About Charles...

Michael Jackson

Charles Thomson's knowledge of Michael Jackson is such that the star's brother Jermaine once exclaimed, "He knows more than I do!"

Charles is regarded as one of the world's leading authorities on Michael Jackson - in particular, his 2005 criminal trial. He has written about the star for numerous publications, contributed to two best-selling biographies and been referenced in several others. He has appeared on broadcast media to discuss Jackson in the UK, the USA, France, Australia and New Zealand.

In 2019, he was invited to speak about media treatment of Jackson at an event in Los Angeles, jointly organised by the UCLA School of Law and the USC School of Journalism. Later that year, he was interviewed by documentary filmmaker Danny Wu, who then decided to use Charles's interview as the narration for his documentary Square One. The film went on to become the number one Amazon Prime documentary in the UK, the USA and Canada.

At just 20 years old, Charles began using his network of insider sources to provide Michael Jackson scoops to The Sun. He was the only journalist to be tipped off that the star was about to descend on the UK in 2009 to announce his now infamous 'This Is It' comeback concerts. Using Charles's information, The Sun was able to snap exclusive pictures of Jackson disembarking his private jet at a secluded airstrip in Luton.

Two days later Charles was invited to attend Jackson's press conference at the O2, which would become the star's last ever appearance before an audience. Charles was also present at Jackson's last public performance, at the World Music Awards in London in November 2006.

In the months after the press conference Charles continued to work for The Sun as a Jackson expert. During this time he provided tip-offs and sourced pictures, generating many exclusive stories.

On the night of Jackson's death, Charles was interviewed live on air by Sky News, BBC News 24 and BBC World Service.

In the weeks and months after Jackson's sudden death Charles continued providing stories, pictures and background information to The Sun. Most notably, he instigated a Sun investigation which proved that old demo vocals had been passed off as live vocals in the concert film 'This Is It'. The story cast doubt on organisers' claims that they had no idea Jackson was unwell or using drugs in the lead-up to his death.

Emails leaked years later, after the notorious 'Sony hack', showed the story had set off a panic at the media corporation when bigwigs realised it was true and they could not honestly deny it. It was not until the concert organisers were hauled before a public court, years after the initial Sun story, that the rest of the media would report the truth about the Jackson's health in rehearsals.

It is this willingness to challenge prevailing media narratives about Jackson which have led him to become internationally known for his coverage of the 'King of Pop'. He has consistently challenged distorted and dishonest media coverage of the embattled star.

In a June 2010 article for the Huffington Post, titled 'One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History', Charles revisited the official transcripts of Jackson's trial, then delved into TV and newspaper archives to compare their reportage to the testimony. The result was a scathing attack on the media's shambolic coverage of Jackson's trial.

The piece was acclaimed by Jackson's trial lawyers Thomas Mesereau and Susan Yu, who continue to refer journalists and authors with trial queries to the article. It has been quoted in two highly publicised Jackson biographies - Joe Vogel's 'Man In The Music' and Randall Sullivan's 'Untouchable: The Strange Life And Tragic Death of Michael Jackson'. Jackson biographers Aphrodite Jones and J Randy Taraborrelli - who both attended the trial - have also praised the article and Charles's work on Jackson.

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