Michael Jackson

=== First child sexual abuse accusations and first marriage (1993–1995) ===
{{Main|1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson}}
In August 1993, Jackson was accused of [[child sexual abuse]] by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his father, Evan Chandler.<ref name="Abuse">{{cite news |title=1993: Michael Jackson accused of child abuse |work=BBC News |date=February 8, 2003 |access-date=May 31, 2015 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/24/newsid_2512000/2512077.stm |archive-date=June 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601070640/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/24/newsid_2512000/2512077.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Jordan said he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, [[masturbation]] and [[oral sex]].{{sfn|Taraborrelli|2009|pp=496–498}} While Jordan's mother initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested him, her position wavered a few days later.<ref>{{cite book |first=Randall |last=Sullivan |author-link=Randall Sullivan |year=2012 |title=Untouchable: The Strange Life & Tragic Death of Michael Jackson |publisher=[[Grove Press]] |chapter=South |isbn=978-0-8021-4582-6 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LUq1EO5e3S0C&pg=PT266 |access-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-date=March 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305111934/https://books.google.com/books?id=LUq1EO5e3S0C&pg=PT266 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Taraborrelli|2009|pp=477–478}} Evan was recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, which Jackson used to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father trying to extort money.{{sfn|Taraborrelli|2009|pp=477–478}} Jackson's older sister La Toya accused him of being a pedophile;{{sfn|Taraborrelli|2009|pp=534–540}} she later retracted this, saying she had been forced into it by her abusive husband.{{sfn|Campbell|1995|pp=28–29}}

Police raided Jackson's home in August and found two legal large-format art books featuring young boys playing, running and swimming in various states of undress.<ref>{{cite news |first=John M. |last=Broder |title=Jackson's Books About Boys Are Allowed as Evidence in Trial |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 30, 2005 |access-date=May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/30/national/30jackson.html |archive-date=July 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707202809/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/30/national/30jackson.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Jackson denied knowing of the books' content and claimed if they were there someone had to send them to him and he did not open them.<ref>{{cite interview |first=Michael |last=Jackson |first2=Lisa Marie |last2=Presley |subject-link2= Lisa Marie Presley |interviewer=[[Diane Sawyer]] |title=Interview |work=[[Primetime (American TV program)|ABC Primetime]] |date=June 19, 1995}}</ref> Jordan Chandler gave police a description of Jackson's genitals. A strip search was made, and the jurors felt the description was not a match.<ref>{{cite news |title=Photos May Contradict Michael's Accuser |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=May 2, 1994 |access-date= April 21, 2019 |url=https://site2.mjeol.com/important-article/jackson-grand-jury-disbanded-1994.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150428133350/https://site2.mjeol.com/important-article/jackson-grand-jury-disbanded-1994.html |archive-date= April 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Ian |last=Halperin |year=2009 |title=Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=978-1-4391-7719-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyaFQdNxU7sC&pg=PT84 |access-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305111949/https://books.google.com/books?id=wyaFQdNxU7sC&pg=PT84#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=John David |last=Ebert |year=2010 |title=Dead Celebrities, Living Icons: Tragedy and Fame in the Age of the Multimedia Superstar |publisher=Praeger |page=201 |isbn=978-0-313-37764-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6TitThCzkkC&pg=PA201 |access-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305111952/https://books.google.com/books?id=g6TitThCzkkC&pg=PA201 |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandlers out of court for a reported total sum of $23 million.<ref>{{cite news |first=Rochelle |last=Steinhaus |title=Jackson settlement from 1993 allegations topped $20 million |publisher=CNN |date=June 16, 2004 |access-date=April 15, 2021 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/16/michael.jackson/ |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915010118/http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/16/michael.jackson/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The police never pressed criminal charges.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jackson's 'past' allowed in court |work=BBC News |date=March 29, 2005 |access-date=April 14, 2019 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4387247.stm |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224133721/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4387247.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.<ref>{{cite news |first=Seth |last=Mydans |title=No Charges for Now Against Michael Jackson |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 22, 1994 |access-date=April 14, 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/22/us/no-charges-for-now-against-michael-jackson.html |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507162934/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/22/us/no-charges-for-now-against-michael-jackson.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Jackson had been taking [[painkiller]]s for his reconstructive scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to cope with the stress of the sexual abuse allegations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Warrant Allows a Strip Search of Jackson |newspaper=[[Deseret News]] |agency=Associated Press |date=November 16, 1993 |access-date= July 21, 2019 |url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/321101/WARRANT-ALLOWS-A-STRIP-SEARCH-OF-JACKSON.html |archive-date= July 16, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190716033938/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/321101/WARRANT-ALLOWS-A-STRIP-SEARCH-OF-JACKSON.html |url-status= dead}}</ref> On November 12, 1993, Jackson canceled the remainder of the Dangerous World Tour due to health problems, stress from the allegations and painkiller addiction. He thanked his close friend [[Elizabeth Taylor]] for support, encouragement and counsel. The end of the tour concluded his sponsorship deal with Pepsi.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Chuck |last1=Philips |first2=Jim |last2=Newton |title=Jackson Ends World Tour, Cites Painkiller Addiction |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=November 13, 1993 |access-date= July 21, 2019 |url=https://www.latimes.com/la-me-jacksontimeline-jackson-cancels-world-tour-story.html |archive-date= April 18, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190418234039/https://www.latimes.com/la-me-jacksontimeline-jackson-cancels-world-tour-story.html}}</ref>

In late 1993, Jackson proposed to [[Lisa Marie Presley]], the daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone.{{sfn|Taraborrelli|2009|pp=518–520}} They married in [[La Vega, Dominican Republic]], in May 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Álvarez Pérez.<ref name="Wed">{{cite magazine |first=Matthew McCann |last=Fenton |title=Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley wed |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=May 30, 2001 |access-date=July 21, 2019 |url=https://ew.com/article/2001/05/30/michael-jackson-and-lisa-marie-presley-wed/ |archive-date=July 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716033949/https://ew.com//article/2001/05/30/michael-jackson-and-lisa-marie-presley-wed/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt to deflect away from Jackson's sexual abuse allegations and jump-start Presley's career as a singer.<ref name="Divorce">{{cite press release |title=She's out of his life |publisher=CNN |date=January 18, 1996 |access-date=May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.cnn.com/US/9601/jacko_presley/ |archive-date=May 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509135242/http://www.cnn.com/US/9601/jacko_presley/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Wed" /> Their marriage ended little more than a year later, and they separated in December 1995.{{sfn|Taraborrelli|2009|pp=580–581}} Presley cited "irreconcilable differences" when filing for divorce the next month and only sought to reclaim her maiden name as her settlement.<ref name="Divorce" /><ref>{{cite news |first=Vincent J. |last=Schodolski |title=After 20 Months, Jackson and Presley Agree to Divorce |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 19, 1996 |access-date=July 21, 2019 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-01-19-9601190213-story.html |archive-date=July 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716070505/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-01-19-9601190213-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After the divorce, Judge Pérez said, "They lasted longer than I thought they would. I gave them a year. They lasted a year and a half."<ref name="Wed" /> Presley later said she and Jackson had attempted to reconcile intermittently for four years following their divorce, and that she had traveled the world to be with him.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 20, 2011 |title=Lisa Marie Presley Opens Up About Michael Jackson |url=http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Lisa-Marie-Presley-Opens-Up-About-Michael-Jackson/print/1 |access-date=May 19, 2022 |website=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120062601/http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Lisa-Marie-Presley-Opens-Up-About-Michael-Jackson/print/1 |archive-date=January 20, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Jackson composed music for the [[Sega Genesis]] video game ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'' (1994), but left the project around the time the sexual abuse allegations surfaced and went uncredited.<ref>{{cite web |first=Ken |last=Horowitz |title=Sega Legends: Michael Jackson & Sonic 3 |work=Sega-16 |date=May 19, 2009 |access-date=March 13, 2021 |url=https://www.sega-16.com/2009/05/sega-legends-michael-jackson-sonic-3/ |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411090027/https://www.sega-16.com/2009/05/sega-legends-michael-jackson-sonic-3/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nightingale |first1=Ed |date=June 23, 2022 |title=Yuji Naka confirms Michael Jackson wrote music for Sonic 3 |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/yuji-naka-confirms-michael-jackson-wrote-music-for-sonic-3 |access-date=June 23, 2022 |website=[[Eurogamer]] |archive-date=June 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623131035/https://www.eurogamer.net/yuji-naka-confirms-michael-jackson-wrote-music-for-sonic-3 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Sega Technical Institute]] director Roger Hector and the ''Sonic'' co-creator [[Naoto Ohshima]] said that Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music reworked following the allegations.<ref name="untoldvol3">{{cite book |last=Szczepaniak |first=John |title=The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers: Volume 3 |publisher=S.M.G Szczepaniak |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-9929260-8-3 |page=292}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Simon |last=Carless |title=Michael Jackson's Secret Sonic 3 Shame |website=[[Game Developer (website)#GameSetWatch|GameSetWatch]] |date=March 27, 2006 |access-date= March 13, 2021 |url=https://www.gamesetwatch.com/2006/03/michael_jacksons_secret_sonic.php |archive-date= May 16, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210516130836/http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2006/03/michael_jacksons_secret_sonic.php |url-status= dead}}</ref> However, Jackson's musical director [[Brad Buxer]] and other members of Jackson's team said Jackson went uncredited because he was unhappy with how the Genesis replicated his music.<ref>{{cite news |first=Todd |last=Van Luling |title=The Michael Jackson Video Game Conspiracy |work=[[HuffPost]] |date=January 25, 2016 |access-date=March 13, 2021 |url=https://testkitchen.huffingtonpost.com/michaeljacksonsonic/#2/ |archive-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314075858/https://testkitchen.huffingtonpost.com/michaeljacksonsonic/#2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>