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Michael Jackson The Trial S01E01 (2026)
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00:04Peter Pan is an ancient, ancient soul, and he finds these families, and he takes the children to Neverland where
00:13they stay young forever.
00:29I've seen children just shower all over me with love. They want to just touch me and hug me, hold
00:36on, and cry, and not let go.
00:42Michael Jackson met Gavin Arviso in 2000. He was 10 years old, and he was dying of cancer.
01:01Michael wanted me to edit a short film of Michael and Gavin.
01:09And I don't think it was meant for the public to see.
01:23When I see that footage, it makes me uneasy.
01:30Is it possible that Michael is a child molester? Is it possible that he did something to this kid?
01:38Dozens of investigators swarmed Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.
01:43The search is tied to allegations from a 12-year-old boy that he was molested by Jackson.
01:48Sheriff's Department, we have search warrant.
01:50I was told that if you say or do anything, you're going to kill your career.
01:55Are there any secret rooms?
01:57Michael had some kind of control over me. I didn't say what I should have said.
02:03Tonight, Jackson is wanted by police.
02:06The entire accusations against Michael was a scam.
02:11Michael Jackson under arrest.
02:13He had a succession of boys coming through his room and spending the night.
02:17He could abuse children almost with impunity.
02:24I remember Gavin's mom saying, I don't care what he offers, I will never take the devil's money.
02:32Jerry in Santa Maria, California, has reached a verdict.
02:36If he's found guilty, it'll be a journey not back to Neverland, but straight to prison.
02:42Do you think he's innocent?
02:45After everything you've seen, do you think he's possibly innocent?
03:13Michael Jackson has a lot at stake.
03:16After years of scandal and some pretty odd behavior, the king of pop may have to fight to retain his
03:22title.
03:24At one time, the singer Michael Jackson was the hottest showbiz act in the world, but then his career drastically
03:30declined.
03:34When I met Michael Jackson, he was renting this beautiful townhouse right off Central Park.
03:41I walk in and Michael's in this room.
03:44It was a little bit like this, you know.
03:46It was not a lot of light.
03:48And he's very shy.
03:49Michael is very shy.
03:51So I just started asking him questions like, what are you doing in New York?
03:55I'm finishing my Invincible album.
03:57Little did I realize that was going on for like a decade already.
04:03I was the rabbi at Oxford University for 11 years.
04:08And because I was so involved in the space of helping people order their lives, I felt that I could
04:13do that for Michael.
04:16I mean, everyone knew that Michael Jackson was troubled in some way, that he was a little bit off. He
04:23was different.
04:25In fact, if we want to be a little bit less kind, he was called Wacko Jacko.
04:33We started talking and the conversation just began to roll.
04:36Probably turned into a two, three hour meeting.
04:39And then he starts sharing even these very private things immediately.
04:46Testing, one, two, three, testing.
04:49Okay.
04:50Let me ask you about, were you happy when I was little?
04:56Nobody's heard those tapes before.
04:59And the things that Michael reveals in those tapes have no precedence.
05:04My father made sure that we rehearsed every day.
05:08We had a bell in his hand.
05:09If you went out of step, you'd get it real bad.
05:11She'd be breaking furniture and it was just terrible.
05:16My mother, she'd always be in the back.
05:19I hear it now.
05:19Joe, no, you're going to kill him.
05:21No, no, Joe, it's too much.
05:24Throw you and hit you as hard as he can.
05:27How did I feel listening to it?
05:31Unnerved.
05:32But I did begin to understand Michael so much more deeply.
05:38My father comes home late.
05:42Open the door.
05:44The door is locked.
05:46He said, I'm giving you five seconds.
05:48You don't open it, I'm going to kick it down.
05:49And he starts kicking it.
05:51Boom!
05:51Kick it, like breaking the door.
05:52And I'm, why do you sign that contract today?
05:55I go, I don't know.
05:56He goes, well, sign it.
05:57If you don't sign it, you're in trouble.
06:02Joseph had this thing.
06:04I'm raising men, not boys.
06:08Crying was unacceptable.
06:09Anything that he thought made them appear the least bit feminine, that didn't sit well with him at all.
06:20His father had wanted him to be a performer but had never given him unconditional love.
06:25And he said to me, do you understand that from the age of five I was taken to nightclubs?
06:31Where we saw stuff, nightclubs.
06:34Every night I was in clubs.
06:36There was a lady who took off all her clothes, threw her panties in the audience.
06:40And the men would grab them and sniff them.
06:42She put these things on her breasts and move them around.
06:44And then she showed everything.
06:48His brothers, anytime they were on tour, when they were adults, there were many women that they would go in
06:54and out of hotels with all that, you know, rock and roll stuff.
06:58Except for Michael, Michael would run away from it.
07:04Sometimes even by his own admission, he would cry.
07:09He always said to me, he found it disgusting.
07:12Did it lead him to believe that sex can be disgusting?
07:14Yeah, possibly.
07:16That's not the best way to discover what love and sex is about.
07:21I always said, if I ever have kids, I will never behave this way.
07:25I say I won't touch a hair on their head.
07:28Because people always say the abuse, abuse, and it's not true.
07:32I'm totally the opposite.
07:36Michael was robbed of that childhood innocence.
07:40And Michael spent his life trying to get the world's attention, thinking it might compensate.
07:43And it never did.
07:57I met Michael Jackson in 1984.
08:01The Jackson 5 wasn't the victory tour, their reunion.
08:05Michael introduced the moonwalk to the world at that time.
08:08I saw Michael Jackson!
08:10I saw Michael Jackson!
08:12Yeah, I saw it!
08:13At that time, his popularity was through the roof.
08:26When you think about 1984 and you think about Michael Jackson, you think about this dark-skinned black man who
08:32women, whether they were black, white or whatever, they were crazy about him.
08:37Thought he was the most handsome dude there was.
08:39He was sexy, he was charming, he was electric.
08:44He was the king of pop.
08:47And then there was this mystery to him, too, because he never really said much.
08:50He lives here with his mother and two sisters, a boa constrictor, a llama, and a room full of mannequins.
08:57He loves mannequins.
08:58He is a Jehovah's Witness.
09:01He is a Jehovah's Witness, neither smokes, drinks, nor swears, loves Disneyland, and is very shy.
09:08And then Michael did something weird.
09:11In the late 80s, early 90s, he stopped really having adult friends.
09:18I know family members were wondering, what's happening there?
09:23He basically cut them off.
09:27And then, of course, he built this amazing place, Neverland.
09:47It was a very isolated ranch, like 3,000 acres.
09:52So, there was this contradictory dichotomy of him, on the one hand, being the most recognizable entertainer on Earth, and
10:00then, on the other hand, never visible.
10:05So, when you built Neverland, was it your special place to protect yourself?
10:11Yeah, I could walk around on a lake and not know what I'm being spied at.
10:18I was just creating, in my life, things I never got to do as a child.
10:32Peter Pan knew what the real golden magic of childhood was all about.
10:36And he finds these families, and he takes the children to Neverland, where they stay young forever.
10:46It was the summer of 2000.
10:48My family and I arrived in Neverland.
10:54Michael was so reclusive, never visible, always hidden away.
10:58And I would say to him, you're a youthful guy, and you don't have friends here.
11:03He was totally alienated from his father.
11:05And I began to understand that Michael was living a nightmare.
11:17Michael!
11:18Stop pulling it down!
11:19Michael!
11:20Stop!
11:22Oh, my God!
11:23Michael!
11:24They're getting hurt.
11:25Okay, up, up, up.
11:26Michael!
11:27Come on, watch your fingers!
11:28Put your hand down!
11:29Watch your fingers!
11:30You're so beautiful!
11:30Watch your fingers!
11:32You're so beautiful!
11:33I love you!
11:34I love you!
11:34I love you!
11:36Working for Michael Jackson was a sea of madness all the time.
11:40Michael, did you sign my picture for me yesterday?
11:43Can you give it back to me, please?
11:44I didn't see it!
11:44I'm sorry, I didn't see it!
11:45I love it!
11:46Okay, we gotta go!
11:48We have to go!
11:49Watch out!
11:50We have to go!
11:50Watch your neck!
11:51Watch your head!
11:52Watch your head!
11:53Watch your head!
11:54Pull it back!
11:55Pull it back!
11:56Why aren't they helping us out there?
11:57Let's kill you!
11:58Okay, all the way up!
11:59All the way up!
12:00Let go!
12:02I was a 21-year-old producer, trying to make it in Hollywood.
12:07One project led to another project, and before I know it, I'm working for the biggest star
12:13in the history of stardom, Michael Jackson.
12:18From that day on for the next few years, me and Michael's director of photography filmed everything
12:24for Michael.
12:26Going into a public place with Michael Jackson can only be properly or sufficiently understood
12:33if you actually have seen it happen.
12:41There is no comparison to Michael Jackson fans versus the rest of fandom.
12:49It is an entire different planet.
13:03It is people that truly look at Michael Jackson, not just as a man, but also as a god, and
13:11their religion.
13:17It's like the biblical version of modern stardom.
13:27But I have very, very few memories of when I actually felt like Michael was happy.
13:33I think that the only times that I really saw Michael happy was when he was playing, when
13:39he was surrounded by kids.
13:43And that's why Neverland was perfect for Michael Jackson.
13:50If any kid could build their dream house, they would build Neverland Ranch.
13:56A train station, a carousel, roller coasters, a zoo.
14:04It was just surreal.
14:07Michael Jackson, in my opinion, was just a kid.
14:17I never saw a sexual side of Michael Jackson.
14:21I saw an asexual man who wanted to be 12 years old and wanted to have water balloon fights.
14:27Welcome to Neverland.
14:29Hey!
14:29And have a wonderful day, okay?
14:31Thank you!
14:37We love you!
14:38I saw a ton of kids visit Neverland.
14:41I saw a ton of sick kids with big smiles on their faces.
14:45I wanted to be a place where I could bring sick kids and deprived and underprivileged around the world.
14:51Thank you!
14:52Thank you!
14:54Thank you!
14:54Thank you!
14:55I hate it for them where they can feel safe and have some escapism.
14:58Or kids who never got to see this type of thing in the inner city.
15:02You know, breathe fresh air and see the mountain.
15:08You have all these sick kids who came to Neverland Ranch and met Michael Jackson and met this Peter Pan
15:13-like figure and had the time of their lives for one day before they went back to a cancer hospital.
15:26Michael wanted me to understand that he had noble motives, that he was a good person, that he had a
15:32kind heart, that he was genuinely devoted to children in general and to sickly children in particular.
15:39And Michael kept on saying to me that a child who has cancer, who he had met and befriended, was
15:44coming to stay for the first time.
15:54Gavin Arviso was a ten-year-old kid.
15:58He was small, he was frail, and he had terminal cancer.
16:06I remember having to edit a short film of Michael and Gavin.
16:15The video was made for Gavin's family and for Michael to enjoy and for Michael to have.
16:22And I don't think it was meant for the public to see.
16:29The first time you see it, I think you're a little taken back, especially if you don't know Michael Jackson
16:36really well.
16:38It felt really uncomfortable because it's an adult man seemingly having like a picnic with a ten-year-old.
16:51It shows Michael and Gavin holding hands.
16:56And the soundtrack that Michael specifically wanted to use was I'll Be There, which is a really, really sweet song.
17:03But it seems to sound like a little bit of a romantic song to the adult ear.
17:08But he wanted to be his best friend.
17:10He wanted to give this kid the best possible memories that he could at the end of his life.
17:17I'm gonna walk out of the shot.
17:32Gavin just had chemotherapy. He's not feeling good. He just touches your heart.
17:38To me, he represents a white light that we see before it dies.
17:41He's that light, that hope. Don't be afraid. Come.
17:44It's like an ancient.
17:56I walked into Gavin's hospital room and there was a gigantic gift basket full of things like PlayStations.
18:06And I said, who, who gave you that? And Gavin said, Michael.
18:14But that's the first time I heard about the involvement of Michael Jackson in Gavin's life.
18:22I was teaching stand-up comedy at the Laugh Factory to kids from tough neighborhoods.
18:31And Gavin was naturally funny.
18:37The Arvizos lived in East L.A. in a one-bedroom apartment.
18:44There were mattresses on the floors and sheets dividing where the parents slept and where the children slept.
18:53Janet Arvizos had three kids. She was an effervescent, outgoing person who wanted to give her kids opportunities even though
19:01they didn't have a lot of money.
19:04Gavin was a very affectionate child and his father had been abusive.
19:08So he craved attention.
19:12We had comedians that work frequently at the Laugh Factory helping out as mentors.
19:16I saw a lot of people going out of their way to help Gavin and this family.
19:21And so he was introduced to Michael Jackson because they thought he would get joy out of it.
19:32Gavin would talk to me about the fun he was having at Neverland and how I should go with them.
19:42Janet told me that Michael and Gavin were doing a lot of pranks, a lot of sneaking up on people,
19:49a lot of playful wrestling.
19:53And I would say, where is everyone sleeping?
19:58She would say, oh, we're sleeping in the cottages.
20:02I never said to her, I worry, but my view is that Michael Jackson probably had a sexual attraction for
20:14children.
20:19I knew about the Jordan Chandler accusations.
20:24So this is 10 years prior to Gavin.
20:28Michael Jackson is at the center of a criminal investigation.
20:31Pop superstar Michael Jackson is facing allegations of child abuse.
20:35He knew how to manipulate his world.
20:38I am not guilty of these allegations, but if I am guilty of anything, it is of giving all that
20:45I have, all that I have to give to help children all over the world.
20:51Jackson settled this case out of court and paid his accuser an estimated $20 million.
20:56There's a widespread feeling that he still has something to hide.
21:00Michael Jackson built an amusement park in the middle of nowhere.
21:05I don't think that's the behavior of somebody who's not attracted sexually to children.
21:14But we don't know the truth because we're not in the room.
21:17So all we can do is formulate an opinion.
21:22And I wasn't worried about Gavin being targeted.
21:27Because he had cancer. He was dying.
21:31I thought, why not let him go, pet the giraffe, just enjoy it.
21:45I took Gavin on the Neverland.
21:47Because you don't get to climb trees at 10 years old.
21:51We looked up and there was just the leaves and the branches and you could hear the water down below.
21:56Everybody should have that experience and never feel like I'm too grown up to climb a tree.
22:04Your love to him was amazing.
22:07It's special.
22:12Michael and Gavin had obviously created a bond through Gavin's sickness.
22:16And his family had an obvious and reasonable reason to really adore Michael.
22:27My name is Star and I really feel sad about my brother all sick and everything.
22:33All they know about the cancer is aggressive and everything.
22:38That's it.
22:40The youngest son of the Arvizos was named Star.
22:44And when you met Star, all he talked about was his future in comedy and TV.
22:49Star just wanted to be a famous kid.
22:51Star wanted to be a TV host.
22:53Star wanted so much of the L.A. and fame world.
22:59And obviously, if you're put in Michael Jackson's world and you have access to cameras and Neverland Ranch,
23:06you just found your way to the big time.
23:09Good evening. Welcome to the Neverland Channel.
23:12My name is Star.
23:13Here we are live at the Neverland Park.
23:15As you can see, the kids are excited and they're full of parkour.
23:19Michael paid for a big production crew to make a television pilot.
23:24You are watching the Neverland Channel.
23:27All kids, all fun, 24 hours around the world.
23:32And it was the exploits around Neverland Ranch, meeting the elephants, feeding the giraffes, going on the train.
23:39Look it, Michael has so many fields of grass. I love being here.
23:43Sort of like Nickelodeon at Neverland.
23:46Whoa, look at all sorts of rides over there.
23:51Gavin was in it a little bit, but Star was the host.
23:59As you can see, I'm here with the elephants and their trainers.
24:03Could I ask you?
24:05It was obviously done out of the kindness of Michael's heart to make this child star feel good about something
24:11or to do something for the child.
24:13And there you have it. It's an exclusive of the Neverland prehistoric animals.
24:19And there it is, the exclusive of the elephants.
24:24And that's a wrap.
24:26On the surface, Neverland looks like a marvelous experience for children.
24:31They felt like the most special little boys in the world.
24:34They craved more of that.
24:37Here I am with my very, very good friend of mine, Gavin.
24:41But Michael Jackson was really good at seducing these kids.
24:45He presented himself to the world.
24:48I am Peter Pan.
24:50And the spin control that he had never had a childhood was to disarm us.
24:59Well, my favorite show was the video.
25:02But it was a facade.
25:03Because I want to be the greatest dancer in the world.
25:10Gavin was a fierce little boy.
25:13But he suffered.
25:16They had to remove a giant tumor from his abdomen.
25:19They also removed one of his kidneys.
25:24I said goodbye to him in my prayers every night when I left the hospital.
25:29We thought he would die.
25:36I spoke to Gavin again last night.
25:39I was crying and messing my phone.
25:42He said, he called me daddy.
25:44He said, can I call you daddy?
25:45I said, of course.
25:49Michael.
25:50Michael helped arrange blood transfusions.
25:52He helped arrange certain cancer cares.
25:55And who knows why or how.
25:59But somehow, Gavin Arviso survived a terminal form of cancer.
26:07My heart just broke wide open.
26:13And he was really going to recover.
26:17And I was just overwhelmed by that.
26:22He went and bought Christmas presents.
26:25I remember that Gavin's hair had all grown back.
26:29I was almost in tears.
26:32But when I saw him that Christmas and he was healthy,
26:37that's when I worried about how he might really now be in harm's way
26:42regarding Michael Jackson.
27:00After Gavin got better, Janet told me that she wasn't able to get through to Michael Jackson,
27:08and they were not being invited back to Neverland.
27:12So there were all these confusing things that were happening.
27:18But I know how Gavin is, and you know, once he became friends with Michael Jackson,
27:24he wanted to spend time with Michael.
27:33Well, after spending three years and a reputed $20 million, Michael Jackson is out to rock the world
27:38with his first studio album of new songs in 10 years.
27:46I am at the Beverly Hills Hotel meeting Michael Jackson for the first time.
27:51I received a phone call from a friend at Sony who was complaining and very worried that the Michael Jackson
27:59record
27:59was not going to come in on time.
28:00And that was a problem because that's costing a million dollars, you know, a minute kind of thing.
28:08My role was to make sure that they could get a record in.
28:12When you work with like rap artists and stuff like that, it's like no hookers, no blow.
28:16We got to get this in and we got a due date of the 15th.
28:22I'm there to talk business.
28:25But then there was a mysterious man that just kind of showed up with a briefcase full of just pharmaceuticals.
28:33There was loads of pills and drugs.
28:37Yammerol was a big one.
28:40And then we zipped around the corner and went to a pharmacy and picked up more drugs.
28:45I'm like, what the hell? What is this genius? What are you talking about? He's drugged out.
28:51In the studio, I realized very quickly that we're not focused on what we should be focused on.
28:58He doesn't wake up until three in the afternoon.
29:01And then you're sitting there like waiting for hours and hours and hours.
29:05And then he gets up and I don't feel like he wasn't even there half the time.
29:12I thought, why isn't anybody saying anything?
29:16He was surrounded by yes people and if you didn't say yes, you were whisked into the corn.
29:22Michael!
29:23Michael!
29:25Michael!
29:28My biggest concern was the fact that he's woozy and out of it all the time.
29:32The fact that he would call me up from Neverland here in this house and say to me,
29:36Shmooley, I love you. I miss you.
29:42And I would say to Michael, you know that this is going to kill you.
29:45Shmooley, it's medical, it's this. I said, Michael, you know, you're too smart to talk yourself into this.
29:51There's nothing medical about this.
29:54Michael!
29:56I was trying to save him from a downward spiral.
30:00Thank you for waiting. I really appreciate it.
30:02Michael!
30:03At that time, Michael was divorced.
30:06I felt very strongly that he needed a wife.
30:09He needed a soulmate.
30:12He needed someone who would ground him.
30:14Let's go shake him up.
30:17Let's show what you do to the crowds with your daddy in the window.
30:21They've been there since 6 o'clock this morning.
30:24No, they're out in the wrong place.
30:27He had been married, Debbie wrote, and they had two kids together.
30:35It's cold all here for me.
30:38People were speculating about the marriage.
30:40Was she a surrogate mother? Was it a real marriage?
30:45I'm crying.
30:47Michael made the decision to have kids that were not African-Americans.
30:52Shake, if you want a lightsaber, shake it for me.
30:55He did not want them to have the looks of his father, and he didn't want them to have the
31:00traits of his father.
31:02Okay.
31:03In 2000, he divorces Debbie Rowe, and then he's suddenly raising the kids by himself.
31:08They were probably three and two at the time, and very attached to him.
31:13I was trying to resuscitate and rehabilitate Michael.
31:17Not his career, but his personhood.
31:20You know, to get him, let's have a more normal schedule.
31:22Let's get the kids out with play dates with other kids.
31:24Let's even get the kids maybe into school.
31:25And then he wasn't being productive with his artistry.
31:28It's a continuous kind of train wreck ride of not being able to focus on this record.
31:36You can see where it's going.
31:38It's heading towards a tragedy.
31:40A self-imposed tragedy.
31:50Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael!
31:56Shortly after the album comes out, we are committed to go to several record stores.
32:03One of them, being the biggest, is the Virgin Megastore in New York City, Times Square.
32:07Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael! Michael!
32:09He didn't want to be there.
32:12It was kind of like this feeling of hope being lost.
32:19A hit. That's what they want.
32:28That's not what they got.
32:3030 million dollars later, they get a clunker.
32:37His latest album, Invincible, only sold a disappointing 2 million copies
32:41in the U.S.
32:43Invincible? I don't think so.
32:46The train keeps going.
32:47Where's the next stop coming to, folks?
32:56Invincible!
33:03That's what they want.
33:04Vikings!
33:11Because of Google!
33:19Once I saw him dangling his child, I mean, that was game, set, match point for me.
33:24That man shouldn't be around children.
33:26What's with your brother?
33:28My brother is not a crazy character.
33:31He's not the wacko jackal that people say.
33:34He was just caught up in the moment.
33:37Michael calls Jermaine after the Larry King interview and says, you know, don't do any more interviews.
33:43I have something coming up.
33:45It's going to just blow everyone away.
33:47People are going to be amazed.
33:48They're going to be shocked with what I got coming.
33:51He talked about what turned out to be the Martin Bashir documentary.
34:00I started getting calls from someone who worked with Martin Bashir, his Jewish producer, trying to, like, pull the Jewish
34:06card.
34:07Actually, you're a rabbi.
34:10You therefore have to help me get my boss, Martin Bashir, to interview Michael Jackson.
34:17And I went to Michael and I said, I don't know Martin Bashir, but the thing he did with Diana
34:22was not good.
34:28Bombshell after bombshell dropped by the Princess of Wales in her first ever primetime television interview.
34:34A British public, unaccustomed to television therapy sessions, heard their fairy tale princess admit to having an extramarital affair, an
34:43eating disorder.
34:46I have known the Jackson family for going on close to half a century.
34:53I was the attorney to the family for many years.
34:57And I knew all about the Martin Bashir documentary way far in advance.
35:05Michael's managers asked Michael if there were any children that they could bring to Neverland Ranch to film for the
35:12documentary.
35:13When Gavin Arvizu's name came up, Michael hadn't seen Gavin for a year and a half.
35:23So many people warned him, don't do the Martin Bashir documentary.
35:29Don't do it.
35:30He will hurt Michael.
35:32He hurt Princess Diana.
35:35Diana divorced Charles as a result.
35:38And you're going to do a documentary with Martin Bashir, Michael?
35:42Don't do it, Michael.
35:44There's a nervousness about, a very nervous, tense vibe about him doing this documentary at Neverland, right?
35:54This is an indicator that people are nervous about what Michael could be doing or saying, because you can't control
36:02him.
36:03What happens when you spend eight months with Michael Jackson?
36:06ABC start dropping amazing commercials.
36:09ABC, see for yourself.
36:11It's Michael Jackson.
36:13It looks like it was going to be a phenomenal show.
36:16And everyone is excited.
36:18The family is excited.
36:20Jermaine is excited.
36:21A two-hour event.
36:22You have to seek to believe.
36:24You know, a global audience is watching this.
36:33Michael Jackson's star has been falling for some time, but the anticipation ahead of this documentary is now immense.
36:42When living with Michael Jackson airs this evening, these streets are going to be deserted.
36:48Fans and critics alike are saying they're going to be staying in to watch the program.
36:51With his reputation in America very much at stake for Michael Jackson, it must be a nervous wait.
37:01I went to Havenhurst Jackson's home.
37:05I sit down in the living room there and, you know, Catherine comes down the stairs.
37:10It's this winding staircase and she comes down.
37:13You know, Jermaine is sitting on the couch next to me and we're talking and it's big television there.
37:18And we watched the Martin Bashir documentary and I'll never forget.
37:24Eight months ago, I put a proposal to Michael Jackson.
37:28Show me the real man, but show me everything.
37:32My boyfriend called and said, have you seen this special with Michael Jackson?
37:37I said, no, I, my VCR recorded it.
37:40Jimmy said, Gavin's in it.
37:44You know, my heart just sank because that didn't sound like a good idea.
37:58I'm staying in this little crappy hotel one night.
38:01I think it was in the south somewhere.
38:05And it's going to be on.
38:06Should I watch it?
38:07No, Shmali, don't succumb to temptation.
38:09Don't watch it.
38:10You know it's going to upset you, but I watched it.
38:15Did I believe that Martin Bashir was there to make Michael look good?
38:19No, I did not.
38:24Oh, show me.
38:25I want to show you.
38:26This is Michael Jackson's favorite shop in Las Vegas with the luckiest manager in the world.
38:32How about that?
38:34You bought that?
38:35Michael's life was not ready to be open to the public because he would wake up every day at six
38:39in the afternoon,
38:40stay up the entire night.
38:41And, you know, and he was blowing money to compensate for feelings of maybe worthlessness.
38:49This chess set, isn't it beautiful, this set?
38:51And that's what you saw in that stupid documentary.
38:53He goes in and spends six million dollars on total garbage that he probably never saw again.
38:57Oh, it's sold.
38:58Look.
38:58I bought this one, right?
38:59Uh-huh.
38:59Is this yours?
39:00Yeah, that's the sold sign meanest for me.
39:02Okay, how much is that one?
39:04Did we ever get this one, these ones?
39:06It's only 89,000.
39:09Being able to have a front row seat with his family and seeing their reaction,
39:13I'll never forget where Michael tells Martin Bashir that he's climbing a tree.
39:19Let me hold the umbrella.
39:20Yeah.
39:21You go and climb it.
39:22And when you've climbed it, let's see how inspiring it is.
39:25And Joseph, of course, like, what is wrong with that boy, you know?
39:33Jermaine was like, this kid is crazy.
39:35He's out of his mind.
39:37Having water balloon fights and climbing trees, I think those two are my favorites.
39:43Don't you prefer making love or going to a concert?
39:46And he's saying he'd rather climb a tree and have sex.
39:48You really mean that?
39:49This grown man, they were horrified.
39:55Michael Jackson was socially not like you or like I.
40:02Michael was in a different class of human.
40:04I think that's why Martin Bashir didn't understand Michael.
40:07I think that's why most journalists didn't understand Michael.
40:10Like most Martin Bashir productions, 80% of it is really great.
40:15Oh, you know how to do the walk.
40:17I learned it from you guys.
40:18Playing with kids and comforting them, that's great.
40:22Oh, don't stand up yet. Hold on.
40:23And 20% of it is like getting shot in the head, especially the interview with the Arvizo family.
40:35And then I met 12-year-old Gavin and his brother and sister.
40:39And then there was a scene where we see this young boy, Gavin Arvizo, who supposedly Michael helped cure his
40:48cancer.
40:49I was like, okay, they might make something of this.
40:53There was one night I stood in there and I asked him if I could stay in the bedroom.
40:57And he let me stay in the bedroom.
40:59And I was like, Michael, you can sleep on the bed.
41:01Wow.
41:02I just remember looking at Joseph's face and Jermaine's face.
41:08Catherine.
41:09They were stunned.
41:10And then he finally said, okay, if you love me, you can sleep on the bed.
41:15I was like, oh, man.
41:17And so I finally slept on the bed.
41:20It was fun that night.
41:21I stood up on the floor.
41:23It was like, what the heck was that?
41:25And you see Gavin put his head in Michael's shoulder.
41:29And there was this cloud that came over the living room.
41:35Why can't you share your bed?
41:38The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone.
41:42You really think that?
41:44Yeah.
41:45My mouth was agape.
41:48Did you just say that it's okay for an adult to share a bed with a child that is not
41:54their own?
41:55It was, for me, as if he had fallen and crashed.
42:01But haven't you got a spare room or a spare house here where he could have stayed?
42:06Yeah, but no, yes.
42:07We have guest units, but whenever kids come here, they always want to stay with me.
42:11I thought, man, he's really glutton for punishment here.
42:16And the Jacksons knew it was a problem.
42:18They knew, based on what they had already went through with Michael, with Jordan Chandler,
42:23that somebody is going to say something about this.
42:27This is going to be a media talking point.
42:34The documentary was pretty shocking.
42:38I was worried that Michael was using Gavin to normalize his lifestyle.
42:45Sleeping with children he's not related to.
42:49That's sort of the narcissist at work.
42:51They always just want to stay.
42:53They say, can I stay with you tonight?
42:55I go, if it's okay with your parents, yes, you can.
42:57But whatever he was trying to do with Martin Bashir had backfired.
43:01And it's Michael Jackson's brand that's at stake here.
43:09That's big.
43:11Pop star Michael Jackson drops one bombshell after another about his bizarre behavior.
43:16Millions of people were watching as Jackson revealed he allows young children to sleep in his bed.
43:22What kind of loony would A, do it, and B, go on national TV and admit it?
43:28Michael made tragic, horrific mistakes.
43:31What are you doing alone with a kid in your bed, even if it's not physical or sexual?
43:37The next day, I decided I had to make a statement.
43:41Those of us who were once in Michael's circle, or still are, enough of the defense.
43:44We have got to save this man from self-destructing.
43:47We went into red alert, all hands on deck.
43:51What can we do from a public relations standpoint to help Michael?
43:55Every time we trust the media to do something for us, they turn around and they do us wrong.
44:00They feel even burned by the media.
44:01They feel very burned by the media.
44:03It caused a worldwide commotion.
44:0727 million people watched that show.
44:11Gavin Arvito put his head to his left on Michael's right shoulder.
44:16Michael told me that when he, the kid did that, he was furious.
44:23He's putting his head on my shoulder.
44:26What is going on here?
44:28This is going to be terrible.
44:30Michael knew it right away.
44:32Did Bashir tell him to do that?
44:34Well, that's the word that I got.
44:37Do I know that for a fact?
44:39No, I do not.
44:41You had to know that Martin Bashir was going to be Martin Bashir.
44:46And Martin Bashir bullshit was going to come out with it.
44:50And anything that was reasonable and not provocative was going to be left on the editing room floor.
44:56Now, Michael Jackson is fighting back, releasing some of the interview with a British journalist.
45:01As it turns out, Michael's personal videographer was videotaping Martin Bashir.
45:06And we started going to media outlets with that footage.
45:09Here's some of what you didn't see.
45:11Your relationship with your children is spectacular.
45:16And in fact, it almost makes me weep when I see you with them.
45:20Because your interaction with them is just so natural, so loving, so caring.
45:27Well, that's not how it quite came out on television, is it?
45:30It was quite a production.
45:31You've got to give the devil his due.
45:34Martin Bashir did an incredible job.
45:36We're at DEF CON 12,000.
45:40And we don't know what the possible kickback, blowback from this event is going to be.
45:44Oh, we're on camera?
45:46Yeah.
45:46Oh.
45:47We don't know this family very well.
45:49We don't know what their motivations are.
45:50I thought we want to keep them as far away from tabloids and people with checks as possible.
45:58What are some of the things people say about Michael that are true or aren't true?
46:04Don't believe what they say.
46:06Oh, I'm out.
46:06Oh, shit.
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