Elizabeth Taylor Says Michael Jackson Is Innocent

Reuters ^ | November 23, 2003

[sarcasm]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Elizabeth Taylor said on Sunday that she believes pop star and good friend Michael Jackson is "absolutely innocent" of child molestation charges and will be "vindicated."

In a statement, Taylor also criticized the press for behaving "abominably" toward the self-styled King of Pop, who was arrested this week on suspicion of sexually abusing a young boy.

"Their whole reaction is that he is guilty. I thought the law was 'innocent until proven guilty.' I know he is innocent and I hope they all eat crow," Taylor said of the press.

The veteran actress, who flew to Singapore to lend support to Jackson on tour when he was last accused of child molestation a decade ago, said she would not be giving interviews to the media because of the way they have treated Jackson.

"I believe Michael is absolutely innocent and that he will be vindicated," Taylor said in her statement.

It was her first public comment on the charges since some 60 police officers stormed Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch in the hills above Santa Barbara on Tuesday, looking for evidence to substantiate the allegations of an unidentified young boy.

On Friday, Taylor had declined comment on the charges lodged against Jackson.

Jackson has not spoken publicly about the child molestation charges but has said in a statement that the allegations are outrageous lies and predicted he would be exonerated.

Jackson -- who was whisked from Las Vegas to California and back just long enough to surrender to police, hand in his passport and post $3 million bail on Thursday -- was due in court for an arraignment on Jan. 9.

Prosecutors have said Jackson will be charged under a California law that defines molestation as "arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions or sexual desires of" the offender or a child under age. The charge carries a penalty of three to eight years in prison.

It was the second time in 10 years that such allegations have been made against the performer, who rose to fame as the young lead singer of the Jackson 5 during the 1960s, and made one of the best-selling albums of all time, 1982's "Thriller."

In August 1993, police launched a criminal probe after a 13-year-old boy told his therapist Jackson sexually molested him for four months.

But in January 1994, Jackson settled a civil suit filed by the boy's family, and prosecutors said they would not file criminal charges because the boy refused to testify.

[OpusatFR]

Please don't post that picture of Liza, Liz, Micheal, and the android. Please....

[riri]

Ping me when when someone who is actually coherent or not on Jackson's payroll says something to this effect.

[alisasny]

..."and I hope they all eat crow,"

Will serve you crow when you are wrong dont worry LIZ....

[bootless]

Took her a while...

Yes, the law is innocent until proven guilty. But we are not litigating nor adjudicating this case. The public is free to speculate within the legal boundaries of avoiding slander or libel. Commenting on the DA's charges don't fall within those boundaries!

[Clara Lou]

What is it about actors/actresses that they can't shut up and mind their own business? Liz herself is such a mess that she doesn't know what normal is. GAK!

[ninonitti]

Whew, for a minute there I was worried about Hollywierd. Now that Liz has, ahem, weighed in I can go back to perusing the Thanksgiving sales flyers.

[streetpreacher]

You know, Liz making statements like this could be damaging to her "career". It might even make it hard to find future husbands.

[GreenHornet]

Actress Elizabeth Taylor said on Sunday that she believes pop star and good friend Michael Jackson is "absolutely innocent" of child molestation charges and will be "vindicated."

Well, gee..........I guess that settles that.

[KellyAdmirer]

I tend to think he is guilty of something, but also that he was set-up and extorted by the kid's mother. For Taylor to say flat-out that he must be innocent, I don't know what that proves, the pressure of people noting that she hadn't said anything must have weighed on her.

In her day, Liz Taylor was a great actress. Sad that she has become such a caricature of a Michael Jackson puppet.

[MEG33]

Right.Cancel the arraignment.Drop all charges!

[TSgt]

Michael Jackson is to Innocent

as

OJ Simpson is to Innocent

[mountaineer]

Liz added, "I love crow, especially en croute with a nice, thick hollandaise sauce. And peanut butter. And ice cream."

[Pukin Dog]

Pukin Dog says Liz Taylor is still young and beautiful too.

[dighton]

She's an expert, having seen Montgomery Clift railroaded by Raymond Burr.

;-)

[Cultural Jihad]

Innocent? What ever happened to the obligatory wink and nod?

[MinuteGal]

LIZ TAYLOR SAYS JACKSON IS INNOCENT

There is a dumb actress named Liz
Who's pretty washed up in show biz
She now gets her jollies
From Jacko's weird follies
She still doesn't know what "is" is.

Leni

[perfect stranger]

[aculeus]

Pukin Dog says Liz Taylor is still young and beautiful too.

Messages from a guy named Pukin Dog to a guy named sarcasm ... Priceless.

[Tacis]

I just get so mixed up with Hollywood types! Let's we get foreign policy decisions from Penn and Baldwin, domestic policy decisions from Streisand and Sarandan, and, oh yeah, child molester guilt determinations from Taylor.