Allegations

I'd like to begin the final part of this two part series regarding Michael Jackson by looking at late 1993.

Yes, Mr. Bartley, in 1993, I proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. We were married in La Vega, Dominican Republic, in May of 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Álvarez Pérez.

I would imagine that the tabloid media would have a field day with that marriage!

They certainly did! In fact the tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt intended to deflect attention from sexual abuse allegations and to boost Presley's career as a singer.  Unfortunately, marriage ended little more than a year later, and we separated in December of 1995.

What were Lisa Marie Presley’s reasons for the divorce?

Mr. Bartley, she cited "irreconcilable differences" when filing for divorce the following month and sought only to reclaim her maiden name.

Michael, did you ever see her again?

Lisa Marie later said that we had attempted to reconcile intermittently for four years after our divorce, traveling internationally to be together, but to no success.

Transcript

I'd like to begin the final part of this two part series regarding Michael Jackson by looking at late 1993. 

Yes, Mr. Bartley, in 1993, I proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. We were married in La Vega, Dominican Republic, in May of 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Álvarez Pérez.

I would imagine that the tabloid media would have a field day with that marriage!

They certainly did! In fact the tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt intended to deflect attention from sexual abuse allegations and to boost Presley's career as a singer.  Unfortunately, marriage ended little more than a year later, and we separated in December of 1995.

What were Lisa Marie Presley’s reasons for the divorce?

Mr. Bartley, she cited "irreconcilable differences" when filing for divorce the following month and sought only to reclaim her maiden name. 

Michael, did you ever see her again?

Lisa Marie later said that we had attempted to reconcile intermittently for four years after our divorce, traveling internationally to be together, but to no success.

Mr. Jackson, could you say a little bit about your physical changes during the period– Changes that were quite noticeable!

Yes, Mr. Bartley. Photos from the early Jackson 5 days show a dark-skinned Black boy with a round face and a natural afro. By the time of Bad and Dangerous, my skin appeared much lighter, my nose narrower and more angular, and my facial structure greatly changed.

Mr. Jackson, as you know this led to endless speculation.

I did acknowledge having plastic surgery on my nose. More significantly, I said that I had vitiligo, a medical condition that causes loss of skin pigment in patches. Instead of leaving it patchy, my wife team reportedly used makeup and possibly treatments to even out my skin tone. The result was a dramatic, gradual lightening that the public watched in real time.

And Michael, if you pardon the bluntness, the plastic surgery was– How should I put it–not always beneficial.

Your point is well taken Mr. Bartley, but some people saw this as a medical necessity; others accused me of trying to erase my Blackness. To be honest, as with many things in my life, it was probably a complex mixture of health issues, personal insecurities, and the unnatural pressure of being a man whose face was literally part of a global brand.

Michael, you are extremely eloquent and articulate in your explanations!

Mr. Bartley, death has a way of causing you to be honest and looking at your past life with increased insight!

Michael, I can certainly appreciate that.

Mr. Bartley, regarding my physical appearance during my earthly life - add to that the likely effects of repeated cosmetic procedures: cartilage weakening, breathing issues, and a face that looked less and less like the child from Gary, Indiana, and more like a mask that had been rewritten too many times.

Mr. Jackson, I admit that when I look at pictures of you across the decades, I can’t help feeling that I am watching a kind of physical autobiography in reverse: instead of seeing someone age naturally, I am seeing someone struggle to escape the normal passage of time.

That is an interesting description Mr. Bartley–And that struggle had a cost—not only physically, but psychologically.

Why is that, Michael?

AH, Mr. Bartley, as you may remember, the The 1990s and 2000s brought new music, but they also brought something else to my life.

Mr. Bartley, they brought allegations.

Michael, I certainly remember.

Yes Mr. Bartley, I faced public accusations of inappropriate behavior with underage boys. These allegations led to intense media scrutiny, a highly publicized settlement in the 1990s, and later a criminal trial in the 2000s. I was acquitted in the 2005 trial, but the damage to his reputation was substantial and lasting.

Yes, Michael, I do remember seeing on television news reports regarding your trials.

And Mr. Bartley, let me ask you this–I would not be surprised if you mention the trials but please do not dwell on them– I do not want them to define me. There are many people who would still disagree about what really happened.

Michael, I think it is spare to say that your world became more isolated.

Yes, Mr. Bartley - I had my fans but trust became harder.

And one might say that the line between Michael Jackson the person and Michael Jackson the spectacle blurred almost completely. How did the events affect your Neverland Ranch.

Mr. Bartley, let me explain that the Neverland Ranch, with its amusement park rides, zoo, and sprawling grounds, started as a kind of fantasy sanctuary. It was a place where a man who never really had a childhood tried to build one for myself and invited children to share it.

And I must admit Michael, that to some it seemed generous and whimsical, but to others it seemed deeply troubling.

But Mr. Bartley, you have to admit that even with all of this swirling around me, I kept performing.

But Michael, you have to admit that your body must've been paying the price.

Yes Mr. Bartley, Years of intense dancing—spins, jumps, sharp stops, and my famous lean—took a toll on muscles, joints, and bones. Add the stress of touring, the pressure to stay thin, and the lack of anything resembling a normal rest schedule, and you have a recipe for constant pain. My existence was miserable.

Michael, I can't even imagine!

Mr. Bartley, to manage that, many people say that I began relying on prescription medications: painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, and later the powerful anesthetic propofol, which is normally used in surgical settings, not as a sleep aid. 

Michael, why would a responsible doctor give you such prescription medications? 

AH, Mr. Bartley - this was Hollywood where money can buy anything. Around me grew a network of doctors, assistants, handlers, and staff—some slightly responsible, some much less so.

And finally, I must point out that in 1993,I was accused of child molestation, but there was no trial; the case was settled out of court.

In 2003, I was accused a second time of child molestation. In a TV documentary called Living with Michael Jackson, I held hands with a 12-year-old boy called Gavin Arvizo and said that I shared my bed with children. When he was 13, Gavin Arvizo accused me of sexually abusing him. This time I was tried in court, and in 2005, I was found not guilty of fourteen criminal charges.

Nevertheless, In 2009, I announced a series of comeback concerts in London, titled This Is It. The idea was to prove that I could still do it—that the King of Pop could still command a stage and close my own narrative with a triumphant final act.

I have been told that rehearsal footage shows flashes of my old brilliance: the moves are still there, the musical instincts still sharp. But you can also see a man who is thinner, more fragile, and clearly under a great deal of strain.

On June 25, 2009, my earthly body left this world at the age of 50, largely from acute propofol intoxication. It is said that the doctor overseeing my care was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Michael, may I say that you were a man who, in my opinion, once danced as if gravity couldn’t touch you. But you were ultimately undone by something very physical: a body that needed rest, care, and ordinary human limits that the machine around you simply couldn’t—or wouldn’t—honor.

Mr. Bartley, there are many positive things that you can say about me.

I believe that I reshaped pop music.

I believe that I turned music videos into cinematic art.

I believe that I influenced generations of singers and dancers across genres: pop, R&B, hip-hop, K-pop, and beyond.

My sense of rhythm, phrasing, and dance is studied and imitated all over the world.

On the other hand:

My personal life was marked by allegations that apparently still polarize people.

My body became a kind of public spectacle—a canvas for surgeries, makeup, and endless commentary.

My death was the result of a medical tragedy that feels, in some ways, like the final chapter in a long pattern of pushing too far.

Mr. Jackson, I must admit that I was –I'm still am–one of your biggest fans. And it really bothers me to appropriately celebrate the creativity of someone whose life includes so much pain and controversy? How are you supposed to feel?

Mr. Bartley ,One way is to recognize that I was both:

An artist of extraordinary gifts.

A human being caught in a machine that treated those gifts like an endlessly renewable resource.

When you listen to “Billie Jean” or “Human Nature” or “Man in the Mirror,” you can hear that mixture of precision and vulnerability, control and fragility. It’s almost as if the tension in my life is baked into my voice.

You can hear the disciplined performer—the kid drilled by his father, the professional trained by Motown, the perfectionist who wouldn’t accept half-measures in the studio.

And you can also hear the child who never quite found a safe place to grow up.

As we bring this episode to a close, I’d like you who are listening to this podcast to try something simple.

Go back and listen to two songs in order:

First, put on “I Want You Back”—little Michael, all energy and sparkle, the sound of a child who can already carry a whole band and a whole room on his shoulders.

Then, listen to “Man in the Mirror.” Same person, different world. The voice is more mature, the concerns deeper, but that same core is still there: a kind of searching, a desire for connection, and a belief that music can change something—not just out there, but in here.

Michael Jackson’s life asks us some hard questions:

What does it cost to live under a spotlight for almost your entire existence?

What happens when the world treats you as a product, even while you are trying to be a person?

And how do we hold both the brilliance of the art and the darkness of the story in the same frame without simplifying either one?

I don’t pretend to have final answers to those questions. But I do know this:

You can acknowledge the pain, the controversy, and the damage—and still recognize that some voices, some performances, some songs changed the landscape of music forever.

Thank you for listening to Hall of Imagination. I’m George Bartley—and yes, after a story like this, I still think we can have some fun. We just do it with our eyes open, our ears tuned, and maybe… just maybe… a little more compassion for the very human beings behind the legends.

My name is George Barley and this has been the Hall of Imagination.

Until next time, take care.