The tabloid Star magazine has challenged musician Michael Jackson to a lie detector “test.” Excerpt:
IS he or isn’t he?
The one question millions of Americans want to ask is whether Michael Jackson is a sexual predator of children. Or is he merely an eccentric 44-year-old entertainer with a fondness for kids bordering on the bizarre?
He has admitted to sleeping in the same bed with young boys but denies any sexual contact with them, despite having settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit involving a 13-year-old kid. So who is the real Michael Jackson and what is the real story?
Star magazine is now giving Jackson the chance to settle this disturbing national debate. We are offering Jackson $1 million to take a lie detector test. If he truthfully answers the “10 Questions America Wants to Ask” in a simple “yes or no” format, he would prove whether he has been unfairly branded a monster.
The questions range from the depth of his involvement with young boys to whether or not he really had sex with Lisa Marie Presley. “This is a bona-fide offer to Michael Jackson,” says Star Editorial Director Tony Frost, who fired off to Jackson a registered letter about the offer. “Once and for all, Michael could put all the rumors and innuendoes to rest.”
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Star has chosen one of the country’s foremost specialists, retired Miami Police Homicide Detective Nelson Andreu. He owns the highly respected Deception Check Polygraph and Investigative Services in Miami. In addition to an impressive list of credentials, Andreu is certified by the Florida court system as a polygrapher of sexual offenders. He has tested hundreds of suspects.
“A polygraph measures the involuntary physiological changes in a person being interviewed,” Andreu explains. “No one can beat it. I’ll be happy to work with Mr. Jackson.”
Passing or failing a lie detector “test” puts nothing to rest: polygraphy is a pseudoscientific fraud that has no diagnostic value. It may, however, have some value as a promotional stunt for sensationalistic publications like Star magazine.