Michael Jackson‘s mother, Katherine, has come out swinging against her son’s accusers.
In her foreword to “Never Can Say Goodbye,” Mrs. Jackson makes pointed reference to the father of Jordan Chandler, the 13 year old boy who in 1993-94 received a $20 million settlement from Michael after accusations of child abuse.
Mrs. Jackson writes: “Most of what I’ve read or heard about Michael in the media was not the truth–especially the allegations of child abuse.
“Evan Chandler, the father of Michael’s first accuser, recently committed suicide. Though I can’t comment on why, I want to believe his conscience finally caught up with him and he was not able to live with himself after destroying an innocent person’s career and breaking his spirit.
“Michael loved children and he worked diligently and passionately to better the lives of the less fortunate–the last thing he would do is harm an innocent child.”
Mrs. Jackson observes: “Michael often saw the good in people and trusted many in the early part of his career, sometimes leading to pain and betrayal in his life.”
By the way, Mrs. Jackson’s business partner and publisher, Howard Mann, tells me that he has made no deal with website TMZ.com to republish pictures from the book. He says they just copied them and put them up without permission. They are low resolution and stamped with TMZ’s logo.