Michael Jackson dabbed his eyes in court today as he watched a video in which his young accuser remembers asking if he could call him daddy.
Jurors were shown a film which 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo and his family were allegedly forced to make as a rebuttal to British journalist Martin Bashir's controversial documentary.
The family can be seen laughing and joking as they heap praise on the singer, repeatedly using the same words to describe him as a humble, funny and fatherly man.
"Gavin was the one who asked him, 'Can I call you daddy?' and he said 'Of course," the boy's mother, Janet Arvizo said.
Her youngest son Star, now 14, later adds: "He actually seemed more fatherly than like our biological father."
Gavin's sister Davellin, 18, has told Santa Maria court, California, they spent hours filming the video and were given strict instructions about what to say.
She said it was recorded in the dead of night two weeks after Bashir's documentary Living With Michael Jacksonaired in the US.
It was that show which triggered the child molestation trial.
Returning to the witness stand for a second day, she said Jackson "would be constantly hugging and kissing (Gavin) on the cheek or the head."
The rebuttal footage was taken shortly before the alleged molestation and when Jackson was allegedly plying Gavin Arvizo with alcohol and conspiring to hold him and his family captive. Jackson, 46, denies the charges.
The family's compliments are positively gushing and Janet Arvizo can be seen interrupting others several times to praise the singer. "He claimed these three little munchkins as his kids," she said, adding that the negative media reports about Jackson broke her heart.
Jackson's mother, Katherine, also wiped away tears as the family talked about how wonderful he was.
The footage shows Gavin recalling his first visit to Neverland and how he asked Jackson if he could sleep in his room. He said he and Jackson argued about who would sleep on the bed and who would sleep on the floor.
"He told me you sleep on the bed... Michael finally said, 'OK, if you love me you'll sleep on the bed,"' he said. Janet Arvizo laughs, interrupting: "That's so unfair."
Davellin has told the court the family was suddenly whisked to Miami and ordered not to watch Bashir's documentary when it aired in the US.
She said after the broadcast two of Jackson's associates had warned the family death threats had been made against them.
They later spent hours filming the rebuttal and were given pieces of paper with words and phrases telling them what to say, she claimed.
The trial continues.
PA