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Michael Jackson American Tragedy S01E03 (2026)
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00:08Why can't we be like the trees that become, you know, they lose their leaves in the winter and then
00:15they come back, they're beautiful all over again in the spring, you know, and a sense of immortality to them.
00:23I think growing old is the ugliest thing and I never want to look in the mirror and see that.
00:29I want to always be youthful.
00:33They say when you die, the soul dies, but there's the promise of the resurrection and all that.
00:56The number one artist in the world!
01:09That level of mega stardom is not healthy. People are not gods.
01:23Tonight, Jackson is wanted by police of multiple felony counts of child molestation.
01:31The Jackson machine just keeps right on rolling.
02:00The British documentary called Living with Michael Jackson has everybody talking.
02:05This is the way the Times newspaper in Britain covers it.
02:08Jackson faces ruin after admitting I slept with boys.
02:13Why can't you share your bed? The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone.
02:19Nearly admitting that on television has created what one person says is the longest professional suicide note in history.
02:28This documentary started a disaster. It was clear he was really in trouble with this.
02:38It's just a question of what does he do when he's in bed with them.
02:41I mean, anybody advising Michael Jackson would have to say, A, don't do that.
02:45And after he did it, they must lock him up in a room and say, you've got to be kidding.
02:49But he's Michael Jackson, so probably nobody does that.
02:52He really was scared.
02:57It was Michael's biggest fear. After the documentary, the fans could go away.
03:03He could lose his whole brand, his reputation, everything he did.
03:20We were in Hotel Miami, and middle in the night, Michael knocked on the door.
03:28He was crying. And he got a letter from his accountant saying, there's no money right now.
03:38You need to go in a smaller room.
03:40Then he was saying, can you believe that they put me out of a suite and put me in a
03:45small room?
03:57Are you a pedophile?
03:59Michael Jackson does not earn the kind of money he used to make.
04:03You know, at the height of his earnings power, this guy made $50 million a year.
04:05Guess what? His records don't sell anymore.
04:07And, you know, he's in a very tenuous spot right now.
04:10On song, but no longer making the notes.
04:13The latest claim that the Peter Pan of pop is nearly penniless.
04:17He's spending about $700,000 a week, which means that when he gets out of bed in the morning,
04:23he's spent $100,000 before he's had coffee.
04:26We hope he's not broke, because he owes my client $12 million.
04:28All of the money that Michael has at this point, all the cash that he has, I should say, comes
04:33from loans.
04:34Everything is borrowed. Borrowed, borrowed, borrowed.
04:37Borrowed against the Michael Jackson catalog that has Billie Jean and Beat It and all his hit songs.
04:42Borrowed against the Beatles catalog.
04:46Michael Jackson celebrated his 45th birthday in true Jackson style.
04:51It was just him and the fans. After all he's been through, they still love him.
04:59The King of Pop.
05:02Michael told me very clear that now, as it's over with touring, now he starts with new business.
05:10The fans gonna keep the business machine moving.
05:14There's gonna be a new Michael Jackson clothing line. Resort, hotels.
05:22We promise to make Neverland more accessible to the fans.
05:30What's the media tries to say about you, Michael? We don't believe you.
05:34Word of it.
05:34He's perfect and he's an angel. And I don't care what anybody says.
05:38Michael!
05:38Michael!
05:43Michael!
05:45Michael!
05:47Michael!
05:48Michael!
05:49Michael!
05:50Michael!
05:51Michael!
05:51Michael!
05:51Michael!
05:52Michael!
05:52Michael!
05:56In 2003, I was a prosecutor specializing in child sexual abuse cases.
06:02I got a call to go see the district attorney.
06:07And he showed me a two-page report.
06:10It involved an allegation of child sexual abuse.
06:14It said Michael Jackson on it.
06:17And I thought, oh my gosh, he's back.
06:29That scene in the documentary was played over and over and over again of Gavin Arvizo sitting next to Michael
06:36Jackson and resting his head on his shoulder and holding his hand that I knew was in an inappropriate relationship.
06:44Yeah.
06:45You can sit right there, buddy.
06:48We are going to try our best to make a case.
06:53Okay, a criminal case.
06:54We're going to try our best.
06:56But you need to understand that we're going to need your cooperation.
07:00Gavin, can you tell us what your conversations, what you guys talked about?
07:04He said that he wants to show me how masturbate.
07:08Okay.
07:09Okay.
07:09I said no.
07:11He started masturbating me.
07:14Okay.
07:15I told him no.
07:20Good evening.
07:21For years, pop star Michael Jackson has denied having inappropriate contact with children.
07:26And he has never been charged.
07:29But tonight, Jackson is wanted by police.
07:31We would encourage him to turn himself in and cooperate with law enforcement.
07:35Anita, what have you heard?
07:36Any sightings?
07:38Not yet.
07:39We're all on the lookout, though.
07:45We were in the hotel in Vegas.
07:48Somebody called me and told me, did they watch TV?
07:53The police went to the ranch.
07:57The service of the warrants was part of an ongoing investigation alleging criminal misconduct on the part of Michael Jackson.
08:05When I told him, as a new judge from this young boy, Aviso, he was so deeply shocked that I
08:13think he's going to die.
08:20And then something terrible happened.
08:23The director of the hotel told us to leave right away.
08:28They did not want to have somebody with discharges in the hotel.
08:34Michael was out of control.
08:36He was screaming, why you close the door in front of me?
08:41They didn't allow him to come in.
08:43But then I told him, Michael, look, this time you have to fight it.
08:54Jackson flying from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara turns himself in to the Santa Barbara sheriff.
08:59Michael Jackson has been booked on charges of child molestation.
09:03The famous shot you'll see plastered all over newspapers around the world.
09:06Michael Jackson in handcuffs.
09:09Michael Jackson today went from being the gloved one to the fingerprinted one.
09:20I just sat down and say, not again.
09:22Seven counts of child molestation.
09:25I told him, you don't know these wicked people.
09:28The people are just mean and wicked.
09:30The bail amount on the warrant has been set at $3 million.
09:33He'll tarnish your reputation and people will always remember you the way they said he was, not the way he
09:40really is.
09:41How do you view the guy now?
09:43Probably not in a good way.
09:45Definitely don't respect him.
09:55Reporters, cameras and helicopters have been chasing the Jackson story around Southern California.
10:00Fox has confirmed he is now back in Las Vegas and here are the pictures to prove it.
10:04Oh, hold on. He's coming out. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.
10:07I remember when we went to the airport.
10:11We took blankets and tried to stop all the press taking pictures.
10:23He was so deeply shocked about the situation, how they treated him.
10:30Later on, he showed me these bruises on his arm, on his shoulder.
10:34He was thinking the police, the system, America was against him.
10:45It's just very painful.
10:47This has been kind of a pattern among black luminaries.
10:53Other people in the past who have gone through this sort of thing.
10:57Mandela's story has given me a lot of strength, what he's gone through.
11:01I'm very strong. I have rhinoceros skin.
11:03But at the same time, I'm human.
11:05You know, so anything can hurt like that.
11:12I wanted to let you know that this is Michael Jackson's car as they ride through Las Vegas.
11:16He keeps rolling his window down at intersections like this.
11:19People have been coming up to the window and he's been reaching out, shaking their hands.
11:24I think they're setting him up.
11:26I mean, it just, none of this makes any sense, you know.
11:29I love him so much. I mean, he needs us, you know.
11:33And no matter what, I believe in him and I'm here for him.
11:43Michael was ready to fight.
11:46He was focused completely on this whole problem.
11:51Then the new security people came in and his lawyers and his accountants showed up.
12:01Michael's empire and reputation was at risk.
12:07And this situation was terrible for me because I had to leave.
12:12I could do nothing anymore.
12:14They took over completely.
12:17It was the end of my work with Michael Jackson.
12:40It was the end of my work with Michael Jackson.
12:43Business Meeting, the summit.
12:45Find out all about it.
12:46And if you can, get in there.
12:48Hi, if we can get a quick statement from Mr. Garrigo.
12:51No, thank you.
12:52No, thank you.
12:54I had this little sort of mini cam that I was walking around with to the annoyance of everybody.
13:06I was a journalist reporting for Celebrity Justice and that later kind of morphed into TMZ.
13:16So if you guys want to just, you know, shoot the room, do what you want, it's going to last
13:21about five minutes.
13:24It was all very confusing.
13:27Oh, were we invited?
13:29How did we hear about it?
13:30This is the Michael Jackson smoke and mirrors world.
13:33Is there a reason why you wanted us to see the type of business meeting it is?
13:37No, no. The reason is you all are here.
13:39Right.
13:41You had Charles Koppelman, an industry legend.
13:46You had Al Malnick.
13:47He's the one who bailed Michael Jackson out to the tune of $3 million when he was arrested.
13:52Then you had Leonard Muhammad, who is a top echelon Nation of Islam guy.
13:57And you had John Branca, the genius behind getting the Beatles catalog.
14:03And so these super heavyweights, they were there to keep the glue together, right, in the Jackson empire.
14:10There are people who have wondered who is in charge.
14:13Can you clarify that, sir?
14:15Michael is in charge.
14:16Yeah, clearly, Michael is in charge.
14:20Will he be taking part in today's meeting, Mr. Koppelman?
14:23Um, he may. He's welcome at any time.
14:26Do you plan on seeing him at the meeting today?
14:28He's welcome at any time.
14:30Constantly they say that Mr. Jackson is in financial trouble.
14:33Can you clarify that, sir?
14:35Again, do we look worried?
14:36Total BS. Total BS.
14:38Mr. Muhammad, there's nothing normal about this meeting because Michael Jackson was about to be subjected to the most high
14:46-profile trial.
14:47And the fact that his finances were such a convoluted mess with debt, with loans, with mortgages, with skyrocketing interest
14:56payments.
14:58Obviously, this was the crisis summit. The brand was on life support. And if it died right there, it wasn't
15:05going to have a future.
15:10CNN has confirmed that a grand jury that's been meeting to consider charges of child molestation against pop star Michael
15:17Jackson has, in fact, indicted Michael Jackson.
15:21We've just received this release from Michael Jackson's attorneys, saying he will appear and enter a plea of not guilty.
15:28I know you know him, Donald. Any reaction to this?
15:31Well, I know him very well. He's lived in my building. He lived in Trump Tower, and I know him
15:35very well. And I don't believe it. I'm going to stick up for him because nobody else is.
15:42Why would he turn around and say, Michael Jackson sexually molested me, if it weren't true?
15:48Because parents have power over children. This is not him. No. I know his heart.
16:02It was past midnight, and the telephone rang, and I hear, hello? I said, Michael, is that you? Brian, is
16:11that you?
16:11Oh, Brian, I'm so scared. Do you see what happened today? Yes, I did, Michael.
16:18This is not good, Michael. Brian, what am I going to do?
16:23I said, what we do is we have to find out everything there is to know about this family.
16:29Everybody has dirt. Everybody. They are not clean. And from what I hear, they're really dirty, Michael.
16:36And we will find the dirt on these people. And he said, do it. Do it, Brian.
16:45I am Brian Oxman. I am the former attorney for Michael Jackson.
16:52I have known all of the Jackson family for most of my life. My first client was Randy Jackson. I
17:00did his divorce, and then I did Jermaine's divorce, and then I did Jackie's divorce, and then I did Tito's
17:07divorce, Latoya's divorce, and I did Michael's divorce.
17:12I am part of this family. It's sort of like Hotel California. You can check out anytime you want, but
17:21you can never leave.
17:29Michael, come over here. Shake your hands. Michael!
17:35When I got to Santa Maria for the trial, the press was camped out like it was the end of
17:41the world.
17:42It was bigger than OJ Simpson, which I had been at. This was in a small town that was hard
17:47to get to, but the whole place was taken over by this.
17:51It was an extraordinary thing.
17:53Thank you, my brother!
17:55Thank you for my brother!
17:56Thank you for my brother!
17:57He is here!
17:58Michael!
17:59He is here!
18:02One, two, three, four!
18:04Michael's not a moment!
18:06Why?
18:07Why?
18:08Why?
18:08Why?
18:09Why?
18:09Why?
18:12When Michael went to his arraignment, it was a deluge of fans. They were going crazy.
18:19And in his own showmanship way, he let them know, I am not afraid.
18:32People should appreciate real ability. I don't care if you're the most talented person in the world, you have to
18:38know how to play your audience.
18:40And it's not just a game, it's real for me. It really is.
18:53He had no shortage of lawyers.
18:56I mean, they got every single piece of paper, every single document that had ever generated by any member of
19:06the family, medical records, psych records, school records, business records.
19:12They got it by way of a subpoena without notifying the prosecution.
19:19Stop the racism!
19:20By God, he is dead!
19:22By God, he is dead!
19:24By God, he is dead!
19:26By God, he is dead!
19:27The prosecution said the family is being harassed by these subpoenas.
19:32They said the so-called victim's family is going into witness protection.
19:38So I needed to find them.
19:41I called my friend, and she says, I'll find them for you.
19:46So she called the grandmother and asked if she had their new address.
19:50And she said sure, and she gave it to us.
19:57It was to make it clear that Michael Jackson was not backing down.
20:10Years ago, I allowed a family to visit and spend time in Neverland.
20:14I allowed this family into my home because they told me their son was ill with cancer and needed my
20:20help.
20:21These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children, and me.
20:26I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position ever again.
20:31I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told.
20:38Opening statements began today.
20:40The defense is expected to describe Jackson as the victim of a money-hungry mom who coached her son to
20:45lie for cash.
20:46The prosecution, on the other hand, will paint Jackson as a wicked pedophile who got a sick boy drunk to
20:52molest him.
20:53This is a trial for his life. Not just his freedom, his life. Everything's on the line.
20:59Justice for Michael! Justice for Michael!
21:02He's been guilty for years! Put him away!
21:06In court, the prosecution played the Living with Michael Jackson movie, the documentary which created this whole furor.
21:14And what happened as that program progressed, the jury, they were bouncing and dancing and snapping their fingers to Michael's
21:23music.
21:24This was Michael's magic, infecting everybody.
21:29This affected the entire course of the trial.
21:38We had one witness who worked at Neverland.
21:42And he told us that he brought to Michael Jackson's room wine while the boys were there.
21:48And when he was on the witness stand, he said he brought Coca-Cola to the room.
21:52I said, didn't you tell us that it was wine, it was alcohol that he brought to the room?
21:58I was mistaken.
22:00One after the other.
22:02Witnesses would walk into court, you would just watch them look over, see Michael Jackson.
22:07And their demeanor changed.
22:09He was a very powerful person.
22:20The pop star didn't show up to court this morning until the judge threatened to have him arrested.
22:26Jackson failed to show up in court at 8.30 a.m. for testimony from the teen who claimed Jackson
22:31molested him.
22:32When Jackson did arrive, an hour and ten minutes late, he appeared disheveled, his hair a bit messy, only pajama
22:39bottoms, a t-shirt and a blazer.
22:42He tripped this morning and he fell in the early morning hours while he was getting dressed.
22:47His back is in terrible pain.
22:51I ended up testifying in the trial, right?
22:55And that's where it became just absolutely a three-ring circus of bizarre.
23:01I started noticing Michael's strange behavior.
23:05And, you know, besides when he showed up to court in pajamas, which was nutsoville,
23:11Michael was like, ah, I can't deal with that, I can't deal with that.
23:13It brings me stress.
23:14I'm like, okay.
23:16But he's that brilliant genius, right?
23:20That happens to be half brain dead and dumb at the same time, that doesn't know anything going on?
23:27Wait a second.
23:27Which one is it?
23:31Oh, he's trying to get the sympathy.
23:34I could see the women on the jury looking very concerned and very worried.
23:37And we knew it was all an act.
23:39His performance really was very good.
23:43I fell.
23:44And all my body weight, I mean, I'm pretty fragile.
23:47All my body weight fell against my rib cage.
23:50I bruised my lung very badly.
23:53Is Jackson spiraling downward?
23:56It was no accident that all of that pajama business happened
24:00when the accuser is about to take the stand and deliver the most incriminating evidence.
24:09Michael!
24:10Michael!
24:11Michael!
24:12Michael!
24:13Michael!
24:14Michael!
24:16Michael!
24:18Michael!
24:21Michael!
24:21You've been through a lot this year.
24:24That's right.
24:25Now, Joe, how is Michael doing financially?
24:28Because he has not been recording or performing ever since it started and he has mega expenses.
24:34How is he doing?
24:36Michael is doing fine.
24:38Are you worried?
24:40Am I worried?
24:41I mean, being a father you always have to have some worry.
24:46Do you think if he's acquainted he can resume his career?
24:48Of course. Come on. Of course he can resume his career.
24:54This is just the United States.
24:57All the rest of the countries all over the world
24:59are very, very proud of Michael.
25:02It's here we have the most trouble out of.
25:06Why do you think it's such a problem in America?
25:08Why do you think... Come on.
25:11You don't want me to answer that, do you?
25:13No, don't answer it.
25:15Shall I?
25:15No, Jill, just shut up. Stop it.
25:17No.
25:18I don't want to cut through the chase on this one.
25:21Stop it.
25:22Come on.
25:24It might be about racism. What do you think?
25:28It is racism. It is.
25:31Catherine's not going to say it, but I will say it.
25:33It is racism.
25:35We shouldn't be even out here talking about any of this.
25:38We weren't supposed to even bring Michael up.
25:40He might get us in a lot of trouble.
25:42No.
25:42No, no, no.
25:46A flurry of activity outside the courthouse in Santa Maria's.
25:49SUVs are seen leaving Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.
25:51What's going on?
26:04Michael Jackson entered the courthouse to learn his fate.
26:08You've got to wonder what is going through his mind at this point.
26:22He really thinks there are going to be riots in the streets if he's convicted.
26:25He really believes it?
26:26He just said he really believes that somehow this injustice will be overturned instantly
26:31because who would put the King of Pop in jail?
26:40The people of the state of California plaintiff versus Michael Joe Jackson, defendant.
26:46Case number 1133603, verdict.
26:51We, the jury in the above-entitled case, find the defendant not guilty of a lewd act upon a minor
26:59child.
27:10And there it is, all ten counts, not guilty on all ten counts.
27:15Once Michael Jackson will be walking out of this courtroom a free man.
27:23Yes!
27:24Yes!
27:25Yes!
27:27Yes!
27:29Yes!
27:30Yes!
27:32Yes!
27:35Was I disappointed?
27:36Sure.
27:38You never, as a prosecutor, want to hear the words, not guilty.
27:42I felt that it was remarkably obvious that he was molesting children.
27:49I was mystified why other people didn't see it.
27:53Everything about him, just a screen child molester.
27:57He needs to, you know, stay low for a while and keep the adults at the ranch
28:01and maybe stay away from the kids for a little bit, maybe bring some girls over.
28:05Michael, come on now.
28:07The result was innocent.
28:10But so many Americans thought he was guilty.
28:15Michael was extremely concerned about all of these people.
28:19He would complain to his mom and to his dad and to everybody, to me.
28:24My life's over.
28:31What exactly is happening to Michael Jackson today?
28:36It's the same thing what always happens, Nancy.
28:39This guy doesn't pay his bills.
28:42How much are we talking about?
28:44We're talking about nearly $300 million outstanding debt.
28:47After the trial, a lot of people were saying Michael Jackson put himself into exile.
28:52Right?
28:55He had to not only leave Neverland, but he left the United States of America.
29:01He pops up in Bahrain.
29:03And, of course, he's friends with the royal family and living like the king of pop again, borrowing millions of
29:12dollars from his host.
29:19Then, it's, where's Michael Jackson? He's left Bahrain.
29:23Oh, wait. Hold on. He's in Ireland.
29:26Ireland?
29:26At around 4 o'clock today, Michael Jackson emerged from his scheduled Aer Lingus flight.
29:31He made his way down the plane steps, holding a masked child's hand.
29:35Jackson and his traveling party boarded a silver Volkswagen minibus via the VIP exit of the airport.
29:44Michael Jackson was trying to figure out, what am I going to do with the rest of my life?
29:49Ireland is kind of a little out of the way, and he was able to live kind of a tranquil
29:54life, he hoped, anyway.
30:01In June 2006, rumours started circulating in the Irish press that Michael Jackson was sighted in different places.
30:10But, I didn't think much of it.
30:13So, we were quite surprised when the door opened, and the patient said,
30:17Hello, my name is Michael Jackson.
30:21It wasn't too long before Michael entrusted us with his aesthetic treatments.
30:27We treated in that period, his bottom of his ankles were beginning to turn black again,
30:32and he wanted us to increase the bleaching cream to a stronger percentage.
30:38He didn't really have any money. I mean, his credit cards bounced on many occasions.
30:43I remember one time, he was in our big glass showroom, and he started pocketing quite a lot of the
30:51cosmetics.
30:53Some of the things were worth between 100 and 500 euro, and he had a big sort of jacket coat
31:00on.
31:00And when I ran into him, he had as many, maybe as 20 or 30 of these products in his
31:05pockets.
31:07And he just laughed.
31:11I think as time progressed, you could see that Michael became happier and happier living in Ireland.
31:16He said that he'd love to settle here, away from the press.
31:21Our friendship became closer, and when I was down in his house, he opened up to me.
31:26I think he felt trapped between finding a new location to live and having to go back to the United
31:37States to overcome his financial struggles.
31:44I could see that this did play on his mind.
32:10I was asked would I be interested in doing a security detail for a dignitary that was coming to town.
32:19Mr. Jackson, I call him Mr. Jackson.
32:22He was returning to the States on the basis of being a headliner in Las Vegas.
32:40It was a lot going on. I mean, he had a lot going on.
32:46He was raising three kids that he wanted to do on his own.
32:54Mr. Jackson moved into the house which was on Monte Cristo.
32:58We realized that he did have insomnia.
33:02Even though we had armed security at the property, we would see him walking throughout the house at night checking
33:10doors.
33:13It was a very lonely world.
33:21There's always someone trying to see him.
33:25Business associates, all different type of producers trying to get at him.
33:38I think it put him into seclusion a little bit.
33:44Michael, we love you!
33:46We love you, Michael! You're the best!
33:49Most of the child stars don't make it because they become self destructive.
33:52They destroy themselves because of that pressure, you know?
33:55They want you to stay young forever and keep you small.
34:01What's happened to me, it's a rarity.
34:05To come through this fire and out the other end the way I have.
34:09Anybody else would probably be dead by now or a junkie or something with what I've been through.
34:21There he is, David Beckham, the huge national star is coming to America.
34:31My partner and I, Paul, work for a division of AEG.
34:35The core business is live entertainment, sports, you know, those kind of things.
34:42AEG had just done a deal with David Beckham to play for the LA Galaxy.
34:49It's nice to see so many fans and I thank you for that.
34:55When Michael saw that, he was really excited.
34:58He was kind of jumping around the room and saying,
35:00Hey, you guys should do a David Beckham deal with me.
35:04Remember that Michael's last tour was the history tour in 1997.
35:11So this would have been a good 12 years after that.
35:15So the anticipation of being able to see Michael Jackson live was, I don't know, I can't think of anything
35:26really that would be bigger than that.
35:37I remember the day he signed the deal when this is, this is it was in formation, he came out
35:43and said, Bill, now you're going to see the vultures.
35:48I started to get all the phone calls from people that we've never heard from before.
35:56People were coming out the woodwork.
35:58They wanted to be part of this tour.
36:01They wanted to be part of him.
36:04I always said it.
36:05Mr. Jackson was a big ATM.
36:15I feel my heart.
36:16It's going boom, boom, boom right now, seriously.
36:20Since I was little, yeah, I used to come home from nursery, yeah, put in his mouth with my Michael
36:24Jackson video and that's it.
36:25I was gone.
36:26He taught me how to dance, everything, man.
36:28He's gonna be sick.
36:31London was Michael's probably biggest market in the world.
36:36Our plans were that the tour would go global.
36:41I've got every single album.
36:42I've been to every single tour and I'm going to go to every single date that he releases that I
36:47can get my hands on.
36:48You're obviously a very rich woman then.
36:50No, I'm not.
36:51It's the credit card.
36:52It's my credit card.
36:53The This Is It tour was going to be much bigger than anything he had done.
36:58Do you really think he can come back after everything that's happened?
37:01There's nothing happened.
37:01It's just the media in it, so it's fine.
37:04Hort case, rumours of financial trouble.
37:07Rubbish, rubbish.
37:08This is Michael Jackson, you know, he's the king of pop.
37:14Ready for this?
37:20London welcomes the king of pop, Mr. Michael Jackson.
37:39So it's been a while and everyone's waiting and waiting and waiting.
37:47They didn't realize that Michael was drunk and out of it.
37:54I was at the O2 and they were back at the hotel with Michael trying to get him going because
37:58things were going very slowly.
38:00While we were waiting, I kind of wrote a really short speech.
38:04And when Michael walked in, he came over to me and he gave me a big hug.
38:08And I said, here's the speech.
38:10And he whispered in my ear, make the words really big, I can't see.
38:24And the crowd just erupted.
38:30I love you.
38:34He just started to bask in it.
38:37He started to glow in a way, you know.
38:39I think he was overwhelmed actually.
38:46This is it.
38:47This is it.
38:52I just want to say that though.
38:55This will be it.
38:56This is it.
38:57And when I say this is it, it really means this is it.
38:59Because these will be my final show performances.
39:10This is it.
39:11And see you in July.
39:21So what happened was we ended up at 50 shows.
39:28I've never seen demand like that.
39:33We had about 15,000 sellable seats per show.
39:36They all went for 50 shows.
39:41You got a calculator?
39:42I'll do the math.
39:52We're kind of excited.
39:53And Michael's coming today.
39:54There's the man.
39:55There's Michael.
39:56The man is here.
39:58During rehearsals, Michael knew exactly what he wanted.
40:01But it was Kenny who ran the rehearsals.
40:03Michael really didn't have to say anything to anyone.
40:06Because Kenny was so on top of it.
40:08Michael.
40:09It's not easy though.
40:10Michael, one more time.
40:11I couldn't hear you, sir.
40:13The inner ears are very difficult for me.
40:15When you're raised.
40:17Do you just your real own, you know, oral oratory ears?
40:20Yeah.
40:21Is it?
40:21It feels like somebody's fist is shoved into your ear.
40:25Mr. Jackson was not happy.
40:28Privately.
40:28He felt that physically he was not prepared to do that many shows in that short a time.
40:39He said to me directly, he said, Bill, I can't do 50 shows.
40:44Bill, it would kill me.
40:46He was going to make a lot of money from this show.
40:49Enough to where he was done.
40:59I was trying to conserve my throat, please, so I understand.
41:09I was very hard on myself.
41:14I would dance until I would almost pass out sometimes.
41:18I'll have to do this for the rest of my life.
41:22I'm under contract.
41:27It's like being on a ride and you can't get off and say, oh my God, what did I do?
41:32And you're committed.
41:33You can't get off.
41:40I would watch Michael and the impression I got was kind of lost.
41:48He was dealing with an addiction issue.
41:52I was watching, you know, pills come in and pills go out.
41:58You see people with fatty or other things in street drugs that they're not alive, but they're
42:03not dead yet.
42:04And it just had this feeling of like limbo.
42:11The assumption I think that a lot of people think is that he's being controlled and that he doesn't
42:17know what he's doing.
42:19That isn't true.
42:20He knew what he was doing.
42:21And he knows what kind of drugs he's taking.
42:26But Michael was surrounded by people that wanted to please him.
42:31People he chose to surround himself with.
42:40But he is going downward.
42:42And so you, you, you have to ask yourself, where am I going?
42:48You know, where, what's, what's the next train stop?
42:57It was an American tragedy.
42:59The tragedy was not that he was taking prescription drug medication.
43:04The tragedy was that this man who got more attention than any human being that, that might
43:10have ever lived in the history of the world, was still so utterly lonely.
43:42It's going to end up being all these two reversers here.
43:47Yeah, someone's coming out.
43:48An ambulance.
43:54Look at that.
43:55Look at that.
43:56This is totally going to be in the news, man.
44:00That's real Hollywood excitement on your two or four.
44:05You just saw Michael Jackson, ostensibly, being taken away in an ambulance with the paparazzi
44:11who's been racing after.
44:13Dude, that's fair.
44:15They're going to be on the internet later on.
44:16I was like, oh my God.
44:23When I was at Macy's, they kept saying, Michael's dead.
44:26Michael's dead.
44:27Dropped everything and just came running out here.
44:34No one else.
44:35No one else.
44:36No one else.
44:38No one else.
44:39I walked into the emergency room and I looked through the doors and I could see the family.
44:47And I saw LaToya and she was leaning up against the wall.
44:54And then I saw her slump to the ground and sat on the floor.
45:02I said, right then and there, I said, Michael Jackson is dead.
45:07Michael Jackson is dead.
45:20Michael Jackson is dead.
45:28This is hard.
45:32My brother, the legendary king of pop, Michael Jackson, passed away on Thursday, June 25th,
45:412009 at 2.26 PM.
45:44It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home.
45:51This is a Fox News alert.
45:53The chopper is in the air.
45:55They have picked up the body of Michael Jackson.
45:58His body is now going to be in the custody of the LA coroner.
46:02The autopsy has been expedited.
46:04It will happen tomorrow at some point between 7 a.m. and 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
46:09After that, the body will then be released to the family.
46:23There was a fire inside me that I could not contain that day.
46:29In my mind, I was saying to myself, you stupid, stupid man.
46:34I begged you, I warned you, you've now orphaned your children.
46:40There's nothing that you loved more in the world than your children.
46:43You were the only one who could protect them and now you orphan your children.
46:47You stupid man.
47:03Michael's demons that I think he was dealing with was self-loathing.
47:10Well, you don't have to feel anything if you're on Demerol.
47:15You just numb it all away.
47:21He felt desperate to change, but couldn't.
47:24And he actually ends up finding people that help him to his death.
47:31Is that the most crazy thing in the world?
47:41If somebody would have just told the truth, he would probably be alive.
47:46But nobody did.
47:47Michael Jackson t-shirts.
47:49Michael Jackson t-shirts, King of Pop.
47:51King of Pop, come down here, guys.
47:53Come support Michael.
47:54Yes, sir.
47:55Give me 220.
47:56How many did you make?
47:58I think it was 1,500 t-shirts.
48:00So it was all 40.
48:01We've been here for about 10 minutes.
48:02And then you give 10% to the charity of Michael Jackson's story.
48:07Woo!
48:07Yes, you do that.
48:12I feel like Michael's of the magnitude to deserve a state funeral.
48:17I just, I wanted to wake up and somebody tell me this isn't real.
48:21People are saying that this is going to be like when Princess Di died.
48:251,500 inmates in the Philippines pull together a brand new tribute to the King of Pop.
48:32Michael Jackson.
48:33Michael Jackson fans have always been committed.
48:35And when he died, it didn't diminish at all.
48:39In fact, it became stronger.
49:01Tonight, a family's pain.
49:03For the very first time since Jackson's shocking unexpected death, Jackson's family is speaking out.
49:09Do you know anything, Mr. Jackson, about funeral arrangements?
49:11Have you had time to...
49:12Yeah, we haven't gotten to that yet.
49:13Yeah, but we're working on that.
49:15You said your wife is...
49:16What about Janet and the rest of the family, the daughters and everything?
49:19They're all doing fine.
49:20But I want to make this statement.
49:21This is a real good statement, yeah.
49:23Marshall and I have, we own the record company called...
49:27The ranch records.
49:29Right.
49:30Okay, distributed by Blu-ray.
49:32Technology.
49:33And that's his next step.
49:34And that's your next step.
49:39For most of his life, Michael's father was constantly coming to him for money, also with schemes.
49:45So you could save Joseph Jackson.
49:48It was very opportunistic.
49:50I love you, Mom.
49:52I love you, Mom.
49:53Even when Michael died, nothing changed.
49:57Hello, everybody.
49:59What I'm doing is I established a record company.
50:02And this is Marsha, by the way.
50:04Marsha, go ahead.
50:08Okay, what's happening is in the entertainment side, we're going all the way back to the beginning.
50:13We are going back to Michael Jackson's legacy.
50:16And we're going to bring them all the way back to the top.
50:18We love you.
50:19You haven't seen the will yet.
50:22Love you, Mr. Jackson.
50:25Remember.
50:29Michael's will was brought to his family a couple days after his death.
50:39It was absolutely startling.
50:43Joe Jackson and his children were not included in the will.
50:49And I filed objections.
50:51How do you feel about Michael not including you in the will?
50:53I didn't think that they were given the consideration that they should have been.
50:58How do you feel about Michael not including you in the will?
51:02Thank you, Joe.
51:04Joining us from L.A. is Jackson family attorney Brian Oxman.
51:07Good morning, Mr. Oxman.
51:08Good morning. How are you?
51:10I'm fine. Thank you for joining us.
51:11Is it safe to assume that Michael Jackson did not want his father, whom he very publicly accused of abuse,
51:17to control neither his estate nor his children?
51:20Joe Jackson is a good man. Michael loved his father. And I want that to be known throughout all of
51:28time.
51:35Michael Jackson's brothers and sisters work left nothing. It's a slap in the face.
51:40I mean, they were there from the beginning.
51:47Jackson 5, right?
51:52Now, John Branca and another business type were named co-executors of Michael Jackson's estate.
52:00There was a tug of war between the Jackson family and the executors about the will.
52:07Last week, Randy, Jermaine, Janet, Tito, and Reby signed a stunning letter to the executors of Michael's will.
52:13They're crying conspiracy over his death, calling the will fake, flawed, and fraudulent.
52:18Jane, help me out here. What the heck is going on?
52:21One word. Money. Money, money, money, money, money.
52:39Michael was massively in debt when he died, $500 million.
52:45But the inherent value of his work was such that there was money to be made.
52:51As concert promoters, we had spent a lot of money, close to, I think, $40 million already on the This
52:59Is It project.
53:01So the day that Michael passed, we went around and collected everyone's hard drives, any footage of Michael.
53:11Yo, dude. Taking a quick little tour here.
53:14And then we produced the theatrical release that went to DVD.
53:18It was the story of making of the tour.
53:23All those hits and all those great songs and seeing Michael Jackson live.
53:28And people wanted to see it.
53:30All I want to say is that they don't really care about us.
53:34All I want to say is that they don't really care about us.
53:38This Is Us going to premiere. Hey!
53:41That's when John Branca, who ran Michael's estate, jumped in and made the deal with Sony.
53:46He managed to maximize this revenue in ways that I couldn't believe.
53:54We think that the movie This Is It gave fans a pretty good glimpse at the real Michael.
53:59He was a perfectionist and at the same time he was a humanitarian.
54:03Branca steered that beautifully.
54:05I mean, This Is It was the highest grossing concert documentary of all time.
54:10That deal got us all of our money back.
54:12And then some.
54:14Go, Michael, go!
54:22This Is It DVD and the theatrical release just made a huge amount of money for the estate.
54:29But it was just the beginning of what they were going to do.
54:33They cleared Michael's debt.
54:36Put Neverland up for sale.
54:39Then they did their show in Las Vegas, the Cirque du Soleil show.
54:44The estate became a money-making machine.
54:46He's raking in more than any musician in history, years after his death.
54:53You're a real musician.
54:54You're a real musician.
54:56You're a real musician.
54:57You're a real musician.
55:00You're a real musician.
55:04You're a real musician.
55:09You're a real musician.
55:11You're a real musician.
55:11You're a real musician.
55:12You're a real musician.
55:13You're a real musician.
55:13You're a real musician.
55:13You're a real musician.
55:15You're a real musician.
55:16You're a real musician.
55:19You're a real musician.
55:21started and within that first week you know every night that i was with him there was abuse
55:31you know he started talking about how much he loves me
55:34what this is is us how we show our love for each other the new documentary detailing abuse
55:43accusations against michael jackson has sparked a new debate about his legacy i found the testimony
55:49from the two alleged victims of jackson to be incredibly compelling and visceral in a way that
55:54the criminal trials and previous accusations had not been so personally as a listener my
55:59relationship to this music has changed completely jackson's estate filed suit against hbo they
56:03actually called this documentary a public lynching it may be too soon to know if there will be a
56:08impact on the popularity of jackson's music after the film leaving neverland the estate was really
56:17shaken those accusations could have been the end of everything
56:28but the estate kept their eyes on the prize
56:32and michael's legacy survived
56:52the michael jackson story is about one of the great performers of all time
56:57he was a genius and yet he was very troubled and problematical and now in death the executors of
57:08michael jackson's estate are working ferociously to erase the problematical side of michael jackson
57:15and focus entirely on his younger years his creative years and focus on the music
57:29this is the most extraordinary effort to uncancel someone
57:38the show must go on
58:04it's always an incredible incredible journey
58:09i've seen children just shower all over me with love they want to just touch me and hug me just
58:16hold
58:16on and cry and not let go i really believe
58:23that children are god when i look in the eyes of a child it's like god saying michael everything will
58:32be
58:33okay
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