Comedian testifies in Jackson case

A comedian who befriended Michael Jackson's young accuser has said that in early 2003 she got a "very disturbing" phone call …

A comedian who befriended Michael Jackson's young accuser has said that in early 2003 she got a "very disturbing" phone call from the boy's frightened mother that sounded as if she and her children were being held against their will.

Louise Palanker, who gave the family $20,000 while the boy was being treated for cancer, told jurors that she received the call days after a damaging television documentary about Jackson was broadcast in February of 2003.

In the documentary the 46-year-old pop star was seen holding hands with the youth, who was then 13, and defending his practice of sleeping with young boys at his Neverland Valley Ranch.

The self-styled "King of Pop", whose dazed and apparently fragile condition on Monday again sparked speculation about his mental and physical health, appeared in somewhat better spirits on Tuesday.

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He walked into court slowly but without the shaky, shuffling gait that marked Monday's late arrival. A bailiff provided him with pillows for what has been described as a back injury and helped him ease into his seat.

Palanker, a comedian and writer who met Jackson's young accuser at a 1999 Hollywood "comedy camp" for underprivileged kids, testified that after watching the documentary she tried unsuccessfully to contact his family.

A few days later she got a frightened call from the boy's mother who said that she was in trouble.

"She was extremely agitated. She was almost whispering. She may have been crying at some points in the conversation. She was very frightened," Palanker said under questioning by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss.