‘Jordie will never forgive me…’
The next day, 18 August 1993, Bert Fields and Anthony Pellicano gave Michael Jackson the stomach-churning news that the Los Angeles Police Department’s Sexually Exploited Child Unit had begun a criminal investigation of him. ‘Oh, my God,’ Michael asked, ‘is my life over?’
‘No,’ Bert answered. ‘We’ll defend it, Michael. And the odds are that we’ll win.’
‘And you know how it goes with you and the odds,’ Anthony added, optimistically.
‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ said Michael, miserably.
Anthony embraced Michael. ‘Man, you never lose,’ he said, according to his later recollection. ‘Look at your life, Michael. Look at who you are. You’re not gonna start losing now.’
Michael began to sob. ‘I have worked so hard,’ he said. ‘All of my life, I’ve been working so hard. I can’t lose it all now, Anthony. I just can’t lose it all.’
‘You won’t,’ Bert injected. ‘I swear to you, you won’t.’
That same day, June and Dave Schwartz were interviewed by the police. They weren’t so sure, they maintained, that Michael was guilty of abusing Jordie. They both felt that the youngster was so controlled by Evan, they didn’t know what to believe, they said. ‘I think I believe, maybe, half of it,’ she said, reluctantly. Now, June would lose custody of Jordie, at least for the time being. She was heartbroken by this decision made by Child Protection Services, even if it was said to be temporary, however there was nothing she could do about it. Anyway, Jordie had told the authorities he wanted to be with his father, which was persuasive.
Later that day, Michael met with another one of his associates, a publicist who had to determine a course of action to take if the allegations were made it into the press. ‘I met him at the Los Angeles hide-out,’ recalled the representative. ‘He looked absolutely terrible, as if he hadn’t slept in days. He wasn’t wearing his makeup, so his face seemed broken out, splotchy. He looked thin and sickly. He had on his pyjamas. “What am I going to do now?” he asked. “I can’t believe this is happening to
me
, Michael Jackson. Do you think the police will ask me questions about me and Jordie?”’
The publicist told Michael that there was little doubt he would be questioned by the authorities, and soon. Michael began to cry. ‘But I can’t answer questions,’ he said through his tears. ‘I can’t talk about Jordie. Don’t you get it? He’s my soul mate. I won’t know what to say.’
‘Just tell the truth, Mike,’ suggested the publicist as he patted Michael on the shoulder.
‘But no one will believe me,’ Michael said, sounding defeated. ‘It’s my word against Evan’s. Poor Jordie,’ Michael added, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. ‘I can’t believe his father would do this. We were so close. Evan is so jealous of me, so, so jealous of me.’
The publicist then asked how Michael wanted to handle the media when the allegations became news. ‘Oh, screw the media,’ Michael said, going from sadness to fury in a nanosecond. ‘I don’t care what they say about me. They’re gonna make stuff up, anyway. Screw them. Screw them all. It’s because of
them
that I’m in this trouble, anyway.’
The publicist recalled being confused by Michael statement. ‘How is the media responsible?’ he asked.
Michael began jabbing his finger at his associate as he spoke. ‘It’s because of
you
allowing the media to write these things about me that people think I would do this thing,’ he said, furiously. ‘It’s
your
fault. No. It’s
their
fault.’ Michael collapsed in a chair, looking bereft. ‘I have been trying to stop the rumours and for years and years and they’ve just been going on and on and on,’ he said. ‘The oxygen chamber. The Elephant Man. The plastic surgery. Now, this.’
On 20 August 1993, Michael left for Bangkok on the second leg of his Dangerous tour. How ironic for him to start again in a city known as the sex capital of the world.
Michael was swamped with feelings about leaving Los Angeles. He could not fathom that Jordie would not be with him on the road. He had planned an exciting time for the two of them on continents all over the world, and the only reason to even go, in his view, would have been to be with his ‘soul mate’. Now, he would be going alone. Of course, he would be with about 250 people, all integral to the massive, multimillion-dollar production, from musicians and stage hands and dancers to bodyguards, secretaries and assistants. However, as far as Michael was concerned, he was alone if he was to be without Jordie.
Also, he didn’t want to leave home because he simply wasn’t sure what would occur in America during his absence. Yet, he also couldn’t wait to go, just to get out of town and not have to deal with whatever terrible thing was about to happen. He felt he needed to escape from his life, if at all possible. As it would happen, Michael Jackson left town just in time because, the next day, all hell would break lose.