Michael Jackson: The King of Pop

(40 Photos)

Kimberly Potts on Aug 18, 2009 at 8:17PM

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Headed for Disaster

After the Oprah interview, it was mostly downhill for Jackson, as he was slapped with claims that tarnished his reputation to a degree that it has never fully recovered. He had befriended a teenage male fan and the boy's family, and, after it became public knowledge that Jackson hosted sleepovers with children at his Neverland Ranch, the teen's father accused Jackson of having engaged in sexual acts with his son. The charges were made public, and Jackson responded publicly after the boy gave police a description of Jackson's genitals in an effort to prove the claims were true. Jackson's sister LaToya weighed in publicly that she believed her brother was a pedophile, Jackson became addicted to several drugs while dealing with the stress of the accusations and eventually, despite the fact that police couldn't prove the charges were true, Jackson settled out of court with the boy and his family in early 1994, in what was reportedly a total payment of more than $20 million.