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Thursday, Nov 26, 2009
Where was the real spectacle -- in court, or out, with the freak-show antics of O'Reilly, Grace, Scarborough, Corey Feldman, and the rest?
Jun 13, 2005 | If the Michael Jackson trial were one of his albums, it would be more "HIStory" than "Thriller"; sure, it sold well, with magazines, cable news (and other) shows, and gossiping gaggles at office water coolers lapping it all up. But we've grown so accustomed to the Jackson freak show through the years that, like a bearded lady who lives across the hall, his ability to shock, or even hold our interest -- even when he was acquitted on Monday on all 10 charges brought against him -- has dimmed. And the sordid accusations in this case -- and the questionable motives displayed by all sides -- made it much easier to look away from this hyped Trial of the Century than we could ever have guessed.
The real spectacle, instead, came from the media charged with covering the case -- especially the pundits who were eager to exploit it for whatever contorted political opinion could be wrenched from it. It's been a real doozy, and trying to capture all of the Jackson trial lowlights would require a research team larger (and a lot more competent) than prosecutor Tom Sneddon's. Still, we'll give you just a few of the moments that caused our jaws to drop -- and made us pull the blinds, lock the door and turn off the lights.
Guilty until proven ... guilty!
Ian Drew, Us magazine: "I am going to get both sides of the story..."
Bill O'Reilly: "Would you tell both sides of the story for Hitler? I mean, would you say, 'Oh gee, he had a bad childhood ...'? Come on. A monster!"
-- "The O'Reilly Factor," Fox News, Nov. 19, 2003
"First of all, I think Michael Jackson did it. I think the guy is guilty ... I just -- every day, I wonder, can people look at this guy and be fair? I mean, you know Michael Jackson. Does he get even creepier the closer you get to him?"
-- Joe Scarborough, MSNBC, "Scarborough Country," March 15, 2005
"Are you guys blind? ... But I'm telling you, this boy, two-thirds of this can be corroborated by other people. So why would he lie about the molestation part? It is in graphic detail. It just seems true ... I think Michael Jackson walks. And I think it's a disgrace. He's guilty."
-- CNN's Nancy Grace on "Larry King," Feb. 21, 2003
"Oh, come on! Michael Jackson is -- is a pervert pedophile. If you can't joke about Michael Jackson, I mean, who can you joke about? Is -- what is he? Mother Teresa?"
-- Bernard McGuirk, "Don Imus" sidekick, on "60 Minutes" (CBS)
It's the porn's fault!
"Men who constantly feed their minds with porn quickly lose respect for women. Pornography depicts women not only as sleazy and vulgar, but as greedy and parasitical ... When I was close to Michael, I wished greatly for him to marry ... He was very concerned that most women would marry him for his money. No doubt the pornographic images of women he was consuming helped to solidify that impression."
-- Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, on WorldNetDaily, March 25, 2005
It's the ACLU's fault!
"But don't we speak with forked tongues? The American Civil Liberties Union stays up all night worrying lest anyone should get in the way of Angelo's sating himself, on radio and on television, in movies and in books, with the sap of degeneracy. But if Michael Jackson did it with Angelo at age 12, he is damned and we are prepared to lead him into prison. If the lawyer could prove that notwithstanding his young appearance, Angelo actually had turned 18 the week before Neverland, Michael Jackson would be protected by the engines of license in whatever he did."
-- William F. Buckley, National Review, Jan. 22, 2004.
Note: The ACLU has never been involved in the Jackson trial.
