Michael Jackson may be gone, but the questions he left unanswered about his mysterious life have not been forgotten. In Touch has learned exclusive details about an explosive new tell-all book about Michael’s controversial behavior. The most sensational claim in Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson by Ian Halperin, due out this month, is that Michael was not a pedophile. “The book claims that Michael was innocent of the molestation charges and a victim of extortion,” an insider who has read the book tells In Touch. “This is what led to the heavy drug abuse and everything that followed.”

Michael — who reportedly paid around $20 million to then-13-year-old accuser Jordan Chandler in 1994 and was acquitted after a 14-week trial of child molestation charges brought by cancer survivor Gavin Arvizo, then 13, in 2005 — was never convicted of any sexual crime against a child. “The book shows documents proving that Michael’s insurance company forced the Chandler settlement on him against his will and against the advice of his lawyers,” the insider says. “He collapsed in hysterics when he found out he had to do that.” The book also alleges that Michael liked having sex with men — not boys — and once picked up a construction worker in Las Vegas. “They then regularly met at a motel,” the insider reveals. “Michael would dress up as a woman. The lover admitted Michael made him sign a confidentiality agreement.” Because of Michael’s purported homosexuality, Halperin reveals, he never had sex with his second wife, Debbie Rowe, and couldn’t possibly have fathered their children, Prince, 12, and Paris, 11 (the mother of Michael’s youngest, Prince Michael II, 7, is unknown). “None of Jackson’s three kids are his biological children,” the insider says.

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The insider adds that his close circle of celebrity pals and business associates were aware Michael knew the kids weren’t biologically his and would discuss it behind his back. “It was the worst-kept secret in Hollywood,” the friend explains. “But nobody dared bring it up to him. It was taboo.” It was also taboo to confront Michael about his growing addiction to prescription pills. The book alleges that in March 2009, the singer had taken far too many drugs before the London press conference to announce his 50-date “This Is It” comeback tour, which sold $85 million worth of tickets and was to start in July. “He did a huge round of painkillers and injections before he arrived,” the insider tells In Touch. “He was 90 minutes late and blamed his tardiness on traffic. It was a complete fabrication.”

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