It was a very busy day in the pop courts on Friday, and we start, of course, in Santa Maria, California where Michael Jackson’s lawyer Thomas Mesereau was let loose on Janet Arvizo, the mother of Jacko’s current accuser, and the person who Mesereau says has instigated the whole shenanigans in a bid to make some cash. And boy did things kick off.
Mesereau began the proceedings by telling Janet that the allegations that his client abused her son were all "in her mind". Arvizo responded by appealing directly to the jury, telling them that what Mesereau said was untrue, prompting Judge Rodney Melville to admonish both lawyer and witness. It wasn’t the only time Arvizo made pleas directly to the jury, and it wasn’t the only time Melville told her off for doing so. At one point, while being questioned about her time at Neverland, she claimed: "Neverland is all about pornography, booze and sex with boys”, a comment Melville instructed jurors to ignore.
Much of Arvizo’s testimony when questioned by the prosecution centred on the allegations she and her son were held hostage by Jackson and his people in the weeks that followed the screening of the Martin Bashir documentary on Jacko – so Mesereau began by tackling those claims. He claims that Arvizo had numerous opportunities to leave Jackson’s ranch but claims that she chose not to. "How many times, in your mind, did you escape from that dungeon, Neverland?" Janet Arvizo admitted she left Neverland on three occasions during the time she claims she was held hostage there, but says each time she was enticed back by Mr Jackson's aides.
Mesereau also began his key task of the trial, portraying Arvizo as a serial plaintiff who uses wild allegations to force cash out of cautious defendants. That claim depends on a $152,000 settlement the Arvizo family won against the JC Penney retail chain following what Jacko’s defence team would say were dubious sexual harassment claims against one of the store’s security guards. Faced with the allegation that her motive for pursuing the case against Jacko was money, Mrs Arvizo exclaimed: "We will never file a claim against Mr Jackson - I want justice here”.
More fireworks are expected in the court room as the trial continues today. Elsewhere in Jacko news, a spokesman for the singer denied those reports that Jackson is on the verge of being forced to sell his 50% stake in the Sony ATV Music publishing company in order to keep his finances in order. Jackson spokeswoman Raymone Bain told reporters: “There have been numerous reports regarding the sale, or portions thereof, of Michael Jackson’s music catalog. These reports are not true”. So that’s that sorted.