Michael Jackson must be in trouble. He has Geraldo Rivera on his side.
Rivera was a guest the other night with Leno, plugging his weekend exclusive interview with The King of Pop and telling us that Michael is innocent and will be proven so in a court of law. He actually had a nice, civil debate with Jay…almost the kind of thing you wish would occur on shows like Crossfire or Hannity and Colmes, and I guess it's what prompted me to TiVo and watch At Large With Geraldo Rivera yesterday afternoon. Can you say, "Big waste of time"? The singer was under a gag order that limited what he could say, so it was mostly him repeating how much his family loves him and Rivera courting the interviewee's favor by saying over and over how unfair the accusations are.
The closest thing to news in the whole tawdry hour was that Michael said, as I believe he also did in a video on his website, that he will never again place himself in a position where he can get into the kind of mess he's in. Geraldo later informed us — in an attempt to claim a scoop where none seemed to exist — that this was an announcement from Jackson that he will never again invite children to his Neverland Ranch. Well, maybe it was…but it would have been nice if Rivera had explained whether this was just something he assumed Michael was trying to say, or if Jackson or some spokesperson told him that was what it meant.
I'm annoyed that I let myself get roped into watching this. I more or less vowed not to follow this trial (see here), in part because I don't see it leading to an actual resolution. Either he'll be found guilty and there will be the strong suggestion that he was railroaded because of his celebrity, or he'll be found not guilty and there will be the strong suggestion that he did it but bought his way out with a high-priced legal team. Or I suppose there's a third possibility, which is some sort of plea bargain and settlement, though that looks unlikely. No matter what, the outcome will raise more questions than it settles.
The one thing I got out of the Geraldo interview was a sense that Jackson still doesn't believe that he brought most of this on himself. That's even if he didn't actually molest the kid in question…and I'm willing to believe that's at least possible. But when you pay off one molestation claim to the tune of (reportedly) 20 million bucks and then go on TV and talk about the joys of letting small children share your bed…well, you shouldn't be in shock that folks think you're a pedophile.
For decades now, Jackson has had absolute control of his immediate world, which is peopled with those who tell him exactly what he wants to hear. This was especially true when he was cranking out those million-selling albums that made everyone around him very wealthy. Now, he's not quite the cash-yielding ATM he once was, and events are forcing him to more and more confront the judgments of those who aren't on his payroll. I guess it's a little hard to adjust.
Geraldo's insistence on Jackson's innocence seems to be based in large part on his conclusion that the parents of the allegedly-molested boy are looking for a big payoff. They went, he told us several times, to a civil lawyer — the same one who wrangled the $20 million check — before they even went to the police. As proof, I don't find that too definitive. Among other possible interpretations, the boy could have been violated and the parents could have uncorked champagne and yelled, "Whoopee! Our ship has come in!"
If I were going to follow this case — and I'm not, after I finish writing this — I'd like to hear some actual rebuttal of charges. In any case, I'm glad someone's taking Michael's side, though I'm not sure Geraldo isn't helping him the way you help a drowning man by throwing him an anchor. For one thing, it doesn't do him a lot of good to have his only interview broadcast with the words "AT LARGE" supered over his image.
Still, Rivera delivered a good speech about not judging people without hearing all the evidence. I thought that was nice. And it would have been even nicer if he'd felt that way back when his broadcasts were airing every bit of dirt anyone could find on Gary Condit.