Michael Jackson-Peter Pan or pervert?

Christopher Andersen-hard-driving reporter or scum-sucking exploiter?

Andersen, author of "Madonna Unauthorized," "Jagger Unauthorized" and "Citizen Jane," about Jane Fonda, has just written "Michael Jackson Unauthorized" (Simon & Schuster), which portrays the King of Pop as a deeply disturbed man, dependent on Percodan and Valium, with a history of breakdowns and panic attacks. And a perfect match to the FBI's profile of a serial pedophile. Andersen builds his case on depositions and witnesses who say they saw Jackson fondle young boys, including Macaulay Culkin and "Joey," whose accusations of molestation by Jackson exploded last year.

It's pretty clear Andersen thinks Jackson is a pervert. What do you think of Andersen?

Q-Why do you write "unauthorized" biographies?

A-I can get closer to the truth because the celebrity doesn't get in the way. They often don't know the truth because at a certain point, their publicity takes over. The real person is found through interviewing friends and neighbors and teachers and-

Q-Disgruntled employees?

A-Well, yes, and gruntled employees, too, people who said Michael is sweet and loves children.

Q-What is the difference between writing celebrity bios now and in 1980 when you started?

A-The public is less naive now. There's a greater appetite for all the details of people's private lives, which is partly the fault of celebrities themselves. They share such intimate details. Warring spouses conduct their business through the press. Look at Burt and Loni. Michael Jackson is a perfect example. He's manipulated the press for years. He planted the hyperbaric chamber story and the Elephant Man's bones story, creating this bizarre image. If you live by the sword, you have to expect to get whacked now and then.

Q-But in your books, you expose things you probably don't even know about your own wife, family or closest friends.

A-They don't choose to live their lives in public. Celebrities do. The last thing they want is to be ignored. It is really terribly hypocritical for somebody to say, "I want the press to pay attention to this part of my life but no more."

Q-Nothing is off-limits to you?

A-We're reporters. I think it's unwise to decide what people ought to know. We should tell them everything. There is a feeling, even among journalists, that we're supposed to be the guardians of good taste. But I think that's how you get into trouble. People have the right to know, and if they buy a book, I owe it to them to tell them everything I've been able to find out. We shouldn't decide which fact is too tawdry to include.

Q-Even the fact that Michael Jackson pees in his pants?

A-I think that's terribly revealing, if you want to know the truth.

Q-What does it reveal?

A-For one thing, it shows he doesn't abide by the rules of society. It paints a picture of him as, as-

Q-Damp?

A-Exactly.

Q-What made you want to write about Michael Jackson?

A-In 1991 I was working on the Madonna book, and I started to hear these stories about Michael and Macaulay Culkin. I investigated and found out there was a lot of credence to them. I told my wife, and her reaction was, "You're completely crazy." And then one morning, she was watching "Today," and she woke me up and said: "You're right. They're raiding Neverland."

Q-How do you start on a book like this?

A-You read everything that's been written about the person, then you make a list of all the people you want to talk to, and you call them relentlessly. I've had people meet me in hotel lobbies, midnight meetings, all that Deep Throat stuff.

Q-Why would anyone talk to you?

A-When Michael Jackson settled out of court with "Joey" and his family for $26 million, that was a biggie for a lot of people. A lot of people who didn't want to believe the charges against Michael were true felt this was an indication of his guilt. And when Michael took the 5th 17 times when answering a related suit filed by five former bodyguards, that was another indication to people of his guilt.

Q-What are some of the bombshells in the book?

A-Michael's offer to adopt Lisa Marie's first child in 1988 when she was separated from her husband. The fact that the FBI didn't pursue (the "Joey") case, even though Michael took "Joey" across international lines to Monaco and across state lines to Las Vegas and New York. A number of federal laws were conceivably broken, but because of his connections-he was the centerpiece of the (Clinton) inauguration just a few months before-nobody wanted to rock this particular boat.

Q-What else?

A-No one's ever reported that he bought Neverland because it's directly across the street from a nursery school. I was stunned when I saw that. There is this classic Norman Rockwell scene: tire hanging from a tree, big sandbox and then there's Michael down the road. And, big bombshell, what Michael looked like when the police did their strip search. He's white from the waist up and black from the waist down. Michael Classic below the belt, Michael Lite above.

Q-What are the keys to understanding him?

A-Image, mystique, magic. He never heard of Greta Garbo until the age of 27-for someone in show business that's quite astonishing-but after he did, he patterned himself after her, and then Howard Hughes and P.T. Barnum. He set out to make himself into an icon and he did. He's a genius in terms of performing and songwriting, but he does suffer from arrested development. I trace the roots of his sexual dysfunction back to when he was a child and his father beat the children. Even as an adult he has said he sometimes vomits at the thought of seeing his father. He doesn't have any adult friends. He's a sad man. He said he's the loneliest person in the world, and I think he's right.

Q-What is Jane Fonda like?

A-Brilliant, still searching for Daddy. All of her relationships have been an attempt to make up for Henry's approval, which she never got.

Q-And Madonna?

A-God! Another person searching for Daddy! Fathers are damn important, aren't they? She's a brilliant businesswoman, the ultimate chameleon, reinventing herself constantly. She'll be around a long time. She's got this Marilyn Monroe comparison going, but I think she's more like Mae West. She's a caricature, but so what? She can never go too far. She's got the talent and the fans. The book is in 18 languages and it's still selling. Jagger is in 13 languages and this one is in 12 and counting.