Bizarre nicknames Michael Jackson had for teen boys emerge in bombshell documentary
A new documentary has shed light on some of the dark rumours that followed Michael Jackson around at the peak of his fame.
The King of Pop died in 2009 after years of speculation and allegations of sexual abuse involving a number of the children he spent time with.
Along with the assaults, Netflix's newest deep-dive, Michael Jackson: The Verdict, reveals the lewd nicknames he had for the kids in his orbit.
The claims came to light as one of Jackson's former employees sat down for an interview in the three-part docuseries, and shared exactly what he saw.
Advert
Vincent Amen was hired by the star's team as a publicist in 2003 to help with 'damage control' in wake of his disastrous interview with Brit journalist Martin Bashir.
He explained he was fresh out of college and felt 'very excited' about the prospect of working for the King of Pop. His first assignment was 'taking care of the Arvizo family'.
At the time, Jackson was dealing with a boatload of backlash due to his sit down with Bashir.
Take a look at a snippet of the interview here:
While filming Living with Michael Jackson, the 'Billie Jean' singer confessed he allowed children - including cancer survivor Gavin Arvizo - to share his bed with him.
In The Verdict, Bashir recalled how he was left 'absolutely gobsmacked' by Jackson's admission - but 'didn't realise the extent of the bombshell until the [footage was] broadcast'.
The Grammy-winner was under intense scrutiny after the 2003 documentary aired, as PR executive Amen explained that people 'wanted answers' and had began 'questioning Michael's relationships with children'.
He told Netflix viewers that Jackson 'graciously' allowed the Arvizo family to 'weather the storm at Neverland' as Gavin's name continued to hit the headlines.
In the documentary, Amen then produces some polaroids that were taken more than two decades ago, which sported short notes that were addressed to Jackson.
"These photos are from the Ranch," he explained. "I've kept them for the last 20 years."
In the snaps, members of the Arvizo family - including Gavin's mother Janet and his younger brother Star - could be seen striking numerous poses. However, it's the handwritten scrawls they left which caught the attention of Amen.
On the white border of one polaroid that shows Janet grinning as she has her arm around Star, the mother wrote: "Dearest loving Michael, we appreciate you being our family. Family to me, Janet, and Daddy Michael to Gavin.
"What God brings together, no man can undo. We love you."
Another shows Star pulling a funny face - and sports an unnerving message meant for Jackson. It reads: "I love you, my daddy Michael. Your son, Blowhole."
According to Amen, these are the sort of 'nicknames that Michael would give these young boys'.
Star claimed that Jackson became fond of referring to him as 'Blowhole' while taking to the stand at the star's 2005 trial.
Jackson was accused of plying Gavin with alcohol, showing him pornography and molesting him at his Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County, California. He was later acquitted.
A 2005 report by The Washington Post stated that Star, who was 14 at the time, told the court that Jackson dubbed him 'Blowhole', while he nicknamed his brother 'Apple Head' and 'Doo-Doo'.
The Verdict also discusses the video which the Arvizo family appeared in to help Jackson save face after the Bashir interview.
Janet did most of the talking in this and told the world that the singer had 'called them his family', saying: "Gavin was the one that asked him, 'Could I call you daddy?'
"And Michael said, 'Of course'. A very beautiful and innocent relationship which everyone has spun it out of control. To see my children interact with a father role model...he plays with them, he laughs with them, he let's them win."
Speaking to the person operating the camera, the mum then added: "You know how Bashir zoomed in on [Jackson and Gavin] holding hands, do the same thing! Because that's what a mother does with a son, or a father does with a son - and they tried to make it out to be something wrong and dirty."
Amen said that he was present in the room while this shoot took place - and that he felt that Janet's words were 'not scripted'.
"I physically watched and believed her responses to be true, that nothing ever occurred untoward to them, by Michael Jackson," he said - although his opinion later changed.
Criminal defence attorney Mark Geragos, who represented Jackson at his 2005 trial, described the video as 'an insurance policy' in the Netflix documentary.
"This video is an insurance policy, should the Arvizo family make an allegation against Michael," he said. "If someone is on the stand and they say something, you could have a snippet ready on video and show a jury. 'You said that then, and this is now?' And then that forces the witness to have to explain themselves."
Janet later claimed that she and her children had been pressured into making the video by Jackson's camp.
She told the court in 2005 that she was allegedly warned that her family would 'be killed' if they didn't go through with it, according to the BBC.
"I was confused, I was sad, so basically I was acting," Janet said of her role in the video. "I was just like a sponge, believing him, trusting him."
Michael Jackson: The Verdict is available to stream on Netflix now.
Topics: Michael Jackson, US News, Netflix, Documentaries
Olivia Burke