Michael Jackson in court
2002-11-14 08:31
Santa Maria - Reclusive pop star Michael Jackson, clutching a surgical mask over his face, swept into a California courthouse on Wednesday accompanied by a police escort, screaming fans and a white-gloved chauffeur.
The self-styled King of Pop was called as a hostile witness in a $21 million breach-of-contract lawsuit over two cancelled millennium concerts in a case held in Santa Maria, the central California town nearest his Neverland Valley ranch.
Jackson maintained in three hours of grilling from a hostile lawyer that it was the promoter and not he who cancelled the shows and that he even practised for them by dancing in front of the mirror in his bathroom. He is to continue his testimony on Thursday.
He arrived for his first day as a witness in a black and silver chauffeur-driven van and a police motorcycle escort that took him up to the steps of the courthouse in this coastal town about 281 kilometres north of Los Angeles.
About 100 fans waiting outside screamed and chanted Jackson's name from behind barricades and a throng of reporters watched his heavily guarded entry into and exit from the packed courtroom, where some 30 people won seats in a lottery for a rare, up-close glimpse at the star.
Jackson entered the courtroom wearing black slacks, a red corduroy shirt, black eyeliner, and what appeared to be pink lipstick. He had skin flaking from his nose and sported a wispy goatee framed a mane of silky black hair.
He appeared bemused during much of his testimony, often smiling or laughing to himself between questions. During one lull in the proceedings he appeared to dance around in his seat to a song in his head.
The proceedings were interrupted at one point when a young man sitting in the courtroom gallery snapped a flash photo of the pop superstar, prompting sheriff's deputies to seize the camera and eject its owner.
Jackson endured about three hours of tough questioning from a lawyer for international concert promoter Marcel Avram, who sued the entertainer for breach of contract and fraud for allegedly backing out of two New Year's Eve 1999 shows.
Rehearsing in his bathroom
The lawsuit says Jackson signed a deal with Avram in early 1999 to perform four concerts - two charity benefits in June of that year and two New Year's Eve millennium concerts on either side of the International Dateline, one in Honolulu and one in Sydney, Australia.
Jackson headlined the "Michael Jackson & Friends" charity shows with Mariah Carey and other stars in June but four months later, Jackson informed Avram he was pulling out of the millennium concerts, citing recording commitments, the suit says.
Jackson insisted during his testimony that it was Avram who cancelled the shows with a single phone call. When Avram's lawyer, Louis "Skip" Miller, suggested that the phone call never happened, Jackson said he had a vivid memory of it.
"I remember feeling a little bit upset because I was looking forward to doing the millennium shows," Jackson said. "I was so excited about them that I told people in my organisation that we should reach the Guinness Book of World Records because I felt that these would be the most-watched events of all time."
And when Miller accused Jackson of a "discrepancy" in his account, Jackson responded that his memory of events surrounding the concerts had improved.
"It's not unusual for my mental clarity to be heightened," he said in a high-pitched whisper.
Miller also tried to point out that Jackson had never done any serious planning or rehearsal for what were to be elaborate, two-hour shows in two countries and involving at least 10 performers. The entertainer responded that he had rehearsed - in his bathroom.
"I remember dancing in my bathroom, in the mirror," he said. "I was conceptualising things I could do in the show."
But Jackson also had difficulty remembering many key points of the dispute, telling Miller again and again that he would not answer because "I don't want to guess."
The scores of watching and waiting young fans, however, had little interest in the details of the court case. Laci Sexton (12) who skipped school for the event, said she was just hoping for a glimpse of the star.
Sydney Espinoza, also 12, was one of the lucky lottery winners who got a seat inside the packed courtroom. "I've been a Michael Jackson fan all my life. My friends all give me tapes," she told reporters.