There’s an interesting myth flowing through the Michael Jackson fan community about Jackson’s infamous habit of sharing his bed with children.
Likely knowing how bad this behavior looks to people who don’t “know” Michael like they do, fans insist several things about that touchy subject: Jackson always slept on the floor when children shared his bedroom; he never invited children into his bed; and that he welcomed both boys and girls into his bed, equally, as part of an open door policy.
I’m going to prove that all these assertions are false, and do not fit the evidence.
First, let’s address the claim Jackson only ever slept on the floor when he shared a bedroom with children. Fans have taken one sentence from one interview that Jackson did — relating to one incident where Jackson said he slept on the floor — and turned that into a blanket statement for all of his sleepovers.
This excerpt is from the 2003 documentary Living With Michael Jackson, where Jackson defends the practice of having young children in his bedroom:
Bashir: “When you are talking about children we met Gavin – and it was a great privilege to meet Gavin because he’s had a lot of suffering in his life – when Gavin was there he talked about the fact that he shares your bedroom?”
Jackson: “Yes.”
Bashir: “Can you understand why people would worry about that?”
Jackson: “Because they are ignorant.”
Recall that in 1993 Jackson had been accused of molestation, and from an early stage had defended his sleepovers with children. Jackson’s lawyer at the time, Bert Fields reflected Jackson’s view when questioned by a reporter. “He really lives the life of a 12-year-old,” Fields said. “One of the things he has done – the things I did when I was 11 or 12, probably all of us did – was to have sleepovers.”
However, most 11 and 12-year-olds aren’t accused of molestation by their friends, and Jackson had suffered criticism from that time about the appropriateness of a man in his late thirties sharing his bed with children, typically boys in a particular age range. People were naturally going to question his behavior, then and now, knowing there is something amiss about a man preferring to sleep with children over adults.
We also need to remember that at the time of the Bashir interview many things about Jackson’s relationships with boys were unknown — his collection of child erotica and pornography, the amount of his settlement with the Chandlers (as well as the terms of that settlement), the incredible number of nights he spent on one-on-one sleepovers with boys (as well as the extraordinary lengths he went to in order to make them happen), and his second settlement to another boy who accused him of molestation.
At that point in time, before the raid which revealed the adult accoutrements were found in his bedroom (the straight and gay porn, the child erotica, the gay primer manual, the pills and the booze), before the salacious revelations in court, and before the full extent of his deception was known, Jackson could pretend Neverland was a suitable place for children and that the sleepovers were a result of his “lost childhood”.
Bashir: “But is it really appropriate for a 44-year-old man to share a bedroom with a child that is not related to him at all?”
Jackson: “That’s a beautiful thing.”
Bashir: “That’s not a worrying thing?”
Jackson: “Why should that be worrying, what’s the criminal…who’s Jack the Ripper in the room? There’s some guy trying to heal a healing child … I’m in a sleeping bag on the floor.
“I gave him the bed because he has a brother named Star, so him and Star took the bed and I went along on the sleeping bag.”
Jackson says a middle-aged man sharing a bedroom with an unrelated child is a beautiful thing. He does qualify his statement by implying he isn’t Jack the Ripper, to make it appear he can be trusted. Jack the Ripper was a 19th Century serial murderer — it’s no surprise that Jackson used him as an example to give a powerful contrast to make himself look like a safe alternative. It’s a clever psychological device, and I get the feeling Jackson had used the example before with parents*.
The following exchange directly contradicts the fan narrative that Jackson never slept in bed with children — and in Jackson’s own words.
Bashir: “Did you ever sleep in the bed with them (the Arvizo brothers)?”
Jackson: “No. But I have slept in a bed with many children.
“I slept in a bed with all of them when Macaulay Culkin was little: Kieran Culkin would sleep on this side, Macaulay Culkin was on this side, his sisters in there…we all would just jam in the bed, you know.
“We would wake up like dawn and go in the hot air balloon, you know, we had the footage. I have all that footage.”
In interviews during the Chandler scandal of 1993, Jackson friends Wade Robson and Brett Barnes, who were both eleven at the time, revealed that they had also slept in the same bed (on different occasions) with Jackson.
Wade Robson & Brett Barnes videos at bottom of this page
Jackson tries to tell that because he shared his bed with Mac, Keiran, and their sisters, and he has “footage,” this makes his habit of sleeping with children all above board. His statement is a sleight of hand. Jackson rarely shared his bed with more than one child, and on this occasion it’s not even clear that the Culkin sisters were in the bed: note that when Jackson says “in there,” he points back behind Bashir’s shoulder, an indication the girls may have actually slept apart from the males. The footage Jackson refers to had been taken the next day, so it has nothing to do with what occurred in the bedroom the night before.
Jackson’s statement also creates a puzzle. If he said that he slept “with Mac on one side and Keiran on the other,” that means he had ample room in his bed for several people. Conversely, his reason he gave for sleeping on the floor while the Arvizos were in his room was “I gave him the bed because he has a brother named Star, so him and Star took the bed and I went along on the sleeping bag.”
It’s unlikely Jackson slept on the floor when the Arvizo boys were in his bed for reasons of space, so why does he imply that? If he were to reveal the real reason — that he realizes sharing a bed with children is largely taboo in society’s eyes and leaves his actions open to possible lawsuits — it would invalidate his feigned unawareness of why he should have ceased not only continuing the practice but also defending it after the 1993 allegations.
Bashir is still incredulous that Jackson finds an adult male sharing his bed with unrelated children is acceptable.
Bashir: “But is that right Michael?”
Jackson: “It’s very right. It’s very loving, that’s what the world needs now, more love more heart.”
Bashir: “The world needs a man who’s 44 who’s sleeping in a bed with children?”
Jackson: “No, you’re making it – no, no you’re making it all wrong …”
Bashir: “Well, tell me, help me …”
Jackson: “Because what’s wrong with sharing a love? You don’t sleep with your kids? Or some other kid who needs love who didn’t have a good childhood?”
For Jackson, sharing your love to a “kid who needs love who didn’t have a good childhood” involves sharing a bed, rather than giving them a stable life, better opportunities and lots of healthy affection.
Bashir: “No, no I don’t. I would never dream …”
Jackson: “That’s because you’ve never been where I’ve been mentally …”
Bashir: “What do you think people would say if I said well – ‘I’ve invited some of my daughter’s friends round or my son’s friends round and they are going to sleep in a bed with me tonight’?
Jackson: “That’s fine!”
Bashir: “What do you think their parents would say?”
Jackson: “If they’re wacky they would say ‘You can’t’, but if you’re close family, like your family, and you know them well and …”
Bashir: “But Michael, I wouldn’t like my children to sleep in anybody else’s bed.”
Jackson: “Well, I wouldn’t mind if I knew the person well. I am very close to Barry Gibb – Paris and Prince can stay with him anytime; my children sleep with other people all the time.
(Note: It’s interesting that Jackson doesn’t conclusively say that his children slept with Barry Gibb, nor does he name these mysterious “other people.” His choice of words indicate he is lying)
Bashir: “And you’re happy with that?”
Jackson: “Fine with it. They’re honest, they are sweet people. They are not Jack the Ripper.”
Jackson plays the naïf, seemingly unaware of societal mores which govern sleepovers with unrelated children. However he reveals, subtly, that one needs to have a particular set of views before partaking of the custom by replying to Bashir when he says he wouldn’t ever take unrelated children to bed, “you’ve never been where I’ve been mentally.”
Jackson reiterated his defense during his 2003 appearance on 60 Minutes with Ed Bradley.
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.
Bed sharing has little to do with “love”, especially in the case of preteen boys. One would need to assume that they like to sleep together in the same bed either with boys of the same age or adult men to agree with Jackson’s statements, and there is no evidence that boys approaching puberty enjoy bed sharing.
Note also that Jackson cynically conflates religion, love, and sleepovers so as to make it appear that the answer to the question — “Why would you put yourself in a position where something like this could happen again?” — is that he is performing some kind of public service, graciously allowing poor and marginalized children in his bed (in spite of the reality, a mix of middle class and rich boys).
Soundover: 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: 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.
Jackson, rather than speaking of other people, is talking about himself here.
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.
Let’s look closely at this back and forth. Jackson fails to give one reason why he should be sharing his bed with children. He could have used his “lost childhood” as an excuse, or his isolation (as he had in the past) yet didn’t. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Rather than attempting to cement some reasons as to why he should be excused from traditional social mores and saying this is a practice which could only be enjoyed by those who somehow missed out when they were younger, or under special circumstances, as he insinuated to Martin Bashir — “..you’ve never been where I’ve been mentally” — Jackson says there is nothing wrong with anyone sharing their bed. He ignores that fact that at the very least, when it involves unrelated children, it would be viewed as suspicious and at worst it can be dangerous for both the child and the adult.
We have plenty of disclaimers which point at trust issues – Jackson emphasizes family, people you can trust, it’s loving, it’s not for sex. He also studiously sidesteps an important question — he couldn’t give a single example of another 45-year-old man who slept with unrelated children. This is understandable, they aren’t that common and the examples that are out there aren’t very convincing. Here was Jackson’s opportunity to highlight his uniqueness (an argument which his defenders rely on heavily) yet he failed to take it. He also couldn’t name any man he would allow his own children to share a bed with.
Michael Jackson Statement Analysis
Now to the claim that Jackson had an open door policy.
While stories abound of young visitors to Neverland, both boys and girls, pestering their parents to sleep with Jackson after a full day’s bonding, and Jackson’s seemingly disinterested reply to parents after inquiring looks, of “Well, if it’s OK with you,”** there was a rather more rigorous set of rules to subsequent sleepovers.
Diane: …What is a thirty-six year old man doing, sleeping, with a twelve year old boy? Or a series of them?
Michael: Right. Okay, when you say “boys”, it’s not just boys and I’ve never invited just “boys” to come in my room. C’mon that’s just ridiculous. And that’s a ridiculous question. But since people want to hear it, you know, the answer…I’ll be happy to answer it. I have never invited anyone into my bed, ever. Children love me, I love them. They follow me, they want to be with me. But…anybody can come in my bed, a child can come in my bed if they want.
(Diane Sawyer Interview)
That Jackson allowed “anybody” to come into his bed just isn’t true.
Firstly, girls were dissuaded from sharing Jackson’s bed. Sister after sister has related that they only spent a night or two or three in Jackson’s bed before bowing out and choosing to sleep elsewhere. While it would appear that this could have been a result of mere discouragement from MJ — a consequence of Jackson and his young male friends not wanting girls around while they enjoy boyish pursuits – a revealing letter from the anguished sister of the Cascios shows that at times MJ specifically excluded girls.
In the letter Marie Nicole says in part:
Dom, Angel, Frank were all your babies and since I am a girl I can’t be.
They get whatever they want whenever they want I can’t. Golf carts, quads, they all got to sleep with you and I never did. Face it I know I am not liked by you all. (Applehead club)
Another instance of “girls not permitted” was when Amy Agajanian was visiting the ranch in 2005, ready to testify as a character witness at his trial. This is the story she told:
Her older brothers were allowed to sleep over at the house, but even though she was MJ’s closest pal and spent far more time with him than the boys, she was relegated to a guesthouse with her mother. She was pissed! Michael explained to her it wasn’t proper for little girls to be in his house overnight unchaperoned.
The Jackson fan who spoke to Amy interpreted this as Jackson being chivalrous, however this snippet far better indicates that MJ’s supposed open door policy, where kids just slept in his room as a natural progression of playing together and that MJ didn’t care which kids, boys or girls, stayed, was a fallacy.
While researching this story we failed to find information on any girl who had spent more than a few nights in Jackson’s bed, in stark contrast to the wealth of evidence of the hundreds of nights each of his young male friends had spent there.
Under cross-examination by Ron Zonen, Wade Robson struggled when asked to testify about girls he had seen spend the night in Jackson’s bedroom:
Ron Zonen: Were there ever any girls, other than your sister, at age seven, who actually spent the night in Mr. Jackson’s room with you during the years that you knew him and spent the night in his room?
Wade Robson: Yes.
Ron Zonen: Who?
Wade Robson: There was Brandy Jackson.
Ron Zonen: I’m sorry?
Wade Robson: Brandy Jackson, who is Michael’s niece.
Ron Zonen: And she spent the night on how many occasions with you?
Wade Robson: Only one that I can remember.
Ron Zonen: One night?
Wade Robson: Yeah.
Ron Zonen: All right. So we’re talking about a period of about five years; is that right?
Wade Robson: Yeah.
Ron Zonen: In the five years, you can remember Brandy. Who else do you recall?
Wade Robson: As far as females?
Ron Zonen: Yes.
Wade Robson: My sister. Brandy. That’s all I remember.
Jackson’s house manager, Jesus Salas, also testified about a distinct lack of girls (and women) in Jackson’s bedroom.
Gordon Auchincloss: [speaking of children who slept in Jackson’s bedroom] Do you know if these children, whether or not — did you notice the age of these children?
Jesus Salas: They were around 10, 11. Around that age.
Gordon Auchincloss: Did you notice what gender they were?
Jesus Salas: No, I don’t.
Gordon Auchincloss: Did you notice whether they were boys or girls?
Jesus Salas: Well, yes, they were mostly boys.
Gordon Auchincloss: Did you ever see anyone else sleep in Mr. Jackson’s room other than these children?
Jesus Salas: Pretty much it was just the boys. That’s about it.
Further evidence that Michael Jackson would pick and choose his bed mates was provided by Joy Robson at the 2005 trial. She related an incident in 1993 when she and her son Wade were at the ranch at the same time as June and Jordan Chandler. Joy stated in her testimony that at one point during that visit, Jackson had chosen Jordan to stay in his Neverland bedroom, which left Wade excluded. Wade was disappointed that he had been banished to the guest cottage rather than being able to spend the night with Jackson. Jackson had specifically invited Jordan to his bedroom, leaving Wade feeling rejected.
Curiously, in spite of his rejection and disappointment at the time, Wade denied knowing Jordan slept alone with Jackson when he testified at the 2005 trial.
Ron Zonen: Did you know about other children that he had slept with?
Wade Robson: No.
Ron Zonen: Never?
Wade Robson: No.
Ron Zonen: Did you know that he was sleeping with Brett Barnes?
Wade Robson: No.
Ron Zonen: Did you know that he was sleeping with Macaulay Culkin?
Wade Robson: No.
Ron Zonen: Did you know that he was sleeping with Jordie Chandler?
Wade Robson: No.
If Wade was truly unaware of the other boys who shared Jackson’s bed, it shows deceit on the part of Jackson where he wanted to hide his activities and prevent knowledge of them being shared among his friends. On the other hand, if Wade had knowledge of Jackson’s special friends sharing his bed then he would be lying. Both are possible, although based on Jordan’s interview with Dr Richard Gardner where it became apparent that Jackson would play boys off against each other, it’s more likely that Wade knew about the other boys and was lying in an effort to protect Jackson’s image as the previous (disallowed) question by Zonen was “You knew that there were a succession of ten-year-old boys that he slept with, didn’t you?”
All of the above is evidence from Jackson fan approved sources, so for them to continue the myth that Jackson “never invited children into his bed” would involve total ignorance of the facts.
For additional evidence, we have James Safechuck’s complaint in his case against the Estate. Towards the end of the document, James iterates what was, for Jackson, a drawing to a close of their intimate friendship. To prepare for his separation from James, Jackson had by then befriended ten-year-old Brett Barnes and begun spending more time with him. On one occasion when Jackson, James, and Brett were together Jackson once again picked and chose who would be in his bed that night:
On one of the weekends that Plaintiff spent with Brett and DECEDENT at The Hideout, Plaintiff began to feel as though he “was on the outs” with DECEDENT. The DECEDENT had spent the night in his bedroom with Brett, instead of with Plaintiff, and Plaintiff spent the night on the couch. Plaintiff experienced feelings of jealously as a result of being replaced by Brett.
That Jackson selectively invited particular children (invariably boys) into his bed and excluded other children from it strongly suggests an ulterior motive to his behavior. That he lied about it, “Children love me, I love them. They follow me, they want to be with me. But…anybody can come in my bed, a child can come in my bed if they want.”, is a sign that he wanted to cover up the fact that he was highly selective about who could share his bed on a regular basis. He even played favorites with his regular bed mates. He engendered jealousy, anger, and rivalry in children with his unwritten rules over who was and who wasn’t allowed into his bed.
* Upon careful reading, everything that Jackson says about his sleepovers appears to be patter, a set of phrases he has built up over the years to convince parents to allow him access to private time with their children and to deflect suspicion from the public when asked about it. back to story
** That scenario is the one fans prefer, and it was true in some cases. But Jackson also went to great lengths to manipulate boys into his bed. June Chandler testified at his 2005 molestation trial about their trip to Las Vegas:
Tom Sneddon: How did you get to Las Vegas?
June Chandler: By jet, private jet.
Tom Sneddon: And who was with you on the jet?
June Chandler: My son Jordan, Lily, myself and Michael.
Tom Sneddon: And when you got to Las Vegas, where did you stay, what hotel?
June Chandler: The Mirage Hotel.
Tom Sneddon: And when you got to The Mirage Hotel, do you remember what time of day or night it was?
June Chandler: No.
Tom Sneddon: Do you remember how long you stayed in Las Vegas on this occasion?
June Chandler: Two or three nights.
Tom Sneddon: Now, when you got to Las Vegas, did you have — obviously you had a room —
June Chandler: Correct.
Tom Sneddon: — in The Mirage. And who was in your room when you first got there? Who was staying in your room?
June Chandler: Jordan, myself, Lily and Michael.
Tom Sneddon: All in the same room?
June Chandler: Correct.
Tom Sneddon: Now, did those arrangements change at any point in time?
June Chandler: Yes.
Tom Sneddon: And when did they change?
June Chandler: The second night things changed.
Tom Sneddon: With regard to “things changed,” could you tell me what changed first?
June Chandler: Well, there were approximately three bedrooms in that suite at the Mirage Hotel. Lily and I were staying in one bedroom, Jordie had another bedroom, and Michael had another bedroom. The second night, they were going to see a performance, Cirque du Soleil performance.
Tom Sneddon: “They” meaning who?
June Chandler: Jordie and Michael —
Tom Sneddon: Okay.
June Chandler: — and Lily and I. It was around 11 p.m. at night, and I got a call from somebody at Cirque du Soleil saying, “Where is Michael?” And I said, “He should be there with my son.” They said, “He’s not here.” A little while later, another call, he still didn’t show up. They still did not show up. And I — there’s a knock on the door and it’s Michael and Jordan, and they came back into the suite. Michael —
Tom Sneddon: Now, let me stop you right there, okay?
June Chandler: Yes.
Tom Sneddon: About what time is it when your son Jordan and the defendant in this case, Mr. Jackson, showed up?
June Chandler: Well, I think the performance started at 11:00, and I would say Jordan and Michael showed up around 11:30.
Tom Sneddon: Now, could you describe for the jury Mr. Jackson’s demeanor at the time that they came back to the room?
June Chandler: He was sobbing. He was crying, shaking, trembling.
Tom Sneddon: Michael Jackson was?
June Chandler: He was.
Tom Sneddon: And what about your son’s demeanor?
June Chandler: He was quiet.
Tom Sneddon: Now, at that point in time, did Mr. Jackson tell you why he was upset or crying?
June Chandler: Yes.
Tom Sneddon: All right. Tell the jury what he said.
June Chandler: He said, “You don’t trust me? We’re a family. Why are you doing this? Why are you not allowing Jordie to be with me?” And I said, “He is with you.” He said, “But my bedroom. Why not in my bedroom? We fall asleep, the kids have fun. Boys” —
Tom Mesereau: Objection. Nonresponsive; narrative.
Judge: Narrative; sustained.
Tom Sneddon: All right. Tell us what – Mr. Jackson said that he wanted your son to sleep with him in his bed – what you said to Mr. Jackson.
June Chandler: What I said to Michael was, “This is not” — “This is not anything that I want. This is not right. Jordie should be able to do what he wants to do. He should be able to fall asleep where he wants to sleep.”
Tom Sneddon: Is this you talking or Mr. Jackson speaking?
June Chandler: I was saying this. And Michael was trembling and saying, “We’re a family. Jordie is having fun. Why can’t he sleep in my bed? There’s nothing wrong. There’s nothing going on. Don’t you trust me?”
Tom Sneddon: All right. How long do you think this conversation lasted between you and Mr. Jackson over where Jordan was going to sleep that night?
June Chandler: I would say 20 to 30, 40 minutes.
Tom Sneddon: So it was a back-and-forth conversation; is that right?
June Chandler: Yes.
Tom Sneddon: Do you recall how many times during that conversation that Mr. Jackson emphasized the fact that you didn’t trust him?
June Chandler: I don’t recall how many times.
Tom Sneddon: Was it on more than one occasion?
June Chandler: Absolutely, yes.
Tom Sneddon: Was it on many occasions?
June Chandler: Quite a few.
Tom Sneddon: Do you remember how many times during the conversation that Mr. Jackson emphasized to you that you were family?
June Chandler: Many times.
Tom Sneddon: Did you at some point in time relent and allow your son to sleep with Michael Jackson in his bedroom?
June Chandler: Yes, I did.
Tom Sneddon: And was it after that discussion on that night?
June Chandler: Yes.
Tom Sneddon: Is that the first occasion?
June Chandler: Correct.
Some people may dismiss this story based on the fact that it was June Chandler speaking. However, look carefully at the words she says Jackson used. Trust. Family. Nothing is going on. Compare this with the conversations covered earlier in this piece. With Ed Bradley:
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.
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.
With Martin Bashir:
Bashir: “What do you think people would say if I said well – ‘I’ve invited some of my daughter’s friends round or my son’s friends round and they are going to sleep in a bed with me tonight’?
Jackson: “That’s fine!”
Bashir: “What do you think their parents would say?”
Jackson: “If they’re wacky they would say ‘You can’t’, but if you’re close family, like your family, and you know them well and …”
The words used by Jackson with June Chandler are consistent with his rhetoric about sharing a bed with children and contain his own talking points.
Chantal Robson repeated those words in her testimony:
Q. You would allow your own seven-year-old son to sleep with a 35-year-old man that he has just met?
A. If I trusted the man, yes.
Brett Barnes also supported June’s testimony about the things Jackson said:
Q. Did he ever tell you that you were like family to him?
A. All the time.
Q. All the time. Did he ever tell you that you should trust him?
A. Yeah.
Q. Did he ever tell you that he was like a father to you?
A. He may have, yes.
Q. Did he ever tell you that he considered you to be like a son to him?
A. Yes.
Those talking points become absurd when combined with his “sobbing, crying, shaking and trembling”, the amount of time he spent pleading with June to allow Jordan into his bed, and Jordan staying quiet in the background while this was going on. There is no begging for Jordan’s sister Lily to join them either; Jackson only wanted a boy in his bed.
Another example is James Safechuck. In his civil complaint, Safechuck alleges that Jackson first asked Mrs. Safechuck if the boy could sleep in his bedroom in February 1988 (at the Pepsi convention in Hawaii) but was denied. The next occasion was during the Bad rehearsals later in February, at which time James was allowed to stay in the same house as Jackson but not in his bedroom. Jackson tried again in March on a visit to New York for a performance of Phantom of the Opera but was again denied. Finally, in May of 1988 when James was accompanying Jackson on the Bad tour and was in Paris, did Mrs Safechuck permit James to share Jackson’s bed. Jackson spent three months trying to get James where he wanted him. back to story
