Stars May Speak Out For Jackson

Michael Jackson Forum

Aaron Carter To Testify In Jacko Case?

As Michael Jackson's January trial draws closer, Roger Friedman of FoxNews.com reports we are going to be hearing from famous child pop stars who've performed with him or visited Neverland for overnight stays, including Aaron Carter.

- Pop Dirt
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Jacko's Teen Pop Stars May Start Singing

Just because we're having a presidential election today doesn't mean that we've forgotten about Michael Jackson.

As usual, there's a lot going on at Planet Michael. I am told that as Jackson's January trial draws closer, we are going to be hearing from famous child pop stars who've performed with him or visited Neverland for overnight stays.

At the top of that list is Aaron Carter, the 16-year-old brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter.

Aaron, who has already graduated from high school, thanks to home tutoring, is now estranged from his mother and living with his father in Marathon, Fla.

Interestingly, Aaron's father has brought Aaron back to the Orlando area to be managed by his original agent, Lou Pearlman, at TransContinental Companies.

This is kind of a surprise, since the Backstreet Boys, *NSync and many others Pearlman trained in their wake were eager to leave the boy-band guru for greener pastures.

In another surprise, the Backstreet Boys, I am told, have returned to their manager, Johnny Wright, who still manages *NSync and Justin Timberlake. Five years ago, the Boys left Wright acrimoniously because they thought *NSync was getting preferential treatment.

But back to Aaron, who along with choreographer Wade Robson has had a lot of contact with Michael Jackson in recent years.

Authorities may quiz Aaron and other young performers about their relationships with the former King of Pop. It's said that Aaron may soon be willing to fully describe his friendship with Jackson, for better or worse. This would include offering a reason why Jackson gave him a $300,000 turquoise Bentley as a gift.

Others who may be called to detail their relationships with Jackson include Macaulay Culkin and his siblings, "Webster" star Emmanuel Lewis, Robson and a young actor named Bryton McClure who's currently working on the CBS soap "The Young and the Restless."

The list already includes a host of other former teen stars, such as Jimmy Safechuck and, of course, Omer Bhatti, the young Norwegian man whom Jackson inaccurately identified to friends as his son.

In the meantime, there's good news from the Jackson camp. His friends say his detox program has been a success and that he's more coherent than he has been in recent months and no longer dependent on prescription drugs.

Of course, the bad side of that story is that the man Michael hired to clean him up is suing him for non-payment.

Alfredo Bowman, who calls himself "Dr. Sebi" but is not a doctor of any kind, treated Jackson with herbs between January and March of this year.

In his lawsuit, filed Oct. 13, Bowman claims that Jackson paid him only $10,000 and not the $380,000 for which he billed him. Bowman wants the latter amount, plus another $600,000 for lost income, bringing the total to just under $1 million.

In the legal complaint, Bowman says that Jackson hired him on Jan. 13. He goes on to say that at Jackson's request, the doctor deferred all his current clients and declined various speaking engagements for a six-month period so that he could provide and prepare special herbal compounds and train cooks to prepare meals exclusively for Michael Jackson.

"In doing so," the complaint says, "Dr. Sebi lost monthly revenues in the amount of $100,000 per month, for a six month period. Dr. Sebi's financial consultant invoiced Michael Jackson at a reduced rate of $58,000 based upon an agreement that all invoices would be payable upon receipt."

Michael's brother, Randy, is again the man who did not sign off on Bowman's payment, adding the doctor to a long list of people — including Jackson's long-suffering attorneys Zia Modabber and Steve Cochran — who are owed lots of money.

But Randy may be wondering how Bowman, who advertises the fact that he never went to any school, could possibly charge so much for his services.

I told you last March that Bowman ran afoul of the New York State attorney general a couple of years ago. That office objected to Bowman's advertisements boasting of cures for AIDS, cancer, leukemia and other ailments and ordered him to pull them.

His packages of minerals range from $175 to $1,500 a month. They include bottles of $25 "electric cell food" pills and $75 "Bio Electric I and II" capsules to purify the system.

Bowman also treated late TLC singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes at his clinic in Honduras right before her tragic car accident.

This was after Lopes' uncle — who was morbidly obese — followed Bowman's regimen of herbs, lost 100 pounds, gained them back and subsequently died of congestive heart failure.

Maybe he saw the bill.

- FOX

He sure has a lot of famous friends.

were they pimping their kids out to mj or what?

Will Jacko Defense Rally The Troops?

Roger Friedman of FoxNews.com reports 'Rush Hour' director Brett Ratner and star Chris Tucker are all set to take the stand for Michael Jackson's defense in his child molestation trial. Friedman says they each had a massive amount of contact with the accuser and his family and have little good to say about them.

Read more.

- Pop Dirt

Ah, this is interesting. I wonder what they'll say about them exactly though. Are they just talking about the accuser's family, or are they including the boy when they say they have "little good to say"?

Well it says they have little good to say about the accuser and his family.

But they can't possibly be thinking of making the kid look bad. What are they going to say? That he deserved to be molested? That he seduced Michael? This isn't a dodgy rape case where you can say the victim brought it on themselves.

Unless they mean that they will talk badly about the family in light of the fact that they seem to be extortionists. But they can't say that the boy had anything to do with that. Even if his mother is a con-artist, she can't have faked the kid having cancer and faked his friendship with Michael and all that.

I think you're thinking too much into it. Of course they can't fake cancer

But, you're right, they can't say he faked his friendship with Michael. In the documentary that's been brought up, the kid does look absolutely delighted to be around Michael, and the pair do seem genuinely close.

I believe the angle they'll take here will be to make the mother look bad, and perhaps imply that at her urging, her son may be willing to fabricate a story like this; especially when such cases have already been brought to the public's eye.

At the same time, this doesn't really explain what they could possibly say against the boy, except that perhaps he seemed to enjoy the rich life-style he experienced while in Jackson's presence. Though I would too I'd order each of the servants to fetch me a pair of shoes, and pretend I didn't like any of them, and order them to go get more shoes, until I finally decide on the first pair I was brought. Oh that would be sweet.

I think the defense would benefit from having former child stars testify on MJ's behalf. I doubt he bothered any of them. The problem is if he is guilty of this crime, his preferred victim seems to be a child suffering from a disease and from a broken home. These kinds of victims would be easier to manipulate rather than a child star who has the benefits of health and ego.
The prosecution is going to have hurdles to overcome with the accuser's mother... her history isn't favorable for them.

Well, getting former child star friends of MJ's to testify couldn't hurt at all, could it? Though if they really want to make a difference, perhaps they could find other kids who have hung out with him for long periods of time without a problem. All in all, this wont make a difference to his case, but it will put doubt in the jury's mind.

Who's who of stars at Jax trial

LOS ANGELES - If Michael Jackson facing child-molestation charges isn't enough, the world's media could be about to feast on one of the most fame-packed witness lists in history.

Hollywood celebs from Lisa Marie Presley to Macaulay Culkin and pint-sized "Webster" star Emmanuel Lewis are all reported to be on the loosely drafted - and tightly sealed - witness lists submitted by prosecution and defense lawyers, sources say.

Exactly which high-powered personalities will be called is still a mystery. Many haven't been subpoenaed yet because, in some cases, the judge hasn't determined if their testimony will be admissible. In other cases, the lawyers haven't decided if the high-profile witnesses will actually help their cases.

But both sides have their eyes on some heavy hitters.

Prosecutors are mulling calling Elvis Presley's daughter, who was Jackson's first wife, to probe statements she has made about the pop star's private and very adult persona - including that he sometimes speaks in a deep voice and curses.

"They want to chip away at this child-like image Michael puts out - to suggest it's all an act," said a source familiar with prosecution strategy.

But Presley's testimony could be a double-edged sword, according to a source close to Jackson.

"Lisa Marie believes Michael is not a pedophile and she'll give a blazing 'no' if they ask her that. But good luck getting her into court once those Elvis lawyers get involved," the source said.

So far, attempts to fight subpoenas haven't worked with Judge Rodney Melville. British journalist Martin Bashir, whose documentary "Living With Michael Jackson" is at the center of the molestation case, hired a lawyer to fight his subpoena. But Melville ordered him to show up and testify.

Prosecutors have already subpoenaed Jackson's second wife, Debbie Rowe, the mother of his two oldest children, Prince Michael and Paris. She is bitterly battling the pop star for custody.

"They hope she'll dish about his wacky lifestyle. He froze the placenta from one of their babies! She knows his weirdness," said a source familiar with Jackson. "But she doesn't really know anything else ... she never lived at Neverland, she never slept in a bed with Michael, never met [the current accuser] or [the 1993 accuser.]"

Prosecutors also have considered calling Culkin, Britney Spears choreographer Wade Robson and the 3-foot-4 Lewis, all of whom spent boyhood time with the pop star.

Prosecutors want to show Jackson's pattern of befriending boys and allowing them to share his bed, but all three famous sleepover guests insist Jackson never did anything wrong.

Lewis recently defended Jackson on "The Howard Stern Show," saying "nothing like that ever happened" when the shock jock badgered him with questions about possible molestation.

Culkin and Robson have reportedly told defense investigators they will support Jackson if called by either side, but neither is anxious to be subpoenaed.

Pretty sure bets for defense witnesses are "Rush Hour" star Chris Tucker and comedian George Lopez, who knew Jackson's accuser, then a 13-year-old cancer survivor, and his family before they turned against Jackson.

Tucker hosted the family on his private jet for a luxury trip to Miami in early February 2003 - just days before the period when they now say they were held captive at Neverland Ranch.

"Chris can give the lowdown on the mother - how she was always pawning her kids off on other people so she could go off and have a good time. And he can testify that this kid and his brother were foulmouthed little hell-raisers, not wide-eyed innocents," one Jackson source said.

Lopez was one of the comics who performed at benefit shows held at Hollywood's The Laugh Factory comedy club in 2001 to raise money for the boy's cancer treatment. Lopez and other comics, including popular L.A. weatherman Fritz Coleman, were led to believe the family was destitute, but the boy's medical bills were actually paid by his dad's health insurance through the Teamster's Union.

Defense lawyers reportedly want to ask the comics about their contacts with the family and if they have any idea what happened to the money that was raised. They've said they don't.

The final phase of jury selection in the 46-year-old singer's trial was set to get underway tomorrow, but was delayed because the sister of Jackson's lead lawyer is ill. When lawyers finally start quizzing the 250 candidates to scope out their biases, it may take weeks.

- New York Daily

ALthough she has a gag order on her:

So the Carter kid is going to testify. Big deal. There is no way that Michael would molest a kid who is famous.

I think that the supposed victim's mother could go either way on the stand. She may not be the best person, but it also gives rise to the theory that her bad parenting gave Michael the opportunity to harm the child. I think the case will hing on the similarities between the accusations this time and the ones in 1993.

Jacko Abuse Case Stirs 'Sickening Realization' With Feldman

As Michael Jackson faces charges of sexual abuse in a California courtroom, '20/20' corespondent Martin Bashir interviews actor Corey Feldman, who speaks about his relationship with the pop star during his youth. "I started looking at each piece of information, and with that came this sickening realization that there have been many occurrences in my life and in my relationship to Michael that have created a question of doubt," Feldman told Bashir.

Watch Bashir's exclusive interview with Feldman on '20/20' on Friday (February 11) at 10 PM ET/PT.

- Pop Dirt

If anyone watches 20/20 can you tell me what Cory had to say when it screens? Cheers.

CULKIN'S EMOTIONAL JACKSON PLEA

Former child actor Macaulay Culkin has made a public plea in defense of his pal Michael Jackson, instead of testifying at the singer's child molestation trial. Culkin was one of five children named in a 1993 abuse investigation who were said to have slept in Jackson's bedroom. And although Culkin, who is godfather to Jackson's first child Prince Michael I, has been advised against defending the singer in court, he has issued a statement in which he insists people wrongly construe Jackson's innocent actions as pedophiliac.

He says, "Nothing ever happened when I stayed there, we just played video games. Michael's bedroom is on two floors. Yeah, I slept in his bedroom, but you have to understand the whole scenario. He's not very good at explaining himself and he never has been, because he's not a very social person. When he says something, he doesn't quite understand why people treat him the way they do. I think he likes young people because they don't know who he is. I talked to him like he was a normal human being."

- SF Gate

Child star's 'sickening realisation' about Jacko friendship

Former child star Corey Feldman has claimed to have had a 'sickening realisation' about his relationship with Michael Jackson.

In Martin Bashir's latest documentary, the now 33-year-old actor expresses concerns about his childhood friendship with the singer, now standing trial on child sex abuse charges.

Feldman, best known for his role in The Goonies, has until now stood by Jackson but admits he has been forced to re-evaluate their relationship.

"I started looking at each piece of information, and with that came this sickening realisation that there have been many occurrences in my life and in my relationship to Michael that have created a question of doubt," he said.
It was Bashir's initial documentary, Living with Michael Jackson which triggered the current trial.

During the interview Jackson, 46, admitted, and staunchly defended, letting boys sleep in his bedroom. He denies sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy and plying him with alcohol.

Bashir, who has been called to testify in the case, interviewed Feldman for a second show, to be broadcast in the United States this Friday.

Feldman shot to fame in the 1980s, starring in Gremlins, The Goonies and Stand by Me, which made him one of Hollywood's highest paid teen stars. He was arrested for heroin possession in 1990 and went through a series of rehab treatments before bouncing back to appear in a host of new films, though most never made it to the big screen.

He is now working on a music career.

- Daily Mail

Britney's Advice

BRITNEY Spears has strange advice for Michael Jackson. The 23-year-old reckons the superstar on trial for sexual abuse should grow some facial hair, get drunk and have a punch-up.

"If he did do those things, I feel sorry for him. I feel like he probably feels alone, and he needs some help," she tells Allure magazine.

"He needs someone to be like, 'OK, let's buck you up, let's give you a moustache, let's rough you up, let's go to a bar, let's get drunk and be a man.'

"And if he didn't do those things, I feel sorry for him. Either way, he needs to get in a fight."

Say what?

- MIrror

I think what Macaulay Culkin said makes a lot of sense though.