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CNN Live Today
Interview With Harvey Levin
Aired December 31, 2003 - 11:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Let's bring in Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice." He joins us from Las Angeles this morning. Good to see you, happy New Year.
HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Same to you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, CBS said it had promised Michael Jackson $5 million for the upcoming show that consequently was postponed, and that perhaps he was given an advance in the realm of $2.5 million. And that fund coming from CBS Entertainment. Now accusations that perhaps that was in exchange for the interview. How do you see it?
LEVIN: Well, look. There is a shell game that is often played among many networks where certain money cannot come from news because of the standards and practices. And my guess is if any money did go to Michael Jackson, it did not come from CBS News, certainly not "60 Minutes."
But there is a special on the table and lot of times networks mix up this stuff. And they could say, Look, we're not going to pay you for the interview, but we'll give you x if you do a special. We'll pay for photographs in order to make the piece look better although we won't pay for your interview.
So there are many, many ways that money can change hands even though it doesn't look like it's coming from the news organization. I'm not saying that happened here, but it certainly has happened with many networks in the past.
WHITFIELD: But that money was promised before there was a need for this type of interview that eventual eventually was aired last Sunday.
LEVIN: And deals change, Fredricka. That's one of the things they can argue. Circumstances change, deals change and demands change. And lot of times it's really difficult to say directly, That's why you got that extra money. But it happens a lot. Even with limousines. Networks promise limousines and flowers and dinners. They're not paying, but it's a slippery slope.
WHITFIELD: Let's talk about the potential news of the day. At 2:00 Eastern time with the sheriff's department coming out with a press conference in response to Michael Jackson's allegations that he was roughed up. What do you believe is going to be on this tape? LEVIN: Well, there's no way they roughed him up. I mean, come on. This is one of the most famous people in the history of the world to be arrested. This is a sheriff's department literally with glass walls. Everybody is watching and gawking.
And the notion that that would happen, that he wouldn't tell his lawyer, that his lawyer wouldn't go ballistic right on the spot -- and Mark Geragos is savvy enough to do that -- just stretches any credibility. And it just seems bizarre to me.
WHITFIELD: And in fact, Harvey, we're looking at the photograph that Michael Jackson and his camp has produced to say this is the bruise that he got from the hand cuffs that were put on him at the sheriff's department during his booking. Do these look legitimate to you?
LEVIN: Well, he may have been bruised. The question is, where was he bruised? Was he bruised in Santa Barbara? Was he bruised in Las Vegas sticking his hand out the car window? We don't know.
It seems that the cuffs would have been lower than where that bruise was. But on "60 Minutes" he said, Look, I cannot move my arm past a certain point. Yet at another point in the interview he kind of wisps his hair and lifts his hand higher than he said he could do it.
So this is not a battle. I think Michael Jackson shouldn't be fighting this. It's on the line right now. The credibility has to do with whether he molested a child. And that credibility is all important to him.
WHITFIELD: Is the sheriff's department acting as though their credibility is on the line, too, now? That they're having this very public news conference. They're going to apparently release a tape. It's a kind of a tit for tat here.
LEVIN: You know, and I think that's a really interesting thing. Should the sheriff's department dignify it? They obviously think they need to. And maybe by doing so, if they can shut him down, bottom line is, their problem goes away and Michael Jackson's credibility is in shambles if they can refute what was said.
It just seems to me such a low percentage of winning this on Michael Jackson's part. I tell you, in my view, given Mark Geragos and the kind of lawyer he is and how savvy he is, I'm really shocked that this is being done with the consent and the approval of Geragos.
WHITFIELD: Bottom line, do you see that both parties, Michael Jackson as well as the sheriff's department and prosecutor's camp, are all trying to influence the potential jury pool? That's the bottom line.
LEVIN: The sheriff's department is not going to influence the jury pool. It's not really about the sheriff's department. What it's about is Michael Jackson. Is he telling the truth, or is he not telling the truth? Even if he's telling the truth, it still doesn't mean the boy is telling the truth or is lying. But if he's not telling the truth, then his credibility comes in to question.
Again, I think this is no win for Michael Jackson, and it's just shocking to me that he's gone down this road.
WHITFIELD: All right, Harvey Levin of "Celebrity Justice," thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 31, 2003 - 11:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Let's bring in Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice." He joins us from Las Angeles this morning. Good to see you, happy New Year.
HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Same to you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, CBS said it had promised Michael Jackson $5 million for the upcoming show that consequently was postponed, and that perhaps he was given an advance in the realm of $2.5 million. And that fund coming from CBS Entertainment. Now accusations that perhaps that was in exchange for the interview. How do you see it?
LEVIN: Well, look. There is a shell game that is often played among many networks where certain money cannot come from news because of the standards and practices. And my guess is if any money did go to Michael Jackson, it did not come from CBS News, certainly not "60 Minutes."
But there is a special on the table and lot of times networks mix up this stuff. And they could say, Look, we're not going to pay you for the interview, but we'll give you x if you do a special. We'll pay for photographs in order to make the piece look better although we won't pay for your interview.
So there are many, many ways that money can change hands even though it doesn't look like it's coming from the news organization. I'm not saying that happened here, but it certainly has happened with many networks in the past.
WHITFIELD: But that money was promised before there was a need for this type of interview that eventual eventually was aired last Sunday.
LEVIN: And deals change, Fredricka. That's one of the things they can argue. Circumstances change, deals change and demands change. And lot of times it's really difficult to say directly, That's why you got that extra money. But it happens a lot. Even with limousines. Networks promise limousines and flowers and dinners. They're not paying, but it's a slippery slope.
WHITFIELD: Let's talk about the potential news of the day. At 2:00 Eastern time with the sheriff's department coming out with a press conference in response to Michael Jackson's allegations that he was roughed up. What do you believe is going to be on this tape? LEVIN: Well, there's no way they roughed him up. I mean, come on. This is one of the most famous people in the history of the world to be arrested. This is a sheriff's department literally with glass walls. Everybody is watching and gawking.
And the notion that that would happen, that he wouldn't tell his lawyer, that his lawyer wouldn't go ballistic right on the spot -- and Mark Geragos is savvy enough to do that -- just stretches any credibility. And it just seems bizarre to me.
WHITFIELD: And in fact, Harvey, we're looking at the photograph that Michael Jackson and his camp has produced to say this is the bruise that he got from the hand cuffs that were put on him at the sheriff's department during his booking. Do these look legitimate to you?
LEVIN: Well, he may have been bruised. The question is, where was he bruised? Was he bruised in Santa Barbara? Was he bruised in Las Vegas sticking his hand out the car window? We don't know.
It seems that the cuffs would have been lower than where that bruise was. But on "60 Minutes" he said, Look, I cannot move my arm past a certain point. Yet at another point in the interview he kind of wisps his hair and lifts his hand higher than he said he could do it.
So this is not a battle. I think Michael Jackson shouldn't be fighting this. It's on the line right now. The credibility has to do with whether he molested a child. And that credibility is all important to him.
WHITFIELD: Is the sheriff's department acting as though their credibility is on the line, too, now? That they're having this very public news conference. They're going to apparently release a tape. It's a kind of a tit for tat here.
LEVIN: You know, and I think that's a really interesting thing. Should the sheriff's department dignify it? They obviously think they need to. And maybe by doing so, if they can shut him down, bottom line is, their problem goes away and Michael Jackson's credibility is in shambles if they can refute what was said.
It just seems to me such a low percentage of winning this on Michael Jackson's part. I tell you, in my view, given Mark Geragos and the kind of lawyer he is and how savvy he is, I'm really shocked that this is being done with the consent and the approval of Geragos.
WHITFIELD: Bottom line, do you see that both parties, Michael Jackson as well as the sheriff's department and prosecutor's camp, are all trying to influence the potential jury pool? That's the bottom line.
LEVIN: The sheriff's department is not going to influence the jury pool. It's not really about the sheriff's department. What it's about is Michael Jackson. Is he telling the truth, or is he not telling the truth? Even if he's telling the truth, it still doesn't mean the boy is telling the truth or is lying. But if he's not telling the truth, then his credibility comes in to question.
Again, I think this is no win for Michael Jackson, and it's just shocking to me that he's gone down this road.
WHITFIELD: All right, Harvey Levin of "Celebrity Justice," thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
