Jacko: 'Children sleep in my bed'
Outrage has followed the latest revelations from Michael Jackson that children share his bedroom at night.
The singer has admitted he has formed a close friendship with a 12-year-old boy, Gavin Arvizo, who regularly spends the night at his Neverland mansion. (Picture: Living with Michael Jackson - a Tonight Special, ITV1)
Gavin said he was suffering from cancer when he first met Jackson, but that his relationship with the star has helped to cure him.
Jackson said he always slept on the floor when Gavin was there.
More than 14 million TV viewers in the UK saw the revelations, made in an ITV1 documentary, Living with Michael Jackson - a Tonight Special.
And broadcast rights have been bought up for the US and Europe. Child care authorities in the US have promised to look closely at the film when it is broadcast there.
Asked in if he and Gavin ever shared a bed, Jackson replied: "No. But I have slept in a bed with many children."
He said: "It's not sexual. We're going to sleep. I tuck them in and I put a little music on and when it's story time I read a book.
"We go to sleep with the fire on and I give them hot milk and cookies. It's very charming and very sweet. It's what the whole world should do."
Gavin said his parents are happy about his friendship with the star, who phones him often in a series of late-night calls.
When told many people would think it inappropriate for a 44-year-old man to share a bed with a young boy, Jackson dismissed them as "ignorant" and "wacky".
"Why can't you share your bed? The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone," he said.
"It's a beautiful thing. It's very right, it's very loving. Because what's wrong with sharing a love?"
His comments were made in the programme in which award-winning Tonight journalist Martin Bashir was given unprecedented access.
Bashir said he was "astonished" to discover Jackson still enjoyed close relationships with young boys.
Jackson was once the undisputed King of Pop, but his reputation never recovered from the scandal which shocked the world in 1994.
He was accused of molesting 13-year-old Jordy Chandler - allegations he has always denied - and paid the boy's parents £18 million to drop a civil case against him.
The other children the star says he has shared a bed with include former child actor Macauley Culkin, his brother Kieran and the Culkin boys' sisters. He said it was always the children's choice to sleep in his bedroom and he was happy to oblige.
raordinary interview in a web chat next week.