By Samantha Nwaoshai
New Year’s is over, and so are holiday television specials, so its back to work and school. It’s only a month into 2005 and television viewers have already observed many disturbing events on television. With the premiere of VH1’s reality shows “Strange Love” (with Flava Flav and Brigitte Nielsen), and the fourth season of “The Surreal Life,” one would think that this is as disturbing as it’s going to get. Then it happened. On Jan. 13. ABC’s “Primetime Live” had a “special report” on Michael Jackson’s Child Molestation Trial. What aired after the opening credits could possibly be the most disturbing event on television in 2005.
The “Primetime Live” special had read the “highlights” of the court testimony, which were said to be more than 1900 pages long. The testimony was read by seasoned journalists, who didn’t even make an effort to do the voices of the kids or Michael Jackson, which was disappointing. When they were not having the dialogue between the prosecution attorneys and the witness being posted on the screen, there was just footage of a set of stairs with dolls on either side and random shots of Neverland Ranch as the testimony was being read. It would have been a little more interesting if the testimony was read by Charlton Heston the way he held a press conference to read the lyrics to Ice-T’s “Cop Killer.”
The lack of acting made by the readers did not make the testimony any less shocking. The testimony from the accuser, his brother and his mother had this strange quality that makes you feel a wide spectrum of emotions within an extremely short span of time. First, you are stunned at what you hear. This is followed by denial because you cannot believe that it is actually being said. Then, you are laughing because some of it sounds hysterical (in a dark humor way of course). However, you immediately have a surge of guilt that you are laughing while this could have really happened to this child, who may be scarred for life. Finally, chills go up your spine and a general sense of disgust washes over you. This range of emotions usually takes about a minute.
What was really hard for the audience to decide is what was more the disturbing: the alleged events or the vivid details of those events. A good example of this was the account of a flight on Jackson’s personal jet to California. According to the special and what was posted on the “Primetime Live” Web site, the accuser’s brother testified that Jackson made a prank phone call while on the plane. When the person on the other line spoke, Jackson said “we are having a consensus…and we would like to know how big your [female genitalia] is,” and then hung up. This is nothing compared to what was later describing during the program about the same plane flight.
At another point during the flight, Jackson and the accuser were sitting next to each other on the plane. The brother testified that he saw Jackson “rotating his head while his tongue was out and was licking my brother’s head.” At this point one thinks it could not get any more bizarre, but it does. The mother of the accuser also witnessed Jackson lick her son’s head, and described his tongue. “I thought I was losing my mind…I saw a big, long, white tongue. His tongue was like white,” said the accuser’s mother. When one first hears this, the obvious question of “why did she not do anything when she saw this?” slips your mind. Instead the question is “wait, Michael Jackson has a white tongue? Who on God’s earth has a WHITE tongue?” Your mind is just fixated on the possibility that Michael Jackson has a white tongue, this one bizarre detail for hours on end. It also makes one wonder; did the prosecution ask Jackson to stick his tongue out to show that it is white?
Another eyebrow raising incident that was discussed in the “Primetime Live” special was when the accuser was recounting when Jackson was pressuring him to drink. “He told…me if I knew what ‘Jesus Juice’ was,” the accuser stated. “I told him I don’t know. And then he’s like ‘oh-wine.’ And then he said I should have some because it will relax me.” Is “Jesus Juice” a distant, alcoholic cousin of “pimp juice”? If so, Nelly should rap about it.
Of course the most disturbing part of the entire special was actually in the early minutes of the program, when the accuser and his brother were describing events that took place in Michael Jackson’s room. During one of the “sleepovers” held in Michael Jackson’s bedroom the accuser, his brother, and Jackson’s children Paris and Prince were in his room. The accuser’s brother testified that Jackson has asked his assistant to log onto the Internet. When they were connected, they browsed pornographic websites, which-according to the boy-Jackson chose. The shocking details of Jackson’s response made you shudder.
Then, when the accuser’s brother was describing the entrance to Jackson’s room, it struck one as odd, or even suspicious. The accuser’s brother recounts that it had a bell, a sensor, and seven (yes, seven) locks. If Jackson was innocent, what’s the deal with seven locks and a sensor on his door? Is it all the better to molest you with?
In short, after the “Primetime Live” special, the feeling they wanted the audience to walk away with is that Michael Jackson is guilty and completely and utterly repulsing. It seems one-sided, though. They never aired any of Jackson’s testimony and very little mention was made on what Jackson’s camp actually said. However, even if they did, it wouldn’t make the prosecution’s testimony any less disturbing. It’s going to take something extremely shocking to keep the “Primetime Live” special from topping the top of “The Most Disturbing Television in 2005” list, unless Brigitte Nielsen and Flava Flav release a sex tape.
Some of the testimony concerning the Michael Jackson trial was read during a primetime special on ABC. (Image courtesy canada.com)
