Culkin: Jacko never groped me

Macaulay Culkin yesterday said allegations that he was molested by Michael Jackson were 'absolutely ridiculous' - as far as he knew.

The former child star, now 24, admitted sharing a bedroom with the singer but insisted that - to his knowledge - Jackson had not abused him while he was asleep.

Culkin, who shot to fame with the film Home Alone, told a court he was a frequent visitor to the star's Neverland ranch in the early 1990s, when he was aged between nine and 14.

He insisted his 'sleepovers' were not planned but that he just drifted off in Jackson's bed. Asked by the star's lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, if he had been molested, Culkin said: 'Never.'

He added that when he heard the allegations on TV he thought they were 'absolutely ridiculous'.

Prosecutor Gordon Auchincloss later asked if Jackson could have abused him as he slept. Culkin replied: 'As far as I know he never molested me. I think I'd realise if something like that was happening to me.'

Earlier in the case, a former chef at Neverland claimed he saw Jackson with his hand inside Culkin's shorts.

But the actor said: 'I've never seen him do anything improper.'

Culkin added that he did not think it inappropriate that Jackson had pornographic magazines. They were just 'something human beings possess', he argued and admitted having 'a couple of Playboys' when he was 12 or 13.

He told the court he felt a special bond with Jackson as they were both child stars.

'We're part of a unique group of people,' he said. 'He understood what it was like to be me.'

Jackson denies molesting a 13-yearold boy. The trial, in Santa Maria, California, continues.