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The controversial journalist Martin Bashir became known worldwide after Princess Diana spoke openly about her marriage crisis with Prince Charles in a BBC interview. Eight years later, he made headlines again with the documentary "Living with Michael Jackson".
Image: Netflix
Barely two months after the cinema release of "Michael", Netflix is releasing the documentary "Michael Jackson: The Verdict" about the 2005 court case. blue News summarizes the five most important findings.
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It is a different side of the King of Pop: the new Netflix documentary "Michael Jackson: The Verdict", which has now been released, sheds light on the court proceedings surrounding the abuse scandal of 2005 in three episodes.
The documentary offers an overview of the events at the time and allows witnesses from both sides to have their say. Archive material is supplemented with new interviews, including statements from people who were present in the courtroom at the time and experienced the trial at first hand.
Even after around two and a half hours, however, questions remain unanswered. However, the documentary allows viewers to form their own impression of the events. Five details from the documentary series particularly resonate.
Martin Bashir, the British journalist who caused a stir with his documentary "Living with Michael Jackson" in 2003, also has his say.
Bashir's documentary got the ball rolling. In it, Jackson openly admitted to sharing his bed with children.
"It's the most loving thing you can do," the musician says directly into the camera. And continues: "Why shouldn't you share your bed?"
Bashir says that his jaw dropped at the time. "We couldn't believe what we had just heard," says the journalist in the Netflix documentary. "Jackson was talking on camera about something that people had always wondered about him."
Defense lawyer Vincent Amen, who represented Michael Jackson between 2002 and 2003, also has his say in the Netflix documentary. He explains that he took on the case because he was convinced of Jackson's innocence.
Amen had been friends with Frank Tyson, the pop star's long-time assistant, who had assured him that he was innocent. When the properties and homes of some of Jackson's employees were also investigated, Frank Tyson had given the lawyer a sports bag for safekeeping.
"There was something suspicious in it," said Amen. He looked inside and found a magazine. Some order numbers of videos were circled with markers. "They were about naked children, sometimes with family, sometimes alone," says Amen.
He asked the assistant about it and he said that it was a phase of Michael and Frank. Amen continues: "That was the moment when I realized that something was not clean."
When Neverland Ranch was raided by the police in 2003, the megastar is said to have celebrated "wild parties" with teenagers. Michael Jackson went into hiding for 24 hours, but later handed himself in to the authorities - allegedly voluntarily. However, it remains unclear where he was hiding.
After the police searched Neverland Ranch, numerous media representatives gathered in front of Michael Jackson's estate. Shortly afterwards, the pop star turned himself in to the authorities.
Image: EPA
Some claim to have seen Jackson in Las Vegas. According to an informant of investigative journalist Diane Dimond, he is said to have been hiding in a mansion in Los Angeles.
"He was wearing a colorful caftan and opened the door just a crack so he could be handed food. Then he immediately closed it again," Dimond says in the Netflix documentary.
Victim or monster? Certainly not an easy question for the jury to answer at that trial. The documentary "Living with Michael Jackson" was shown in full length in the courtroom as evidence.
Michael Jackson arrives at the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, in 2005. Numerous fans gather to support the pop star during the abuse trial.
Image: Keystone
Juror Melissa Harard is convinced that journalist Martin Bashir set a trap for Michael Jackson. "He wanted the wrong impression to be created," says Harald. Nevertheless, she would never let her own child sleep in a celebrity's bed.
After Michael Jackson was acquitted, he is said to have walked past her towards the end of the trial and quietly whispered the words "Thank you" to her.
The prosecution built the case on the testimony of then 15-year-old Gavin Arvizo and his brother Star. The defense tried to denigrate the victims' family. They were only after money.
But even before the trial, reports were circulating accusing Michael Jackson of pedophile tendencies. These earlier accusations were settled out of court due to a lack of evidence. The then 13-year-old Jordan Chandler received 23 million US dollars.
Prosecutor Ron Zonen says in the Netflix documentary: "Michael Jackson was aware of what the boy's statements could have led to". This 23 million dollars would have kept him out of prison.
J. Randy Taraborrelli, a friend and biographer of the superstar, says in the documentary that he advised Jackson at the time: "That must have been it, Mike". He should never be seen with children again.
Even after this documentary, many questions about Jackson's life remain unanswered.
In contrast, the film about Michael Jackson, which was released in April 2026, is scandal-free. The long-awaited biopic "Michael" sheds light on Michael's childhood and ends shortly before the abuse allegations:
