Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe says she Defended him Willingly

Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe turned the tables on prosecution by telling she was never scripted or rehearsed to say positive things about him to rebut a damaging TV documentary.

Prosecutors had called Debbie Rowe to the witness stand as evidence that Jackson and his camp panicked after the broadcast of the documentary, which showed him holding hands with a 13-year-old boy who would later accuse him of molestation, and began a heavy-handed campaign to salvage the singer’s reputation.

But after Debbie’s tearful testimony where she called the pop star “my friend” Wednesday and said she hoped to “reconnect” with him and the two kids she bore for him, prosecution had a hard time bringing their case back on track.

Jackson’s attorneys asked for a mistrial but were turned down by Judge Rodney S. Melville.

Rowe, who sported a conservative black suit, said she didn’t need coaxing when Jackson called and asked for help. She immediately agreed to appear in a TV show to counteract Martin Bashir’s scathing documentary “Living with Michael Jackson.”

“I was excited to see Michael and the children when this was over,” and excited about “possibly reconnecting” with Jackson, she said, adding that the call was the first time they had spoken since their divorce. “I’d promised I’d always be there for him and the children.”

Under repeated pressing by prosecutor Ron Zonen, Rowe refused to say what prosecutors have alleged - that she made the video in exchange for promises of visitation with her daughter, Paris, and son, Prince Michael, who have lived with Jackson since 1999. Rowe made clear she expected that doing the video would lead to more contact with the children, but she would not say this was offered as incentive.

As for the video itself, Rowe said she refused offers to look over questions before it began because she did not want anyone to come back later and accuse her of having been coached - precisely what the prosecution says happened.

“As Mr. Jackson knows, no one can tell me what to say. I speak my mind,” she said.

It was only when Zonen asked whether she had been honest during the video that Rowe provided the prosecution a scrap of what it wanted. After a long pause, she said, “No.” Asked whether she had been dishonest in parts of the interview dealing with Jackson’s parenting, she replied, “Yes.” Court adjourned before Zonen could go into more detail.

Rowe is scheduled to continue her testimony this morning.

Jackson declined to answer questions after the day’s testimony, smiling at a pack of reporters and saying “no comment” before heading to a black SUV waiting to take him back to his Santa Ynez Valley ranch, Neverland.