'Never in Neverland' say fans
2005-01-31 08:04
Los Olivos - With hours to go before the celebrity trial of the century gets underway, hardcore fans stood at the gates of Neverland on Sunday, proclaiming Michael Jackson never could harm a child.
"He loves children, that has nothing to do with being a paedophile," said Chantal, 26, who took three weeks off from her job at an insurance agency in Switzerland to show her support for the "King of Pop".
"He is different from other people, that's why he's being victimised," said Chantal, as her 19-year-old friend Salome nodded. They said the star would never harm a child as he himself was like a child.
A few more fans, from Britain, Holland and Spain, sat in their cars outside the low wooden fence, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man they say has been wrongfully accused of sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy and plying him with alcohol.
Jackson had already been accused of child molestation in 1993, but settled the case out of court in a multi-million dollar deal.
"Some people like to go to the beach, this is my vacation," said Wiedjai Sewgobind, 39, who travelled from Amsterdam to show his support.
Like a father, a role model
"It's more than music," he said, stressing: "I'm not attracted, I have a girlfriend," but adding that Jackson is perhaps "like a father, a role model."
The fans just sat under bright blue skies and stared at the small road that disappears into the ranch. The narrow road, a guards' hut and lush, rolling hills are all they could see of the sprawling property where Jackson is alleged to have abused the boy two years ago.
But at the quaint, touristy town of Los Olivos, just a few kilometres from the ranch, several residents shrugged off the fans as a strange bunch.
"We can't understand them. They just sit at the gate and wait to see limos driving in or out," said sales rep Shelly Christensen, as she returned from a bike ride in the scenic countryside near the ranch.
But then again, she says, she can't understand Jackson either. "I think he's a very strange man."
Jackson is famed not only for his music and dancing but also for his frequent plastic surgery and his eccentric garb that at times includes a surgical mask.
His trial, which could last for months, begins on Monday in Santa Maria, about 50km from his home.
Jackson has pleaded innocent and is free on a $3m bond.
He has called the accusations "a big lie" concocted by the boys' greed-driven family.
His fans agree.
"I believe there's greed for money from the family and greed for power from the prosecutor who wants to go down in history as the man who led the trial of the century," said Chantal.