Pop star Michael Jackson again declared yesterday that he is innocent of child molestation charges and suggested he's the victim of a conspiracy involving the valuable music copyrights he owns.
For strength in the face of the criminal charges, he looks to the stories of oppressed black men, including South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, Jackson said.
"Please be patient and be with me and believe in me, because I am completely, completely innocent," Jackson said to his fans in an often-sympathetic live radio interview conducted by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson. "But please know a lot of conspiracy is going on as we speak."
Jesse Jackson in a subsequent interview pointed out that Michael Jackson has repeatedly declared his innocence.
"I have no contrary information," said the civil rights leader, who has known Jackson for 36 years. "So far, the proof seems to be lacking."
"Mandela's story has given me a lot of strength, what he has gone through," the pop star said in the interview. Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, was released from prison by his white apartheid oppressors in 1990 after spending 27 years behind bars for his political beliefs.
Jackson, 46, is on trial in Santa Barbara County, Calif., on charges that he molested a 13-year-old former cancer patient. He is also accused of plying the boy with wine and holding his family captive to force it to speak out against a British documentary, Living With Michael Jackson.
Jackson was filmed holding hands with his accuser in the documentary, which also includes Jackson's statement that he shared his bed with children for nonsexual reasons.
The interview came a day before Judge Rodney Melville is set to conduct a hearing on whether to admit past sexual-abuse claims against Jackson to show a pattern of allegations of abuse. According to Dateline NBC, in 1990 Jackson paid $2 million to a young boy who accused him of molestation. Melville will consider how much evidence related to that boys' claims can be admitted at trial.
During the radio interview, Jackson did not discuss details of the allegations against him, noting a gag order issued by the court. But Jackson suggested that he is the innocent victim of a conspiracy against a successful African-American.
"I know in my heart, and in my experiences in life, I am totally innocent," he said. "It's very painful, but this has kind of been a pattern among black luminaries in this country."
