The men were interviewed exclusively by ABC-TV Good Morning America's correspondent Ashley Banfield, who spent three days with them. Do the men have monetary ulterior motives? Well, GMA did not pay them a cent for the interview. The confidants do claim, however, that they plan on writing a book together to dispel any myths or nasty rumors about a man whom they grew to respect and love.
Here is a small inside peek in to MJ's world as they knew it:
* Even though Jackson was charged in 2005 with child molestation but was later acquitted, all three men adamantly state that Jackson was not a pedophile.
* Jackson was not gay! "Being a man...men know men...and we [were] around him long enough to know...he was a man," Whitfield said. Garcia said, Jackson had "desires of women like we do. He had lovers." The men claim that Jackson had at least two girlfriends. Whitfield said, "In the cars that we had, we had a curtain that covered the back seat...you couldn't see in the back seat. They talked back there...they didn't do nothing out of bounds...you can hear the kissing."
* A voracious reader? An understatement! Jackson loved reading history books and the Wall Street Journal.
* Walmart is America's shopping place and Jackson longed to stroll down its isles.
* Jackson was an "awesome" dad, the guards all agreed emphatically. He loved spending time with his kids. Going to fast food drive-ins was what he loved doing with them. They would order Big Macs or fried chicken. Jackson loved ordering the food himself and would get a kick at the thought, "If only they knew who was placing the order."
* The Jackson kids adored their father and would constantly tell him, "I love you, Daddy." The body guards stated that the children were so very polite, well-mannered, and that they, in fact, were the easiest part of their job.
* Jackson would try to hide the negative tabloid headlines about himself from his children. "Sometimes he would see [the tabloids] and would make them turn around, so the kids wouldn't see them," Whitfield said.
* The entertainer's life was constantly full of stress, and he would on occasion freak out. Whitfield said, "He got so frustrated he threw my cell phone out the window, through the window and broke the glass. And he looked at me and said, "'Bill, you're going to need a new phone."'
* Prior to his death, it had been two years since Jackson had seen his family. According to Whitfield, "They didn't come around much, and when they did, they came unexpected. And we'd say, 'Mr. Jackson, one of your family members is at the gate [and] would like to see you,' and he'd ask, 'Do they have an appointment?'" If Jackson was "being creative" no family member was allowed on the premises.
* There was a family drug intervention for the performer back in 2007. Jackson agreed to only meet with his brothers, according to the bodyguards. But instead of allowing them in to the house, they said Jackson met his brothers outside in the security trailer. Beard and Whitfield said, Jackson seemed "fine" afterward and simply left the trailer and went back to the house.
* The bodyguards were asked if Jackson appeared to be on drugs. "He was intoxicated in some way, but I wouldn't say a problem, no," Garcia said. "Certainly there were times where he gave the appearance that he was probably high on something," Whitfield said. All three men said this would happen "once or twice a month."
* Whitfield, who handled all of Jackson's e-mails and phone calls, claims that the singer was in serious astronomical debt. He primarily owed lawyers millions of dollars. Jackson had declined credit cards. Hotels would evict them. "We were asked to leave hotels, because the credit card on file was denied," Whitfield said.
Here is a small inside peek in to MJ's world as they knew it:
* Even though Jackson was charged in 2005 with child molestation but was later acquitted, all three men adamantly state that Jackson was not a pedophile.
* Jackson was not gay! "Being a man...men know men...and we [were] around him long enough to know...he was a man," Whitfield said. Garcia said, Jackson had "desires of women like we do. He had lovers." The men claim that Jackson had at least two girlfriends. Whitfield said, "In the cars that we had, we had a curtain that covered the back seat...you couldn't see in the back seat. They talked back there...they didn't do nothing out of bounds...you can hear the kissing."
* A voracious reader? An understatement! Jackson loved reading history books and the Wall Street Journal.
* Walmart is America's shopping place and Jackson longed to stroll down its isles.
* Jackson was an "awesome" dad, the guards all agreed emphatically. He loved spending time with his kids. Going to fast food drive-ins was what he loved doing with them. They would order Big Macs or fried chicken. Jackson loved ordering the food himself and would get a kick at the thought, "If only they knew who was placing the order."
* The Jackson kids adored their father and would constantly tell him, "I love you, Daddy." The body guards stated that the children were so very polite, well-mannered, and that they, in fact, were the easiest part of their job.
* Jackson would try to hide the negative tabloid headlines about himself from his children. "Sometimes he would see [the tabloids] and would make them turn around, so the kids wouldn't see them," Whitfield said.
* The entertainer's life was constantly full of stress, and he would on occasion freak out. Whitfield said, "He got so frustrated he threw my cell phone out the window, through the window and broke the glass. And he looked at me and said, "'Bill, you're going to need a new phone."'
* Prior to his death, it had been two years since Jackson had seen his family. According to Whitfield, "They didn't come around much, and when they did, they came unexpected. And we'd say, 'Mr. Jackson, one of your family members is at the gate [and] would like to see you,' and he'd ask, 'Do they have an appointment?'" If Jackson was "being creative" no family member was allowed on the premises.
* There was a family drug intervention for the performer back in 2007. Jackson agreed to only meet with his brothers, according to the bodyguards. But instead of allowing them in to the house, they said Jackson met his brothers outside in the security trailer. Beard and Whitfield said, Jackson seemed "fine" afterward and simply left the trailer and went back to the house.
* The bodyguards were asked if Jackson appeared to be on drugs. "He was intoxicated in some way, but I wouldn't say a problem, no," Garcia said. "Certainly there were times where he gave the appearance that he was probably high on something," Whitfield said. All three men said this would happen "once or twice a month."
* Whitfield, who handled all of Jackson's e-mails and phone calls, claims that the singer was in serious astronomical debt. He primarily owed lawyers millions of dollars. Jackson had declined credit cards. Hotels would evict them. "We were asked to leave hotels, because the credit card on file was denied," Whitfield said.
