Next came accusations from a promotional company over his promises of a tour and several appearances that he then cancelled. Jackson arrived in court late, gave a drowsy testimony, and inspired gasps when he removed a surgical mask to reveal his nose had caved in from a botched cosmetic surgery. Only days later, German fans were horrified when Jackson came to the balcony of his hotel suite and briefly dangled his 11-month old baby Prince Michael II (nicknamed "Blanket" by Jackson) over the edge with one arm. Although he apologized the next day, claiming he had gotten caught up in the moment, this only did more to cement the King of Pop's public image as an out-of-control millionaire.

2003 turned out to not be Jackson's year as in November his Neverland Ranch was extensively searched by police who subsequently arrested him. It took until 2005 however for Jackson to appear in court.

Jackson, now 46, was charged with molesting a 13-year-old cancer patient. The "King of Pop" was also accused of giving the boy alcohol and conspiring to keep the boy and his family at Jackson's Neverland ranch near Santa Maria. Michael, of course, denied these charges stating "I have spent my entire life helping millions of children across the world. I would never harm a child. It is unfortunate that some individuals have seen fit to come forward and make a complaint that is completely false,"

The evidence presented in the pre-trial looked bad, but all of it could be explained as someone trying to make money out of Michael - a person who has been known to make some poor judgments in the past. Given a lawyer as good as O. J. Simpson's - and Jackson had the money to pay for one, I said I wouldn't
like to bet on the DA's case.

Discography