michael jackson

More than 20 years after Michael Jackson was acquitted on charges of child molestation — and two months since the global superstar’s record-breaking biopic skirted any mention of abuse allegations — a new Netflix docuseries brings his trial and the aftermath to the foreground.

“Michael Jackson: The Verdict,” a three-part documentary directed by Nick Green and released Wednesday, chronicles his 2005 trial in Santa Maria that began with a search raid of the pop star’s sprawling Neverland Ranch and ended with a jury finding him not guilty on 10 counts, including four counts of child molestation. At the center of the case was Gavin Arvizo, a then-15-year-old cancer survivor from Los Angeles.

Because recording was not allowed in the courtroom, the documentary relies heavily on archival footage from media surrounding the trial and firsthand accounts of key figures involved, including prosecutor Ron Zonen, Jackson family attorney Brian Oxman, journalist Diane Dimond, two trial jurors, and friends and supporters on both sides of the case.

The episodes also delve into the 2003 documentary “Living With Michael Jackson,” in which the pop star is interviewed by British journalist Martin Bashir, that sparked questions about his behavior, leading to the charges against Jackson. Jackson’s historically questionable relationships with children, the media circus surrounding the trial and the effect it had on fans, the family at its center and Jackson himself are explored, too.

Here are six key takeaways from “The Verdict.”

Jackson allegedly had his personal assistant order child pornography

One of the docuseries’ most revealing interviews came from Vincent Amen, a former Jackson associate who worked at Neverland Ranch from 2002 to 2003. He said he was put in charge of taking care of the Arvizo family during their stay at the property following media backlash from Gavin Arvizo’s appearance in “Living With Michael Jackson.”

At that time, Amen said, he “wholeheartedly” believed in Jackson’s innocence, especially because Jackson’s friend Frank Tyson, also known as Frank Cascio, a member of the family who filed a lawsuit against Jackson’s estate in April detailing alleged sexual abuse, vouched so strongly for him. Cascio, who met Jackson when he was 5 years old and later became his personal assistant, told Amen, “Michael would never do this with a child.”

Amen’s conviction shifted, however, after he discovered a disturbing magazine that apparently belonged to Jackson in Cascio’s possession.

“Frank cleaned out his house of anything that came from the Neverland Ranch. And he hands me a Nike bag,” Amen said in the docuseries. “I took the bag and I’m driving home, and I felt, ‘Something’s a little suspicious.’ And I said, ‘Let me take a look in this bag.’ I start taking videos to document this. I open the bag. I start looking, and I see a magazine.”

The series shows shaky footage of Vincent apparently finding a nudist magazine called “Naturally.” He flips to a video ordering section with titles circled in black marker, including videos called “Nudist Youth Weekend” and “Euro-Nudist Family.”

“I confronted Frank, I said, ‘Frank, what is this magazine? Because, you know, there’s circles around videos with naked children,’” Amen recounted. “He said, ‘That’s just a phase that Michael and I went through. He circled the videos that he wanted, I ordered them, and it was a phase that we went through.’ They watched them together.”

The Arvizo children called Jackson ‘daddy’ and had their own bizarre nicknames

Along with footage of the nudist magazine, Amen held on to other evidence of his time with Jackson and the Arvizo family, including a set of Polaroid pictures featuring Gavin’s mom, Janet, and younger brother, Star.

In one, Star points directly into the lens. It’s captioned, “You my daddy Michael.” Another photo of a smiling Janet and Star includes a handwritten caption from Janet that says, “Dearest loving Michael, we appreciate you being our family. What God brings together, no man can undo. We love you.”

Under a photo of Star with a cross-eyed expression, he wrote, “I love you, my daddy Michael. Your son, Blowhole.”

“These are the nicknames that Michael would give these young boys,” Amen said.

Bashir documentary marked a pivotal shift in the perception of Jackson

Martin Bashir in “Michael Jackson: The Verdict.”

(Netflix)

Though the first allegations of child molestation against Michael Jackson emerged in 1993, it was footage from Bashir’s “Living With Michael Jackson” that ignited public concern about Jackson’s relationship with Gavin.

In a pivotal scene from the 2003 documentary, Jackson brings Gavin in as an example of a child with cancer that he helped. Gavin, 13 at the time, leans his head on Jackson’s shoulder and holds his hand. Jackson tells Bashir that the two often share a bed at the Neverland Ranch, though in another scene he stresses that it’s not sexual.

“I realized that we had something that was hugely significant, but I didn’t realize the extent of the bombshell until the broadcast,” Bashir recalled in “The Verdict.”

“You can see it. You can look at that moment in the Martin Bashir documentary and you can actually pin the end of his life to that very moment,” J. Randy Taraborrelli, Jackson’s childhood friend and biographer, said in the docuseries.

Given Jackson’s stardom, news and tabloid media swarmed the scene of the trial along with droves of dedicated fans (and a much smaller contingent of detractors). And the archival footage from “The Verdict” shows the extent to which fandom and media frenzy influenced the proceedings.

Jackson’s fans stationed themselves throughout the route he’d take to the Santa Maria courthouse with signs showing their support, sometimes standing and shouting and other times driving alongside him and honking. Jackson had his director of security, Kerry Anderson, film these drives while he waved and engaged with supporters.

As many as 1,000 fans showed up on the first day of the trial, and many would line up starting at 5 a.m. for raffle tickets that would allow them to enter the courtroom. One fan interviewed for the docuseries, Sheree Wilkins, said she quit her job as a preschool teacher to move to Santa Maria for the trial. When the “not guilty” verdicts were announced, she fainted and had to receive medical attention.

TV news stations from around the world, including Taiwan, Japan and Mexico, sent crews to cover the trial.

Even inside the courtroom, where cameras were not allowed, enthusiasm for Jackson’s music could not be contained. Attendees recalled everybody, from the jury to the judge and even the prosecution, “swaying in their seats” when songs played as part of an evidence display.

“I remember me moving in time to his music,” prosecutor Ron Zonen said. “At one point Tom [Sneddon, the District Attorney leading the prosecution] jabbed me and said, ‘Would you stop moving your foot?’ ”

Jackson’s mental and physical health deteriorated

Mark Geragos briefly served as Jackson’s defense attorney.

(Netflix)

According to numerous interviews in “The Verdict,” Jackson’s substance use was problematic before and during the trial.

Jackson was not at Neverland during the raid that predated his charges. According to journalist Dimond, her sources said he was in Las Vegas “having wild parties.”

“There were cigarette burns in the leather couches and chairs. There were empty liquor bottles on every table. And this is where Michael Jackson had been for several days, entertaining young teenage boys, who all spoke German,” she said.

Later, Jackson’s well-publicized physical pain became the catalyst for controversy when he was hospitalized overnight, where he was allegedly given enough pain medication “to tranquilize an elephant,” and failed to show up on time for court the next day. The judge threatened to issue a warrant for his arrest if he didn’t make it to the courthouse within the hour, leading Jackson’s team to speed there at 90 mph.

Throughout the trial, stress took an enormous toll on Jackson, defense attorney Mark Geragos said in the docuseries.

“I watched him just disintegrate, literally disintegrate. The ingestion of substances was just astronomical. There was a time when I actually saw him in the fetal position on the floor, and I thought, ‘What do we do?’ I mean, you don’t want his death to be on your hands because you took some inaction,” he said. “We had genuine concerns whether he could even withstand a trial — physically, mentally.”

The prosecution’s case fell apart at the hands of key witnesses

“The Verdict” lays out, step by step, how the trial ended in Jackson’s full acquittal. One major contributor, the docuseries seems to argue, is the downfall of the prosecution at the hands of its own witnesses.

Defense attorney Tom Mesereau was an expert at discrediting witnesses, subjects told the filmmakers, but certain key witnesses, like Janet Arvizo, struggled to connect with the jury on their own.

“I called her Janet from another planet,” admitted juror Melissa Herard. “Sorry, but that’s just how she acted.”

Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe was meant to take the stand as a smoking gun for the prosecution but instead revealed no new information and came to Jackson’s defense.

The prosecution also partially hinged its case on past allegations of child sexual abuse against Jackson, but conflicting testimony caused these efforts to backfire. A former Neverland employee claimed to witness Jackson molest Wade Robson when he was a child, but Robson took the stand and denied anything happened.

“It’s hard to convince a jury when the subject of the act itself said it didn’t happen,” Zonen said.

In 2013, Robson reversed his stance and filed a lawsuit against the Jackson estate alleging sexual abuse. His allegations, along with those of James Safechuck, were the subject of the 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland.”

UCLA softball coach Kelly Inouye-Perez expected sophomore Rylee Slimp to deliver under pressure.

Slimp earned first-team all-Big Ten honors as the leadoff hitter for a Bruins team that features slugging stars Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery. She leads a group of underclassmen who helped send UCLA to the Women’s College World Series.

“I have seen Rylee Slimp just play big from travel ball to big moments in high school, and she came here to play on this big stage,” Inouye-Perez said. “I think her biggest asset, besides the fact that she can hit a home run, is that she can hit to all areas of the field, and she has such a good eye.

“I think she wanted to be in this position this year. She wanted to be the leadoff and be an impact player.”

The Austin, Texas, native is hitting .428 with 16 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 94 runs. Slimp broke Natasha Watley’s UCLA single-season runs record of 75, set in 2001, with 94 runs so far this season.

The following interview with Slimp ahead of the Bruins’ WCWS opener against No. 1 seed Alabama on Thursday has been edited for length and clarity.

How do you feel about being recognized by national media, including ESPN, for your role in UCLA’s a lineup?

Slimp: It’s surreal. We’ve broken records and accomplished so much as an offense this year. I’m grateful to be the leadoff and for all of the publicity we’re receiving.

How did you get started playing softball?

Slimp: I played T-ball. My dad gave me lessons and stuff on hitting when I was four. My dad was the one who taught me everything from a young age and kind of grew with me through the sport, and as I got older.

What inspired you to continue to work at softball so that you can compete at UCLA?

Slimp: It was this dream I had when I was a little girl, just starting off playing. I always looked up to the girls playing in the College World Series, and I knew that was a dream of mine very early on.

What was your first contact with the UCLA coaching staff while you were in high school and how did that impact your decision to join the Bruins?

Slimp: Coach Lisa [Fernandez] saw me play at a tournament the summer of my sophomore year. It was right before Sept. 1st and all of that big recruiting stuff. So it happened pretty late in the process with UCLA for me. Coach Lisa saw me play a tournament, and then a few days later, I was out of camp and it kind of took off after that. … I canceled all the other [visits] that I had, and I was like, ‘Oh, I know that this is the place for me, like, I don’t want to be anywhere else.’

What has helped the younger players on this year’s team stay calm under pressure?

Slimp: We do have a new team. We have 10 returners and 10 new Bruins. So we are pretty young as a team. … I think the upperclassmen like Taylor [Tinsley] and Megan [Grant], the seniors, do a good job of sharing their wisdom and helping us grow.

What is something they have taught you?

Slimp: I think, honestly, that the game isn’t as deep as we make it. I think sometimes, as underclassmen, we can make it the end of the world if we go 0 for 3 in a game or we have a bad outing. … The game is meant to be fun, and you’re supposed to enjoy it.

What’s the story behind the Michael Jackson glove the team has been passing around the dugout and featuring on social media?

Slimp: We went and saw the [Michael Jackson] movie as a team. I think 12 of us went, something like that, and since then we’ve just been obsessed with all things Michael Jackson. … We got the gloves. We are doing the second base [celebrations.] We are all things Michael Jackson right now after that movie.

Who bought the glove?

Slimp: That’s a good question because I actually don’t know the answer. I think most of our props and stuff just pop up. I think the [stress ball in the shape of] butter started with [Tinsley] because she’s really into stress balls. … But the home run boxing gloves came from Coach Lisa [Fernandez] and her boxing analogy.

We have a team motto that we’re like boxers. … That’s been the vibe and motto of this team this year to symbolize that. … One of the girl’s sisters bedazzled them, so they are wearing bedazzled boxing gloves that we put around our necks, whoever hits a home run.

Being from Texas, do you have an opinion on what’s better — Whataburger or In-n-Out?

Slimp: I need to be careful how I answer this question because I need to know my audience here, but y’all take your In-N-Out very seriously. I do have to say, I do like In-N-Out more.

What about Texas tacos versus Los Angeles tacos?

Slimp: Oh, yeah, I can talk tacos. The tacos in Texas are definitely better because we have flour tortillas, and apparently, flour tortillas aren’t a thing in California.

What is your go-to taco?

Slimp: I love steak fajita with flour tortilla, of course, cheese, and guac. And honestly, that’s it. I’m pretty simple.

Netflix is dropping a three-part docuseries that revisits Michael Jackson’s 2005 trial in which he was acquitted on charges of child molestation.

“Michael Jackson: The Verdict” drops June 3 and features archival footage and interviews with key players involved in the trial including jurors, figures from both the defense and the prosecution, journalists who were inside the courtroom and other eyewitnesses who saw the events unfold firsthand.

“It has been 20 years since the trial of Michael Jackson in which he was found not guilty. Yet, to this day, controversy still rages,” the filmmakers said. “No cameras were allowed in court, and so the public’s view of the facts at the time were filtered by commentators and presented piecemeal. It was time to take a forensic look at the trial as a whole.

“Anyone interested in the Michael Jackson story should feel this documentary gives them a window into what was largely a closed event and a chance to feel closer to what happened.”

The Santa Barbara Superior Court trial lasted 14 weeks, and the jury, which included eight women and four men, deliberated for more than 30 hours across seven days.

Jackson was acquitted on 10 felony charges: four counts of child molestation, four counts of plying a minor with alcohol in order to molest him, one count of attempted child molestation and one count of conspiracy to hold the boy and his family captive at the Neverland Ranch. He faced more than 20 years in prison.

Produced by Candle True Stories, the production company behind Netflix’s “Untold: The Liver King,” and directed by Nick Green, “Michael Jackson: The Verdict,” comes at a time of renewed interest in the “King of Pop.”

The Jackson-estate-approved biopic “Michael” hit theaters last month, and depicts the origin story of the hitmaker from childhood through his upward trajectory to superstar status in the 1980s. Notably, the movie omitted the slew of allegations that followed Jackson from the ’90s until his death in 2009.

In recent months, movie theaters have seen the likes of Elvis Presley, Billie Eilish, BTS and Michael Jackson take on the big screen. Whether it’s in the form of a concert film, a documentary or a biopic, music-based theatrical releases have delighted audiences — and both major studios and record labels are taking note.

Paramount Pictures and Warner Music Group are joining forces to make movies featuring top talent on Warner’s roster, the companies announced Thursday. The multi-year, first-look deal will feature some of Warner’s most recognizable artists like Madonna, and the late David Bowie and Frank Sinatra — as well as contemporary pop stars like Charli XCX and Dua Lipa.

Together, the companies hope to combine WMG’s vast music catalog and Paramount’s theatrical experience to create more music-themed live-action and animated films.

“Every artist deserves to tell the stories behind their life and music in their own creative way, and we’re excited to partner with our incredible talent and world-class filmmakers to bring these stories to the big screen, growing their audiences around the world,” Robert Kyncl, WMG’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

WMG will work with its production partner, Unigram and Paramount to develop each project in conjunction with the artists or their estates. The collaboration aims to give music artists more latitude when their work is used in feature films or when storylines are based on them.

Unigram co-founder Amanda Ghost said the deal “finds new ways to empower iconic artists and to bring their creative worlds to the screen with music as a central character.”

The announcement comes after Paramount celebrated the premiere of the Billie Eilish concert movie “Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour” at the Westwood Village Theater on Wednesday night. The 3-D feature, co-directed by Eilish and James Cameron, is set to hit theaters this weekend and follows her most recent stint of performances.

Music continues to be a huge draw for movie theaters as the industry navigates rough waters amid hopes of a durable postpandemic recovery. Major releases like the box-office-topping biopics like “Michael,” and documentaries like “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” continue to draw sizable and enthusiastic theater audiences.

In recent years, Paramount also helped bring movies like the Bob Marley biopic “One Love” (2024) and Elton John’s “Rocketman” (2019) to theaters.

Earlier this week, movie theater chain AMC revealed its theaters will begin rolling out a new kind of immersive concert experience in June. The concept will feature acts like Paris Hilton and Kim Petras performing on a remote stage as the show is beamed into theaters around the country. Though unlike a typical livestream, new technology allows artists to see, hear and respond to the theater audience, in effect turning the local AMC into a virtual concert venue.