Producer’s Porn Ties Said to Derail Jackson’s Song

A Michael Jackson charity single to benefit victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was abandoned by the pop star’s advisors after they discovered that the song’s executive producer had ties to the gay pornography business, according to documents obtained Thursday by The Times and sources close to the charity effort.

As part of his bitter feud with Sony Music Entertainment Inc., Jackson accused Sony of blocking the release of the charity single, “What More Can I Give,” featuring artists from Ricky Martin to Reba McEntire to Mariah Carey.

The pulling of the single came after McDonald’s Corp. backed out of a multimillion-dollar agreement to sell the single in its restaurants, said sources involved in the deal. Those sources said the fast-food chain feared fallout from customers because of Jackson’s involvement in a 1993 child molestation case he settled for a reported $20 million.

These revelations could call into question his credibility in the dispute with Sony. Jackson has blamed Sony Music and its chairman, Thomas D. Mottola, for the poor showing of his “Invincible” album. Jackson said Sony failed to adequately promote the recording and has accused Sony and other record companies of conspiring to cheat artists--particularly black artists--out of royalty payments.

But internal records and interviews indicate that it was Jackson’s own advisors who quietly asked Sony to bury the charity project after discovering that Jackson had hired F. Marc Schaffel to be the song’s executive producer and that Jackson had signed over the rights to the single to Schaffel.

Jackson’s representatives declined to comment Thursday except to say that when they and Jackson found out about Schaffel’s background, they immediately broke ties with him.

Sony declined to comment, and McDonald’s representatives could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

“It’s no secret that my background is in the adult film business,” said Schaffel, who said he has produced and directed dozens of gay pornography videos.

“I don’t keep anything in my life hidden. I’m Michael’s friend.... I think this was a just smokescreen threat sent to shut this single down because of a bigger fight going on. It’s a shame because, in the end, so many people could’ve been helped.”