It was not possible to broadcast any of that because of an agreement between Jackson and the family. Our legal advice was that we could not broadcast it.
Meaning of the quote
Martin Bashir, a British journalist, could not share certain information on TV because Michael Jackson and his family had an agreement that prevented it. Bashir's legal team advised him that he was not allowed to broadcast this information.
More quotes from Martin Bashir
Press coverage has been difficult for him. I did not set out to ensnare him with a child.
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The Thriller album is still the biggest album of all time. That is still returning huge royalty cheques.
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Each story we approach in the same way, with curiosity and interest and determination to get behind the image.
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Michael Jackson has some contact with his mother. I know she is involved with the children.
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We wanted to make sure that the film covered the main issues of his life. Musicianship, appearance.
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The film was fair to his musical achievement and gave him every opportunity to explain himself.
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It’s terrible. How can we tell the world who the real Michael Jackson is?
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I have an inate curiosity about people.
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It was a challenging experience. I’m looking forward to a break.
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You say he’s childish, but he’s very professional about business transactions.
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I don’t think his life has been in any way disfigured by the film. The film did disclose some difficult facts.
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The first time I ask him, have you had your cheekbones raised, have you had your nose changed? He denied it all. I was asking him to compare his face with what it looked like years ago.
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If somebody’s not prepared to answer the question, you can keep asking.
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The children don’t wear their masks at home and in controlled surroundings.
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It was not possible to broadcast any of that because of an agreement between Jackson and the family. Our legal advice was that we could not broadcast it.
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I never saw anything that would qualify as a criminal activity.
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He was very concerned about his children potentially being kidnapped or attached, and that’s why they were covered up. When he went to Berlin zoo, there were 200 photographers.
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This was almost two hours of factual documentary. In our audience ratings, barely no one left the programme. The whole of his life is so fascinating and people kept watching for that reason.
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