Sawyer was called a "wimp" by Brad Dilford, a journalist, who later said that "Sawyer did not challenge Michael on any of his more questionable claims." Sawyer was also accused of several misstatements, including that Michael had been cleared on child molestation charges. Actually, the DA was officially keeping the case open until the statute of limitations would take effect in 1999
On the show, Michael denied that the police in their raid on Neverland and on his secret condo had seized books with pictures of nude boys. The police, however, maintained that they did confiscate such materials
Actually, Michael left himself an out. When Sawyer asked if material depicting young, undressed boys had been found among his personal effects,Michael replied, "No, not that I know of, unless people sent me things that I haven't opened."
After the interview was aired, Tom Sneddon, the Santa Barbara DA who had been involved in the Jordie Chandler controversy, claimed that Michael had lied.
"His statement on TV is untrue and incorrect and not consistent with the evidence in the case."
An enraged Evan Chandler witnessed the interview in which his son was virtually called a liar. Michael also claimed that the settlement is "not about all this crazy, outlandish money. No, it's not at all." There was no suggestion that the settlement was in the millions.
In the aftermath of the airing of the interview, Evan Chandler filed a $60 million lawsuit against Michael. In the suit he named not only Michael, but Lisa Marie Presley, Diane Sawyer, and ABC News. Attorneys for Lisa Marie eventually got her dropped from the suit, claiming that she had never been a party to the Chandler settlement.
And eventually, a judge dismissed charges against Sawyer and ABC. Matters were settled privately between Evan and Michael's lawyers. The terms would never be made public, but as regards the Chandler affair, Michael would never again utter a statement such as "the whole thing was a lie."
