But if she was psychic shouldnt she have known the outcome? lol
""I can't believe it, I'm just so pleased I'm lost for words!'' Uri Geller, Jackson's psychic friend in Britain, told The Associated Press."
Michael Jackson fans across the world rejoice over acquittal
LONDON (AP) - Watching from all corners of the globe, fans and friends of Michael Jackson rejoiced when a California jury on Monday acquitted the pop star of child molestation charges in a trial that has captivated the world.
From the United States to Romania, people tuned into live television coverage, logged onto the Internet and pressed their ears to radios to hear the judge read the not guilty verdict.
But while some were elated with the news, others expressed shock and said that despite the jury's decision they still had doubts about Jackson's innocence.
"I can't believe it, I'm just so pleased I'm lost for words!'' Uri Geller, Jackson's psychic friend in Britain, told The Associated Press.
"I'm trembling, this is so important. He did not let down his fans and all the people that love him.''
Jackson was found innocent of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor, getting the boy drunk and conspiring to imprison his accuser and the boy's family at his estate.
Michael Jackson blows a kiss to his fans as he leaves the Santa Barbara County Courthouse in Santa Maria, Calif., Monday, June 13, 2005. The jury in the Jackson child molestation case found the pop star not guilty on all counts. - APpic by Haraz Ghanbari
"He went through hell and now the nightmare is over,'' Geller said.
As the jury indicated they had reached a decision Monday, British news channels streamed live coverage of the scene outside the court in Santa Maria, California.
Interest stretched to the Middle East, with Arab news channels al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya cutting to live footage as Jackson arrived at the courthouse for the verdict.
"The minutes before the verdict were the most nervous moments of my life. Now, these are the happiest moments of my life,'' said Kent Vilhemsson, 21, watching from Skovde, Sweden.
In Germany, several news channels carried the verdict live, and the top-selling Bild newspaper quickly posted the headline "Acquittal!'' on its Web site.
Martin Stock, the founder a Jackson fan club in Germany who stayed up to watch the outcome, said he was overjoyed, even though he had expected his idol's acquittal.
"The whole trial was laughable, and Michael was treated inhumanely. I think people were trying to throw him into prison to get at his money,'' Stock told the AP.
Stock, a 29-year-old employee at Frankfurt's international airport, was trying to organize a party with others in his 40-member club.
Matt Blank, a spokesman for the British-based fan club Michael Jackson World Network, said the concern of fans was now with Jackson's health.
"We care so deeply for him that his well-being is our 100 percent focus,'' Blank said.
"Sure we'd love another album or a tour, but the most important thing at the moment is his health.''
He's been very frail lately and getting paler and thinner.''
Some viewers were old fans but were jaded by the chain of events.
"I was a tremendous fan of Michael Jackson,'' said Valdeci Pereira, an evangelist preacher in the Dona Marta shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, where Jackson filmed a video in 1996.
"The magic is forgotten. People will never listen to his music the same way again.'' Roberto Bravo, a 33-year-old Chilean, also had mixed feelings, saying: "I hope he now departs to a new phase in his life.''
Elsewhere in Latin America, people were stunned by the verdict.
"It's a mistake. It's incredible,'' said Carlo Gonzales, 31 a part-time bartender and guitarist in a rock band in Lima, Peru, who said he was a Jackson fan until he was 15.
"I realized that he used his image to lure children.''
Marco Antonio Huapaya, a customer at Lima's Polvos Azules market for pirated CDs and DVDs, said he admired Jackson's talent.
"But logically, I have my doubts about him. I hope that he is truly innocent.''
Among people interviewed at a Mexico City record store, reactions ranged from disbelief to satisfaction: "Strange is strange, but it's not illegal,'' said library worker Rogelio Mendez, 35. "I think he's pretty weird, but not a criminal.''
Homemaker Maria Petra, 31, who described herself as a "100 percent'' fan of Jackson's, said "that's not possible'' when told of the verdict. "Everybody knows he's guilty.''
In the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, several women with children said they were shocked.
Brenda del Valle, 35, who has a young daughter, called the verdict "outrageous.''
"As a mother, I think it is not fair to subject that entire family and the boy to that judicial process only to have nothing happen,'' she said.
Unlike some, Gabriela Munoz - a 37-year-old secretary - said she was pleased.
"Thank God. I was praying that they would declare him innocent,'' said Munoz, who was walking with her young son.
"There are people that live to take money from celebrities.''
In Romania, where Jackson is widely popular after staging two huge concerts in 1992 and 1996 and donating a playground to an orphanage in Bucharest, fans were elated.
"It couldn't have been a better verdict, although it was the only verdict they could have come up with,'' said fan Alexandru Ciocodeica.
He and other fans said they were crying with joy.
For many, despite the shocking allegations in the case, the innocent verdict came as no surprise.
Romanian pop star Loredana Groza said, "I expected him to be declared innocent. America defends its idols.''
Emilia Janebris, 25, watched the verdict live on television at a friend's apartment in Stockholm, Sweden.
She has been a Jackson fan since she was 13 and has seen him live six times.
"I think I'm dying, I'm so happy,'' she said, crying uncontrollably. "I'm so happy it's over. I don't want to think about this awful thing anymore.''
Ben Jack'son, a 30-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator who lives in Paris, said he was happy and relieved.
"This has gone on for a year and a half. At last, at last, he is rehabilitated in the eyes of the world!'' he said.
"Everybody thinks he can buy everything with his money. But this victory couldn't be bought with money.''
Jack'son, who declined to give his real name, said demand for his shows has fallen by about half since the start of the trial.
Yann Kervarec of Lille, a 29-year-old Web designer who runs a French fan site, mjfrance.com, was online with other fans in a chat room when the verdict was announced.
"I was listening, and every time they said, 'Not guilty,' I had a bigger smile,'' he said. "We kept writing in capitals on the screen, "NOT GUILTY!!!! It was a virtual cry of joy.'' - AP |
