EXCLUSIVE: Michael Jackson Astonishingly Defended by Bodyguard Amid Fresh Horrifying Child Abuse Allegations — 'He Was Just Too Trusting'

Michael Jackson has been defended by his former bodyguard as the singer's estate faces fresh accusations he was a serial pedophile, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Matt Fiddes, 46, served as the late King of Pop's minder and recalled how Jackson – who died at the age of 50 in June 2009 from a drug overdose – frequently put his faith in the "wrong" circle and said "people would get in his ear."

Fiddes said on the Stripping Off with Matt Haycox podcast: "He was the creator of his own destiny, but he was very bad at trusting the wrong people. In the 10 years I knew him he must have gone through about 12 different managers, some of them very good and some very bad.

"People would get in his ear, the latest friend, the latest family member. People would get in his ear, and people would get pushed out, even myself. I found myself pushed out at some points."

Fiddes added Jackson leant on doctors who were only interested in taking advantage of his wealth. He also admitted the singer became hooked on painkillers after he was left with second-degree burns to his scalp while filming a Pepsi advert at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in January 1984.

He added, "The biggest issue he had was the doctors. There was always a doctor. I remember one time I went into a bathroom of a hotel, downstairs, Michael's hotel, and I could overhear a doctor talking to a Michael Jackson fan, and the doctor was basically doing a $13,000 deal to introduce the fan to Michael in the hotel suite. I couldn't believe my ears.

"If you go back to Michael with that, you'd better hope he believes you, because otherwise he'll shut you out and he'll be stuck with some doctor. This is the issue he had. The doctors had a way of hooking Michael in with the medication, making him depend on it."

Fiddes' comments backing Jackson come as the tormented performer's apparent fixation on children and the murky realities of life inside Neverland are resurfacing in stomach-churning detail with the broadcast of Michael Jackson: The Trial – a four-part documentary that revisits the singer's 2005 criminal case and exposes audio recordings many viewers are only now hearing.

Radar can reveal the shocking series, which aired this week in the UK, revisits the 2005 California trial in which Jackson faced charges of alleged child molestation, supplying a minor with alcohol, and false imprisonment.

Jackson was acquitted on all counts. The program arrives just weeks before the theatrical release of Michael, a $155million biopic about the late pop star, co-produced by John Branca, Jackson's longtime attorney, who has predicted the film could rival the success of Bohemian Rhapsody.

But Channel 4's new documentary on his tormented star client focuses squarely on the allegations and the culture surrounding Jackson's infamous Neverland Ranch.

Central to the documentary are audio recordings of conversations between Jackson and his self-described spiritual adviser, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, taped between 2000 and 2001.

In one recording included in the series, Jackson says: "If you told me right now, 'Michael, you can never see another child,' I would kill myself... I have nothing else to live for."

A source said, "Hearing those words in Michael's own voice in 2026 now hits very hard. It underscores the depth of his emotional dependency on children and why so many people still find this story so disturbing."

The insider added: "The documentary does not retry the Jackson case, but it forces viewers to confront the atmosphere and the behavior described at the time."

The episodes track Jackson's relationship with Gavin Arvizo, now 32, who first met the singer as a 10-year-old cancer patient visiting Neverland. Two years after appearing alongside Jackson in a 2003 television documentary in which the Beat It hitmaker admitted hosting sleepovers with children, Arvizo became the prosecution's key witness.

Prosecutors alleged inappropriate conduct, while Jackson denied wrongdoing and was acquitted. Archival footage revisits the so-called "trial of the century," which unfolded in Santa Maria, California, amid a frenzy of media and fans.

Former sheriff's deputies and trial attorneys also describe raids on Neverland, including the discovery of adult material in Jackson's bedroom. The documentary revisits claims of locked rooms, mannequins scattered across the ranch, and a theme park-like environment that blurred fantasy and reality.

Vincent Amen, Jackson's former publicist, has now declared: "I absolutely believe that Michael Jackson is guilty of child abuse."

Others interviewed in the series describe a world of extreme infantilization. Christian Robinson, Jackson's former personal videographer, says in archive footage: "The only time I've seen Michael happy was playing, when he was surrounded by kids."

Another source close to the production said: "What continues to unsettle people is the glaring disconnect between the persona Michael Jackson carefully cultivated – this fragile, childlike figure who claimed he was simply reclaiming a stolen youth – and the immense influence and authority he actually possessed as one of the most powerful entertainers on the planet. He was not just an eccentric pop star; he was a global brand with vast wealth, devoted followers, and unparalleled access. "