5 claims and courtroom details that make Michael Jackson: The Verdict worth watching

Trigger Warning: Michael Jackson: The Verdict deals with an extremely sensitive topic. Reader discretion is advised.

Just a month after the big-screen Michael Jackson biopic, Netflix has released a three-part docuseries to look into the trial that happened twenty-one years ago. The entire docuseries dropped on the streaming giant this Wednesday, and it has everyone buzzing with some shocking revelations, as cameras were not allowed inside the court.

It should be noted that the big screen biopic ended before the trial, and its third act was famously reshot to exclude references to the singer's scandals to uphold an NDA. This is why Netflix released a documentary this month titled Michael Jackson: The Verdict, which looks into the two-decade-old trial.

"Across three episodes, Michael Jackson: The Verdict lays out the case beat by beat through firsthand accounts of the people who were actually there — jurors, attorneys from both sides, and witnesses whose testimony proved pivotal. Drawing on archival footage, trial notes, and contemporaneous media coverage, the series moves through the investigation, arrest, arguments, and turning points that led to Jackson’s acquittal. The result is a complete historical record of a trial the public never truly got to see."

Major revelations from the Michael Jackson: The Verdict that you may not know about:

Here are some of the major revelations that we learned from Michael Jackson: The Verdict:

Martin Bashir recalls the 2003 documentary

Journalist Martin Bashir had interviewed Jackson for the 2003 documentary Living With Michael Jackson. Now, in the first episode of Michael Jackson: The Verdict, Bashir recalled what went behind the scenes of the twenty-three-year-old documentary, which aired on ITV1.

Bashir revealed to The Verdict team that he and the rest of the Living With Michael Jackson team made the singer comfortable to push him to address the allegations. Instead, the entire team was shocked when Jackson openly confirmed that he shared his bed with young boys. The singer infamously said this:

"Why can't you share your bed? The most loving thing to do is share your bed with someone."

Bashir also revealed that Jackson introduced him to a young boy named Gavin Arvizo. The singer claimed that he healed Arvizo from the latter's cancer. Gavin also later was one of Michael Jackson's accusers in the 2005 trial.

Jackson instructed his lawyer to uncover dirt on the Arvizo family

Michael Jackson Trial - Day 8 - March 9, 2005 - Source: Getty

Brian Oxman, one of the singer's defense attorneys, was shockingly candid in Michael Jackson: The Verdict. In one of the episodes, Oxman reveals that the singer and dancer instructed him to uncover any dirt on the Arvizo family. Oxman recalled in The Verdict:

"That's your job, Brian. Your job is to find out what really happened here. I need to find every skeleton in their closet, dirt on their shoes. You've got to sniff it out."

Ultimately, Oxman found out that the Arvizo family was previously involved in a lawsuit with JCPenney after a contentious exchange with a store security guard. Oxman painted this as evidence that the family was using this trial for financial gain.

Jackson supposedly asked his assistant to order questionable material

Vincent Amen, Jackson's former publicist also dropped another bombshell involving the singer's assistant, Frank Tyson, whom Jackson befriended when the latter was just five years old. Amen revealed that the singer never behaved inappropriately with Tyson and was instead a father figure. During the trial, Tyson was getting rid of his belongings given to him by the singer.

Amen revealed that Frank Tyson once handed him a bag with papers and files, which he recorded as video footage. Amen was shocked to find a magazine of questionable nature. One of the sections of the magazine advertised questionable titles involving kids. This section was circled with a Sharpie. When confronted, Tyson confirmed that Jackson had circled them.

It should be noted that Frank Tyson refused to participate in Netflix's Michael Jackson: The Verdict.

The 2003 police raid

Michael Jackson leaves the Santa Maria County Courthouse in Santa Maria on January 16, 2003, after h - Source: Getty

The media was in a frenzy back in 2003 when the police raided Jackson's property. Diane Dimond, the investigative journalist who reported on the singer's allegations, told Michael Jackson: The Verdict crew that the singer was throwing "wild parties" in a Las Vegas villa. She said:

"There were cigarette burns in the leather couches and chairs, there were food containers everywhere, there were empty liquor bottles on every table. And this is where Michael Jackson had been for several days, entertaining young teenage boys who all spoke German."

J. Randy Taraborrelli's words to Jackson

J. Randy Taraborrelli is Michael Jackson's friend and biographer, who also appeared in the Netflix docuseries. Taraborrelli recalled advising Michael Jackson back in the 1990s that the singer should not be seen with kids after settling with the Chandler family. For those who don't know, the third act of Michael, the biopic which released last month was reshot to scrub off references to the Chandler family case.

Michael Jackson continued to be seen publicly with children despite Taraborrelli's advise back in the 90s.

What was the verdict in the michael jackson trial?

The jury acquited Jackson of all the charges in June 2005, and described Janet Arvizo's testimony as "weak" for the not guilty verdict. One of the jurors justified their not guilty verdict, saying:

"There wasn't a shred of evidence that was able to show us or give us any doubt in voting guilty. It was pretty obvious there was no other way to vote other than not guilty."

Michael Jackson: The Verdict is available via streaming on Netflix.