In 1993, Evan Chandler, a dentist and screenwriter based in Los Angeles, accused the American singer Michael Jackson of sexually abusing his 13-year-old son, Jordan Chandler. Jackson had befriended Jordan after renting a vehicle from Jordan's stepfather. Though Evan initially encouraged the friendship, he confronted his ex-wife, who had custody of Jordan, with suspicions that the relationship was inappropriate. Jordan initially said Jackson had not acted inappropriately, but later supported his father's allegations.
In August 1993, Chandler demanded money from Jackson, threatening to go to a criminal court, but no agreement was reached. After Jordan told a psychiatrist that Jackson had molested him, the Los Angeles Police Department began a criminal investigation. The investigation found no physical evidence against Jackson. As the second leg of Jackson's Dangerous World Tour began, news of the allegations broke and received worldwide media attention. Jackson canceled the remainder of the tour, citing health problems arising from the scandal. Jackson's sister La Toya Jackson spoke out against Jackson, but produced no evidence and withdrew the accusation, saying she had been forced to make it by her husband.
In September 1993, the Chandlers filed a lawsuit against Jackson. They and Jackson reached a financial settlement in January 1994; Jackson and his legal team stressed that this was not an admission of guilt. In September 1994, the investigation closed after the Chandlers declined to cooperate, leaving the case without its main witness.
The allegations damaged Jackson's public image, health, and commercial standing. Several of his endorsement deals were canceled, including his decade-long Pepsi endorsement. Further allegations of abuse by Jackson led to the People v. Jackson trial in 2005, in which Jackson was acquitted.
Background
In May 1992, Michael Jackson's car broke down in Los Angeles and was towed to Rent-a-Wreck, which was owned by David Schwartz. Schwartz contacted his wife, June Chandler-Schwartz, who arrived with her twelve-year-old son, Jordan Chandler. Jordan was already a fan of Jackson and had briefly met him as a young child. Jackson and Jordan subsequently became friends, and Jackson invited Jordan, June, and Jordan's stepsister Lily to spend time at Neverland Ranch and accompany him on several trips.
The following year, Jackson became a frequent visitor at the Chandler family home. According to June Chandler's testimony at Jackson's 2005 trial, he regularly telephoned Jordan, visited the family in Santa Monica, and shared Jordan's bed at their home on about thirty nights. June also testified that, during a trip to Las Vegas, Jackson repeatedly asked to let Jordan sleep in his bed. After she initially refused, Jackson insisted that there was "nothing wrong" with the arrangement and eventually she relented. According to The Guardian, June later testified that she was given a gold Cartier bracelet in return the next day.
In May 1993, Jackson invited June, Jordan, and Lily to accompany him to Monaco for the World Music Awards. After they returned to the United States, the National Enquirer published a story titled "Michael's New Adopted Family", featuring photographs of Jackson with the Chandlers. According to biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, the publicity alarmed Jordan's father, Evan Chandler, who believed the relationship had become too close and feared that the attention could make his son a target for kidnappers.
According to Randall Sullivan, Evan initially encouraged Jackson's friendship with Jordan and even invited him to stay at his home. Jackson spent five days there and shared a bedroom with Jordan and his younger half-brother. Evan later said that this visit was when he first became suspicious of possible sexual misconduct, although he acknowledged that he never witnessed any sexual activity and never saw Jackson or Jordan unclothed. By the end of June 1993, Evan had become increasingly concerned about the relationship.
When June Chandler and her son Jordie had planned to accompany Michael Jackson on his upcoming tour, which was scheduled to last about five months beginning in autumn 1993, Evan Chandler opposed this plan. On July 8, 1993, David Schwartz, Jordan's stepfather, secretly recorded a conversation with Evan Chandler. In it, Chandler discussed the consequences he intended to bring about if his demands were not met, stating, among other things: "It will be a bloodbath if I don't get what I want" and "Michael's career will be over". An agreement was subsequently reached between the two families' lawyers allowing Evan to have Jordie with him for a week. June initially agreed to this arrangement but ultimately decided not to hand her son over to his father; instead, she left with Jordie and her daughter Lily for Neverland to celebrate Lily's birthday. While they were stopping at Michael Milken's estate, a heated telephone argument broke out between Michael Jackson and his private investigator, Anthony Pellicano, regarding this decision, as Pellicano had promised the father he would return the child. Witnessing Jackson's unexpected anger, June decided not to go to Neverland with the two children and returned to Los Angeles. Evan obtained temporary custody of the child in July, and contact between Jackson and Jordan thus came to an end.
Allegations
On July 12, Evan Chandler persuaded his former wife, June Chandler, to sign a stipulation barring Jordan from any direct or indirect contact or communication with Michael Jackson. Under the agreement, June relinquished legal custody of Jordan and could visit him only on the condition that he have no contact with Jackson. The stipulation was subsequently filed with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kenneth A. Black. June later withdrew from the agreement, saying that she had signed it only because Evan had threatened not to return their son otherwise. Court records described the dispute over Jordan’s custody as stemming at least in part from Evan’s objections to his son’s relationship with Jackson.
On July 16 1993, Jordan Chandler had dental surgery to remove a baby tooth and, under sedation, he disclosed to his father that Michael Jackson had touched his penis. The drug was administered by dental anesthesiologist Mark Torbiner and, according to Diane Dimond, Torbiner's records show that Robinul and Vistaril were administered.
On August 4, Evan and Jordan met Jackson and Pellicano in a Los Angeles hotel room. According to Pellicano’s later account, Evan read from a letter in which a therapist discussed hypothetical contacts between an adult and a child in relation to child-molestation laws. Pellicano said that the dispute subsequently became tied to a proposed film-development arrangement worth $20 million, consisting of four $5-million projects.
On August 5, Pellicano met Evan and Barry Rothman, Evan’s attorney, for approximately half an hour. Pellicano said he proposed a single film-development deal instead. The following day, August 6, he told Rothman by telephone that such a deal would ordinarily be worth about $350,000. According to Pellicano, Rothman informed him on August 17 that Evan had rejected the proposal. The Los Angeles Times noted that Pellicano produced no recordings or other documentation corroborating his account of these negotiations.
By August 17, Superior Court Judge Kenneth A. Black had voided the July custody arrangement and ordered Evan to return Jordan to his mother, June. That day, Jordan underwent an approximately three-hour interview with Mathis Abrams, a Los Angeles psychiatrist. Abrams reported the allegations to authorities, and the Los Angeles Police Department opened a criminal investigation. Jordan was also interviewed that day by LAPD officers and a county social worker. Case files later obtained by the Los Angeles Times stated that Jordan had difficulty recalling specific times and dates of the alleged incidents, but described him as consistent in his account.
Investigation On August 18, the Los Angeles Police Department's Sexually Exploited Child Unit began a criminal investigation into Jackson. June Chandler-Schwartz initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested her son; however, her position wavered a few days later. On August 21, a search warrant was issued for Neverland Ranch.
On August 24, the day the allegations were made public, Jackson began the third leg of his Dangerous World Tour in Bangkok. That day, Anthony Pellicano held a press conference accusing Chandler of trying to extort $20 million from Jackson. He did not mention that Jackson had made several counter-offers. The Jackson family also held a press conference, saying it was their "unequivocal belief" that Michael was a victim of extortion. On August 26, Jackson's promoters released an audiotape of him apologizing to his fans for cancelling his second show in two days.
On August 31, the attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference stating she had been retained on behalf of the Chandlers, and implied a civil suit against Jackson would be made. On September 10, Allred said that she was off the case, without saying why. On September 13, the Chandlers hired Larry R. Feldman, the former president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
On October 6, 1993, Jordan Chandler underwent a psychiatric interview with Dr. Richard Gardner in New York. Gardner had formulated parental alienation syndrome (PAS) in 1985, a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes. Jordan gave his account of what happened between him and Jackson in May 1993, during their trip to Monaco for the World Music Awards. On November 8, police searched the Jackson family home, Hayvenhurst.
The Schwartzes gave the tape of Chandler's July conversation with Schwartz to the authorities, who leaked it to the press. The recorded conversation was a critical aspect of Jackson's defense against the allegations made against him. Jackson and his supporters argued that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort Jackson. The tape was publicly released by Pellicano, after edits had been made.
Testimony from other children During the 1993 investigation, police examined Jackson’s relationships with several boys. Investigators questioned a group of boys identified by the accuser —reportedly four boys, including the child actor Macaulay Culkin — all of whom denied any inappropriate behavior by Jackson and stated that no improper conduct had occurred. Brett Barnes, 11, was questioned by investigators at Neverland, while later reporting identifies Wade Robson, 10, as another potential victim located by investigators. On August 25–27, 1993, Barnes and Robson publicly denied any sexual misconduct despite acknowledging that they had shared Jackson’s bed; later reporting states that these appearances were arranged by Jackson’s private investigator Anthony Pellicano. Robson repeated his denial under oath at Jackson’s 2005 trial, but on May 16, 2013, he reversed his account and alleged that Jackson had sexually abused him. Robson said that during the 1993 investigation Jackson called him daily and role-played/rehearsed how he should respond, warning him that disclosure would send them both to prison.