Miley Cyrus Concert -- The Show Must Go On...

1. Blogger Calls Out the Media on Its Bias With the Evan Chandler Suicide
A blogger named Charles Thomson has noticed the straight up media bias within the Evan Chandler mess, and he's not happy.

Check it:

When it emerged yesterday that two weeks go Evan Chandler, father of Jordan Chandler, shot himself in the head, few tears were shed despite the media's best efforts to eulogise him.

Most media outlets are touting Chandler as 'the father of the boy who accused Jackson of child molestation'. Wrong. Chandler was the father who accused Jackson of molesting his son.

The initial allegations against Jackson were made not by Jordy Chandler but by his father Evan, in spite of Jordy's insistence that Jackson never touched him inappropriately, a stance that the boy maintained for several months.

Relations between the boy's father and Jackson had soured in early 1993 when Evan asked the popstar to build him a house and Jackson politely declined. A failed screenwriter, Chandler contacted Jackson shortly afterwards and asked him to negotiate three scriptwriting deals on his behalf. If Jackson did not comply, he said, he would accuse him of molesting his son. Jackson didn't comply - and the rest is history.

As revealed by Mary Fischer in her 1994 GQ article 'Was Michael Jackson Framed?' - Jordan Chandler only claimed to have been molested by Jackson after Evan - a dentist by trade - plied him with a mind-bending drug called sodium amytal, which is known to induce false memory syndrome.

Even once Jordan Chandler began to toe his father's line, his testimony was so unconvincing that DA Tom Sneddon took his case to three separate grand juries and none of them allowed him to bring charges against Michael Jackson. Contrary to widely reported myth, Jordan Chandler did not accurately describe Jackson's genitals. Among other inaccuracies, he claimed that Jackson was circumcised while police photographs proved that he was not.

Unsurprisingly, none of this information has made its way into the mainstream media's reportage of Evan Chandler's death. Instead, Chandler's suicide is seen as another opportunity to sling mud at Michael Jackson and perpetuate the same, tired old myths about the 1993 allegations - particularly with regard to the settlement.

News outlets the world over are once more reporting that in 1994 Jackson paid the Chandlers a settlement. This is total fiction.

Court documents from the time state clearly that Jackson's insurance carrier "negotiated and paid the settlement over the protests of Mr Jackson and his personal legal counsel."

Jackson didn't even agree with the settlement, let alone pay it.

Amongst the publications that rehashed this age old nonsense was The Sun, to which I often contribute as a Michael Jackson expert. I was contacted yesterday and asked to provide information about Evan Chandler and the 1993 allegations, which I did. However, none of my information was used - most likely because it reflected too well on Jackson. Myths that imply Jackson's guilt are evidently more important than truths which exonerate him.

Noticing that The Sun's article on Chandler's suicide contained several factual inaccuracies (most promintently that Jordy initiated the claims of molestation and that Jackson paid the family a settlement) I contacted two members of staff at the newspaper - my usual contact and the journalist who wrote the article. Neither email was replied and the article was not changed.

Elsewhere, The Mirror ranked several places higher on the adbsurdity scale as it attempted to portray Chandler as a martyr of some kind. 'Michael Jackson sex case dad Evan Chandler wanted justice but ended up destroyed', read the headline.

Justice?

If Evan Chandler had wanted justice, why did he contact Jackson and ask for a three-movie script deal before he went to the police? If he wanted justice, why did he accept a settlement from Jackson's insurance carrier?

Indeed, the settlement included a clause which stated that accepting the payment in lieu of a civil trial would not affect the family's ability to testify in a criminal case. So if Evan Chandler wanted justice, why didn't he allow the police to press ahead with their investigation?

The headline, along with much of the article, is nonsense.

Having taken Jackson's insurance carrier for just under $15million (not the $20million usually alluded to by the press), in 1996 Evan Chandler tried to sue Jackson for a further $60million after claiming that the star's album HIStory was a breach of the settlement's confidentiality clause. In addition to trying to sue Jackson, Chandler requested that the court allow him to produce a rebuttal album called EVANstory.

Yes, really.

So the man who The Mirror claims only 'wanted justice' thought that the best course of action after the initial media storm died down would be to release an album of music about the supposed abuse of his pre-pubescent son.

The Mirror alluded to the fact that relations between Jordan and his parents were strained after 1993, but laid the blame at Jackson's door, claiming that the trauma of the case had driven them apart.

In actuality, Jordan Chandler went to court when he was 16 and gained legal emancipation from both of his parents. When called to appear at Jackson's 2005 trial, he refused to testify against his former friend. Had he taken the stand, Jackson's legal team had a number of witnesses who were prepared to testify that Jordan - who now lives in Long Island under an assumed name - had told them in recent years that he hated his parents for what they made him say in 1993, and that Michael Jackson had never touched him.

The evidence surrounding the 1993 allegations overwhelmingly supports Michael Jackson's innocence. It is for this reason that during the lengthy investigation, which continued for many months before Jackson's insurance carrier negotiated a settlement, Michael Jackson was never arrested and he was never charged with any crime.

The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that Evan Chandler masterminded the allegations as a money making scheme, believing it would help him to achieve his dream of working in Hollywood. Tape recorded telephone conversations heard him dismiss the boy's wellbeing as 'irrelevant' and claim that he was out to take Jackson for all he was worth. (Click here for Mary Fischer's GQ article, which contains transcripts of the telephone calls.)

Mary Fischer's evidence shows that as well as falsifying the sexual abuse of his own son in an elaborate extortion plot, when Jordan refused to play along Evan plied him with mind-altering drugs in a bid to trick him into believing that he was molested.

But even drugging a child as part of an extortion plot wasn't Evan Chandler's lowest point. That came when he petitioned the court to allow him to release an album of music about the supposed sexual abuse of his own son.

If Evan Chandler wanted justice, he got it two weeks ago.

As for the media, this latest incident cements once more the industry's almost total unwillingness to report fairly or accurately on Michael Jackson, particularly on the bogus allegations of sexual abuse that were levelled against him. None of the aforementioned information and evidence was included in any article about Chandler's suicide that I have read so far, despite the fact that I personally delivered it to at least one newspaper which has repeatedly paid me as a Jackson expert on other stories.

Exculpatory facts are overlooked in favour of salacious myths. A black humanitarian is tarred as a paedophile and his white extortionist is painted as a martyr.

As for Jordy Chandler, maybe with his father gone he will find the courage to do the honourable thing. Perhaps he will surface somewhere and tell the world what he's been telling his friends for over a decade now - that Michael Jackson never laid a finger on him. Until then, I suspect he will live with the same torment that it seems eventually claimed his father, suspiciously soon after the demise of the biggest victim in all of this; Michael Jackson.

Posted at 12:24PM on Nov 20th 2009 by MediaBiasMuch

2. Chef Kooky- how about some great Thanksgiving Day dinner recipes? I could use a few new good ideas for dinner this year...Thanks and keep those good recipes coming!!

Posted at 12:34PM on Nov 20th 2009 by h

3. Another darn if you do or darn if you don't moment for Miley. Play the concert; incur wrath of bloggers that she's selfish and insensitive to those killed and injured. Don't play the concert, upset fans in Greensboro who could care less about the injured or dead. She's gotta move forward with the concert; she has no choice, otherwise, what is she and Liam going to do on the bus for such a long period of time. I wonder how many cans of mace Trish is packing on the bus while they are traveling together. Hey, Miley...read how much you admire him, so sensitive to your needs and all in Tybee. Question...if he is such a stand up guy, why did he wait till after the movie was wrapped to go back and break up with his girlfriend of 5 years? What a man of ahem "character"!

Posted at 12:42PM on Nov 20th 2009 by Justin

4. That would suck to die while working for Miley. I'd rather die working at McDonald's....just sayin'

Posted at 12:44PM on Nov 20th 2009 by Nicole

5. do you really expect this indulged little twit to care about anyone else??

Posted at 12:48PM on Nov 20th 2009 by someones mom

6. @ #4 or dana,,, only because you have no class.. go eat your BIG MAC.. fat azz.. loser

Posted at 12:54PM on Nov 20th 2009 by bambam

7. I'm blind, my bad,, last comment aimed at #5 by NICOLE.. My seeing eye dog told me #4 its all his fault.. blame the dog.. Brian

Posted at 12:57PM on Nov 20th 2009 by bambam

8. Come on people would you expect anything less from this spoiled little rich girl? She doesn't care about her fans just the money and fame. She has the rare brain farts of compassion and brings a special kid on stage and sings to them, but I think that is just for show. A man has lost his life and she says "the show must go on"? Poor thing, I guess her upbringing only taught one thing. money money money. My thoughts and prayers go out to these people and their family.

Posted at 1:01PM on Nov 20th 2009 by Nicole

9. WHAT A SOUL-LESS LITTLE SLUT..

Posted at 1:04PM on Nov 20th 2009 by BILLY RAY CYRUS

10. So, it IS true then...Miley Cyrus's music DOES kill !!

Posted at 1:09PM on Nov 20th 2009 by BigTinyLittle

11. I understand he was listening to her music at the time and felt compelled to drive off the road and kill himself.

Posted at 1:12PM on Nov 20th 2009 by Ulic.

12. I would just like to point out that Disney has NEVER allowed someone dying inside of one of the parks or as part of one of their propriety shows to stop the show from going on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Disney_parks

Hose the ride down and keep it moving!

Posted at 1:32PM on Nov 20th 2009 by Sono

13. I love the ignorance posted here, as if she actually has a choice on canceling the concert. Helllooooo, can you say breech of contract, secondly, id rather be a miley fan then a taylor swift fan. that petty spoiled brat is suing bars for playing her music for kareokee, LAME!! Im sure there will be a mention of the life that was lost @ her concert tonite, if you morons would care to crawl out from under your rocks and check in. I love how people either dont or cant read the story correctly. Lets focus for a second on this comment "TMZ spoke with an employee at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex" So Miley was NEVER quoted in this story, pull your heads out of your butts and pay attention.

Posted at 1:20PM on Nov 20th 2009 by Danielle

14. TMZs!
Missing be you my comment!
Worry you not!! LUCKY IS YOU BE!!
got a copy for you!!!


Miley O'Cyrus is a musical be-of! IT'S A REGATA!!!
She plays music with guitar, with keyboard, with a banjo (A BANJO!!!)
All these are are broken into tiny pieces and put together back; made
better with glue, a tape, a string AND THAT'S NO STIGATA!!!
IT'S CHIBATA!!!
When be of a stage she plays a notes with her song THEN THAT, AND
BAH!!
IT SOUNDS REALLY GOOD!!! YOU BETTER KNOW IT!!!
IT'S A TALENT OF A MUSIC!!!
THAT'S A CHEETAH!!
NO!!
IT'S A CHEETAH CHIBATA!!!

Posted at 1:48PM on Nov 20th 2009 by Labian Quitoris

15. miley, you underage tramp. have some respect for the person that worked for you. and cancel the concert tonight. OH WAIT I FORGOT. YOU NARCISSISTIC WABBABE SKANK. YOU HAVE NO CONSCIOUS. AND CERTAINLY NO FEELINGS OF REMORSE ESPECIALLY AFTER YOU POSED HALF WAY NUDE AND THEN YOU AND DADDY BLAMED IT ON ANNIE LIEBOWITZ. YOUR PATHETIC. I BET YOUR GOING TO FREIGN A MOMENT OF SILENCE. THE WHORE THE REST OF YOUR ACT. IS YOUR STRIPPER POLE IN PLACE ON THE STAGE.

Posted at 1:53PM on Nov 20th 2009 by leigh