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Backing up Jackson

'Home Alone' star Macaulay Culkin testifies that as a child star he had a bond with Jackson, but that the pop star never molested him

BY TINA SUSMAN | STAFF CORRESPONDENT

May 12, 2005

Macaulay Culkin arrives at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse this morning. (AP Photo / May 11, 2005)

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Shortly after the movie "Home Alone" rocketed him to child stardom, actor Macaulay Culkin was drawn into an extraordinarily close friendship with Michael Jackson that included lavish trips, shopping sprees for toys and sharing the pop star's bed, but nothing sexual or inappropriate ever occurred, Culkin testified yesterday in Jackson's child molestation trial.

The 24-year-old actor, looking far younger and appearing affable, comfortable and at times a bit smug, was resolute in his defense of Jackson, saying "no" and "absolutely not" as he was asked repeatedly whether the singer had ever molested him.

Asked about some prosecution witnesses' testimony that he was among the boys Jackson pawed in the early 1990s at his Neverland Valley Ranch, Culkin shook his head and said firmly: "I think they're absolutely ridiculous."

For the defense, it was a day devoted to burnishing Jackson's image. Culkin's appearance was followed by the airing of more than two hours of outtakes from a 2003 interview of Jackson by British journalist Martin Bashir, whose documentary led to the criminal case. Bashir is shown pandering to Jackson, who appears as a sort of man-child with an innocent adoration of animals and youngsters.

Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr.'s intention was to open a window for jurors from this conservative, central California town into the mind of Jackson, 46, and provide them an explanation for why a man his age would prefer the company of young boys and his pet chimpanzee, Bubbles, to adults.

Culkin, who was 9 when "Home Alone" was released in 1990, said Jackson's experiences as a child star gave them an instant bond and made them members of a tiny club of entertainers denied genuine childhoods by the demands put upon them at young ages.

"He kind of called me out of the blue one time and said 'Hey, this is Michael Jackson. I kind of understand what is happening. I'd like to get together and talk,'" Culkin said when asked how he met Jackson in 1990.

Thus began a series of visits to Neverland, along with trips to Florida, Bermuda and London, said Culkin, who under cross-examination shed light on the privileges of rich youth. Asked by prosecutor Ron Zonen about a Rolex watch Jackson gave him when he was 11, Culkin said: "I wasn't a person of limited means. ... It wasn't all that awe-inspiring."

Quizzed about where he slept at Neverland, Culkin insisted he tended to "flop down" wherever he was - in the video arcade, the theater or Jackson's bedroom - and insisted he always fell asleep fully clothed. "Yeah, I've fallen asleep in the same bed as him," he said when pressed by Zonen, refusing to say how many times they shared a bed.

Culkin spoke fondly of his childhood friendship with Jackson, saying one of their favorite activities was to visit a toy store late at night and get a janitor to open the doors so they could go shopping without fans swarming them.

His testimony and the outtakes were seen as defense coups for Jackson, who faces 20 years in prison if convicted.

"Macaulay Culkin perhaps ... could open a window to the jurors to understand Michael Jackson and get inside his head," said Jim Moret, a lawyer who is providing analysis of the trial for the media.

The video outtakes did the same, said legal experts. Among other things, they show Jackson lamenting his lost childhood. "I love blue skies, whiskers on kittens," he says softly.

Strange as he appeared, former Santa Barbara County prosecutor Craig Smith said it was just such behavior that the defense wanted to show to jurors, and it could save them from the risky move of putting Jackson on the stand. "It helps portray him in the light the attorney wants to portray him as - that of a 46-year-old man with the soul of a boy," said Smith.

The Culkin files

Michael Jackson befriended Macaulay Culkin shortly after "Home Alone" made the actor a star. In 1991, Culkin spent his 11th birthday at Jackson's ranch. He

said of Jackson, "He's my best friend. We talk on the phone all

the time, about three times a day."

Culkin "divorced" his father in

1995 in a financial dispute. He married at 18, divorcing in 2000. Last fall, he pleaded not guilty to possessing marijuana and anti-anxiety pills.

Culkin's best-known works include:

The Culkin files"Home Alone," 1990, one of the top-grossing films of all time.

"My Girl," 1991.

"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," 1992.

"The Good Son," 1993. Culkin shows his darker side by playing a young villain.

"Richie Rich," 1994.

"Saved!", 2004.

SOURCES: IMDB.COM, USA TODAY, PR NEWSWIRE