Chase the Truth: Matt Fiddes Edition
Aug 20, 2019
Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth was released on August 13th across various online platforms including Amazon Video, YouTube, and Google Play, among others.
Directed by Jordan Hill and published by Entertain Me, the anti-Leaving Neverland documentary unsurprisingly portrays James Safechuck and Wade Robson as compulsive liars who fabricated false molestation claims for financial gain.
The documentary features a small group of Jackson’s close acquaintances who claim to know the truth, despite never being in the same room as James or Wade during the periods they allege abuse by Jackson in the 1980s and 1990s. Additionally, it includes insights from Mike Smallcombe, a Jackson biographer, who has aggressively promoted his Neverland train station findings to various UK and international tabloids, without addressing the complexities of child sex abuse or inconsistencies by genuine survivors.
Among those interviewed by Jordan Hill is Jackson’s former "bodyguard" and martial arts "expert" Matt Fiddes. Fiddes, who previously made claims about the possibility of being the biological father of Blanket shortly after Jackson’s death, has faced criticism within the Michael Jackson fan community. Websites dedicated to examining Fiddes alleged friendship and association with Jackson point out that he was only the "umbrella boy" when Jackson was invited by Uri Geller to Exeter City Football Club.
In reality, Matt Fiddes was never a licensed bodyguard, nor did he receive payment or a formal contract from Jackson or any agency. He was a friend/business partner of Uri Geller, with whom he had previously collaborated on a fitness DVD. Essentially, his presence with Jackson at Exeter City Football Club and in parts of London in June, 2002 was solely due to his association with the celebrity spoon bender.
Moving away from fan/cult websites, there is considerable evidence indicating that Matt Fiddes is both an eccentric and dubious individual. On October 19, 1999, in Barnstaple, he organized a Black Belt Academy extravaganza where a "special guest" arrived in a white stretch limousine accompanied by 10 bodyguards. This special guest was a Jackson impersonator who performed several routines to the amazed crowd. Fiddes, who would have been around 20 at the time, orchestrated the entire event, demonstrating his enthusiasm for Jackson.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk
In 2008, Fiddes was involved in a Channel 4 program titled "The Jacksons Are Coming," which followed Tito Jackson and his family as they searched for a home in Devon, with Fiddes serving as a tour guide.
Subsequently, Fiddes launched a peculiar legal case against Channel 4, accusing them of fabricating the entire program. Unsurprisingly, the case failed, and Fiddes did not receive any compensation.
Julian Bellamy, the head of Channel 4, stated:
"Channel 4 is delighted that this unmeritorious claim has been discontinued. This case illustrates the chilling effect that exorbitant legal costs in CFA-funded libel claims can have on broadcasters' freedom of expression. The claim was flawed from the outset and it is a damning indictment of the current libel system in the UK that the claimant has been allowed to tie up the court's valuable time and the defendant's resources for so long."
He added:
"To be crystal clear... we are not paying Mr Fiddess legal fees or any damages."
Stephen Lambert, chief executive of Studio Lambert, which made the programme, described Fiddes as a:
"Fame-seeking fantasist" who, when he didn't like seeing himself on television "in his true colours", launched a "vainglorious legal action".
Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine issued a statement stating:
"Fiddes tried to pretend that he was a close friend of my son Michael, but when I spoke to Michael about him, he could not remember who he was. The whole family was deeply upset by interviews he gave shortly after Michael's death which no friend would have done.
"You have to stand up to people like this."
Source: theguardian.com
In February 2013, Fiddes was fined for issuing false court summons in a divorce case. He received a £750 fine, along with an order to pay £1,200 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
Judge Francis Gilbert QC remarked:
"You would have saved yourself a lot of the trouble if you had admitted what you did at the start."
"It was rather a stupid thing to have done," the judge said, adding that Fiddes had "a significant business".
Source: theguardian.com
Not only are most Jackson fans critical of Matt Fiddes, but he also faces significant unpopularity within the martial arts industry. Several websites have been established to caution people about Fiddes running the largest McDojo in the UK. The term "McDojo" refers to individuals who run watered-down and impractical martial arts classes solely for financial gain.
"With over 500 schools worldwide (250 IN THE UK) and boasting at having 25,000 members, Matt Fiddes martial arts is the biggest McDojo in the UK. Run by 6th Dan Matt Fiddes who at 11 was 1st Dan and at age 17 achieved 4th Dan, at age 29 6th Dan. Matt Fiddes academies are well documented as a McDojo with stories of lock in contracts, exorbitant training fees and the promise of a black belt in 2 years. Matt Fiddes has issued legal threats against multitude of people who have spoken out about his martial arts business, stories of attempts at blackmail have been documented as well."
Source: yolasite.com
In summary, Jordan Hill interviewed a "fame-seeking fantasist" who had been caught forging documents and directly discredited by Jackson's own mother, in an attempt to cast doubt on James and Wade's allegations!!!
On August 14, I raised several questions to Jordan Hill, pointing out the serious credibility issues surrounding Matt Fiddes and inquiring whether any background checks were conducted to verify his authenticity.
Below you can see his first and only response after my first email, which highlighted the above issues.
Hi David,
Thanks for your thorough response. It’s clear you have a passion about this subject. We were aware from the start about prior research people have done into all our contributors that is why in the edit I felt it only responsible to include only verifiable remarks and nothing fantastical.
It was difficult at the project’s inception to find anyone who was willing to discuss Michael Jackson’s legal disputes as the topic is justifiably very complicated and massively out of public favour but I strived to see what kind of a picture there was when we look at the messy and complicated world with as much context as possible.
I have said before how I didn’t approach the film with the intent to prove anything definitive. I just wanted to create a film that provides viewers, and myself a humanising perspective that looks at a situation without trying to parade as a gospel truth.
I know there are many people online who have tried to sensationalise the content of this film but it doesn’t force a conclusion or doctrine– the title is a directive- don’t accept anything at face value. Analyse the facts, keep it neutral, keep it respectful, classy and chase the truth.
I hope this helps clarify your concern.
All the best,
Jordan
As evident, Jordan Hill never truly addressed any of my inquiries, maintaining that he only included verifiable statements and nothing sensational.
I subsequently sent him a second email, specifically inquiring whether he could authenticate Mr. Fiddes as someone who personally knew Jackson and possessed knowledge of his interactions with young boys.
Hi, and thanks for the reply.
I’m not asking whether you chose to include verifiable remarks and nothing fascicle, but whether you can verify the authenticity of Mr Fiddes as somebody who knew Jackson with personal knowledge of his activities with young boys?
Before you started your documentary, were you aware that Jackson’s mother had essentially told the world that Mr Fiddes was no friend of the family, and that Jackson couldn’t remember who we was?
Did you ever at any point question Mr Fiddes timeline of alleged friendship/employment to Jackson, when all the evidence only points to him doing 2-3 security jobs in the early 2000’s?
Your documentary is titled “Chase The Truth”, yet I’m seeing quite the opposite, so far.
Mr Fiddes strongly implies in the documentary that James and Wade are liars, motivated by money. You must be aware that Mr Fiddes is no stranger to selling stories to tabloids, and attempted to profit from a no-win no fee legal case against a Channel 4 programme featuring the Jacksons, which unsurprisingly, he lost.
As the head director of the documentary, what evidence did you see yourself that Mr Fiddes was authentic? Did he show you payslips, flight records, unique photographs of him and Jackson, et cetera? Did you at any point see any evidence that Mr Fiddes had contact with Jackson when he had a young boy by his side or in his bed?
Looking forward to your reply.
Thanks again.
Read the original emails here.
Despite the rapid response to my first email, I still haven't received a response to my last question. While it has only been a short time, I'm beginning to suspect that he may not reply and provide an answer regarding his background checks on Matt Fiddes or his knowledge of his dubious behaviour.
Update: No further replies were received.
It's possible that Fiddes isn't the charlatan that many Jackson supporters claim. Perhaps he had more contact with Jackson than is publicly known. I wouldn't rule anything out.
However, his timeline of meeting Jackson around 1999 and remaining friends until his death in 2009 simply doesn't add up. There is no evidence that they ever met before Uri Geller invited Jackson to the UK in June, 2002 for a mini-tour of Exeter and parts of London.
Even if they had exchanged telephone numbers and kept in touch, any face-to-face meetings would have been infrequent. Jackson rarely visited the UK, with his last known visits in March 2001 (Uri Geller marriage vows renewal), June 2002 (London and Exeter City FC), November 2006 (World Music Awards), March 2007 (Harrods shopping trip) and March 2009 to announce his "This Is It" concerts. Fiddes is not present in any photographic or video evidence from these visits, apart from June 2002.
Additionally, it makes no logical sense that Jackson would have required the "unofficial" services of Fiddes between 1999 and 2009. During his residency at Neverland Ranch, Jackson maintained a full-time security team. The 2003 Martin Bashir documentary, "Living with Michael Jackson," offers glimpses of their presence not only at the ranch but also in locations outside, including Vegas and Europe.
Following the 2005 trial, Jackson lived in various countries such as Bahrain and the Republic of Ireland before moving back to the USA. Given his severe debt, the likelihood of him making regular trips to the UK or anywhere else, where he required Fiddes is highly improbable. From late 2006, Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard served as his senior bodyguards. In fact, if you click on the "Harrods shopping trip" video link a couple of paragraphs up, you can see both Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard are present in London in 2007, along with other security personnel, but not Fiddes.
Fiddes was also not listed as a witness on the 2004 defence witness list, despite containing a vast amount of names, including the likes of UK based Mark Lester, Martin Bashir and his business partner Uri Geller.
Furthermore, by Fiddes own admission, he was never a licensed bodyguard nor was he paid or contracted by Jackson. Therefore, he was never technically Jackson's "bodyguard" but rather a friend or acquaintance, assuming they indeed continued to meet after 2002. However, again, there is absolutely no photographic or video evidence that happened.
Fiddes warned Dan Reed to be "concerned about his career" after the release of the documentary. However, I don’t think Dan Reed will be worried about a documentary when Matt Fiddes himself is the weakest link. I believe it's Jordan Hill who should be worried, particularly if he cannot verify any of the questions I posed to him. As it stands, "Chase the Truth" had an open-door policy for anyone claiming to have known Jackson, and the director and his production team did not take steps to verify their authenticity.
It is ironic that Jackson truthers have found approximately 4.9 billion discrepancies in Dan Reed’s Leaving Neverland, and accused it of violating journalistic standards by not interviewing a single individual who wasn’t in the same room as Jackson, James, or Wade. It’s even more ironic that a documentary designed entirely to cast doubt and confusion over the allegations regurgitates the familiar theme that James and Wade are liars motivated by money. Yet, as it stands, neither James nor Wade have received any compensation from the Jackson Estate or Leaving Neverland, while the makers of Chase the Truth could potentially profit millions in the next 12 months.
The documentary costs £3.49 to stream. If just 1 million enthusiastic Jackson supporters purchase it in the next 12 months, that’s nearly £3.5 million. While streaming services will take a cut, Jordan Hill and Entertain Me could stand to profit handsomely from a documentary that not only interviews a very dubious individual but fails to interview anyone who was actually present.