Jackson's accuser confronts him in court

The Michael Jackson trial is expected to last six months, but the prosecution put its star witness on the stand after just a week and a half. On Wednesday, Michael Jackson’s young accuser took the stand, locking eyes with the singer for the first time in two years, looking at the defendant with an expression described as a glare (by Reuters) or verging on a sneer (by the Associated Press).

The 15-year-old, whose brother and sister have already testified, discussed how his battle against cancer had led to attention from many celebrities, but Jackson was the one he had thought to be ”the coolest guy in the world, my best friend ever.” That was why, he said, he had spoken glowingly of the singer in Martin Bashir’s 2003 documentary. He said Jackson had coached him to call him ”Daddy” and ”Daddy Michael” and to suggest that Jackson had ”pretty much cured me of cancer.” Actually, the boy said, sickbed visits from such celebs as George Lopez and Chris Tucker had been more beneficial to his health, and that Jackson ”was hardly there during my cancer.”

He testified that, on the night of his first visit to Neverland in 2000, Jackson had invited him and his younger brother to sleep in the star’s bedroom. On the second night, he said, the brothers surfed pornographic websites with Jackson. The accuser has not yet testified about the criminal charges (to which Jackson has pleaded not guilty) — the allegations that Jackson molested him, plied him with alcohol, and prevented him and his family from leaving Neverland in order to extort their appearance in his rebuttal video to Bashir’s report. His testimony was scheduled to continue on Thursday.