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''Living with Michael Jackson'' is a television documentary in which the British journalist
Martin Bashir
Martin Henry Bashir (born 19 January 1963) is a British journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC's ''Panorama'' programme, for which he interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995. Although the intervie ...
interviewed the American singer
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
from May 2002 to January 2003. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom on
ITV (as a ''
Tonight with Trevor McDonald
''Tonight'' (often referred to as ''The Tonight Programme'') is a British current affairs programme, produced by ITV Studios (formerly Granada Television) and ITN for the ITV network, replacing the long-running investigative series ''World ...
'' special) on 3 February 2003, and in the United States three days later on
ABC, introduced by
Barbara Walters.
Jackson took Bashir on a tour of his home,
Neverland Ranch
Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch["Neverland Never More"](_blank)
, by William Etling (author ...
, and discussed his family, unhappy childhood, plastic surgery and relationships with children.
In November 2003, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
aired ''
Louis, Martin & Michael'', a documentary by the British filmmaker
Louis Theroux
Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received two British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award.
After graduating fro ...
, who had lost out to Bashir to make the documentary. In December 2003, following controversy raised from Bashir's documentary, Jackson was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor with alcohol, all of which he was
acquitted of in a court of law in June 2005.
Summary
''Living with Michael Jackson'' begins at
Neverland Ranch
Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch["Neverland Never More"](_blank)
, by William Etling (author ...
, where
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and
Martin Bashir
Martin Henry Bashir (born 19 January 1963) is a British journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC's ''Panorama'' programme, for which he interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995. Although the intervie ...
tour the estate's grounds and face off in a
racecar
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
match. Later, Jackson explains he writes the songs by composing lyrics and not the music, because the music "will write itself." Upon being requested by Bashir, he demonstrates that through dancing, he becomes the physical embodiment of the music. Afterwards, the singer admits that the house's theme of
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...
is inspirational because he feels he is Pan. They go out to the
Giving Tree, a tree in which Jackson gets inspiration to write his songs. While watching footage of the
Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
, he gets emotional upon recalling how his father
Joe would watch his sons rehearse the dance steps with a belt in his hand and
physically abuse them if they made any misstep. He states that he felt a deep fear of his father, and that is why he never laid a hand on his children. Bashir notes that this must have left a deep impact on the young Michael.
After Neverland, Bashir followed him to the
Four Seasons Hotel in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. In Las Vegas, Jackson speaks about his love life, his changing appearance, and his children. When Bashir inquires if he had any girlfriends when he was young, Jackson recounts a time when one-time girlfriend
Tatum O'Neal
Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award, winning at age 10 for her performance as Addie Loggins in '' Paper Moon'' (1973) opposite her father, Ryan O'Neal. S ...
wanted to make love to him, but he backed down because he was not ready. Bashir and Jackson also visited a shopping center where Jackson reportedly spent over $1 million in one store on furniture for a new house. The subject of his changing appearance is brought up, but an agitated Jackson denies deliberately bleaching his skin, using implants in his cheeks, having a cleft put in his chin, having his lips enlarged, or having his eyelids reconstructed, claiming that the media is ignorant of what they do not understand. Jackson mentions he suffered horrible bouts of
acne
Acne, also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term skin condition that occurs when dead skin cells and oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include blackheads or whiteheads, pimples, oily skin, and ...
as a teenager, and his father would repeatedly insult him by making fun of his nose. Afterward, Bashir gets to meet the Jackson children Prince and Paris, who wore masks to conceal their appearance. Jackson then went to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, Germany. This is where
the "baby dangling" incident occurred. Jackson also visited
Berlin Zoo and a charity auction, and received a humanitarian award at the
Bambi Awards
The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and ot ...
.
Back in Neverland,
Gavin Arvizo is interviewed and states that it was Jackson's support that helped him beat his bout with
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
. Jackson admits that sometimes when Gavin stayed with him, Jackson let him sleep in his bed while he slept on the floor. This was corroborated in a separate, unrelated interview by Frank Cascio who confirmed Jackson had insisted he be present in the room as a chaperone. Frank slept on the floor next to Jackson. When asked what he gets out of his involvement with children, the singer replies that he gains joy, because "my greatest inspiration comes from kids". After this, Bashir says he feels uneasy about what he views as an apparent obsession with children. He says that he will have to confront Jackson on certain areas of his life about which he feels he had been less than honest.
During January 2003, Bashir meets with Jackson in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
for the final interview and brings up the subject of his face. A visibly upset Jackson says that he has only had two operations on his nose
in order to facilitate his singing, to which Bashir tries to ask how he looks so much different from when he was an adolescent. After the singer states that there is nothing wrong with plastic surgery, and that it was "not invented for Michael Jackson," Bashir comes to the conclusion that Jackson wanted to change his appearance as a result of his troubled youth and father's insults. When he asks about a comment Jackson's son Prince made, "I haven't got a mother", Jackson tells him that
Debbie Rowe
Deborah Jeanne Rowe (born December 6, 1958) is an American dermatology assistant best known for her marriage to pop musician Michael Jackson, with whom she had two children. She lives in Palmdale, California.
Early life
Debbie Rowe was born on ...
bore his two children as a gift for him because he wanted to be a father so badly. On the subject of Blanket's mother, Jackson contradicts his earlier statement that he had Blanket with a woman with whom he had a relationship by stating that Blanket's mother was a
surrogate mother
Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...
and that they did not know each other. Bashir also repeatedly questions Jackson why he invites children into his room. Jackson defended himself stating that such activity is natural when the children are of close friends or family, and that "many children," including the Culkin family children (
Macaulay and
Kieran) have slept in the same bed as him. Jackson strongly denied that there was any
sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
motivation for this. During these defensive comments, he also stated that he would allow his children to stay with his friends, including
Barry Gibb
Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popula ...
, saying that they are "sweet people" and are not "
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...
".
Reception
Criticism
Michael Jackson felt betrayed by
Martin Bashir
Martin Henry Bashir (born 19 January 1963) is a British journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC's ''Panorama'' programme, for which he interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995. Although the intervie ...
and complained that the film gives a distorted picture of his behavior and conduct as a father. He said that in the final version of his interview, Bashir used only material that supported the negative view Bashir was portrayed as holding towards Jackson. In response, Jackson and his personal cameraman released a rebuttal interview, which showed Bashir complimenting Jackson on his abilities as a father and his grace under pressure.
"I haven't seen that documentary," remarked
Madonna, "but it sounds disgusting, like Bashir exploited a friendship. Publicly humiliating someone for your own gain will only come back to haunt you. I can assure you, all these people will be sorry. God's going to have his revenge."
Oasis guitarist
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...
slammed the documentary as "typical British journalism", stating in Jackson's defence, "Any man that has got a fairground in his backgarden and can say to a child, 'I'm going to build a water park behind that mountain', give him a round of applause. He seems like a very passionate and caring father so let's not tear him up".
Bashir stated: "I don't believe that I've betrayed Michael Jackson at all. I agreed that we would make an honest film about his life. The film was fair to his musical achievement and gave him every opportunity to explain himself. I'm not accusing anybody of being a child molester or a paedophile." Bashir was the first witness for the prosecution in Jackson's
child molestation trial.
He refused to answer questions from defense attorneys.
Following
Jackson's death in 2009, Bashir said Jackson "was never convicted of any crime, and I never saw any wrongdoing myself, and whilst his lifestyle may have been a bit unorthodox, I don't believe he was a criminal".
In 2021, Michael Jackson's UK publicist Mark Borkowski stated that he had discouraged him from doing the documentary with Bashir. In the same year, many fans demanded an investigation to examine the circumstances surrounding the documentary after it was revealed that Bashir had used fake documents to secure
an interview with
Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995. Jackson's family also reacted by criticizing Bashir for hoodwinking him and manipulating the footage, and stated that they were considering legal action.
Rebuttal video
In an attempt to repair his image, Michael Jackson released a second interview, ''
The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant To See'', broadcast on
Fox in the United States even though NBC reportedly bid $5 million for the footage, Jackson sold the footage to Fox Network for £1.6 million. It was aired on
Sky One in the U.K. This was presented by
Maury Povich
Maurice Richard Povich (born January 17, 1939) is an American retired television personality, best known for hosting the tabloid talk show '' Maury'' which aired from 1991 to 2022. Povich began his career as a radio reporter, initially at WWD ...
and contains material which Bashir omitted. It also features new interviews with people close to Jackson, such as his former wife
Debbie Rowe
Deborah Jeanne Rowe (born December 6, 1958) is an American dermatology assistant best known for her marriage to pop musician Michael Jackson, with whom she had two children. She lives in Palmdale, California.
Early life
Debbie Rowe was born on ...
, parents
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
and
Katherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
, brother
Jermaine
Jermaine ( ) is a masculine given name of Latin language, Latin origin, derived from the French given name , which is in turn derived from the Latin given name , meaning "brother".
The masculine given name Jermaine was popularized in the 1970s b ...
and close friend
Elizabeth Taylor. In this interview, Rowe claimed it was at her request that the children wore masks in public. She also pointed out that the concept of "sharing a bed" can be misunderstood: for example, she herself likes watching television in bed; when she has a visitor, they both watch television together in bed. It also contains interviews with Bashir giving very different opinions to those he had given in interviews as well as in the voice-overs. He is shown praising Jackson as a father as well as saying that he thinks it is wonderful that he allows children to come to Neverland, though he had made previous statements that Neverland Ranch was a "dangerous place" for children
(a direct contradiction of his later statement that he did not believe Michael Jackson was a criminal).
The footage that they show in this documentary was filmed by Hamid Moslehi privately. He states that he was not "secretly" videotaping the interviews, as was popularly believed. He said Bashir knew they were also filming, but that Bashir probably did not know that when he told his camera crew to cut, that he was still filming.
Part of the footage was not aired because videographer Hamid Moslehi refused to hand it over, owing to a financial dispute with Jackson.
It was found by police in a search of Moslehi's home in November 2003, and showed the accuser's family praising Jackson.
[
Bashir said a 16-second clip was being used to portray him as being unfair when he had interviewed Jackson for more than 10 hours.
In the US 14 million watched Jackson rebut Bashir's piece on the Fox channel. The program's UK debut on Sky One drew more than two million viewers, making it the third-biggest show in the channel's history.
]
Ratings
The UK airing had 15 million viewers while 38 million watched the 2-hour special on ABC.
In popular culture
On 14 March 2003, the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
produced a special spoof parody of the documentary, entitled "Lying to Michael Jackson". The sketch showed Michael Jackson, played by comedian