sanemjfan

sanemjfan · @sanemjfan

27th Nov 2012 from Twitlonger

Here is Mesereau's most recent email to a fan, that was reprinted with permission on the Reflections on the Dance FB page, and he asked that it be spread throughout the fan community.

While I agree with his overall message of confronting uncomfortable topics about MJ's personal life in order to convince non-fans that he wasn't a pedophile, I vehemently disagree with his assertion that Sullivan's book is the best way to achieve this goal. If Mesereau wants MJ to be "humanized" to non-fans, he should recommend that they read the books that were written by Jermaine & Latoya Jackson, Frank Cascio, Michael Bush, and the upcoming books by Raymone Bain and Arnold Klein.

And if non-fans want to investigate the allegations only, then of course they should read Mary Fischer, Geraldine Hughes, and Aphrodite Jones's respective books. (Fischer released her GQ article as a paperback book and eBook a few months ago.)

Another thing that bothers me is that Mesereau STILL has not addressed Sullivan's statements in recent interviews that MJ "may have" been guilty in 1993, or the fact that Sullivan didn't challenge the Chandler's version of events in his book.

Here is Mesereau's email:

Thank you for your recent emails.

The Los Angeles Times book review appeared in hardcopy on November 19, 2012. As I prepare this email, I have it in my hand.

This book review was prominently featured on the front page of the Los Angeles Times “Calendar” section. This section is widely read by people in the entertainment industry.

Following the publication of this review, I received a number of phone calls from people who I do not consider to be part of the Michael Jackson fan community. They were affected by the reviewer’s comments in the first two paragraphs. As you know, he immediately states that Mr. Sullivan believes that Michael Jackson “could not possibly have been a child molester.” In the second paragraph, Mr. Lee comments on Mr. Sullivan’s believe that the Chandler case in 1993 was an “extortion case”. Mr. Sullivan also says that Mr. Jackson should not have paid money to settle this case.

What Michael Jackson fans apparently don’t realize is the need to confront certain aspects of Michael Jackson’s life and explain them. If you don’t explain these realities and utilize them to humanize Michael Jackson, you will never persuade others that he was not a pedophile.

My perception of the Michael Jackson fan community is that, for the most part, supporters of Michael Jackson want to avoid addressing issues like his sexuality, interaction with children, plastic surgery, vitiligo, etc. I understand this. However, in my opinion, you will never persuade others about Michael Jackson’s humanity and decency without confronting them.

What do I mean? Consider one of my strategies in Michael Jackson’s criminal trial of 2005.

I began the defense case by calling three witnesses whom the prosecution claimed had been molested. They were Macaulay Culkin, Brett Barnes and Wade Robson. The prosecution had presented witnesses and evidence in their attempt to prove that these young men were sexually assaulted by Michael Jackson.

All three denied that Michael had ever touched them improperly. They were indignant that anyone would suggest that they were molested. However, all testified that they had slept many times in Michael Jackson’s bed. They all claimed that they were friends and that nothing illegal ever happened.

I decided that evidence that these young men had slept in Michael’s bed needed to be explained. I also decided that allowing in such evidence was a price worth paying in order to illicit their strong denials that any molestation ever happened.

Roger Friedman and others criticized my decision to let in evidence that these young men slept in Michael’s bed. I also called female witnesses who had slept in Michael’s bed. I wanted to explain the innocence of this behavior.

Following the trial, I spoke to the jury foreperson. He said that Michael Jackson might not have been acquitted of all counts if I had not called these witnesses and explained Michael’s behavior.

I have always believed that top criminal defense lawyers do not run from evidence that appears troubling. They directly and courageously confront and explain this evidence. This must be done in a way that protects and humanizes their client. Mediocre lawyers, on the other hand, either run from such evidence or present slick, sleazy explanations.

In the trial, I was not addressing a jury of Michael Jackson fans. I assumed that these twelve jurors were pro-prosecution and prepared to convict. Fortunately, they were persuaded otherwise.

Again, you will never convince numerous segments of the general public that Michael Jackson was not a pedophile unless you confront, explain and humanize certain aspects of Michael’s life that these people find troubling or unusual. In my opinion, Randall Sullivan’s book does this very effectively.

Randall Sullivan’s book is already changing people’s perspective on Michael Jackson. Mr. Sullivan portrays Michael in a very sympathetic light. He shows how he was continually exploited and misused. He humanizes him by addressing issues that must be explained. In the process, he explains Michael very effectively. He is changing people’s perspective on Michael Jackson in a positive way because he doesn’t appear biased towards Michael.

I repeat, the Dimonds, Orths, Chandlers and Sneddons are ecstatic that Michael Jackson fans are trying to bury this book. To me, these fans are doing a great disservice to the legacy of Michael Jackson. Michael was no pedophile or criminal. He was one of the kindest, nicest people I ever encountered. He was also the greatest, artistic genius of my time.

You are welcome to circulate this to anyone you chose.

Kind regards,

Tom Mesereau

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