Three explosive revelations from ‘Michael Jackson: The Verdict’
Michael Jackson’s biopic is still busy making waves at the box office, which traces his life till 1988, but on Netflix? Michael Jackson: The Verdict, an increasingly polarising documentary, has been doing the rounds, taking viewers inside the highly controversial 2005 trial when the singer faced 14 criminal charges related to alleged child molestation.
Citing the extremely high-profile nature of the trial, cameras weren’t allowed inside the courtroom by the presiding judge’s order. As a result, the Netflix documentary offers insights into the proceedings via interviews with several key figures involved with the trial.
From attorneys and expert witnesses to journalists and former associates of the King of Pop, The Verdict re-examines one of the most controversial chapters in pop culture through their insights.
Although the documentary’s announcement was met with quite the outrage from fans worldwide, Michael Jackson: The Verdict was not without its explosions. So, if you’re yet to watch, here are three explosive revelations from the docu-series that may push you to hit the play button now.
Three shocking revelations from Michael Jackson: The Verdict
Michael Jackson’s alleged party with teen boys during the 2003 police raid
When authorities raided Michael Jackson’s property, the media attention grew at large about the singer’s elusive whereabouts. In The Verdict, investigative journalist Diane Dimond recounts a source informing her that the pop star was allegedly “holed up” in a villa in Las Vegas, where he was hosting “wild parties.”
“There were cigarette burns in the leather couches and chairs, there were food containers everywhere, there were empty liquor bottles on every table,” Dimond says. “And this is where Michael Jackson had been for several days, entertaining young teenage boys who all spoke German.”
The Jackson family’s primary concern
When it boiled down to the Jackson family’s primary concern, a former friend of the family, Stacey Brown, alleged in the bombshell documentary, “For Michael’s siblings, it was never about guilt or innocence. It was about legacy.” According to Brown’s claims, the family members felt severely threatened by the nature of the investigation, with many expressing anxiety that it would “destroy what we built.”
Michael Jackson allegedly asked his defence to unearth dirt on the Arvizo family
One of the most eye-grabbing claims made by Michael Jackson’s defence attorney in the third episode of the docu-series is that the singer allegedly ordered him to dig up dirt on the Arvizo family. “That’s your job, Brian,” Brian Oxman recalls being told. “Your job is to find out what really happened here. I need to find every skeleton in their closet, dirt on their shoes. You’ve got to sniff it out.”
The push allegedly led Oxman to unearth that the Arvizo family had sued JCPenney in the aftermath of an altercation with a store security guard.