The 48th Session — Macauley Culkin Testifies in Court
Macauley Culkin, the star of the film “Home Alone,” took the witness stand today and said that during his visits to Neverland in the 1990s, Michael Jackson never sexually abused him.
Previously, one of Michael’s former maids had testified in court that she saw Michael while sexually abusing Macauley.
Macauley, who entered the courtroom through the back entrance to escape photographers and reporters, appeared very comfortable and calm during his 90-minute testimony and answered questions clearly and directly. Macauley Culkin, 24 years old and also the godfather of two of Michael’s three children, rejected Michael’s actions and said that Michael had never touched him in an inappropriate way.
Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau asked him:
“Did Mr. Jackson ever sexually abuse you?”
Culkin replied, “Never.”
Mesereau asked, “Did he ever touch you in an improper way?”
“Of course not.”
“Did he ever touch you in a sexual way?”
This time too, Culkin’s answer was no.
Mesereau continued:
“Did you have any reason to suspect that Mr. Jackson might have actually sexually abused you?”
“No, absolutely not.”
Culkin said that several times, when he was between 10 and 14 years old, he slept in Michael’s bed with Michael and sometimes with a few other boys. But he said this was only because they fell asleep while playing in Michael’s room, and their overnight stay at Michael’s home was not planned in advance.
He said he remembered falling asleep in different parts of Neverland while playing and while wearing his clothes.
When the prosecutor asked whether it was possible that while he was asleep, Michael might have abused him, he answered:
“I highly doubt it. I think I would have been able to tell if something like that was happening to me.”
He also said he had never seen Michael behave inappropriately with adults or other children, and he called Michael’s allegations “ridiculous.”
He said that around the age of 10, he had developed a close friendship with Michael because he understood the emotional pressure caused by his childhood fame.
He continued that he had never heard anything about the allegations made about him and Michael from the prosecutor. The only time he learned about it was when he followed the news about Michael’s trial through television, and he heard that his name was among the names of five boys whom the prosecution claims were sexually abused by Michael in the 1990s.
“Someone told me to watch CNN news because they were talking about me. I really couldn’t believe it. It was shocking to me that no one had talked to me about it and no one had asked whether these allegations were true or not.”
Prosecutor Ron Zonen said that they had tried several times to contact him, but without success. Culkin, in response, said he was completely unaware of this.
When the prosecutor asked Culkin about magazines containing pictures of nude boys that had been obtained from Michael’s home, he said:
“When I was 12 or 13, I kept some of these magazines under my bed.”
Macauley Culkin himself has also been involved in a drug trafficking case. Last September, Oklahoma police found about 15 grams of marijuana and several pills in the car in which he was traveling. Culkin has denied these charges. His case will be heard in court next month.
Source: CNN / Santa Maria News / CBC / AP