Tuesday, April 12, 2005
By Roger Friedman
Testimony Gives MJ a Licking
June Chandler might not be the best mother of the decade, but she tried her best yesterday to make up for a lot of wrongs.
The elegant, articulate, fashionable mother of the boy who received a $20 million settlement from Michael Jackson in 1993 stood her ground as a witness for the prosecution after a morning discussion of licking versus kissing that left most court observers either annoyed or bored. The 1993 settlement opened the door for myriad lawsuits that still resonate today.
Jackson, his mother Katherine, as well as brothers Tito and Jackie, attended yesterday's session. There was no sign of his father, Joseph, or other family members. Through some of today's session both Katherine and Michael's erstwhile defense attorney Brian Oxman dozed during the proceedings.
Under cross-examination Chandler conceded today that her son, who is now 25, hasn't spoken to her in 11 years. Her friends say that the boy's father has convinced him that she was responsible for all his problems. In court, June Chandler was hard pressed to explain why she let Michael Jackson sleep in the same bed with her son 30 to 50 times in 1993. She was equally hard pressed to rationalize taking expensive gifts from the pop star at the same time.
The jury did not hear the amount that Chandler, her first ex-husband and her most recent ex-husband each received in cash settlements from Jackson as well. They are said to have each gotten around $1.5 million.
But June Chandler didn't make any allegations of sexual molestation by Jackson. All she said was that her son slept in Jackson's bedroom and that Jackson slept in her son's bedroom. Unlike previous witnesses who had graphic descriptions of preposterous acts, June Chandler had nothing but hurt, sadness and regret.
On the other hand, she left a very clear impression that Jackson was desperate to be alone with her 13-year-old son. Her testimony made it clear that he would pay for that privilege by including her and her daughter in expensive trips just so he could be close to the boy.
In that sense, the prosecution scored points for showing that Jackson has a habit of "grooming" young boys whom he plans to seduce with fame and fortune.
But jurors may also have been angry that Chandler literally sold her child to Jackson for a whirlwind ride that lasted only a short time, but destroyed her family.
She would not be the first mother to do this, prosecutors implied. Also on their list are choreographer Wade Robson and his mother Joy, an Australian boy and his single mother; plus the boy in the current case and his mother. The latter will begin testimony today.
Robson has insisted that Jackson did nothing inappropriate to him. I've spoken with the family of the Australian boy, but they refuse to comment on the trial, for now. This boy has also denied that anything inappropriate happened to him.
Some people who were in court yesterday had a lot of questions about June Chandler. She did not donate the $1.5 million to charity or start a foundation for abused children. According to real estate records, she bought a new home in an excellent Los Angeles neighborhood in 1995 for about $750,000. That house would have doubled in value by now.
Chandler's biggest dilemma in the Jackson matter is her lack of reasonable explanations for letting the singer sleep with her son.
"She thought Michael Jackson was gay," a source close to her told me. "She thought he'd only be interested in adults and was harmless."
But that's no explanation, if you ask me.
June Chandler also didn't recount anecdotes of Jackson with other boys. Her ex-brother-in-law Ray Chandler, who wrote the book "All That Glitters" on the subject, assured me last week that June would regale the jury with such stories. None came.:sacabo:
Three other witnesses testified yesterday, all backfiring for the prosecution. Each of them was also involved in selling their stories to publishers. Two were disgruntled former Jackson employees. One was the co-writer of one of the ex-employees. The writer claimed to have "a lot of love for members of the Jackson family." Certainly a way to show it is to publish a scandalous book about them.
The pair already has a publisher, Select Books.
The writer, Stacy Brown, who is co-authoring former Jackson flack Bob Jones' book, almost got caught in his testimony. District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss asked him if there was a correlation between Jones suddenly not remembering on the stand whether or not Jackson licked a boy's head on a plane ride — as he had said in previous statements — and his sudden lack of financial trouble. Brown answered affirmatively, but Auchincloss failed to make his point that perhaps Jones's memory loss was convenient and motivated.
Defense attorney Tom Mesereau drove up court and turned the tables on Brown in a beautifully executed slam dunk instead.
"So you mean that when Mr. Jones needed the money, there was licking, but when he didn't need it, there wasn't any?" he asked.
So much for that.
Odd things happened in court today, too. One wonders what will happen now that June Chandler has correctly identified pictures of her son and the Australian boy shown an overhead projector in the court room. Last week, a former Jackson employee confidently misidentified them. Will anyone remember to use that in impeaching that witness?
And Neverland, as usual, was described as a place where every single employee with the sole exception Jackson's loyal assistant Evvy Tavasci was looking for ways to make money off of the former King of Pop. Duane Swingler, who worked as house manager there for five weeks in the summer of 2003, testified for the prosecution today but looked like an idiot when he admitted: "I was going to cash in like everyone else.
That got a laugh from the room. Swingler apparently has been negotiating with News of the World to sell his story, "Entering Neverland: Secrets from Behind the Gates." That's after five weeks of employment and self-described friendly treatment from Jackson.
Also from court today: Judge Rodney Melville told prosecutor Tom Sneddon to "stop talking" when he was trying to respond to a question. And the judge also laughed when June Chandler, under cross-examination by the defense, objected to an answer by calling out "speculation" before one of the district attorneys could.
"Sustained, and sustained," the judge quipped
By Roger Friedman
Testimony Gives MJ a Licking
June Chandler might not be the best mother of the decade, but she tried her best yesterday to make up for a lot of wrongs.
The elegant, articulate, fashionable mother of the boy who received a $20 million settlement from Michael Jackson in 1993 stood her ground as a witness for the prosecution after a morning discussion of licking versus kissing that left most court observers either annoyed or bored. The 1993 settlement opened the door for myriad lawsuits that still resonate today.
Jackson, his mother Katherine, as well as brothers Tito and Jackie, attended yesterday's session. There was no sign of his father, Joseph, or other family members. Through some of today's session both Katherine and Michael's erstwhile defense attorney Brian Oxman dozed during the proceedings.
Under cross-examination Chandler conceded today that her son, who is now 25, hasn't spoken to her in 11 years. Her friends say that the boy's father has convinced him that she was responsible for all his problems. In court, June Chandler was hard pressed to explain why she let Michael Jackson sleep in the same bed with her son 30 to 50 times in 1993. She was equally hard pressed to rationalize taking expensive gifts from the pop star at the same time.
The jury did not hear the amount that Chandler, her first ex-husband and her most recent ex-husband each received in cash settlements from Jackson as well. They are said to have each gotten around $1.5 million.
But June Chandler didn't make any allegations of sexual molestation by Jackson. All she said was that her son slept in Jackson's bedroom and that Jackson slept in her son's bedroom. Unlike previous witnesses who had graphic descriptions of preposterous acts, June Chandler had nothing but hurt, sadness and regret.
On the other hand, she left a very clear impression that Jackson was desperate to be alone with her 13-year-old son. Her testimony made it clear that he would pay for that privilege by including her and her daughter in expensive trips just so he could be close to the boy.
In that sense, the prosecution scored points for showing that Jackson has a habit of "grooming" young boys whom he plans to seduce with fame and fortune.
But jurors may also have been angry that Chandler literally sold her child to Jackson for a whirlwind ride that lasted only a short time, but destroyed her family.
She would not be the first mother to do this, prosecutors implied. Also on their list are choreographer Wade Robson and his mother Joy, an Australian boy and his single mother; plus the boy in the current case and his mother. The latter will begin testimony today.
Robson has insisted that Jackson did nothing inappropriate to him. I've spoken with the family of the Australian boy, but they refuse to comment on the trial, for now. This boy has also denied that anything inappropriate happened to him.
Some people who were in court yesterday had a lot of questions about June Chandler. She did not donate the $1.5 million to charity or start a foundation for abused children. According to real estate records, she bought a new home in an excellent Los Angeles neighborhood in 1995 for about $750,000. That house would have doubled in value by now.
Chandler's biggest dilemma in the Jackson matter is her lack of reasonable explanations for letting the singer sleep with her son.
"She thought Michael Jackson was gay," a source close to her told me. "She thought he'd only be interested in adults and was harmless."
But that's no explanation, if you ask me.
June Chandler also didn't recount anecdotes of Jackson with other boys. Her ex-brother-in-law Ray Chandler, who wrote the book "All That Glitters" on the subject, assured me last week that June would regale the jury with such stories. None came.:sacabo:
Three other witnesses testified yesterday, all backfiring for the prosecution. Each of them was also involved in selling their stories to publishers. Two were disgruntled former Jackson employees. One was the co-writer of one of the ex-employees. The writer claimed to have "a lot of love for members of the Jackson family." Certainly a way to show it is to publish a scandalous book about them.
The pair already has a publisher, Select Books.
The writer, Stacy Brown, who is co-authoring former Jackson flack Bob Jones' book, almost got caught in his testimony. District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss asked him if there was a correlation between Jones suddenly not remembering on the stand whether or not Jackson licked a boy's head on a plane ride — as he had said in previous statements — and his sudden lack of financial trouble. Brown answered affirmatively, but Auchincloss failed to make his point that perhaps Jones's memory loss was convenient and motivated.
Defense attorney Tom Mesereau drove up court and turned the tables on Brown in a beautifully executed slam dunk instead.
"So you mean that when Mr. Jones needed the money, there was licking, but when he didn't need it, there wasn't any?" he asked.
So much for that.
Odd things happened in court today, too. One wonders what will happen now that June Chandler has correctly identified pictures of her son and the Australian boy shown an overhead projector in the court room. Last week, a former Jackson employee confidently misidentified them. Will anyone remember to use that in impeaching that witness?
And Neverland, as usual, was described as a place where every single employee with the sole exception Jackson's loyal assistant Evvy Tavasci was looking for ways to make money off of the former King of Pop. Duane Swingler, who worked as house manager there for five weeks in the summer of 2003, testified for the prosecution today but looked like an idiot when he admitted: "I was going to cash in like everyone else.
That got a laugh from the room. Swingler apparently has been negotiating with News of the World to sell his story, "Entering Neverland: Secrets from Behind the Gates." That's after five weeks of employment and self-described friendly treatment from Jackson.
Also from court today: Judge Rodney Melville told prosecutor Tom Sneddon to "stop talking" when he was trying to respond to a question. And the judge also laughed when June Chandler, under cross-examination by the defense, objected to an answer by calling out "speculation" before one of the district attorneys could.
"Sustained, and sustained," the judge quipped
