Documentary-maker Christian Robinson, who was part of Jackson’s inner circle, claims Gavin Arvizo’s mum Janet was the ultimate opportunist and had planned to entrap the controversial King of Pop
Explosive footage of Michael Jackson’s teenage accuser and his family forms part of claims how they were obsessed with money and involved in a plot to bring down the singer. Documentary-maker Christian Robinson, who was part of Jackson’s inner circle, claims Gavin Arvizo’s mum Janet was the ultimate opportunist and had planned to entrap the King of Pop.
Robinson interviewed the Arvizo family in 2003 as part of a “rebuttal video” in the wake of Martin Bashir’s ITV documentary, which revealed how the late singer slept in the same bad as Gavin. The footage, never released at the time, is being shown as part of a new series, Michael Jackson: The Trial, that starts on Channel 4 this week.
Speaking to the Mirror, Robinson says the film raised troubling questions that have haunted him to this day. He adds: “You get a mother who has bad intentions and, ultimately, she’s the one who, in my opinion, was the instigator for the ultimate downfall.”
Robinson was hired by Jackson in 2000 aged 20 and spent most of his time based at the star’s Neverland home. He was present amid the fall-out from Bashir’s Living with Michael Jackson programme. In it, the singer admitted to sharing a bed with Gavin, who was seen holding his hand and resting his head on his shoulder.
Robinson was tasked with helping produce a video to help combat the “nuclear bomb” that had gone off in the Jackson camp. He says: “It was the end of the world… we went into damage control immediately.”
READ MORE: Michael Jackson abuse ‘whitewash’ fury as abandoned Neverland frozen in time
Part of the strategy was to film Gavin, his mother Janet, as well as brother Star, and sister Davellin. Robinson said alarm bells starting ringing when Janet refused to sign release forms to allow filming to start and was stuck to her phone. He alleges: “I assume she was on the phone to lawyers. And I pretty quickly understood there was money involved. She was the ultimate opportunist and used to take advantage of our handler team – they were always driving her around and shopping and doing stuff. People can see the door open to the billion-dollar world and they quickly want as much as they can take.”
The interview eventually begins and Gavin is seen saying: “When I first met Michael, all I thought was he was a loving, kind, humble man, and all he wanted to do was good… he treats me like he’s my father.” Robinson says he believed Gavin to be sincere. But he was less than impressed by Janet, who he described as over the top. She says in the footage: “Michael is an answered prayer to my children and me. Michael is there for us, for all three of them. Every door closed on us… and Michael said, ‘All my doors are open’.”
Robinson said her performance did not ring true and he was worried. Speaking in the documentary, he says: “I had a strong feeling that I didn’t trust Janet, so I am absolutely worried that this is the type of person who might take money to say Michael Jackson molested my kid, because there’s a lot of money in that.”
Gavin told police he had allegedly been abused aged 13, and Jackson was charged with child molestation. In the 2005 trial, Jackson was acquitted of 10 charges of child abuse and false imprisonment. He had faced up to 21 years in jail if found guilty. Robinson says he has theories about why Gavin changed his story.
He believes a key moment was Jackson’s introduction to the Nation Of Islam, which took over security at Neverland, California, and started running some of his business affairs. Robinson claims: “They tore him apart from that family and from his team. I think the family probably understood pretty quickly that things were over, so we can either just live with it being over, or we can take advantage of the situation. I would lean towards the theory it was the last opportunity to be paid.”
The series airs incredible footage depicting the closeness of the relationship between Gavin and Jackson, with them seen walking around the Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos. Jackson was also funding cancer treatment for Gavin, who survived. Robinson says: “Gavin knew he was the luckiest kid in the world that had run into Michael Jackson and they had formed a friendship, and that Michael was helping his family so much.”
Robinson maintains he saw no evidence of impropriety. He says: “I don’t know the science of paedophiles but are they attracted to kids who look like aliens and weigh like 30 pounds less than than they should. Really felt like their friendship was very sincere and real.” But the four-part series features gripping testimony from those who claim they witnessed abuse.
They include Jackson’s personal maid, as well as detectives who said the case against the singer was water-tight. The documentary also airs for the first time a pilot show that Jackson had commissioned with Gavin’s brother Star – who wanted to be a TV presenter. He is seen interviewing people around Neverland.
Robinson claims Jackson was a drug addict and in a vulnerable state when the Arvizos came into his life. He adds: “He seemed medicated more than half the time. And that would always dictate if we were going to have a great day or not.Who wants to film someone who’s medicated and slightly incapacitated.”
Robinson gave evidence at the trial for the defence, and the series also explores how Janet’s testimony was ripped apart. Janet claimed she and her three children were kidnapped, held against their will at Neverland for several weeks, threatened with physical harm and forced to produce Robinson’s videotaped statement. But the defence accused her of being behind a scheme to obtain millions of dollars from Jackson and said she had coached her children to fabricate accusations of sexual abuse.
Janet also admitted lying under oath in a civil suit against department store J.C. Penney, in a case in which she said store guards had assaulted her and her children after stopping them on suspicion of shoplifting. It transpired she got a $152,000 payout but then lied about the settlement to receive welfare benefits.
Janet later pleaded no contest to welfare fraud in a separate case. Despite the continual allegations about child abuse that dogged Jackson up until his death in 2009 aged 50 and his legacy, Robinson insists he believes the singer is innocent. He says: “Nothing has changed with me. I think that as I’ve become more of an adult and now I’m a father of a couple kids.
“I’m much more critical of people who empower substance abuse, and that train wreck continued until his death. I still feel pretty good in my heart that Michael Jackson was a really kind man and a good man at his core. I was only with Michael Jackson for two years. I don’t know what happened those years before. I don’t know what happened those years after and again, I can only speak about my experience and my relationship with the man.”
Robinson adds: “If Michael Jackson was ever guilty of committing horrific acts, I’m a God-fearing man, and I hope he’ll have to answer to that.”
Michael Jackson: The Trial. 9pm, February 4 & 5 on Channel 4
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