Santa Maria, Calif.
Lawyers defending pop star Michael Jackson on child molestation charges wrapped up their case this week with a celebrity witness—Tonight Show host Jay Leno. Defense lawyers had hoped Leno would testify that Jackson’s accuser, who was suffering from cancer, had pestered him for money by playing on his sympathy. That would have supported the defense argument that the boy’s mother was a con artist who had cooked up the allegations against Jackson to extort money from him. Leno testified that the boy did contact him and that he became suspicious when the boy effusively praised his show in terms that seemed “a little scripted.” But Leno said the boy didn’t ask for money.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Denmark scraps letters and its iconic red postboxesUnder the Radar Danish posties say ‘farvel’ to 400 years of tradition but can Royal Mail weather the storm?
-
What role will Trump play in the battle over Warner Bros. Discovery?Today’s Big Question Netflix and Paramount fight for the president’s approval
-
‘The menu’s other highlights smack of the surreal’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
