I'm sorry, but reading that made me think of this:
Posted on 06/05/2005 8:34:01 PM PDT by CHARLITE
There was lots of hype around celebrities for Michael Jackson’s defense, but their performances have been less than riveting.
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The man with the oversized chin walked confidently to the witness stand, turned to the court clerk and held up his right hand. "My name is Jay Leno. L-E-N-O," he said loudly, as if anybody didn't know.
With that, the biggest name in the big-name trial of Michael Jackson took his turn before jurors, following actor Macaulay Culkin, preceding comedian Chris Tucker, and highlighting the celebrity current that has rippled through this case.
Even celebrities who didn't testify found their way into Jackson's trial on child molestation and conspiracy charges. Larry King was called by the defense, though the judge ended up disallowing his testimony. Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross and Kobe Bryant appeared on the defense team's initial witness list, and Taylor and Bryant were mentioned in testimony, though none was called to testify. Brooke Shields and Liza Minnelli were cited by witnesses talking about Jackson's female friendships. Marlon Brando's daughter-in-law and granddaughter related to jurors their memories of the accusers' behavior at Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch.
Somewhere along the way, Mike Tyson, Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey were mentioned as celebrities allegedly eyed by the accusers as potential shakedown targets.
Even celebrity animals figured in the case as Jackson, in a video shown to jurors, spoke in all seriousness of his desire to throw a bash for Benji, Lassie and other famous fur-balls.
But will the star power fly with a jury from Santa Maria, whose most famous resident may be Jane Russell of '50s films and Playtex bra fame? That was one of the intriguing calculations of this trial as jurors began deliberating Friday following closing arguments. Calling stars to testify carries with it added risks because of the expectations that accompany their star power, say legal experts. Hence, when they don't deliver as promised, the consequences can be greater -- and the performances of the stars in this case got mixed reviews.
Testimony overhyped
"It was kind of over-promised and under-sold," Seattle attorney Anne Bremner said of the defense's final week, in which Leno, Tucker and the Brando relatives took the stand for what was expected to be a litany of devastating testimony that would portray Jackson's accusers as grifters who glommed onto the rich and famous to better their own lives.
Leno acknowledged the family was a bit pesky, but he said they never asked him for a thing. Tucker said he didn't trust the family, but he appeared so evasive under cross-examination that some analysts said he may have tainted his own testimony. The Brandos offered virtually nothing to the defense other than to tell jurors what they already knew: That the mother of the alleged victim acted oddly, and that the alleged victim tended toward rambunctious behavior.
"At this stage in the defense, if you're not helping them, you're hurting them," Los Angeles attorney Trent Copeland, who has represented several celebrities, said of the defense team's final, famous-name witnesses. "Jay Leno was supposed to be one of these final, knock-your-socks off kind of witnesses, and it clearly didn't pan out."
Like many regular court observers, Bremner said that up until that final defense week, she had viewed the case as Jackson's to win. "They started so strong ... and then it sort of falls apart," she said, explaining the possible impact of bad celebrity appearances. "There's so much anticipation anyway because of who they are, and then when they come in and just fall flat, in some ways the jurors are left saying, 'Is that all there is?' "
Culkin's vivid account
One star did shine on the stand: Macaulay Culkin, who defended Jackson and denied prosecution claims he had been groped by Jackson as a child. Culkin, now 24, presented a sympathetic and vivid account of being catapulted to fame by "Home Alone" in 1990 and of being helped through the chaos by Jackson.
"One day I was a normal kid ... the next thing I knew I'm this thing, and people are hiding in the bushes and trying to take my picture," he said.
"We have a unique understanding," Culkin said of the seemingly odd friendship that he, as a little boy, developed with Jackson, who was in his 30s at the time. "He understood what it was like to be put in that position."
Skeptics, though, pointed out that Culkin is a star for a reason. "He's an actor -- he's a trained actor," said former Connecticut prosecutor Susan Filan. Not only did Culkin's description of his friendship with Jackson match the "same pattern of grooming" he is accused of using on other alleged molestation victims, Filan said, but Culkin had good reason to lie. "It's not good for his career" to admit he was molested, she said.
Jackson himself is proof that celebrities are risky witnesses. He testified during a 2002 civil trial over concerts he failed to put on and behaved oddly on the stand, including giggling and mugging for cameras. Jackson lost the case.
But stars can bring special clout to a case, particularly a case like Jackson's in which so many non-celebrity witnesses seemed to be swayed by things that would not affect wealthy entertainers: a desire to get close to Jackson, a pending lawsuit against the singer, anger at having been fired from Neverland or simply shut out of Jackson's life. "You have an advantage when you're a celebrity. People know you, they like you, they trust you. You have no ax to grind," said legal analyst Jim Moret.
In addition, even if jurors can't relate to such witnesses' wealth and Rolex-studded lifestyles, they should be able to relate to the fear of being wrongly accused of wrongdoing or targeted in a fraudulent suit, said Jackson family attorney Debra Opri, citing Santa Maria's small-town folksiness. "No one wants to be a target," said Opri, comparing Jackson's plight to that of a small-business owner being driven out of business by a dishonest competitor. "In the end, the jury will consider Michael's celebrity in terms of the way he is treated."
What am I missing here? Michael Jackson owns the rights to half of the Beatles catalogue!! Where does Debra Opri get her comparison between such a mega-million $$$ gold mine to a "small business owner?" - Dishonest spin and hype has been going on throughout the trial by Jackson family spokespersons, despite Judge Melville's gag order, which apparently Opri and Ramone Bain don't think applies to them.
I'm sorry, but reading that made me think of this:
That's one scary picture.
I couldn't help but notice, the other day, that Culkin is almost as white as Michael Jackson. They also seem to use the same shade of lipstick.
Which one is for child-star weirdos?
Just go to the page and scroll down on the right side, to where it says "Photo Gallery" Michael Jackson 1972-present, with this photo.
Link to page: http://www.newsday.com:/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usjack0605,0,1389174.story?coll=ny-top-headlines&track=rss&vote17841956=1
I live just a little north of Santa Maria..what a ZOO this has been. We can't wait for it to be OVER!
1982
1987
1996
I read somewhere about a year ago, that during that dreadful, insane performance that he put on, while he was on the witness stand in the breach of contract trial (1996?), his nasal prosthesis fell off, and afterwards, at his home, he summoned a plastic surgeon and stood in front of a mirror, crying, "I'm MELTING!!"
Michael Jackson clearly isn't mentally healthy. Since I'm not a psychiatrist, I can't begin to diagnose what made him run off the rails of sanity, but he obviously did, sometime in the late-1980's and early 1990's, as these photos illustrate.
Thanks for posting the photos. You chose exactly the right ones; - the ones I was referring to.
Char
Innocent Mocha Ice, of course.
Michael Jackson clearly isn't mentally healthy. Since I'm not a psychiatrist, I can't begin to diagnose what made him run off the rails of sanity, but he obviously did, sometime in the late-1980's and early 1990's, as these photos illustrate.
MJ has been refered to as "Peter Pan" and such in the past, but most laughed it off. He plays the "victimization" card, because his "childhood" was taken away.
What about his brothers? They "seem" to have all grown up to be "responsible" adults. They weren't as popular in music as Michael was, after he hit his 20's and such.
Personally, I think that excuse is baloney. Something did happen to him. Not sure what, but as you pointed out, it was sometime during that transition period, where he has completely removed himself from reality.
Absolutely. No doubt about it, and all of these frantic trips to the hospital are for PR also. He's sending a message, primarily (he hopes) to whichever jurors will be breaking the rules, and catching up on news items. He is being the victim of persecution, of racism, of that big bad conspiracy that is just wickedly trying to take his half of the Beatles catalogue away from him. Oh the cruelty of it........so bad, just so so bad that it is making him very very ill, and it's all "their" fault. It's "them," "those bad people out there"....in New York and in the DA's office in Santa Maria. Just makes Michael very very ill.
That's the deal with the trips to the hospital. Pure BS. When he was in that trial over breach of contract, if you recall, he claimed that he'd been bitten by a spider and made sure that the cameras caught him hobbling around on crutches with his foot bandaged.
He invents different "accidents" and ailments, one after another. Quite creative of him, but I don't know who - other than the demented "fans" outside of the courthouse - who are buying this cherade.
Char :)
I couldn't figure out why they even put Culkin on the witness stand. If he was indeed molested, of course he would lie. It would be pure poison to whatever is left of his career if he admitted being molested by Jackson. Forever after, he would be "that kid star that was molested by Jackson." He'd never get a decent part again.
He put that up as collateral for a loan. A loan by the way he is having a problem repaying.
LOL!! He'll have to pick a race first to be a victim of racism!
That is STILL the most bizzare picture I have ever seen.
Weird.
Michael Jackson is like a modern day Howard Hughes.
Meanwhile, even more bizarre, is that Michael Jackson's personal magician also came to the courthouse!
I leave you all to interpret what THAT means! Putting a "magical Peter Pan charm" on the jury?.......and a hex on the DA and the judge?
I wish I had a personal magician in times of stress.
Char :)
Nothing like family cohesiveness in a time of "crisis"
/snort
Meanwhile, even more bizarre, is that Michael Jackson's personal magician also came to the courthouse!
No WAY!!
Talk about the epitome of the circus act! LOL!
I know I have seen clips of jugglers out by the media tents sometime back...suppose he'll try to put Michael in a box, wave his magic wand, and say "now you see him, now you don't?"
(shaking head in bemusement)
I wonder how much magicians for the wealthy charge per hour.........hmmmm...Maybe Michael is holding auditions for magicians while he sweats out his "last days at Neverland." He may need a small army of them, if I'm right . . . that he's a goner already.......headed for the slammer.
He just molested one kid too many. That was his downfall. He should have quit while he was ahead.
Char :)
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