US: Comedian Jay Leno took the witness stand in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial yesterday and told of "suspicious" telephone calls from the singer's accuser.
The host of The Tonight Show, the top-rated US late-night TV show, said he received the calls on his answering machine in 2000.
Leno said he found them to be excessively flattering coming from a young boy suffering from cancer, adding that they seemed to be scripted.
"The voicemails were, 'Oh, I'm a big fan, you're the greatest.' They were overly effusive for a 10-year-old," Leno said. "It seemed a little bit unusual. I'm a comedian in my mid-50s. I'm not Batman."
Leno's testimony came as Jackson's lawyers prepared to rest their case after weeks of testimony intended to portray the mother of Jackson's accuser as a swindler who routinely flattered celebrities, targeted them for money and coached her son to lie about 2003 molestation charges.
"It sounded suspicious just when you have a young person who is so effusive," Leno said.
Leno said he phoned children in hospital seven or eight times a week, the calls being arranged by charities such as Make a Wish.
He recalled the one conversation he did have with Jackson's accuser, a recovering cancer patient, saying: "I believe I spoke to [the boy]. I think I spoke possibly to his brother, and I think I spoke to his mother."
Jackson is charged with molesting the boy, then 13, at Neverland Valley Ranch in February or March 2003, plying him with alcohol and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He faces more than two decades in prison if convicted.
On cross-examination by the prosecution, Leno said he had never been asked for money by the mother of the boy.
"No one ever asked me for anything and I'm sure of that because if they had I would have said something," he said.
Leno, wearing a dark suit with a small American flag pin, appeared relaxed during his 30 minutes on the witness stand.
But he could not resist getting a plug in for his show.
After the judge excused him, he remained in his seat for a few seconds and then told the packed court room: "We have Renee Zellweger on the show tonight," referring to the star of the Bridget Jones movies.
On Monday night's show Leno had joked about his court appearance. "As you may have heard, I'll be testifying tomorrow at the Michael Jackson trial . . . I was called by the defence, so apparently they've never seen this programme." Leno famously parodied Jackson after the singer came late to court wearing a dark suit jacket and pyjamas. Leno introduced his show wearing a similar outfit.
In March Jackson's lawyers asked the judge presiding over the case to ban Leno from making further jokes about the case, particularly as he was going to be called as a witness. But the judge ruled that as an entertainer Leno was not bound by the the gag order that silenced other participants in the trial.
Jackson's defence was expected to rest its case after calling actor Chris Tucker, a close friend of Jackson's who befriended the accuser and his family after meeting them at a Hollywood comedy camp.
Tucker, who starred in the Rush Hour movies, supported the boy through his cancer and was present during some of the key events in the case.
After the defence rests, prosecutors were expected to present a brief rebuttal case, clearing the way for closing arguments as early as next week.