SANTA MARIA, Calif. — Prosecutors were dealt a surprising setback Thursday when Michael Jackson's ex-wife, a woman who was fiercely protective of the singer during their three-year marriage, appeared to reaffirm her allegiance to the King of Pop, while distancing him from his alleged co-conspirators.

Deborah Rowe, the mother of two of Jackson's children, told jurors that her ex-husband was easy prey at the hands of his business associates Dieter Wiesner, Ronald Konitzer and Marc Schaffel, men she called "opportunistic vultures" who manipulated and misled Jackson.

"Was it your impression that those three were working together to use Mr. Jackson's name so they could make a profit?" defense attorney Thomas Mesereau asked in an uncharacteristically gentle cross-examination.

"Yes," Rowe said, adding that she told investigators Jackson was being taken advantage of by the same men prosecutors claim were really his henchman and co-conspirators.

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Jackson is accused of orchestrating his aides in a campaign of threats and intimidation against the family of a 13-year-old cancer survivor.

Prosecutors charge that Jackson conspired to falsely imprison the family at his Neverland ranch in February and March 2003 to isolate them from media scrutiny after "Living with Michael Jackson," a damaging TV documentary, featured Jackson holding hands with the accuser.

He also is charged with molesting the boy at Neverland, and plying him with alcohol as a means to commit the felonious sex acts.

Rowe, like the mother of Jackson's accuser, agreed to help Jackson rebut the documentary by participating in a laudatory videotaped interview.

Unlike the accuser's mother, however, Rowe denied being coerced to take part, and said she would not even look at the list of 105 interview questions before filming.

"You refused because you wanted to give a spontaneous type of response to whatever they asked you?" Mesereau asked.

"Correct," Rowe said.

Her testimony seemed to counter the promise made in opening statements by Santa Barbara District Attorney Thomas Sneddon who said Rowe would testify that she did "a complete rehearsal" of the "scripted" interview and was told what to say.

Court watchers also scratched their heads about what Rowe did not say on the stand.

Court broke Wednesday just as Rowe admitted that she had lied when she praised Jackson's parenting skills in the rebuttal interview. After attorneys met with the judge in chambers Thursday morning, prosecutors never delved back into that area again — the cliffhanger remained unresolved.

Two Michaels

Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, after Rowe bore him two children, Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., and Paris Michael Katherine, now 8 and 7, respectively.

Rowe said she gave up visitation rights in 2001, but had recently taken legal action to regain custody.

When asked if she knew whether Jackson was amenable to letting her see her kids, Rowe gave a misty-eyed reply: "I'm hoping in my heart that he is, but we haven't spoken, so I don't know."

She blamed attorneys and Jackson's handlers for keeping her from her "family."

Prosecutors had hoped to show that Jackson used children like pawns to get Rowe and the accuser's mother to take part in the rebuttal video, but Rowe refused to speak ill of the pop star.

"There's different Michaels. There's my Michael ... " she paused, grabbed a tissue, and apologized as she continued. "And the Michael that everyone else sees: Michael the entertainer."

Jackson also appeared struck with emotion for the first time during his trial, now in its 41st day. Defense attorney Susan Yu gave him a concerned look and a touch across the defense table. He dabbed at his face with a tissue. His long black hair, always hanging like velvet drapes that frame his face, hid his eyes from the gaze of court reporters, who craned their necks, hoping to take note of his reactions.

When Rowe described accompanying the singer during his worldwide tours to promote the albums "Dangerous" and "History," Jackson smiled, at one point nodding his head.

'Very strong feelings'

If Rowe was forlorn when describing her rift with Jackson, she was caustic when describing her feelings about Schaffel, Wiesner and Konitzer.

"Obviously, he's full of s---," she said of Schaffel, whom she claimed placated her during the filming, falsely promising that she would get to go back to Neverland to see her kids.

When asked if she was aware that attorney Mark Geragos had previously represented Jackson, she blurted out: "I don't know who picked him, but whoever did made a huge mistake — I mean, come on! He pleads out or loses."

Sneddon slumped over in his chair during the cordial and chatty questions and answers between Rowe and Mesereau. Prosecutor Ronald Zonen attempted to impeach his own witness on redirect.

Rowe conceded to Zonen that she was not present during any conversations Jackson had with his alleged co-conspirators, and could not know what Jackson's motives were.

"Do you still like Mr. Jackson?" Zonen asked.

"I have strong very strong feelings about Michael, who I've known," she said. "But I haven't seen [him] since 1999."

She agreed that the sum of her conversations with Jackson since their divorce amounted to a two-minute phone call in February 2003 when he asked her to do the rebuttal video.

"Was it clear to you that he understood that you wanted to see your children?" Zonen asked.

"Yes," Rowe said, adding that she was never invited back to Neverland to see them.

"Who do you think was responsible for that?" Zonen asked.

"He's the father. Ultimately it's his decision," Rowe said. "I don't want to believe that. I want to believe it's other people."