Neverland 'all about booze, porn and sex with boys'
Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch is “all about booze, pornography and sex with boys”, a court heard today.
The mother of the pop star’s young accuser repeatedly accused his defence lawyer of lacking facts as they locked horns at the beginning of a long-awaited cross examination.
She told Santa Maria court in California that she was admonished by Jackson’s aides after filming a statement to defend the star because she was a “bad actress”.
“I think you’re a bad actress,” lawyer Tom Mesereau shot back in court.
He accused her of pretending to be naïve and confused while she plotted a scheme to extort money from the singer’s deep pockets.
She claims she was given a script when they filmed the rebuttal to British journalist Martin Bashir’s pivotal TV documentary and that she was then told off for failing to mention how Jackson had somehow cured her son of cancer.
In a fast-paced and fiery exchange, the woman said she had not needed a script, she would have been happy to praise Jackson of her own accord.
It was his associates who were the bad guys, she claimed.
“Now I know that Neverland is all about booze, pornography and sex with boys,” she declared.
The comment was immediately ordered to be struck from the record by Judge Rodney Melville.
She maintained that she was held captive at Neverland in February, 2003. While acknowledging that she had left the property several times, she said she was always enticed back by Jackson’s aides.
She claimed the time she had a leg wax at a local salon was simply a PR exercise by the Jackson camp and a camera crew had been sent along to portray the singer in a good light.
When Mr Mesereau played a recording of a conversation between her and one of Jackson’s associates, she snapped: “This tape has been manipulated.”
The cross examination is expected to be lengthy. The defence team contend she is a money grabber who used her children to entice money from celebrities.
Mr Mesereau has made no secret of his wish to come face to face with her before the jury.
Earlier, the court was played surveillance tapes found in the office of Jackson’s private investigator.
The footage of the boy and his family was proof they were closely monitored as they were held captive at Neverland, the prosecution claimed.
The tapes included shots of her, her parents and boyfriend, mostly filmed in February 2003.
Jackson denies molesting the 13-year-old boy, plying him with alcohol and conspiring to hold him and his family captive.
