Michael Jackson’s theme park home Neverland was no fairytale – that much we already knew.
But Ross Kemp’s exposé revealed the musical megastar to be guilty of animal cruelty in a gripping, occasionally bizarre, documentary.
Despite the clunky title – Searching For Michael Jackson’s Zoo With Ross Kemp – Wednesday’s ITV film saw Kemp charge around the US on a fascinating wild animal chase with some big questions to ask.
Ross’s investigation took him to the northern Arizona desert, Utah and Florida, as it became apparent that the fate of some of Jackson’s former pets is shrouded in mystery, scandal or tragedy.
Jackson, who died in 2009 amid allegations of sexual abuse, kept a massive collection of exotic wild animals, with more than 50 species including giraffes, elephants and tigers. The original Tiger King.
Hearing Jackson’s simpering voice on a clip – “I can relate to animals a lot better than I can to humans” – was a reminder of his image as an animal lover. Not so.
We were told he sold off animals to a couple who mistreated them, abandoned his animals when he left Neverland without paying the vet bills and shipped creatures elsewhere when he no longer wanted them.
Primatologist Jane Goodall said that Jackson even told her – with a smile on his face – that Bubbles, his famous, apparently beloved, pet chimp, was hit when he did something wrong.
Jane, who visited Neverland, said: “The conditions were terrible.
“There were two dressed-up chimps kept separately who came out to be photographed. There was a poor little bear in a circular cage crying – it shouldn’t have left its mother. The whole situation was horrendous.”
Other stories from Neverland included a parrot eaten by a boa constrictor, a llama savaged to death by a dog and a giraffe killed when a barn door apparently swung round and broke its neck.
Neverland sounded more like the Tower of Terror at this point.
The story became stranger and more tragic by the minute as Ross searched for two former of Jackson’s giraffes, Princess and Annie Sue.
We discovered they had died, while other animals seemed to have vanished.
Ross did a great job of not only exposing the appalling trend for keeping exotic animals as pets, but also labelling Jackson as the fuel.
Animal rights campaigner Carole Davis said: “He was the world’s greatest influencer before influencers.”
It seemed Jackson treated animals as playthings – easily replaceable, disposable, with new ones always there to collect.
Another dark mark against the legacy of a man we all thought we knew.
