Comedy impresario: Mother of Michael Jackson's accuser claimed ...
By Lisa Sweetingham
Court TV SANTA MARIA, Calif. — The man who helped a young cancer survivor realize his dream of meeting Michael Jackson testified Tuesday in Jackson's child molestation trial that he once received a frantic call from the boy's mother, who claimed Jackson had imprisoned her and her son at his Neverland Ranch. "She was upset. She was crying," said Jamie Masada, owner of the Laugh Factory comedy club on the Sunset Strip. While pleading for his help, Masada said, the mother told him, "They're keeping me here with my kid against my will. I need to do something. Get me out of here." The emotional phone call, according to the witness, came shortly after the boy was seen holding hands with the pop star in the February 2003 Martin Bashir documentary, "Living with Michael Jackson." Prosecutors say that Jackson and his handlers were in damage-control mode, attempting to isolate the boy and his family, after the documentary featured the pop star gazing into the boy's eyes and freely admitting that he found it "sweet and innocent" to share his bed with children.
Jackson is accused of conspiracy, committing lewd acts, and administering intoxicating agents on the boy between February and March 2003. The accuser, now 15, claims that the singer repeatedly plied him with alcohol and engaged him in masturbation. Jackson has pleaded not guilty. He claims the accuser and his mother were free to leave Neverland, and the defense is expected to procure receipts and phone records to prove they were able to leave or call police at any time. Jackson's defense has called the boy and his family liars, motivated by greed. His lawyers say the family only alleged sexual misconduct after consulting with a civil attorney. And while several prosecution witnesses have testified that the accuser's father appeared obsessed with using his son's illness to grift celebrities for cash, at issue is whether the accuser's mother, who received a divorce in 2001, was part of his schemes. Masada testified Tuesday that the mother never asked him for financial help, even when it was offered freely. "A particular person offered to give me a check, as much money as you want," Masada said he once told the accuser's mother. "He wants to take care of your kid. You need to buy a house? Whatever you need, he will give it to you." "She said, 'No, tell him all I need is a friend, his prayers," Masada said. The rebuffed benefactor was not named in court. Bedside laughter Masada, an Iranian-born American who has owned the Laugh Factory since 1979, said he first met the accuser and his family when the boy took part in the Laugh Factory summer camps, in which famous comedians are teamed with underprivileged youth and coached in the art of stand-up.
"I believe laughter is the healing," Masada said, in slightly fractured English. In 2000, when the boy had life-threatening cancer, Masada brought comedians to the hospital to tell him jokes or "make a scene" to bring a smile on the boy's gaunt face. "His stomach was big, he was yellow, he had no color in his face ... Oh God, don't bring that memory back," Masada said, when asked to describe the boy's condition. "He was bone and skin." Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and Chris Tucker are just a few of the funnymen the boy came to know through Masada. While the boy's father pushed the witness for money — $30 here for food, $20 there for gas — Masada said his main concern was to get the boy to eat, and he even bribed him with $50 bills in exchange for finishing his meals. At one point, the boy told Masada that Michael Jackson was his "idol" and wanted to know if he could arrange a meeting. Masada made several phone calls, never reaching Jackson himself. Word got to Jackson, however, and the singer called the boy personally at the hospital in August 2000. Jackson invited the boy and his family to visit his 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch, and the family made several visits that year. The relationship tapered off in 2001 as the boy was undergoing chemotherapy, but in September 2002, the singer reconnected with the boy, who was in remission, when he invited him and his family to appear in the Bashir documentary, which was being shot at Jackson's ranch. Wine in a Coke can Jurors also heard from flight attendant Cynthia Bell, who said she served Jackson wine in a soda can in 2003 during a flight from Miami to Santa Barbara that carried the accuser, his family, three governesses, a physician and Jackson's own children.
"Mr. Jackson is a very private drinker," Bell explained. "I went ahead and initiated serving him in a Diet Coke can. It was my idea." Bell told jurors that she believed Jackson did not want the children to know he was drinking alcohol. She said she had flown three times with the singer and had never witnessed him sharing his soda-can spirits with children, or giving any children alcohol. She also described the accuser as "unusually rude" during the Miami to Santa Barbara flight, saying the boy was loud, bragged about an expensive watch Jackson had given him, started a food fight, and complained about his chicken being cold. Bell's testimony, which will continue Wednesday morning, appeared to do little to help the prosecution. It may, however, have been an effort to lay a foundation for future testimony about Jackson's alleged alcohol consumption with the boy at his home. In a grand jury proceeding, the accuser claimed he was given white wine, red wine or vodka practically every night at Neverland, and that Jackson told him to enjoy the "Jesus juice" because it would relax him. Jackson faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
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