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Campbell Brown
Remembering Michael Jackson; Who Will Control Jackson's Estate?
Aired June 30, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: (voice-over): Tonight: up-to-the- minute developments in the Michael Jackson investigation, his will, his public memorial, and his final return to Neverland, all that, plus the questions we want answered. Who will control Michael's estate? The will names his mother, his children, but not a word about his father.
JOE JACKSON, FATHER OF MICHAEL JACKSON: I was very proud of my son. And the legacy of Michael will still go on.
BROWN: What did Michael really think of him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He would be mortified to even believe that Joe Jackson would have any role in raising those children.
BROWN: And how did the people closest to Michael try to save him? Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's warning.
RABBI SHMULEY BOTEACH, AUTHOR, "THE KOSHER SUTRA": Look, I am not someone who whitewashes Michael's sins. Michael was not a saint. He had great virtue and there was a part of him that unfortunately grew corrupt over time.
And the Michael Jackson rehearsal tape. We take you behind the scenes of the show he was working on just before he died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started dancing because of Michael Jackson. And he's always been a great idol of mine. And I have always said I would love to work with him one day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is your only source for news. CNN prime time begins now. Here's Campbell Brown.
BROWN: Hi, everybody.
We are covering all the latest news in the Michael Jackson story tonight. We are beginning with the "Mash-Up," which is of course our look at all of today's developments, and that story plus some of the other stories you may have missed today. We are watching it all, so you don't have to.
Tonight, news of a blockbuster Neverland send-off in the works now for the king of pop, as lawyers start poring over what could be his last will and testament.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A source close to the Jackson family tells ABC News they now know a will exists, and they expect it to be filed soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Custody of his children will be given to his mother, Katherine. Meanwhile, plans for a memorial are under way. A public viewing could take place at Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch by the end of the week.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There will be a public viewing on Friday and on Sunday a private memorial for the family only. So, again, what CNN has now been able to confirm is that Jackson's body will be brought back here via motorcade late Thursday. We're told security arrangements are being made right now.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Adoring crowds, they are gathering at New York's Apollo Theater to honor the king of pop. Now, these are pictures from CNN's affiliate WABC. The line to get inside is about 10 blocks long.
AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Let's bow our heads and send our strongest message to the king of pop, the prince of hope, our brother, Michael Jackson.
Amen.
CROWD: Amen!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you, Michael!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Today, the Associated Press reports Michael Jackson claimed a net worth of $236 million as of March 2007. Now, Michael Jackson was supposed to launch a comeback tour next month. And, today, some real questions about whether he was healthy enough to pull it off. Check out the mixed messages coming from the morning shows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEREDITH VIEIRA, CO-HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": You saw him every day. How would you describe his condition on a daily basis?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was in good shape on a daily basis. His heart was strong. His stamina was good. He was interested in doing this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were nervous as to whether we would be able to pull off this show.
LOU FERRIGNO, TRAINER: He might have been a little thin because he was under a lot of stress training for the tour. But when I put him through the routine, everything, I mean, it was just fine. He was very energetic and the guy was in fantastic shape.
I'm an expert. And I was with Michael. If I didn't feel Michael could've pulled this off, I would have told him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Meanwhile, Jackson is back on top of the pop charts. Billboard projects he has the top three albums this week.
Amid all of the Michael Jackson coverage, a true milestone in the Iraq war. Today, American troops officially pulled out of Iraqi cities and towns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today's the day. The handover has happened, and it now belongs to these men behind me, the Iraqi army. Here, they're celebrating, one of Saddam's old parade grounds before the tomb of the unknown soldier. And it will be these tanks, instead of American armor, that will be rolling through the streets. This still is a day for rapport and reflection for many Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Iraqis, they are celebrating. They hit the streets to sing and dance today. They are happy. Large crowds gathered, as U.S. troops met the deadline to leave Iraq cities. The government declared today national sovereignty day.
Meanwhile, there's been a sharp spike in violence in Iraq in recent days. At least 25 people were killed today in a bombing in the northern city of Kirkuk, north of Baghdad. Altogether, more than 200 people have been killed in bombings over the last 10 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Now, not a lot of fanfare from the White House today, the president and his secretary sounding optimistic, but very much on message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Obviously, this is an important step forward. It is an important step forward for the Iraqis. This is an important step. So, again, I think this is an important step.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is an important step forward. But we have made important progress in supporting a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq.
GIBBS: Give the sovereign nation of Iraq more control and ultimately more responsibility.
OBAMA: As a sovereign and united Iraq continues to take control of its own destiny.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Has the president ruled out ever declaring victory there?
GIBBS: I -- I -- we will keep the banner printers from -- from doing anything crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The president wants most U.S. troops out of Iraq by August of next year.
Minnesota's long national nightmare ended today -- 239 days after the election, they finally have a new senator-elect. The state Supreme Court handed down the final word this afternoon, and Democrats cheered from Wabasha to Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The winner is Al Franken. He fills the final Senate seat, giving Democrats a supermajority.
SEN. NORM COLEMAN (R), MINNESOTA: I really have a sense of peace with where things are at, and it is time now to move forward.
AL FRANKEN (D), MINNESOTA SENATOR-ELECT: No matter whether you voted for me or for Senator Coleman or for Senator Barkley or whether you voted at all, I want the people of Minnesota to know that I'm ready to work for all of you, that I'm committed to being a voice for all Minnesotans.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think that a lot of people on both sides of the aisle are kind of breathing a sigh of relief that it's finally over, no matter how it was decided.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Minnesota managed to survive 178 days represented by just one senator.
And confession-happy South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford owned up to more scandalous behavior tonight. Governor TMI dished the details in a long and teary interview with the Associated Press.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just cannot resist sharing with you the latest in the drama that is Governor Mark Sanford.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The governor now admitting to seeing his Argentine mistress more times than he mentioned at that press conference.
GOV. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, that it's a love story, a forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story.
MALVEAUX: Sanford has told the Associated Press that he crossed lines with more women, but didn't have sex with them. KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Sanford also told the AP that the woman in Argentina, Maria Chapur, is his soul mate, but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will do my very best. This beautiful woman is the mother of my four sons. I'm going to really try to fall back in love with you.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, all of this was so unnecessary. You feel like he's, like, pressed his own self-destruct button.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Yes, and this is a love story. Still not resigning, also, by the way.
And that does bring us to the punchline, courtesy of Mr. Stephen Colbert, who says there is one guy only too happy to surrender the spotlight to Michael Jackson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE COLBERT REPORT")
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": But with sadness comes a silver lining, which I think was best expressed in this condolence card from Iranian President Mahmoud (INAUDIBLE)
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: "In this time of sorrow, I want to thank you for diverting attention from me kidnapping nine British Embassy employee workers."
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Stephen Colbert, everybody. And that is the "Mash-Up."
When we come back, tonight's big question: Who will control Michael Jackson's estate? His will surfaced today. We have got the very latest on that.
And, then, later the pop star's one-time personal adviser, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, with new details about Michael's drug addiction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOTEACH: Campbell, honestly, when they announced these concerts, I thought the end was near. He was in no state to do 50 odd concerts, psychological state, emotional state. Michael was burned out. He was just going to take more medication to deal with his inability to live up to his former glorious self. And the outcome was going to have to be tragic. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Welcome back, everybody.
Tonight, we are separating fact from fiction, trying to help you sift through the pile of rumors and speculation surrounding Michael Jackson's death. We are finding out a lot of it, frankly, just isn't true, like the story about the former longtime nanny for Jackson's three kids supposedly saying that she had routinely pumped the singer's stomach to flush out dangerous amounts of drugs he had taken.
Well, now, for real, she's flatly denying the accusation that was first reported by "The Times of London," saying -- quote -- "I don't even know how to pump a stomach," adding that "The statements attributed to me confirmation the worst in human tendencies to sensationalize tragedy and smear reputations for profit."
We have got a lot more to talk about. Right now, we have got former CNN anchor Jim Moret with us. He's now chief correspondent for "Inside Edition." He's in Los Angeles, along with Sharon Waxman of the entertainment news Web site TheWrap.com. Here in New York, our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, joining me, as always.
Jim, let me start with you.
As I was just saying, there's a lot of stuff floating around out there. But let's start with the details of the viewing of the memorial service that we're learning about today. Walk us through what we know is going to happen.
JIM MORET, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, "INSIDE EDITION": Talk about fact and fiction. I don't even know at this point. And I will tell you why.
I just got off the phone. Santa Barbara authorities haven't even been notified. And that's important, because you're talking about Neverland, which is, aside from being about 130 miles north of Los Angeles, the last 10 miles is on a narrow two-lane road. And I have been up there, as have many people.
And, after the trial, there were a number of people camped out. It's very difficult to navigate that road quickly. And to accommodate the number of people that would be expected would be absolute insanity and possibly not feasible at all. You would be parking miles away, walking in the heat.
There's been no arrangements that we know of that are made for the crush of people. You know, I was looking. You talk about fact and fiction. I just looked. "The Daily Mail" is reporting that his funeral will be led by a white carriage and two horses, and his body will be shown in a glass coffin at Neverland.
I don't even know where this stuff is coming from. It's not coming from any official sources. BROWN: So, do we even know for sure that there's going to be this event on Friday, that -- or it may be moved to another location?
(CROSSTALK)
MORET: I suppose at this point anything's possible.
We have heard from one family spokesperson, who said no definite plans are made. And I think that the reason for that is that -- that you don't simply hold an event like this at Neverland without getting clearance and without getting help.
Who is going to pay for -- for all of the law enforcement, the traffic enforcement, and so forth? I don't know that certain details are yet made. It may very well happen on Friday, but I don't know that anything's been finalized.
BROWN: Sharon, let me ask you if you're hearing anything differently on this. But then also just talk to me a little bit about Neverland more generally, because this is a place that, you know, it almost goes into foreclosure. This was a few years ago. And now it may be poised to become like another Graceland. I guess, is that what the family wants?
SHARON WAXMAN, THEWRAP.COM: First of all, we have to sort out who is in charge of the estate, for one thing.
But -- so it is true that Michael does own some undetermined share of Neverland today. But, you know, he borrowed against that estate, and he ran out of money because there's almost nothing left at Neverland.
Neverland was this spectacular place. We have all -- I think CNN and everybody else is showing those gorgeous aerial photos, but those things are no longer there, the ferris wheel or all -- all the statuary, all of that is gone.
And it is co-owned by Michael Jackson and one of the many financial partners that he had who were loaning him money over the years. So, there's a lot of things to be settled, although it may well be true that it's going to make more financial sense for that partner who is owed money by Michael Jackson to turn that into some kind of cash cow tourist attraction, a la Graceland. It's possible.
BROWN: Wow. It's going to be fascinating to see what happens.
We also -- we -- CNN did confirm today that there is a will. At least we know that much.
WAXMAN: Yes.
BROWN: But what more do we know about that, Jeffrey? Is this a situation where you would expect that the will will likely be contested, given the players involved and the many, many questions at this stage of the game? JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Well, anything involving Michael Jackson, you can assume, will be litigated and disputed, because the pattern of his life over the past 15 years has been that way.
According to the initial reports about the will, it lists his mother as the person -- as the executor, the person in charge. It does not assign any role to his father, which is, I think, in keeping with most -- what most people thought of his relationship with his parents.
But in terms of the really hard questions, custody of the three children, control of his financial empire, we will have to wait to see what it says. And then we will have to see if any other will surfaced, because that wouldn't surprise me at all.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Go ahead, Sharon.
WAXMAN: Yes.
Want to point out, I had a long talk with one of Michael Jackson's former financial managers today, and -- because we were talking about on the show yesterday, what is his financial status? Because he's had so many debts over the years and people he's owed money to.
So, it does seem that, in death, unfortunately, Michael Jackson is going to be much better financially off than he was in life, so, it -- presuming that -- that the proceeds from his Mijac catalogue, from his songs, both the artists' rights and the master recordings that he has ownership of, continue to throw off a lot of money.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Right.
WAXMAN: But, as you have pointed out -- you have pointed out all along, there's going to be a lot of untangling to do. But once that untangling is done, his children will undoubtedly come into a large sum of money.
BROWN: All right, we have got to end it there, but many thanks to Jim, to Sharon in L.A., and to Jeff here with me in New York. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
An FDA panel warning tonight about the most commonly used painkiller in the country, acetaminophen. That's, of course, what is in Tylenol. Why out why some doses may soon be by prescription only. That's coming up in the download.
Also ahead, Joe Jackson taking center stage -- tonight's big question, should he really have any role in raising Michael's kids?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think, Campbell, that he would be mortified to even believe that Joe Jackson would have any role in raising those children, even him being around those children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Let's get a check on some of the other stories making news tonight. Erica Hill is here tonight with tonight's download.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Campbell, the maximum dose for common pain relievers like Tylenol and Excedrin is actually too much, that coming from an FDA panel of experts today, who are now calling for more safety restrictions on over-the-counter pills containing acetaminophen. And the panel wants the FDA to eliminate prescription drugs that combine acetaminophen and narcotics, things like Vicodin and Percocet. Acetaminophen overdoses are the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S.
Detroit police tonight looking for the masked gunmen who opened fire on seven teenagers near a high school. Five of those victims were summer school students. Two are in critical condition, and police say as many as three suspects jumped out of a minivan, asked for a person by name, and then started shooting into a crowd.
Family and friends of Farrah Fawcett saying their final goodbyes, her longtime partner, Ryan O'Neal, among the mourners scene arriving for today's private funeral service in Los Angeles. Her son, Redmond O'Neal, was allowed to attend. He is serving time for a drug conviction. Fawcett of course died of cancer on Thursday. She was 62.
An all-out brawl in a Flint, Michigan, courtroom all caught on camera -- a father -- check this out -- punching the man accused of murdering his son. Yet, amid all this chaos, there's the defense attorney. Watch this. Crawls under a table. There he goes.
(LAUGHTER)
HILL: The father claims the defendant smiled at him. Now both are in jail.
And a bold claim from Governor Sarah Palin. She says, if she ran against Barack Obama, she would win. And, when we say run, we mean literally running. Palin tells "Runner's World" magazine, if the two jogged -- quote -- "I bet you I would have more endurance."
The Alaska governor says running helps keep her physically and mentally fit. She calls sweat, Campbell, her sanity.
BROWN: Very telling.
HILL: How about that?
BROWN: Yes. HILL: I don't believe President Obama has answered the call.
BROWN: Yes, I don't think so either.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: Erica Hill tonight with the download -- Erica, thanks.
Tonight's newsmaker: Rabbi Shmuley. He was a personal adviser for Jackson. Tonight, he speaks out about the pop star's struggle with addiction, the enablers around him, and the child molestation charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOTEACH: We gave a lecture together at Oxford University on a children's bill of rights. And Michael brings -- Michael, he goes into these rooms with doctors, comes out lightheaded, very woozy. And it was always before a performance.
And I would say to him: "This is poison. This is killing you. You need to be razor-sharp, Michael." And he knew that it was bad for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tonight, we have gripping new details about Michael Jackson's increasing isolation during the final years of his life.
From 1999 until 2001, one member of his inner circle was Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, his spiritual adviser, and a man who knew enough to warn him about his drug use.
Rabbi Shmuley is the author of "The Kosher Sutra: Eight Sacred Secrets for Reigniting Desire and Restoring Passion for Life." He is currently filming a TV show with his family in Iceland, and joined us earlier via Skype.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Thank you for being here.
I want to ask, you were so concerned by what you saw of Michael Jackson's drug use that, all the way back in 2004, you told CNN you thought he would die young. And what did you see that made you feel that way?
BOTEACH: Well, there was no one around to stop him.
Superstardom really brings out of the woodwork a lot of sycophants, people who were not going to interfere with what Michael was trying to do. And what he was trying to do was curb pain. Michael always thought he had ailments of the body. He always had a neck that hurt, a foot that was twisted. Really, he had an affliction of the soul. He was extremely lonely. He was extremely unhappy. He felt purposeless. He felt lethargic. And the way he dealt with that pain -- and he was especially afraid of -- of aging, of that -- that perhaps his best years were behind him.
And instead of reinventing himself and entering a new phase, he decided to medicate away his pain. And no human body was going to -- would be able to sustain that kind of an assault. This was inevitable. It was -- it's shocking, it's tragic, but it could have easily been averted.
BROWN: You -- we have heard people talk about his use of Demerol, of OxyContin. Did you talk to him about his drug use? Did you ever tell him you were worried?
BOTEACH: Are you kidding?
Michael here's an example. We went to give a lecture together at Oxford University. And Michael brings -- Michael, he goes into these rooms with doctors, comes out lightheaded, very woozy. And it was always before a performance.
Michael, we think that he wasn't afraid of crowds. But, as I said, I think because he gave the public the key to his own self- esteem, because he substituted love for attention, this was always an issue before he went in front of crowds.
And I would say to him: "This is poison. This is killing you. You need to be razor-sharp, Michael." And he knew that it was bad for him.
BROWN: But...
BOTEACH: Just, like, the next night, we had dinner together and he was -- he stood up during dinner. And I said, "Why don't you sit down?"
He said, "Because I took your advice. My back hurts, but I'm not medicating this."
BROWN: So, I mean, that's amazing to me, that he would get high and he would be medicated before he would perform, I mean, essentially, in front of a crowd. Was he under the influence of drugs around his kids, also?
BOTEACH: Well, let me say something absolutely clear. I never saw Michael before a concert. I never saw him in a concert. I'm speaking specifically, as the years went on, I think Michael lived with a profound fear of rejection.
And Michael told me once -- and this was a heartbreaking conversation between us -- he looked me in the eye and he said to me: "Shmuley, I promise I'm not lying to you. You need to know I'm not lying to you."
He said that twice.
"But everything I have done in pursuing fame, in honing my craft," to quote his words, "was an effort to be loved, because I never felt loved." And he used to say that to me all the time.
Now, you can imagine, if you're trying to get love from the crowd, and you're not sure how they're going to react to you, because time is going on, they read that you're a Wacko Jacko, you have become a tabloid caricature, you live in phenomenal fear.
And I think that a lot of this -- this prescription drugs was used to address and alleviate the anxiety. And it was just tragic to watch. And a lot of questions need to be asked about who facilitated this, because there are three kids who are orphaned right now. And we need to know why this happened.
BROWN: Did he separate that part of his life from his children? Were they aware of what was going on with him?
BOTEACH: Look, I am not someone who whitewashes Michael's sins. Michael was not a saint. He had great virtue. And there was a part of him that, unfortunately, grew corrupt over time.
So, I have no agenda in saying this. Michael was an extremely responsible father. I know that there was that outrageous incident of the baby-dangling from a port -- from that patio, but that actually was so out of character, because, if anything, he was overprotective of his children.
So, he was a very responsible father. He did not travel anywhere without the kids. The kids adored him. He adored them. In fact, in the last years of his life, that was probably the only inspiration he still received. He lived for those children. And that's why I'm so concerned about their welfare, because there's no mother in their life, and now there's no father either.
BROWN: You talk about the people around him, and -- and that that needs to be followed up on. Who were the good guys? I mean, was his family trying to get him help? I mean, obviously, you talk to him. But what could have been done?
BOTEACH: Well, let's be honest. If we in America want to have an honest conversation about Michael Jackson, who the good guys are -- look, Michael brought out some of the worst qualities in all of us, in the media, in good people. Very few people are around that level of attention. And to be around it was almost a salve that made you feel special. And you could see a lot of good people who started with Michael and little by little the corruption just grew.
So even people who were good guys didn't necessarily remain that way. And if you look at the media circus, we're not even mourning the death of a man anymore. We're just sort of speaking about an icon. So all of us are complicit in this if we want to be honest about it. So the good guys, I mean, I try to be one of the good guys.
Being a good guy meant that you had to risk your relationship with Michael, that you had to put your relationship on the line. You had to look him in the eye and say Michael, you are killing yourself. Or, Michael, there's no normality in your life. Or, Michael, you have lost your spiritual anchor.
BROWN: So what did he say when you confronted him, when you said these things to him? How did he react to you?
BOTEACH: Well, for a year he listened to me and used to tell me how much he loved me and cared about me. And we were very close. I mean, I cannot begin to describe the degree of friendship that existed between us.
I tried to be a rabbi to him. But after a year, he really began to see me almost as a nuisance. I would speak to him and I could see a complete, different body posture. He would begin to cringe. He would almost curl up, evolve into an embryonic position.
He was unaccustomed to hearing any kind of criticism. And then he would get his managers to sort of try to stop me. And it came to a head one day in his hotel room.
We went to give out books to parents of low-income families in Newark, New Jersey. And on the way back I could see Michael was angry at me, although he never had a temper so he wouldn't show it. But he would withdraw.
So I said what's wrong? So his manager says to me in front of him, Shmuley, you want to make Michael accessible and normal, don't you understand? He's famous because he's not normal. And then I understood the full tragedy of his existence.
Michael was terrified that the moment he became average that the public would forget him. And that was the end of our relationship. I knew I could not help him, and I -- there was no choice but to sever the relationship.
Because at that stage, you ask who the good guys are, you have a choice. You can either hang on as a hanger on, or you can move on because the orbit of a superstar is just too great to be in there partially. It's an all or nothing some game.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: More with Rabbi Shmuley coming up in a moment. He was with Michael Jackson during the child molestation trial. And tonight, he shares the private conversation he had with Michael about the charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOTEACH: So he always said to me, it wasn't true he could never harm a child. It was all lies, et cetera. And whether he was guilty of a crime or not, he had no right at all whatsoever to share a bed with a child that wasn't his own. But Michael crossed lines all the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tonight, we are learning new details about the final years of Michael Jackson's life from Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Michael Jackson's one-time spiritual adviser. He says Jackson was in no shape for the 50 London concerts that he had planned. And he talked about the rumors that had swirled around the King of Pop right up until his death.
Rabbi Boteach is in Iceland and we spoke via Skype a little bit ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Rabbi Shmuley, there have been so many rumors with regard to the story. What's the one thing that you've heard that you want to clear up about Michael Jackson? What should the public know?
BOTEACH: More than anything else, I want people to understand as they read all these very unfortunate stories about Michael. And let's face it, Michael may have, I don't know, may have been guilty of very serious, serious crimes.
I want people to understand that even if it were true, and I have no idea if it is or it isn't, that this was a tortured, tortured soul, who from the earliest age did not know love because he felt he had to perform to earn love. He lived in permanent insecurity. He was one of the most tortured souls I ever came across.
For all the fame and fortune, there was a part of him that we almost could not reach. And I would hope that the public in judging and assessing Michael Jackson would do so charitably, knowing that child stars suffer these terrible, terrible fates.
And that's why all you parents out there when you're sitting with your kids and they show you their report card and it's not an A, please don't say to them immediately you could have done better. That's what happened with Michael. And so he always had to perform and that's what ultimately killed him.
Campbell, honestly, when they announced these concerts, I thought the end was near. He was in no state to do 50 odd concerts, not a psychological state, emotional state. Michael was burned out. He was just going to take more medication to deal with his inability to live up to his former glorious self and the outcome was going to have to be tragic.
BROWN: I do want to ask you. You talk about the accusations against him, criminal accusations. Did he ever talk to you about that?
BOTEACH: Absolutely. He said that they were absolutely not true. He promised me that he would never be alone with a child again. So I said to him even if they're not true, Michael, after 1993, you can never be alone with a child. And he said he understood that. And I also told him, you're not the children's messiah. Like it was his 41st birthday, and he invited me and my family to spend it with him in Neverland. And I could see that he was a bit depressed. I said what's wrong? And he said, I want to help kids, but I can't because of everything that happened.
I said, well, the best way to help kids, Michael, is not to help them directly. You're not a messiah. It's to inspire their parents to prioritize them. And that's when we started working together to get parents to read to their children, have regular family meals.
So he always said to me it wasn't true he can never harm a child. It was all lies, et cetera. I mean, you know, I knew the child who was the second accuser.
The second accusation, to be honest, I never believed. I sort of knew the family, I knew the child. I was not around in the first one.
And he had no business getting so close to other people's children. That's for certain. And whether he was guilty of a crime or not, he had no right at all, whatsoever, to share a bed with a child that wasn't his own.
But Michael crossed lines all the time. And this is part of the problem of being a superstar when no one wants to say no to you and when you simply withdraw from anyone who does say no to you.
And, Campbell, I have to make a plea to the Jackson family. I met Katherine who is a very pious, very religious woman, a very devout Jehovah's Witness. And I met Joe Jackson.
You know, Michael really wanted his father's approval and he loved his father very deeply. I know that in many interviews, he spoke about anger towards his father. But when he was with me, he said that he lived for his father's approval. And he told this to his father on the phone when I was in the car with him.
And I really think this is the time for the family to really be at the forefront of Michael's legacy, and not to cross lines of seeing, God forbid, his death as an opportunity for anything aside for that mourning because Michael wanted his father's love more than anything else. His father meant the world to him. And I think that one of the things he lived with more than anything else, the pain he lived with was this constant feeling that he never quite earned his father's affection.
BROWN: Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, I so appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And we'll be right back with a Jackson family insider who says Michael's oldest son was planning to join his father on stage during his London concerts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no question that Prince was up to the task and was getting prepared to join Michael.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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CHERILYN LEE, NURSE TREATED JACKSON (via telephone): When I saw it on the news I kind of felt I knew what happened. And I just didn't really -- I really didn't know what to do. I was saddened. You know, and I heard there was a physician there.
BROWN: Do you know -- do you know if there was a doctor who may have given him this drug?
LEE: I don't know of any doctors. I don't know if anyone that was seeing him. He just told me -- because I asked him what doctor gave you this drug? He said, oh, it was a long time ago.
BROWN: So just to give us a sense of your relationship with him, how long did you -- had you known him? What was the relationship?
LEE: Well, I met him in January. And because someone called me and said his children had a little runny nose and a little cough, and could I come out to the house and see them. And because of the referral person, he felt very comfortable.
So when I arrived at the house I saw all three children. And actually, you know, I love working with children. And so I kind of set something up for them and they had some vitamin C and, you know, as a practitioner so I listened to their lungs to make sure they were clear. You know, just went ahead and did the routine physical exam and everything. And after I finished with the children and had given them some vitamin C that they had, you know...
BROWN: Yes.
LEE: ... and the vitamin C powder and a couple of other things, it's a homeopathic for cough, they told their dad they were feeling a lot better. So then he looked at me and he said what else do you do? And so I said, well, I help people, you know, when they want to just have more energy. And so he said, oh, wow, OK, that's really good.
And so we start taking it from there and then I try to find out why is it you don't have any energy? You know, and just went through the whole course of, you know, not that day. He actually asked me if I can come back the following day. So I went and drew some blood. Maybe you're anemic because you're so fatigued.
BROWN: Right.
LEE: Or maybe it's this, or maybe it's that, but let's not second guess anything. Let's just -- I did a full lab work. A full work-up on him. So -- BROWN: All right.
LEE: Then I told him from there that nutritionally we could go ahead and get you set up. You know.
BROWN: Right. And his doctor was also working with him presumably yet? Dr. Murray, right?
LEE: I don't know. I didn't see anybody. I didn't see anybody in January, February, March.
BROWN: OK.
LEE: There was a time he did go to London, so --
BROWN: Right.
LEE: -- he was out. But I never heard of a doctor. I never did see anyone.
BROWN: All right.
LEE: I told him I prefer to do continuity of care with someone. And I didn't see anyone.
BROWN: All right. Cherilyn, I'm going to ask you to standby for one second. I just want to go right to our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta who is with us from our L.A. bureau.
And very quickly, Sanjay, you heard what she said Diprivan. What is it? Can it lead to cardiac arrest?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of people know this as the drug, propofol. It's a sedative in lower doses and in higher doses it's sort of used as an anesthetic to put someone to sleep so much so that they're not breathing on their own and they need a breathing tube.
Couple of things, one is that it's administered by IV, so someone would have to have an IV in, to get those medication. Two, is that I have never heard of this medication being given outside a hospital before. And people are usually very closely monitored while they're giving medication like this, Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Sanjay, appreciate it.
And again to the nurse, Cherilyn Lee, who had that phone call with Michael Jackson, appreciate your time tonight.
So much to follow up on here. You'll be hearing a lot more about this in the days ahead.
That does it for us tonight, "LARRY KING LIVE" coming up next. We will see you right back here tomorrow night.
