Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson: Hollywood's Odd Couple, Now Gone

March 25, 2011 — -- To some, it seemed odd: why would one of Hollywood's golden age glamour queens pal around with a pop music star more than 20 years her junior?

But for Elizabeth Taylor, when it came to Michael Jackson, the connection was as clear as her diamond earrings.

"He has been hurt by so many people," she told ABC News' Barbara Walters in 2002. "I think I'm the only person in his life that has not betrayed him."

Taylor and Jackson began on an off note: she walked out of one of his concerts, and he called her almost in tears. She assured him that she left because of bad visibility, not a poor performance. What was meant to be an apologetic phone call turned into a three-hour conversation and ultimately, a more than three decade long friendship.

More than anything else, Taylor linked their friendship to their accelerated upbringing. She became a star at 12 with "National Velvet;" he at eight with The Jackson 5. In a 1997 interview with Walters, Taylor said, "One of the reasons I think Michael Jackson and I are so close [is] because neither one of us had a childhood, and we can relate to that and wonder at how we got by."

While Taylor and Jackson occasionally made appearances together in public -- at the movies, at AIDS benefits, at the 1993 American Music Awards -- much of their relationship remained private. But she vocally supported him when he was accused of child molestation in 1993 and 2005. She flew to Singapore in '93 to help him cope with the first case; in 2003, after Jackson was arrested on child abuse charges, she defended him and blasted the press.

"I believe Michael is absolutely innocent and that he will be vindicated," she said in statement. "[The media's] whole reaction is that he is guilty. I thought the law was 'innocent until proven guilty.' I know he is innocent and I hope they all eat crow."

When Jackson turned to prescription drugs to deal with the ensuing criminal investigation and lawsuit, Taylor made him seek treatment. Having gone to the Betty Ford Center in 1988, she felt she was in a unique position to help.

"He wasn't aware of what was happening," she told ABC News' Diane Sawyer in 1995. "He was dulling his pain, but it really frightened me, because I have been there and I know how easy it is to get there when you're in mental or physical pain."

In 2003, she stood by his side when he was arrested and charged with child molestation and intoxicating a minor. Even after Jackson was acquitted on all counts at his 2005 trial, Taylor continued to push back at the public perception of Jackson as a pervert.

"I've been there when his young nephews were there and we were all in the bed watching television there was nothing abnormal about it," Taylor said on "Larry King Live!" in 2006. "There was no touchy-feely going on."Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson arriving at an AIDS charity concert, 2000.