Network To Air Jackson's Version Of Documentary
Jackson Had Own Crew Shoot Footage Of Bashir Interviews
POSTED: 12:00 p.m. EST February 12, 2003
UPDATED: 11:57 a.m. EST February 13, 2003
The video that Michael Jackson's camera crew took during the controversial documentary with Martin Bashir has found a home.
The Fox network will run a two-hour special tentatively titled "Michael Jackson, Take Two: The Interview They Wouldn't Show You" later this month.
The video is a rebuttal to the Bashir documentary "Living With Michael Jackson," which drew 27 million viewers when it aired on ABC last week.
The self-proclaimed "King of Pop" said in a statement issued by publicists in London Sunday that he was preparing to show a video that features footage his own cameraman shot during the eight-month period Bashir (pictured with Jackson, right) shot the documentary.
In the documentary, Bashir expressed concern about the way Jackson treated his children.
The program also caused controversy because Jackson said he sometimes lets children other than his sleep in his bed.
But in relation to Jackson's version of the documentary, the publicists said, "The film shows extraordinary scenes of Martin Bashir praising the way Michael treats children and commenting on how good a father he is."
In excerpts release Thursday by Jackson, Bashir tells him "your relationship with your children is spectacular." He says it almost
makes him "weep" when he sees how loving Jackson is with his kids.
"I am bewildered at the length to which people will go to portray me so negatively," Jackson said in the statement Sunday. "I will say again that I have never, and would never, harm a child. It sickens me that people have written things that portray me as a child abuser."
Granada, the television company behind the documentary, defended its show in a statement last week that said, "There has been no distortion, misrepresentation or breach of trust. Martin Bashir agreed with Michael that we'd make an honest film about his life and we've fulfilled that promise."
In response to the documentary last week, Jackson's attorneys filed complaints with Britain's Independent Television Commission and the Broadcasting Standards Commission.
In a press statement issued Thursday by his London representative, Stephen Lock, Jackson said he felt "betrayed" by Bashir. In the BSC complaint, Jackson said he had no warning about Bashir's intent to interview him about a 1993 incident, where Jackson reached a financial settlement with a boy who accused the pop star of molestation.
Jackson also said his own children weren't filmed properly and he wasn't allowed to see the documentary before it was broadcast, as promised.
The Fox network will run a two-hour special tentatively titled "Michael Jackson, Take Two: The Interview They Wouldn't Show You" later this month.
The video is a rebuttal to the Bashir documentary "Living With Michael Jackson," which drew 27 million viewers when it aired on ABC last week.
The self-proclaimed "King of Pop" said in a statement issued by publicists in London Sunday that he was preparing to show a video that features footage his own cameraman shot during the eight-month period Bashir (pictured with Jackson, right) shot the documentary.
In the documentary, Bashir expressed concern about the way Jackson treated his children.
The program also caused controversy because Jackson said he sometimes lets children other than his sleep in his bed.
But in relation to Jackson's version of the documentary, the publicists said, "The film shows extraordinary scenes of Martin Bashir praising the way Michael treats children and commenting on how good a father he is."
In excerpts release Thursday by Jackson, Bashir tells him "your relationship with your children is spectacular." He says it almost
makes him "weep" when he sees how loving Jackson is with his kids.
"I am bewildered at the length to which people will go to portray me so negatively," Jackson said in the statement Sunday. "I will say again that I have never, and would never, harm a child. It sickens me that people have written things that portray me as a child abuser."
Granada, the television company behind the documentary, defended its show in a statement last week that said, "There has been no distortion, misrepresentation or breach of trust. Martin Bashir agreed with Michael that we'd make an honest film about his life and we've fulfilled that promise."
In response to the documentary last week, Jackson's attorneys filed complaints with Britain's Independent Television Commission and the Broadcasting Standards Commission.
In a press statement issued Thursday by his London representative, Stephen Lock, Jackson said he felt "betrayed" by Bashir. In the BSC complaint, Jackson said he had no warning about Bashir's intent to interview him about a 1993 incident, where Jackson reached a financial settlement with a boy who accused the pop star of molestation.
Jackson also said his own children weren't filmed properly and he wasn't allowed to see the documentary before it was broadcast, as promised.
Copyright 2003 by Lifewhile.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
