Michael Jackson's insurance company forced the late King of Pop to pay a reported $20 million to his first child molestation accuser, rather than challenge him in court, according to a new book which sets out to clear the pop superstar of his bad name.

The cash deal left many feeling sure Jackson was guilty and had something to hide, but investigative journalist Ian Halperin's new tome "Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson" claims the singer was not a paedophile who preyed on children.

And Halperin suggests Jackson would have been acquitted of any wrongdoing, had his first child molestation case in the mid-1980s gone to trial.

A second accusation two decades later ended with Jackson being acquitted in 2005 - after a long and embarrassing trial.

Many believe the case took so much out of the King of Pop and he never truly recovered.

An insider, who has read the upcoming book, tells In Touch magazine, "The book shows documents proving that Michael’s insurance company forced the (Jordy) Chandler settlement on him against his will and against the advice of his lawyers. He collapsed in hysterics when he found out he had to do that."

Halperin's new tome is sure to enrage family and friends who are still mourning Jackson's untimely death, because the journalist also suggests Jackson was secretly gay and once picked up a construction worker in Las Vegas.

The insider tells the publication, "They then regularly met at a motel. Michael would dress up as a woman. The lover admitted Michael made him sign a confidentiality agreement."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)