xfdfx FOX-ON-THE-RECORD-WIT-01
<Show: FOX ON THE RECORD WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN>
<Date: June 25, 2009>
<Time: 22:00:00>
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<Tran: 062501cb.260>
<Type: Show>
<Head: Pop Icon Michael Jackson Dead at 50 - Part 2>
<Sect: News; Domestic>
<Byline: Greta Van Susteren, Adam Housley, Laura Ingle>
<Guest: Harvey Levin, Dr. Michael Baden, Jim Moret, Dick Gregory,
Joe Tacopina, Natalie Thomas>
<Spec: Michael Jackson; Entertainment; Death>
And we are now continuing with our breaking news on the death of Michael Jackson. Just about everyone is aware of Jackson's long history of Michael Jackson's legal trouble, starting in 1993, when Jackson faces a child abuse investigation that does not result in criminal charges.Jackson reportedly pays a multi-million dollar civil settlement, but always maintains his innocence.
Ten years later, in February, 2003, Jackson says in an ABC documentary that he had share a bed with children but never in a sexual way.
10 months later, in December 2003, Jackson is charged in a criminal complaint with child molestation and giving alcohol to a minor.
January 2004, Jackson pleads not guilty to all the charges against him. Then in April 2004, a grand jury returns an indictment that replaces the original complaint, it alleges four counts of molestation and four counts of supplying a call to a minor
March 1, 2005, the prosecution begins its case. Jackson's accuser testifies to details of alleged sexual abuse, and the accuser's brother says he saw Jackson molest the accuser twice.
May 5, 2005, the defense begins its case, alleging that the boy and the family falsely accused Jackson to get a money judgment, a money settlement.
June 3, the case goes to the jury. And June 13, 2005, Jackson is found not guilty of all charges.
FOX's Laura Ingle covered the trial. She joins us live. Laura, you were there watching Michael Jackson going in and out of that court for days on end. Your thoughts tonight as we watch these crowds in Manhattan at Apollo Theater on one side of the screen and Michael Jackson on the lower screen, your thoughts, Laura?
LAURA INGLE, FOX NEWS HOST: Hi, Greta. You know, I can still hardly believe it as I am looking at these images. And when I first initially heard the word that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital, it of course brought back a lot of memories for those of us who covered the trial in Santa Maria.
He often was rushed to the hospital. We camped out in the hospital parking lot during the days and nights, waiting to see when he would show up, when he would released.
There was one time I was outside the Neverland Ranch watching an ambulate leave, a small ambulance leaving. And he was always in bad health during that trial.
So to see the body removed, to see that small piece of white covering, the gurney, knowing how slight and gaunt he was at times during the trial and how he shuffled in and out of that court room, not looking well many days of the trial, you still just can't believe it tonight.
VAN SUSTEREN: You know, he always seemed like he was in bad health. And what struck me today by the recitation of events, and this is a developing story. We do not have all of the facts locked down right now. We only have pieces of information.
But apparently there was a doctor on the scene before the paramedics arrived. What was that doctor doing? Why was that doctor summoned? How sick was Michael Jackson? What was the delay? He's only 2.5 minutes away from the hospital. It just seems so weird.
And this is a guy, he always looked sick whenever we saw him.
INGLE: That's right. And we don't know, as you said, the details of that.
As I was going back through my notes of that trial that we both covered in 2005, you know, there were times when he was asked to bring a doctor's note. There was one day that he did bring a doctor into the courtroom to testify about or at least to vouch for him about what kind of help he was in.
And there were many times, as you mentioned, where he looked gaunt. We did not know what was wrong with him. He reportedly had collapsed several times.
Of course, we have heard allegations of drug abuse. We'll have to wait and see what happens with the autopsy. But that's what a lot of people are talking about that tonight, what he may have been on, what may have been going on behind those closed doors.
VAN SUSTEREN: Were you there the day he danced on the car?
INGLE: No, I was not. I actually was not there that day.
I was there for the pajama day, when he showed up in his pajamas, shuffling in, and so many times that he came into the courtroom, he came in with the sunglasses. He was very festive in the way that he dressed, as always. I mean, he is a pop star.
But he definitely came dressed into the courtroom like he was going out on a stage, sunglasses, umbrellas, gloves, marching band pants, sequined armbands. We solve wide range of that in 2005
VAN SUSTEREN: As we look at these pictures, live pictures of the Apollo Theater in Harlem, which of course is 3,000 miles away from the location where Michael Jackson died, and you see all the people proud of there, in some ways, it seems so predictable.
Think of all the crowds that showed up just at the courthouse when you covered the trial?
INGLE: When I first heard this tonight, the first thing that went through my mind was, oh, my gosh, think about all the people that showed up at the courthouse every single day, and what it is going to be like in the days to come.
Greta, when we were out side of that courthouse, I went back through my notes, people from 33 different countries had come to support Michael Jackson. They not only stood outside of that courthouse to catch a glimpse of Jackson going in and out of that courtroom, but also just to scream for him, just to let him know that they were there. They held signs. They cried. They wailed. They went to his home.
And when the trial was over, they didn't leave. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office were constantly called out to the Neverland Ranch because they were blocking the road, and he was long gone.
So the next few days are going to be very interesting, not only in Los Angeles, but here in New York, as you can see those crowds gathering.
VAN SUSTEREN: The fact that people from 33 countries shows why we have the magnitude, the coverage we have. He really did go around the world. He really was that well known, touching people from all around the world.
Imagine people from 33 countries coming to a small town in California just to watch the trial.
INGLE: I know.
VAN SUSTEREN: Anyway, Laura, thank you.
INGLE: All right, Greta, thanks.
VAN SUSTEREN: Joe Tacopina join us live. He was a lawyer for Michael Jackson. Joe, stunning tonight. I keep saying the same thing to every single person I talk to, but we are all sort of surprise. I think most of us thought that Michael Jackson was going to have a big comeback. This is not exactly what we expected.
JOE TACOPINA, FORMER JACKSON ATTORNEY: No, Greta, you are right. Just a few days ago he was walking with his children in New York City. And, quite frankly, he looked as healthy as I had seen him look in a while. Michael obviously had a different look and is not the pillar of health, but certainly this was unexpected.
I thought at first it was one of those crazy rumors that you hear that catch like wildfire, but, unfortunately, it wasn't.
VAN SUSTEREN: Joe, a lot of people who have a lot of money have a whole team of lawyers, and some of the lawyers never get to meet the client because they are doing different parts of the case. Did you actually meet Michael Jackson?
TACOPINA: Yes. I spent some significant time out in California with him during the trial.
VAN SUSTEREN: So what's he like, tell us --
(CROSSTALK)
TACOPINA: Yes. And I have to tell you, my interaction with him, Greta, I do not think was like Dick Gregory's or anything like that. My interaction with him was during this, you know, the worst period of his life, during this trial. And he was withdrawn, and at times seemed totally out of it during the trial.
But he was going through something that none of us -- I think the fact that he was being accused and put through the trial devastated him and broke his spirit, and I believe that was the beginning of the end.
VAN SUSTEREN: Some clients are rather passive. Some sort of take control of the case. Was he a client who was passive and just let that lawyers do the jobs, or was he intimately involved with how each day went?
TACOPINA: No, he was passive. His family was intimately involved, but he was passing.
Tom Mesereau did a masterful job in that case, and he really orchestrated it, and Michael put his faith in the hands of lawyers and trust in the hands of the lawyers. So he was passive.
No, he really did not have that much interaction. And again, as I said, he was very withdrawn and, I think, just amazed by allegations. And, obviously, the jurists agreed with him.
VAN SUSTEREN: Hoe, thank you. And just to remind the viewers who are looking at left side of the screen, that is the Apollo Theater, where Michael Jackson played in 1969. And that is in New York City in Harlem.
And you can see the crowds there gathering on the news that Michael Jackson, age 50, has died. And our breaking news coverage continues.
Michael Jackson may have been the most famous man in the world, and now he is gone. A look at his unbelievable career is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Continuing now with our breaking news coverage of the death of Michael Jackson at the age of 50.
Jackson has been famous for most of his life. On August 29, 1958, Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. When Jackson was just six years old, he and four of his brothers performed for the first time at a talent show and take home first prize.
In 1968, Motown Records signs the Jackson Five to a contract. Then a year later, in 1969, the Jackson Five becomes the opening act for the Supremes.
The group's first album drops in December of that year, and in January of 1970, the group's first single, I want you back, shoots to number one on the billboard chart. The group ends up recording 14 problems.
In 1971, at the young age of 13, Jackson launches a solo career in addition to his work with the Jackson Five. And in 1979, Jackson teams up with Quincy Jones to release Off the Wall, his first solo album as an adult artist.
Three years later, 1982, Thriller is released, to this day, the best-selling album of all times. And the rest is history.
Joining us live is Natalie Thomas from US Weekly. Natalie, when you look at that video phoning back to the late 60s, it's extraordinary that that little kid in the career he had.
NATALIE THOMAS, US WEEKLY : Absolutely, Greta. It's just such a sad, tragic loss. And I think everyone is still in such shock, you know. Celebrity friends, the statements are pouring in, and you can just hear their grief and their sadness and their shock over this all.
And then the fans. We are looking at pictures of the Apollo in Times Square, you know, people gathering and mourning out at the medical center out in Los Angeles. So I think everyone is really saddened and shocked by this event.
VAN SUSTEREN: What I noticed the most now looking at these old videos, even the ones that come up to current times, he owned this stage. When he was on that stage, he seemed so confident, seemed to own everything. And then the rest of the time we see him sort of hiding.
THOMAS: Yes. He had this dichotomy within his personality. A lot of performers actually do. Beyonce famously says that she is Sasha on stage and she's Beyonce off stage.
Michael was like that as well. He was very, very, painfully shy as a kid, and often into his adult years, often shielding himself with an umbrella, masking his children, as well, very painfully shy.
But then when he go onstage, he lit up. And that is what his fans lights. He really was the entertainer of all time. And he really paved the way for all of the great entertainers today. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Beyonce, they all attributed the fact that he paved the way for them, he broke ground.
He was an icon and will not forever remain so. And I think that, really, we are not going to see anything ever like him again, unfortunately.
VAN SUSTEREN: It is just astounding to look, it's almost 11:00 on the east coast, and at Harlem theater, the Apollo that's on the left-hand side of the screen, people are still coming to that theater where he played in 1969. Imagine being able to draw crowds at this hour this far away from your home.
THOMAS: Absolutely. I think that that is one thing that would please him to no end. He loved his fans. He was always there for his fans. And he loved that they embrace his music. It crossed, --it transcended generations and genres, and I think that he really appreciated that.
So this is a true testament to him and his legacy and his music and what he left behind.
VAN SUSTEREN: Natalie, stand by. Up next, he was one of the greatest talents of all time, and now he is gone. When we come back, we will take you through his amazing career.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Still with us, Natalie Thomas from US Weekly.
Natalie, do you know, did he do his own choreographing?
THOMAS: He did a lot of it. He also worked with people throughout the years, including his sister Janet. But he did do a lot of it, and he was an incredible dancer.
VAN SUSTEREN: 1982, Thriller, certified platinum about 28 times over. What was it about this album?
THOMAS: I think he just hit a cord. He was at the right time, right place. And he's just an incredible, incredible talent. He could sing, he could dance.
And he just, as you said before, came alive on stage. He could really entertain the masses. And he was all, as we are watching right now, all about the special effects and, you know, all the different costumes. He really loved to put on a show. And he incorporated every single element into that. And he really was quite the entertainer.
But I think what's important to mention here, Greta, is that, you know, throughout this all, through the next week and coming, weeks coming, we're going to see so much talk about and all the stuff, the highs and lows that he had in his career are going to be brought up, all the negative press, all the allegations and the lawsuits and that kind of thing.
But I think what's most important is his music will withstand the test of time. His fans and his music is really going to weigh out everything else. And I think that's important to mention
VAN SUSTEREN: I think when we look at these crowds and we look at the video of the people outside the Apollo Theater, I think it's claimed that he's going to be remembered for that.
Natalie, thank you. Our breaking news coverage continues live into the next hour. Michael Jackson in one of his last interviews minutes away.
END
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