Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (73 page)

MJ and Naomi Campbell in
"In the Closet"

After Murdock was fired, she
filed a complaint on January 29,
1991 with the Equal Employment
Department of California. "I was
fired and intimidated for being
black. Michael doesn't like black
people. He would say that he wasn't black, but a chameleon. He used creams
and white make-up like they use in the theater since he didn't like to look
black. He called his black guards Big Gorillas." In addition to accusing the
singer of being racist, Murdock also charged that he was a child molester.

At least one of Michael's "special friends" would disagree with Murdock.
He was Brett Barnes, a 23-year-old, out-of-work roulette dealer when he took
the witness stand to testify in Michael's behalf during his trial in 2005 on
charges of child molestation. Like another one of Michael's special friends,
Wade Robson, Brett too was from Down Under.

He claimed that Michael "did not have wandering hands," refuting the testimony of an ex-Neverland maid. "And I can tell you that if he did, I wouldn't be here right now ... I wouldn't stand for it," Brett said. He also expressed
his anger that he'd been referenced at the trial as one of Michael's alleged victims. "It's untrue, and they're putting my name through the dirt," he testified.

Marie Lisbeth Barnes, Brett's mother, testified that her son had slept with
Michael "just on occasion." Brett's older sister, Karlee Barnes, recalled that
her brother and Michael spent about 365 nights alone in his bedroom.

When the police made a search of Neverland in 1993, they discovered
Brett living at the ranch. At the time, he was eleven years old. While Michael
was on the Dangerous tour in Europe, Brett stayed behind at Neverland with
his mother and sister. The police raid reportedly left the boy trembling and
insecure.

He was questioned by the police, and vehemently denied that any improper behavior ever took place between the star and himself. He did admit that
Michael was affectionate-"more like a big brother. He's a best friend, except
he's big." Under more intense questioning, he also admitted that he'd slept in
Michael's bedroom at night. "He slept on one side, and I slept on the other," the boy said. He added, "It was a big bed." He later defended Michael on
KNBC, a television station based in Los Angeles.

After the raid, Michael called Brett at Neverland to reassure him that "this
is all a big mistake-it'll blow over."

A rabid Jackson fan, Brett was actually five years old and in Australia
when he first tried to approach Michael, who was on tour there at the time. In
the late 80s, Brett, with his older sister, had come to the airport to greet his
idol. With him, Brett carried a handwritten letter with his telephone number.

He didn't actually meet Michael that day, but his letter obviously reached
the star. In a few days, Michael called Brett. It was the beginning of several
long phone dialogues.

In 1991 an invitation arrived with airplane tickets for Brett, his mother,
and sister. Off they went to California to visit Michael at Neverland. Many
such visits would follow in the future.

In the wake of the raid on Neverland, the press began a search, reporters
hoping to find pictures of Michael photographed with young boys. Literally
hundreds of such pictures turned up in newspaper and magazine files. After
the raid, these pictures took on a more ominous aura.

Photos were found of Michael with a young Australian boy-not Brett
Barnes but a child identified as "Brett Jackson." Michael had introduced Brett
as "my cousin," erroneously passing him off as one of the Jackson family
members.

The most unusual photo depicted Michael taking time out from his
Dangerous tour in 1992 to escort two young boys to Euro Disney, south of
Paris. In the picture Brett stands between Michael on his right and a mysterious young boy on his left.

The world had never seen such a plastic face on Michael Jackson before,
the result of endless surgeries. His nose had shrunk to the size of that of the
mysterious nine-year-old in the picture. Michael flashes Chiclet-white teeth
and has an unreal aura about him.

Brett's face is partially hidden, because he is sucking his thumb. But,
finally, the mystery boy was identified by some eagle-eyed editor. It was the
face of the Bavarian prince, Albert von Thurn and Taxis.

Born on June 24, 1983, Prince Albert was the world's youngest billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion, according to the Forbes Rich
List. His 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) of woodland in Germany is one of the
largest forestry holdings in Europe. He grew up in one of the family castles,
Schloss Emmeram in Regensburg, but also had other residences in Germany
and throughout Europe, including Russia. How Michael linked himself with
such aristocracy and was allowed to travel with this rich and unusual child is
not known.

Michael certainly could not wow Prince
Albert with money and toys, as the young
Bavarian was obviously very wealthy in his own
right.

Brett Barnes

In the wake of the Euro Disney photograph,
pictures of Michael and Brett traveling together
began popping up in dozens of archives.
Wearing a baseball cap and a jacket far too large
for him, Brett was photographed arriving in
London with Michael in March of 1992.

In London, Michael and Brett paid a call on
the dying comic, Benny Hill, who was in a hospital suffering from having had
a heart attack. Other than Charlie Chaplin, the English comedian was the artist
Michael most admired. Michael loved Hill's cheeky humor, songs, and
impressions. As a fan of Benny Hill, Michael was in good company. Greta
Garbo and Walter Cronkite were also devoted to Hill's humor. After Hill's
death, Michael, through his agents, tried to acquire the artist's memorabilia,
hoping to make a shrine to him at Neverland.

It's estimated-there is no way of knowing the exact amount-that
Michael spent a quarter of a million dollars entertaining young Brett on their
five-day swing through London. They stayed at the swanky Dorchester Hotel
where hysterical fans gathered outside to wait for Michael.

Both the man and the boy were housed in the hotel's most luxurious suite
on the ninth floor. Michael had arrived in London with two dozen staff members, who occupied the entire eighth floor of the Dorchester. The entourage
consisted of, among others, a manicurist and a full-time doctor.

While at the Dorchester, Michael and Brett purchased some $10,000
worth of toys, which they played with at the hotel, abandoning the items when
they checked out for a flight aboard the
Concorde.

Brett all grown up

Young Brett traveled and slept with Michael
during a twelve-day tour that carried them to
four continents, including five African nations.

On one lap of the journey through Europe,
Michael and Brett reserved the entire Orient
Express just for themselves. "Talk about luxury,"
said one of the staff members aboard the train.
"No potentate in history ever traveled in such
style."

It was during this tour that Brett came to
realize that he was about to be replaced as Michael's special friend. As he and Michael
raced through more than a dozen countries,
Michael was on the phone at night-sometimes
talking for as much as three hours-with a
young boy in California called Jordie Chandler.

Albert von Thurn and Taxis

Brett and Michael were next seen in Las
Vegas where they were photographed as they
viewed the magical act of Michael's friends,
Siegfried and Roy. Later Brett shared Michael's
suite at the Mirage Hotel & Casino.

Invitations had gone out to Brett and Michael to attend Elizabeth Taylor's
much-hyped birthday party, for the celebration of her "Big 6-0." It was staged
at, of all places, Anaheim's Disneyland. The star was said to be "bitterly disappointed" when Michael didn't show up.

Publicist Bob Jones believed that the Disneyland bash would be a "sure
bet" for Michael to attend. But it was later revealed that Michael and Brett
were locked away in the most luxurious suite at the deluxe Helmsley Palace
in New York. "The Queen of Mean," Leona Helmsley herself, had personally
greeted Michael and Brett, welcoming them to her hotel.

Michael seemingly would do everything for Brett, even calling the manager of the Sportsworld in Paramus, New Jersey. For an undisclosed price,
Michael got him to empty the park at 9:30pm, giving patrons their money
back so that he and Brett could enjoy Sportsworld and its 175 video games by
themselves. The couple stayed until two o'clock in the morning, and Brett
later said he had "one of the best times of my life."

In 1993, Jordie Chandler, about to become Brett's replacement, met his
rival, Brett. In Los Angeles, Michael had come to pick up Jordie in a limousine. In the back seat, Jordie noted Brett with his big eyes, sitting on Michael's
lap. There was a slight resemblance between the two boys. Jordie may have
been jealous at the open affection displayed between Brett and Michael. He
later told his father that the experience had made him "a bit uncomfortable."

Dr. Richard A. Gardner, the leading authority in California on false claims
of child abuse, conducted a series of psychological tests on Jordie on October
6, 1993. In this interrogation, the name of Brett cropped up. Jordie refuted
Brett's claim that Michael had never violated him sexually.

According to Jordie, "if he [meaning Michael] wanted me to do something with him, he would say that Brett did that with him, so that I would do
it. And, like, if I didn't do it, then I didn't love him as much as Brett did."

That Michael could juggle far more than one "special friend" in his life
became evident in testimony provided by El Salvador-born Blanca Francia,
who was the star's personal maid from 1986 to 1991. Her testimony became vitally important because she had been granted access to the inner sanctum of
Michael's bedroom, where she'd discovered-long before the police-pornographic materials. Blanca had seen the pictures and books first. She later
claimed that she'd also seen "inappropriate touching" between Michael and
young boys.