Michael Jackson says he was mistreated during his recent arrest on child molestation charges, and that the police search of his Neverland ranch so violated his privacy that he will never live there again.
In his first interview since his arrest -- broadcast on Sunday on the CBS network -- Jackson also vehemently denied all the charges, while still insisting that he saw nothing wrong in sharing his bed with a child.
Describing his surrender to the authorities last month, Jackson said he was "manhandled very roughly" by police whom he accused of deliberately handcuffing him in a vicious way, hurting his wrists, arms and back.
"My shoulder is dislocated, literally. It's hurting me very badly. I'm in pain all the time," he said.
"Now I can't move. It keeps me from sleeping at night," he said.
He also accused police of locking him in a feces-smeared rest room and taunting him.
"There was doo-doo, feces thrown all over the walls, the floor, the ceiling. And it stunk so bad," he said.
"Then one of the policemen came by the window. And he made a sarcastic remark. He said, `Smell -- does it smell good enough for you in there? How do you like the smell?' And I just simply said, `It's alright. It's okay.' So I just sat there and waited," Jackson said.
During the interview, which was taped on Christmas Day in a Los Angeles hotel room, Jackson appeared wary and strained, and on several occasions questioning was interrupted by his lawyer whose voice could be heard off-screen.
"What time is it?" Jackson said at one point, breaking off from the interview to talk to an assistant.
"I'm hurting. I don't feel good," he said.
Jackson, 45, is charged with seven counts of molesting a boy under the age of 14 and two counts of plying him with alcohol beforehand.
Each of the child molestation charges carries a jail sentence of between three and eight years on conviction, while those of administering an intoxicating agent to a minor carry a maximum sentence of three years each.
Currently free on US$3 million bail, Jackson is due to appear in court on Jan. 16 for an arraignment at which he could enter a plea.
During the police search of his ranch for evidence, Jackson said his bedroom had been "totally trashed," and that the police had cut open his mattress with knives.
"I won't live there ever again," he said.
"It's a house now. It's not a home anymore. I'll only visit," he said.
Denying all the charges of molestation, Jackson said he would rather slit his own wrists than harm a child.
"I would never hurt a child. It's totally false. I was outraged," Jackson said.
"When I see children, I see the face of God," he said.
But asked if, in his current circumstances, he thought it was acceptable to share his bed with children, Jackson replied: "Of course. Why not?
"If you're going to be a pedophile, if you're going to be Jack the Ripper, if you're going to be a murderer, it's not a good idea. That, I am not," he said.
"What's wrong with sharing your bed? I didn't say I slept in the bed. Even if I did sleep in the bed, it's OK. I am not doing anything sexual to a child," he said.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
RSS