Michael Jackson 'truth serum' bombshell: One of singer's child accusers vanished in 2009... now a shock new theory about a dentist chair confession emerges

There is a moment in the trailer for Michael - the upcoming biopic of Michael Jackson's life - that is as fleeting as it is telling. A young Jackson is sitting in a recording studio, writing the lyrics for Billie Jean.

In a black felt tip pen he scrawls the words: 'The lie becomes the truth.' He underlines 'the truth.' As gimmicks go, it's not subtle.

The divisive film, plagued by production problems, has been overseen by the Jackson estate and stars Jackson's nephew Jaafar in the title role. Oscar-nominated Colman Domingo plays Joe Jackson, Michael's father, and Top Gun star Miles Teller takes on the role of his manager and lawyer, John Branca. Branca retains control of the estate to this day.

Many who have seen the script have condemned it as a brazen hagiography, calling it a 'complete whitewash' and 'an out-and-out attempt to completely rewrite history.' Its critics include director Dan Reed whose 2019 documentary, Leaving Neverland, focused on Wade Robson and James Safechuck, both of whom alleged the singer sexually abused them as minors.

Jackson denied the claims during his life time and his estate has repeatedly denied them after his death - all lawsuits brought against them by the men were dismissed.

Yet moviegoers appear unconcerned: on Thursday industry website Deadline reported that advance ticket sales, ahead of the April 24 opening, suggested a box office taking of between $55 million and $60 million, which would break Bohemian Rhapsody's $50 million record for a musical biopic.

In reality, the truth about Jackson's life will probably never be known. But investigative journalist Ian Halperin, who spent years among the Jackson entourage, and with the singer himself, has a startling theory about a key aspect.

Halperin told the Daily Mail that he is convinced the first Jackson accuser, Jordan Chandler, was drugged by his father and infected with false memories.

Halperin does not believe Jordan was sexually abused by Jackson but does believe that Jordan suffered at the hands of his own father, who Halperin claims manipulated his son in a bid to make money out of the millionaire musical icon.

Halperin's best-selling 2009 book Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson has been updated, and on April 21 will be republished to coincide with the release of the movie.

In this new edition, the Canadian journalist publishes for the first time the transcript of an interview a clinical professor of child psychiatry, carried out in October 1993 with the then 13-year-old Jordan.

Jackson entered the Chandlers' lives in May 1992, when his car broke down and he entered a rental agency in Los Angeles owned by David Schwartz, Jordie's stepfather.

Schwartz called his wife, June Chandler, to come and meet the singer, and June handed Jackson her son's phone number, explaining that the boy was a massive fan. Jackson began having long phone conversations with Jordie and the family started spending time with him.

But Jordie then told Dr Richard Gardner, considered one of America's leading authorities on false child abuse claims, that Jackson had sexually abused him from April 1993.

Jordie, as he was known, said Jackson kissed him and gave him oral sex and that they masturbated each other. 

The teenager said that if he told Jackson he didn't like it, Jackson, 34 at the time, would begin to cry and accuse Jordie of not really loving him.

Gardner, who died in 2003 aged 72, concluded that Jordie had been sexually abused by the singer.

But he did not know, and was not told, that Evan Chandler, Jordie's father, had given his son the sedative, sodium amytal, on July 12, 1993 - a drug known colloquially as a 'truth serum.'

Halperin notes that the barbiturate, developed for insomnia and anxiety in the 1920s and classed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a hypnotic, is rarely used for dental procedures as it was in Jordie's case.

The author also cites multiple lawsuits where it was concluded that sodium amytal was administered to enable to implantation of false memories.

'A lot of people have spewed that theory, about the sodium amytal, and I'm certainly not discounting it,' said Halperin. 'I've heard from very close people to the case that there was substance to it.'

Chandler was a Beverly Hills dentist and aspiring screenwriter who leant on Jackson for Hollywood contacts and was angered when Jackson began to distance himself from his demands.

Chandler would later claim that he was growing suspicious about Jackson's closeness to his son. By late June the older man had hired a lawyer, Barry Rothman, to explore a possible case against Jackson.

At this point, Jordie was apparently not claiming anything untoward had ever happened with the singer. 

But on that July day, Jordie complained of a toothache, so Chandler administered sodium amytal to pull the tooth out.

Halperin said: 'I believe he was brainwashing his son,' pointing to the use of sodium amytal.

He describes how, after his tooth was removed, a woozy Jordie was asked by his father whether Jackson had ever touched his penis. Jordie replied: 'Yes.'

Halperin said: 'The father was very sleazy, very money-oriented. He dictated the narrative of how this would be played out. He was calling the shots.'

According to Halperin, the dentist's chair 'confession' set off a chain of events.

Chandler never went to the police, but instead, according to Halperin, arranged to meet Jackson's representatives and on August 9, 1993, demanded that Jackson buy four screenplays from him at a total cost of $20 million.

Jackson's team were outraged at the 'extortion,' Halperin writes, and refused to pay.

On August 16, Chandler spoke to a child psychiatrist and told him he believed Jackson had abused his son.

The psychiatrist then, as per his legal duty, informed the Los Angeles department of children and family services, which launched the criminal case.

A trial was set for March 1994, but at the end of January 1994 a settlement had already been reached.

Halperin writes in the book that he obtained a court document confirming the sum of $15,331,250 to be held in trust for Jordie until he reached the age of majority, plus $1.5 million for each of his parents, and millions of dollars in legal fees.

Halperin is convinced that Jackson was not guilty and only settled the case because his insurance company demanded it.

In his book he describes unearthing a 2005 memo from Jackson's lawyer, Tom Mesereau, stating: 'The [1994] settlement agreement was for global claims of negligence, and the lawsuit was defended by Mr Jackson's insurance carrier. The insurance carrier negotiated and paid the settlement, over the protests of Mr Jackson and his personal legal counsel.'

Why would a man worth half a billion dollars not fight charges so horrific they would tarnish his legacy forever?

'He couldn't afford to fight the case,' said Halperin. 'I know that sounds crazy. But he didn't have access to the liquid cash that most people thought he did.

'Michael was a big spender and no matter how much he made, he lived above his means. His manager and one of his best friends, Frank DiLeo, told me that no matter how much Michael made, he spent double.'

Halperin added: 'The other thing was he was exhausted and he didn't want to keep being in the limelight for this. He wanted to continue producing art, his music, and he wanted to get into film. So, he just wanted this to go away.'

Of course, it did not go away.

In February 2005, eleven years after settling with the Chandlers in January 1994, Jackson went on trial accused of molesting Gavin Arvizo, a 13-year-old boy who had first come to public attention when he was seen holding hands with the singer in journalist Martin Bashir's February 2003 documentary, Living with Michael Jackson.

After a trial lasting almost five months and amid frenzied media coverage the jury found Jackson not guilty.

But even that did not end the story, nor did the haunted and humiliated Jackson's death in 2009. He was 50 years old.

One of the defense witnesses in the Arvizo case, Wade Robson, recanted his testimony and in 2013 launched his own case against Jackson's estate.

Robson was joined in his case by James Safechuck, and the pair featured in the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland.

A trial has been set for November this year; the two men are seeking $400 million in damages.

Jackson's estate has denied all allegations, stating: 'The lawsuit has no merit and Michael is innocent.'

And of course, before the trial will come the film - certain to revive the debate.

But it is unlikely that the family that started it all will play any part in it.

Jordie's father died by suicide at his New Jersey home in November 2009, having been diagnosed with cancer.

Jordan and his mother have kept an extremely low profile since they signed that 1994 agreement: Jordan was spotted in 2009 skiing in Lake Tahoe, but that was the last confirmed sighting. His mother June has vanished.

Halperin writes: 'I started my investigation convinced that Jackson was guilty. By the end, I no longer believed that. I could not find a single shred of evidence suggesting that Jackson has molested a child.

'In contrast, I found significant evidence demonstrating that most, if not all, of his accusers lacked any credibility. They were motivated primarily by financial considerations.

'Jackson himself, however, also deserved much of the blame. He may or may not have been a criminal, but his behavior throughout both cases - continuing to sleep with children even after the suspicions surfaced - bordered on criminal stupidity, even if he called such suspicions "ignorant."'