Michael Jackson-Access Hollywood-23 Juin 2024
Transcript
00:00in October and he'll be going on tour pretty soon, he says.
00:02Alright, well June 25th marks the 15th anniversary of Michael Jackson's passing
00:08and one of the symbols of Michael's celebrity was his beloved Neverland Ranch.
00:12Yeah, but after the ranch was raided during the investigation of child sexual abuse charges,
00:16Michael vowed never to return.
00:18The home and its grounds soon showed signs of neglect and we saw that first hand.
00:24Access Hollywood takes you over Neverland Ranch then and now.
00:302008, three years after Michael left Neverland for good following his acquittal of child sexual abuse charges,
00:41Access correspondent Tony Potts flew over the grounds that were a mere shadow of its former self.
00:47It seems like it's abandoned, it seems like it was a dream that has somehow faded into memory
00:53and it will never be the same again.
00:55Rundown amusement rides, an algae filled pool, abandoned grounds where giraffes, elephants and lions once roamed.
01:02It's very eerie to be here now as opposed to when I was here a couple years ago when Michael was actually here.
01:07Welcome to Neverland.
01:09That was December 2004 when Michael opened up Neverland to the press
01:13as he welcomed disadvantaged children from LA to a Christmas party.
01:17We were not allowed inside the main house but access was granted in 2009 just weeks after Michael's passing.
01:23All right, welcome exclusively inside Michael Jackson's home.
01:26Up the stairs and inside the door is open. Let's go.
01:29All right, inside the door we'll make a right. First place we're going to go, Michael's bedroom.
01:32These are the double doors that lead in, down the stairs and here is the master bedroom.
01:41Michael first fell in love with what was then called Sycamore Valley Ranch in 1983
01:46when Paul McCartney was staying there as he and Michael shot the music video for their song Say, Say, Say.
01:52Michael then bought the 2,700 acre ranch in 1988 for $17 million
01:58and renamed it Neverland after the fantasy island from Peter Pan.
02:02You have the kitchen here which is absolutely huge, just a beautiful kitchen.
02:06Dining room and the other dining table was over here as well.
02:10The main house is sprawling with 33 rooms and some mysterious spots like one off of Michael's private closet.
02:16Check out this. It goes virtually forever.
02:19In here, in here and you can go and there's a small door that goes this way into somewhere else
02:27which is a very small place. I think maybe, not sure what was in here.
02:31Off to another bedroom is this room which is interesting because look, it's a soundproof door.
02:37Listen to the sound. It's fantastic in here.
02:40And now we go to Disneyland or what Michael recreated to look like Disneyland, the famous train station.
02:47Now inside the train station is quite remarkable.
02:49A huge bank of monitors and also probably pastries and things like that for people waiting to get on the train.
02:54A fully functioning train station.
02:56And beside the pool, an ice cream cart given to Michael by a very special friend.
03:00What's important about that? It's a gift from Elizabeth Taylor.
03:04But Neverland has been partially restored.
03:07Scenes from the upcoming Michael biopic have been shot there.
03:09That's right. And moving on now to the new Disney...