In the summer of 1993, Michael Jackson was at the peak of his powers. The Dangerous World Tour was underway. He was the most famous entertainer alive. And somewhere in Los Angeles, a Beverly Hills dentist named Evan Chandler was on the phone with his ex-wife’s husband, saying things that would eventually shake the entire music world to its foundation.
WHAT EVAN CHANDLER DID NOT KNOW WAS THAT THE CALL WAS BEING RECORDED.
Dave Schwartz, Jordan’s stepfather, taped the conversation and handed it directly to Michael Jackson’s private investigator Anthony Pellicano the following day.
The secret phone call exposed
The contents of that recording are what many MJ fans consider the most important piece of evidence in the entire story of the 1993 allegations.
Because on that tape, Evan Chandler does not sound like a worried father. He sounds like a man with a plan.
He talks about hiring the nastiest lawyer he could find and giving him full authority to destroy people. He talks about how he will get everything he wants.
HE SAYS MICHAEL’S CAREER WILL BE OVER AND HE WILL BE HUMILIATED BEYOND HIS WORST NIGHTMARES.
THEN HE SAYS IT DIRECTLY. “HE WILL NOT SELL ONE MORE RECORD.”
When Schwartz asked how all of this would affect Jordan, Evan’s answer was four words.
It’s irrelevant to me.
Here is what makes those words so significant. This conversation took place on July 8, 1993. Jordan Chandler had not yet made any accusation against Michael Jackson. The formal allegations did not come until weeks later, after Evan had taken sole custody of his son and administered sodium amytal during a dental procedure.
THE SEQUENCE MATTERS. THE PLAN TO DESTROY MICHAEL JACKSON WAS ALREADY IN MOTION BEFORE ANY ALLEGATION OF ABUSE WAS EVER MADE TO AUTHORITIES.
For those who want to go deeper into how this phone call fits into the full picture of the 1993 case, the documentary Square One reconstructs the entire timeline in an order the public was never shown during the media frenzy of that era.
The Square One trailer — the documentary that digs deeper.
Evan Chandler never testified at the 2005 criminal trial. He refused to cooperate with prosecutors. Jordan also refused to participate. Michael Jackson was acquitted on all fourteen charges.
The movie Square One follows the money, examines the people behind the accusations, and asks the questions mainstream journalism never bothered to ask.
In 2009, the same year Michael died, Evan Chandler took his own life.
THE TAPE STILL EXISTS. THE WORDS ON IT HAVE NEVER CHANGED. And for millions of people who have spent decades trying to understand what really happened in 1993, those four words about Jordan remain the loudest thing on the entire recording.