Jacksons slam "Jesus juice" claims


AFP - Pop star Michael Jackson's family was "outraged" by what it dismissed as false claims that he plied a boy he is accused of having molested with "Jesus juice": wine in soft drink cans.

The family spoke out after Vanity Fair magazine made a startling new wave of allegations against the star. His legal team is unable to refute damaging press reports because of a strict gag order imposed by a judge.

Jackson family spokesman Firpo Carr told journalists outside the Jackson clan's home in Los Angeles that the allegations in the magazine's March issue were "outrageous, inaccurate and baseless".

"The family is outraged and justifiably so," he said. "We find it curious that this article appears when Michael's legal team cannot, because of a gag order, respond to this irresponsible yellow journalism," he said.

The US magazine alleged that the pop singer seduced boys by giving them cold drink cans filled with white wine, which he dubbed "Jesus juice" and red wine, which he called "Jesus blood".

It quoted lawyers and relatives of the two boys who have accused Jackson of child abuse, one in 1993 and the other last year, frequently using unnamed sources or making claims with no attribution at all.

An article in Vanity Fair by the same author, Maureen Orth, last year made a raft of bizarre accusations against Jackson, including one that he had sought the help of a voodoo witchdoctor to kill enemies, including movie mogul Steven Spielberg.

Carr said Orth was "disingenuous" in her claims that she tried to contact the Jackson family for the article, which also alleged that Jackson had battled alcohol and drugs addiction.

Geraldine Hughes, who wrote a book on the 1993 allegations against Jackson, which were settled out of court for a reported $US25 million ($A32.89 million), told reporters that the new charges against him were "copy-cat".

The 1993 claims were "more of a media trial and this case is nothing more than a copy-cat ... an extortion scheme", she said outside the Jackson house.

Jackson has been charged with abusing a 13-year-old cancer patient, charges which he has strongly denied and which are expected to go to trial later this year.

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Half of a set :halo: