspicious of their motives.
MICHAEL JACKSON: Somewhere greed got in there, and somebody — I — I
can't quite say. But it has to do with money. It's Michael Jackson.
Look what we have here. We can get money out of this. That's exactly
what happened.
ED BRADLEY: You had helped him with his cancer. What I don't understand
is why today and I know you say it’s money, but why would he turn
around and say, "Michael Jackson sexually molested me," if it weren't
true?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Because parents have power over children. They feel
they have to do what their parents say. But the love of money is the
root of all evil. And this is a sweet child. And to see him turn like
this, this isn't him. This is not him.
ED BRADLEY: So, you don't think this comes from him? This —
MICHAEL JACKSON: No.
ED BRADLEY: — Comes from his parents?
MICHAEL JACKSON: No. This is not him. No. I know his heart.
Jackson said that even if he could, he would never settle this case as he did when similar charges were made in 1993.
ED BRADLEY: So — if you were innocent, why would you pay, I mean, to
keep you quiet? I mean, why not go into court, and fight for your good
name? I mean —
MICHAEL JACKSON: I'm not allowed to talk on that —
MARK GERAGOS: I'm gonna stop you for a second.
ED BRADLEY: Sure.
Jackson’s high powered attorney Mark Geragos told me that if I wanted an answer to that question I’d have to ask him.
MARK GERAGOS: I mean remember what happened to him ten years ago. He
was humiliated. He was — he went through where somebody — was examining
him. Was photographing him. Was having him — humiliating him in the
worst way in terms of looking at his private parts and photographing
his private parts. And — and he was subjected to some of the most, just
intrusive kinds of things that you could ever imagine. I can only try
to put myself into that situation and — and say look, if money could
make that situation go away, maybe that — that was the calculus then. I
don't know and I don't wanna second guess it.
ED BRADLEY: But — but what you end up with is the public perception
that this has happened not once, this has happened twice. That young
boys have — have come forward to accuse him of — of sexual molestation
over the last ten years. And he has made public comments about how he
enjoys sharing his bed with children. Can you understand how the public
might feel that, hey, maybe there's something here. There's a lot of
smoke.
MARK GERAGOS: Well, look. There's a lot of smoke. But a lot of the
people who blow the smoke are — are twisting what's happened. I
understand when people say, now, there's somebody else who came
forward. But I — I think, in all fairness, most people get it. Most
people understand that this case is not about anything but money.
We asked the mother of the accuser who made these latest allegations to
tell us her side of the story, but she declined and would not authorize
anyone else to speak on her behalf.
ED BRADLEY: That British documentary last February — which you didn't like —
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah, I didn't like it.
ED BRADLEY: You — you said in that documentary that— that many children have slept in your bedroom.
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah.
ED BRADLEY: You said, and — and I'm gonna quote here, "Why can't you
share your bed? A most loving thing to do is to share your bed with—
with someone."
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes.
ED BRADLEY: As — as we sit here today, do you still think that it's acceptable to share your bed with children?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Of course. Of course. Why not? If you're gonna be a
pedophile, if you're gonna be Jack the Ripper, if you're gonna be a
murderer, it's not a good idea. That I'm not. That's how we were
raised. And I met — I didn't sleep in the bed with the child. Even if I
did, it's okay. I slept on the floor. I give the bed to the child.
ED BRADLEY: But given all that you've been through —
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah?
ED BRADLEY: Given the allegations, given the innuendo — why would you
put yourself in a position where something like this could happen again?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, I'm always more cautious. But I will never stop
helping and loving people the way Jesus said to. He said, "Continue to
love. Always love. Remember children. Imitate the children." Not
childish, but childlike.
That may sound naïve, but Jackson attorney Mark Geragos says they did take precautions.
MARK GERAGOS: They were, at all times during that February 7 to March
10 period of time, whenever Michael was there, there was always a third
party around. Always.
ED BRADLEY: What about the allegation that some kind of intoxicating
agent, said to be wine, was given to this child to make him more
pliable?
MARK GERAGOS: Ludicrous. I mean it's ludicrous on its face. There are
in excess of 100 employees at any one time at that ranch. There is
full—time security at that ranch. There are people who are there at all
times, day and night, 24—7, who are specifically instructed to make
sure that people don't do that. The kids are nowhere near alcohol and
liquor.
ED BRADLEY: You're a parent. You've got three children.
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes.
ED BRADLEY: Would you allow your children to sleep in the bed with a
grown man, who was not a relative, or to sleep in the bedroom?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Sure, if I know that person, trust them, and love them. That's happened many times with me when I was little.
ED BRADLEY: Would you, as a parent, allow your children to sleep in the
same bedroom with someone, who has the suspicions and allegations that
have been made against you, and about you today? Would you allow that?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Someone —
ED BRADLEY: If you knew someone, who had the same —
MICHAEL JACKSON: I'm not —
ED BRADLEY: —kind of allegations —
MICHAEL JACKSON: Ed, I — I know exactly what you're saying.
ED BRADLEY: — that were made against you — would you let your children —
MICHAEL JACKSON: My children?
ED BRADLEY: — sleep in that man's bedroom?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Mmm, if I — if I knew the person personally. Cause I
know how the press is, and how people can twist the truth, if I knew
the person personally, absolutely yes. Absolutely. I wouldn't have a
problem with it.
ED BRADLEY: Do you know how this looks to a lot of people? I mean, do you understand that?
MICHAEL JACKSON: How does what look?
ED BRADLEY: How the fact that you —
MICHAEL JACKSON: Know why? People think sex. They're thinking sex. My
mind doesn't run that way. When I see children, I see the face of God.
That's why I love them so much. That's what I see.
ED BRADLEY: Do you know any other man your age, a 45-year-old man, who shares his bedroom with children?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Of course. Not for sex. No. That's wrong.
ED BRADLEY: Well, let me — let me say, from my perspective, my
experience, I don't know any 45-year-old men, who are not relatives of
the children, who share their bedroom with other children.
MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, what's wrong with sharing your bed? I didn't say
I slept in the bed. Even if I did sleep in the bed, it's okay. I am not
going to do anything sexual to a child. It's not where my heart is. I
would never do anything like that. That's not Michael Jackson. I'm
sorry. That's someone else.
And the Michael Jackson of today is not the Michael Jackson who at one
time was the No. 1 pop star in the world. His "Thriller" CD topped the
charts, while his latest didn’t crack the top 10.
ED BRADLEY: What — what has this done to your career?
MICHAEL JACKSON: What — what has it done to my career?
ED BRADLEY: What has it done to your career?
MICHAEL JACKSON: In what way?
ED BRADLEY: How has it impacted — you know —
MICHAEL JACKSON: I'm — my album —
ED BRADLEY: — touring, record sales —
MICHAEL JACKSON: — album is number one all over the world. All over the
world. America is the only one, because I — I don't wanna say too much.
{tag ED BRADLEY: But it's not number one in the United States?
MICHAEL JACKSON: It's a conspiracy. Yeah. I’m getting tired.
Before Michael Jackson’s attorneys stopped the interview, we were able to ask him one last question.
ED BRADLEY: Michael, what would you say to you — your fans, who have
supported you through all of this, and — and who today, some of them
might have questions? What would you say to them?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, I would tell them I love them very much. And I—
I— they've learned about me, and know about me from a distance. But if
you really want to know about me, there's a song I wrote, which is the
most honest song I've ever written. It's the most autobiographical song
I've ever written. It's called, "Childhood." They should listen to it.
That's the one they really should listen to. And thank you for your
support, the fans around the world. I love you with all my heart. I
don't take any of it for granted. Any of it. And I love them dearly,
all over the world.
Michael Jackson will make his first appearance in court on Jan. 16 when is arraigned. He is expected to plead not guilty.
©MMIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/28/60minutes/main590381.shtml
Tagged:60 Minutes, Ed Bradley
 |
|
News 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
