Kisses, Autographs And Testimony

Michael Jackson kept his fans and adversaries waiting, showing up four hours late to testify for a second day in a $21 million lawsuit against him.

After a judge granted him permission to postpone his scheduled testimony until the afternoon, the reclusive pop star arrived at the courthouse Thursday without the surgical mask he had worn a day earlier, but carrying a black umbrella.

Sporting a blue corduroy suit and bright red shirt, Jackson's arrival sparked cheers from about 200 waiting fans. The singer took several minutes to sign autographs, throwing kisses as he moved past the barricaded crowd and flashing the thumbs-up sign when he went inside.

Jackson is being sued for $21 million by his longtime promoter, Marcel Avram, for allegedly backing out of two millennium concerts scheduled for New Year's Eve 1999. Jackson maintains that it was Avram, not he, who canceled the shows over concerns they would not be profitable.

During his testimony Thursday, Jackson exhibited a showman's flair under questioning from Avram's Los Angeles attorney, Louis R. "Skip" Miller. At one point, Miller questioned Jackson's contention that he had worked toward the concerts by practicing dance moves and making plans to include magic in the act.

"Magic?" Miller said.

"Yes, magic, as in abracadabra," Jackson answered, drawing appreciative laughs from spectators.

Jackson's lawyers offered no explanation for why their client needed to postpone his appearance at the last minute when jurors already had been assembled. His representatives did not return calls Thursday.