Pajama Party

Michael Jackson arrived about an hour and forty minutes late to court today after being rushed to the hospital early in the morning for severe back pain. Judge Rodney Melville did not accept this excuse and issued a warrant for Jackson's arrest stating he would also revoke his $3 million dollar bail if he did not show up within the hour. Jackson arrived about 3 minutes past the judge's deadline wearing pajama bottoms and sandals. He appeared very disheveled and had to walk with the help of his bodyguard and father, Joseph. It is unknown what punishment he will face for this infraction.

I feel this is a pretty despicable media stunt for Jackson to pull, however it is very smart from a defensive standpoint. Jackson's 15-year old accuser was scheduled to take the stand today and had been anticipated to go into detail about the alleged instances in which Jackson molested him. Spokeswoman for Jackson, Raymone Bain, stated that "[Michael] knows the seriousness of this. He’s not play-acting", although the timing of this event is highly suspect.

By using this stratagem Jackson successfully assured that the top headline of today's news stories would be about how he was suffering from a supposed back injury and not about testimony from a molested victim. There won't be a single news program tonight that does not show the footage of Jackson shambling up to the courthouse in his pajamas.

I think it's an underhanded trick, but I have to admire its brilliance. This type of distraction is exactly what Michael and his lawyers want in order to draw our attention away from the accusations against him. Ultimately it won't change the outcome of the case, but it will allow Jackson to avoid further humiliation [today] by burying his accusers testimony under a pile of pajamas, figuratively speaking.