Meanwhile, Jackson's televised accusations that he was handled roughly when he was booked in Santa Barbara are being addressed by the county sheriff today:
- In a CBS "60 Minutes" interview that was broadcast Sunday, Jackson said he was "manhandled" while in custody. Santa Barbara County officials have denied that, but Sheriff Jim Anderson scheduled a news conference for late Wednesday morning to discuss the issue himself.
"Some of the points will be addressed a little more specifically," sheriff's spokesman Chris Pappas said. He declined to elaborate.
Chief Deputy Fred Olguin, who oversees the jail and was present at Jackson's booking, told NBC's "Today" show on Wednesday that Jackson was treated appropriately.
Olguin said Jackson was handcuffed "around the wrist like any other prisoner." He said the singer blew a kiss to other inmates as he was checked in, then was kept in a holding room with a toilet, sink and bench for 15 to 20 minutes.
....On "60 Minutes" Jackson displayed what he said was a bruise on his right arm he said he received when jailers mistreated him.
"My shoulder is dislocated, literally. It's hurting very badly. I'm in pain all the time," Jackson said. "It's very swollen. ... It keeps me from sleeping at night."
Olguin said he was offended by the charges of mistreatment.
"I don't run my jail that way, and I take a lot of pride in how the jail is run," he told the Santa Barbara News-Press. "I don't understand where he comes off with that."
He added that Jackson was booked and released in record time. [AP]
My overview of the Jackson situation from MSNBC:
- Michael Jackson has a compulsory, peering-through-the-fingers grip on the popular imagination, and the garish soap opera that is his life, sadly, is the biggest entertainment story of the year. The "authorized" Jackson documentary by Martin Bashir, which aired in February, convinced many viewers of the 45-year-old entertainer's unhealthy obsession with children; a few months later Jackson worried himself into an Indianapolis hospital over one lawsuit, then found himself accused by former financial advisors of being "a ticking financial time bomb waiting to explode at any moment" in yet another legal imbroglio.
But the waning King of Pop's grim year scraped bottom and the public's voyeuristic interest peaked when seven felony charges for "lewd or lascivious acts upon a child under 14," and two for "administering an intoxicating agent to a child" (reported to be wine) were filed against him by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon on December 18. Jackson has denied all charges and his attorney Mark Geragos proclaimed him "unequivocally and absolutely" innocent, but he could go to prison for more than 20 years if found guilty and would be required under California law to register as a sex offender.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i saw the 60 minutes thing...i think if they want him to appear in public again he should wear a bag over his head like the unknown comic.
his 'look' just adds to the bizarreness of his words.
2 - Eric Olsen
He is well on his way to being considered the biggest mainstream freak of his generation, and most bizarre of all: it's all of his own doing.
3 - Mac Diva
I knew it! People, including his lawyer I suspect, are giving Michael Jackson good advice and he is ignoring it.
Meanwhile, his stock is getting lower and lower. Jay Leno killed him in his monologue last night. Example: "Michael Jackson got a new game boy for Christmas."
4 - Eric Olsen
you were perspicacious indeed, my dear
5 - Andrew Ian Dodge
Michael is heading for disaster methinks. I would not be too surprised if he didn't see out 2004. The quotes purloined from that interview in the press in the UK were pretty damning.
6 - Michelle
the 60 Minutes interview was nothing spectacular. and the reason why he did it was that CBS needed a clarification from him on which he states his innocence, so that they could finally broadcast the Number Ones Special past night, which had been postponed past November.
7 - nick scata
what has happened to this guy he used to be soo awesome then he has become an idiot over these long years. Personally i reckon Jacksons last good thing he ever did was the dangerous after that.....