SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- Talk-show host Jay Leno testified Tuesday that he received several phone messages from Michael Jackson's accuser in 2000 and talked to him briefly on the phone, but the comedian said neither the boy nor his family asked him for money.
"I was never asked for money," Leno told jurors in Jackson's child molestation trial -- undercutting the defense's contention that the family had a habit of using the boy's bout with cancer to extract donations from celebrities.
However, Leno's testimony that he talked to the accuser contradicts what the boy said earlier in the trial when he denied speaking to the comedian, only leaving him a phone message.
Leno acknowledged that when police contacted him to ask if he thought the family was after money, he said, "I think so." But Tuesday he said that he had "assumed that" but that no request for money was made.
Leno said he thought the boy's phone messages were "overly effusive" and "sounded very adultlike." He recalled that the boy said he was a big fan and praised him as the "greatest."
"He seemed a little scripted in his speech," Leno said.
He also said "it seemed a little odd to me" that such a young boy would be a fan of "a comedian in his 50s."
"I'm not Batman," Leno said.
The talk-show host said he called the boy in the hospital and spoke to his mother before having a brief conversation with him. Leno said he sent the boy an autographed picture, a hat and other "Tonight Show" paraphernalia, which he often does for sick children.
Leno said he remembered "hearing someone talking [in the background]" but could not identify the voice.
He said he eventually asked Louise Palanker, a comedian who befriended the accuser and his family, to ask them to stop calling. Leno said Palanker assured him that she would take care of it, and the calls stopped.
In testimony that lasted about half an hour, Leno failed to support defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr.'s assertion in his opening statement that the comedian would say that he was so suspicious of the family's motives that he contacted police.
Leno said police called him to ask about his interactions with the family, a conversation that he later learned was secretly recorded. The identity of the police agency that called him was not disclosed in court.
I'm curious, do you think this will help or hurt the defense's case?
It's so in the middle i think. He says that he onyl assumed teh boy was after money, he was never sure, which hurts them, but some of the other stuff seems to hint that the boy really was after money when he talked to Leno.
I don't think his testimony delivered the punch that the defense intended. The whole case is bizarre. The mom could be using this as a way to get money, but then again, what better kid to take advantage of since most people would not believe the mom. I don't know what to think.
I think his testimony did nothing for either party's case, so the scales seem to have just stayed even. The police recording Leno's conversation without his permission is a bit uncool though.
To be honest, the family's crying "we're not after money" now, but once this is over, its not like they can't turn around and say, well, okay, maybe it is...
"I'm for it so we can put Nuclear power plants up there, and then beam the power back to earth on a laser beam." ~ Whidden
MTV's article on the same subject
Jay Leno gave a different sort of monologue Tuesday, when he testified in Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial about his phone encounters with the accuser. Though the talk-show host usually has much to say about Jackson on "The Tonight Show," he kept it brief on the stand and didn't paint the boy as a con artist as the defense had hoped.
Leno told the court he received a number of calls from the accuser, most of them resulting in messages left on his voice mail, although he spoke to the boy once to return the calls. The messages were left while the boy was in the hospital receiving treatment for cancer and had hoped to meet his favorite celebrities (see "Michael Jackson's Accuser Takes The Witness Stand"). When the talk-show host called back, the boy was "groggy," Leno said, and yet "something didn't click." "It seemed like it was overscripted," Leno testified. "He was too effective for a 12-year-old."
However, Leno was ineffective for someone who makes a living with his punch lines. According to Thomas Mesereau's opening statement, the defense had anticipated Leno would say more than this, that he was suspicious of the calls and thought the family was "looking for a mark." Leno conceded that the boy might have been reaching out for financial help, saying, "Yeah, probably, I thought maybe they were looking for money." But under cross-examination, Leno admitted the boy never asked for money.
Leno said he told mutual friend and comedian Louise Palanker that he thought the accuser was calling him too much, and she said she'd take care of it (see "Michael Jackson Fan Faints In Court; Comedian Takes Stand"). Leno never heard from the accuser or his family again, he said.
Though Leno often cracks jokes at Jackson's expense on "The Tonight Show," the singer is housing the comic at Neverland during his stay in the area.
Later, comedian Chris Tucker took the stand and said he first met Jackson through the accuser, back when the Laugh Factory comedy club was holding benefits to raise money for the boy's cancer costs. A few days after one of the benefits, Tucker said, the boy told him it hadn't made any money, so he wired a couple thousand dollars for medical expenses. Tucker, who will be the defense's last witness, will continue testifying on Friday.
Kaiser Permanente lab worker Monica de los Santos Wakefield also testified Tuesday, saying the accuser's urine and blood tests were never completed, suggesting on cross-examination that samples were never submitted, tying into the prosecution's theory that Jackson's associates tried to hide evidence of alcohol use.
Paralegal Mary Holzer, who worked on the mother's lawsuit against JC Penney, testified that the mother told her the injuries she had claimed to be the result of an altercation with security guards were actually inflicted by her abusive ex-husband. Holzer said the mother also told her she wanted her children to become good actors, so she could tell them what to say, adding, "I'm pretty sure [the accuser] will get the story straight, but I'm not sure [his brother] will remember what we practiced." When Holzer suggested she should tell the attorneys this, the mother threatened her, Holzer testified, claiming that her brother-in-law was in the Mexican Mafia and "they would come and kill me."
(CBS News contributed to this report.)
For full coverage of the Michael Jackson case, see "Michael Jackson Accused."
— Jennifer Vineyard
According to this, Leno did say he thought they were after money, but admitted they never asked. This is different to simply saying they never asked. He did express his opinion of them in some way.
And the last section catches my eye... that entire testimony put me over to the defense's side more than I've been through the entire trial.
"I'm for it so we can put Nuclear power plants up there, and then beam the power back to earth on a laser beam." ~ Whidden
That last part does seem really suspicious. She really hasn't laid a solid groundwork on which to back up these claims. But, as Fuscia said earlier, why not take advatage of a kid when you knew you couldn't be blamed for it because his mom was known to be a liar? You'd think this case would be like shooting fish in a barrel, Jackson readily admits to having boys in his bed, and just look at him and listen to him, he can incriminate himself enough. Maybe he really didn't do it though....
Even if he didn't, the whole sleeping with boys in the same bed is still wrong, that crosses the line no matter what.
Has anyone every wondered why this family seems to consistently surround themselves with celebrities? Doesn’t it appear that the mother is using her son and his illness to get next to them? It seems all of them believes that the accuser and his mom were after money as well.
Something just doesn’t sit straight here. Surely Mike could take advantage of a child whose mother is of questionable character but to hear Sneddon tell it, Mike is an uncontrollable pedophile who had his hand down the diapers, I mean pants of every little boy he comes into contact with. That would seem to knock the idea of him picking vulnerable victims of questionable character.
For me, something just doesn’t smell right with this family. It’s Not that Mike isn’t in need of serious therapy himself but if I were a betting man, I’d say this family is on the take for sure.
Governor Bush on Kosovo war exit strategy in 99 ” Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
President Bush on Iraq war exit strategy from 2003 to 2008. “ “
05-24-2005 07:33 PM
