Michael Jackson

'I'm better off dead. I'm done': Michael Jackson's fateful prediction just a week before his death
    

Genetic condition had ruined his lungs and left him unable to sing He became so skeletal, doctors believed he was anorexic He had nightmares about being murdered – and wanted to die He used swine flu as an excuse to avoid coming to England He thought he was agreeing to 10 concerts – it was 50
Whatever the final autopsy results reveal, it was greed that killed Michael Jackson. Had he not been driven – by a cabal of bankers, agents, doctors and advisers – to commit to the gruelling 50 concerts in London’s O2 Arena, I believe he would still be alive today. During the last weeks and months of his life, Jackson made desperate attempts to prepare for the concert series scheduled for next month – a series that would have earned millions for the singer and his entourage, but which he could never have completed, not mentally, and not physically. Ailing: Michael Jackson may have worn a mask in public to protect his diseased lungs Michael knew it and his advisers knew it. Anyone who caught even a fleeting glimpse of the frail old man hiding beneath the costumes and cosmetics would have understood that the London tour was madness. For Michael Jackson, it was fatal. I had more than a glimpse of the real Michael; as an award-winning freelance journalist and filmmaker, I spent more than five years inside his ‘camp’. Many in his entourage spoke frankly to me – and that made it possible for me to write authoritatively last December that Michael had six months to live, a claim that, at the time, his official spokesman, Dr Tohme Tohme, called a ‘complete fabrication’. The singer, he told the world, was in ‘fine health’. Six months and one day later, Jackson was dead. Some liked to snigger at his public image, and it is true that flamboyant clothes and bizarre make-up made for a comic grotesque; yet without them, his appearance was distressing; with skin blemishes, thinning hair and discoloured fingernails. I had established beyond doubt, for example, that Jackson relied on an extensive collection of wigs to hide his greying hair. Shorn of their luxuriance, the Peter Pan of Neverland cut a skeletal figure. It was clear that he was in no condition to do a single concert, let alone 50. He could no longer sing, for a start. On some days he could barely talk. He could no longer dance. Disaster was looming in London and, in the opinion of his closest confidantes, he was feeling suicidal. To understand why a singer of Jackson’s fragility would even think about travelling to London, we need to go back to June 13, 2005, when my involvement in his story began. As a breaking news alert flashed on CNN announcing that the jury had reached a verdict in Jackson’s trial for allegedly molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo at his Neverland Ranch in California, I knew that history had been made but that Michael Jackson had been broken – irrevocably so, as it proved. Nor was it the first time that Michael had been accused of impropriety with young boys. Little more than a decade earlier, another 13-year-old, Jordan Chandler, made similar accusations in a case that was eventually settled before trial – but not before the damage had been done to Jackson’s reputation. Frail: In a wheelchair last year, Michael Jackson looked in no state to perform 50 tough gigs

Michael had not helped his case. Appearing in a documentary with British broadcaster Martin Bashir, he not only admitted that he liked to share a bed with teenagers, mainly boys, in pyjamas, but showed no sign of understanding why anyone might be legitimately concerned. I had started my investigation convinced that Jackson was guilty. By the end, I no longer believed that. I could not find a single shred of evidence suggesting that Jackson had molested a child. But I found significant evidence demonstrating that most, if not all, of his accusers lacked credibility and were motivated primarily by money. Jackson also deserved much of the blame, of course. Continuing to share a bed with children even after the suspicions surfaced bordered on criminal stupidity. He was also playing a truly dangerous game. It is clear to me that Michael was homosexual and that his taste was for young men, albeit not as young as Jordan Chandler or Gavin Arvizo. In the course of my investigations, I spoke to two of his gay lovers, one a Hollywood waiter, the other an aspiring actor. The waiter had remained friends, perhaps more, with the singer until his death last week. He had served Jackson at a restaurant, Jackson made his interest plain and the two slept together the following night. According to the waiter, Jackson fell in love. The actor, who has been given solid but uninspiring film parts, saw Jackson in the middle of 2007. He told me they had spent nearly every night together during their affair – an easy claim to make, you might think. But this lover produced corroboration in the form of photographs of the two of them together, and a witness. Other witnesses speak of strings of young men visiting his house at all hours, even in the period of his decline. Some stayed overnight. When Jackson lived in Las Vegas, one of his closest aides told how he would sneak off to a ‘grungy, rat-infested’ motel – often dressed as a woman to disguise his identity – to meet a male construction worker he had fallen in love with. Jackson was acquitted in the Arvizo case, dramatically so, but the effect on his mental state was ruinous. Sources close to him suggest he was close to complete nervous breakdown. Death scene: The rented home in Bel Air where Michael Jackson passed away The ordeal had left him physically shattered, too. One of my sources suggested that he might already have had a genetic condition I had never previously come across, called Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency – the lack of a protein that can help protect the lungs. Although up to 100,000 Americans are severely affected by it, it is an under-recognised condition. Michael was receiving regular injections of Alpha-1 antitrypsin derived from human plasma. The treatment is said to be remarkably effective and can enable the sufferer to lead a normal life. But the disease can cause respiratory problems and, in severe cases, emphysema. Could this be why Jackson had for years been wearing a surgical mask in public, to protect his lungs from the ravages of the disease? Or why, from time to time, he resorted to a wheelchair? When I returned to my source inside the Jackson camp for confirmation, he said: ‘Yeah, that’s what he’s got. He’s in bad shape. They’re worried that he might need a lung transplant but he may be too weak. ‘Some days he can hardly see and he’s having a lot of trouble walking.’ Even Michael Jackson’s legendary wealth was in sharp decline. Just a few days before he announced his 50-concert comeback at the O2 Arena, one of my sources told me Jackson had been offered £1.8million to perform at a party for a Russian billionaire on the Black Sea. ‘Is he up to it?’ I had asked. ‘He has no choice. He needs the money. His people are pushing him hard,’ said the source. Could he even stand on a stage for an hour concert?

‘He can stand. The treatments have been successful. He can even dance once he gets in better shape. He just can’t sing,’ said the aide, adding that Jackson would have to lip-synch to get through the performance. ‘Nobody will care, as long as he shows up and moonwalks.’ He also revealed Jackson had been offered well over £60million to play Las Vegas for six months. ‘He said no, but his people are trying to force it on him. He’s that close to losing everything,’ said the source. Forced: Michael Jackson thought he was agreeing to 10 concerts at London's O2 Arena not 50 Indeed, by all accounts Jackson’s finances were in a shambles. The Arvizo trial itself was a relative bargain, costing a little more than £18million in legal bills. But the damage to his career, already in trouble before the charges, was incalculable. After the Arvizo trial, a Bahraini sheikh allowed Jackson to stay in his palace, underwriting his lavish lifestyle. But a few years later, the prince sued his former guest, demanding repayment for his hospitality. Jackson claimed he thought it had been a gift. Roger Friedman, a TV journalist, said: ‘For one year, the prince underwrote Jackson’s life in Bahrain – everything including accommodation, guests, security and transportation. And what did Jackson do? He left for Japan and then Ireland. He took the money and moonwalked right out the door. This is the real Michael Jackson. He has never returned a phone call from the prince since he left Bahrain.’ Although Jackson settled with the sheikh on the eve of the trial that would have aired his financial dirty laundry, the settlement only put him that much deeper into the hole. A hole that kept getting bigger, but that was guaranteed by Jackson’s half ownership of the copyrights to The Beatles catalogue. He owned them in a joint venture with record company Sony, which have kept him from bankruptcy. ‘Jackson is in hock to Sony for hundreds of millions,’ a source told me a couple of months ago. ‘No bank will give him any money so Sony have been paying his bills. ‘The trouble is that he hasn’t been meeting his obligations. Sony have been in a position for more than a year where it can repossess Michael’s share of the [Beatles] catalogue. That’s always been Sony’s dream scenario, full ownership. ‘But they don’t want to do it as they’re afraid of a backlash from his fans. Their nightmare is an organised 'boycott Sony' movement worldwide, which could prove hugely costly. It is the only thing standing between Michael and bankruptcy.’ Legacy: Michael Jackson wanted to ensure the future of his children by leaving them 200 unpublished songs The source aid at the time that the scheduled London concerts wouldn’t clear Jackson’s debts – estimated at almost £242million – but they would allow him to get them under control and get him out of default with Sony. According to two sources in Jackson’s camp, the singer put in place a contingency plan to ensure his children would be well taken care of in the event of bankruptcy. ‘He has as many as 200 unpublished songs that he is planning to leave behind for his children when he dies. They can’t be touched by the creditors, but they could be worth as much as £60million that will ensure his kids a comfortable existence no matter what happens,’ one of his collaborators revealed. But for the circle of handlers who surrounded Jackson during his final years, their golden goose could not be allowed to run dry. Bankruptcy was not an option. These, after all, were not the handlers who had seen him through the aftermath of the Arvizo trial and who had been protecting his fragile emotional health to the best of their ability. They were gone, and a new set of advisers was in place.

The clearout had apparently been engineered by his children’s nanny, Grace Rwaramba, who was gaining considerable influence over Jackson and his affairs and has been described as the ‘queen bee’ by those around Jackson. Rwaramba had ties to the black militant organisation, the Nation of Islam, and its controversial leader, Louis Farrakhan, whom she enlisted for help in running Jackson’s affairs. Before long, the Nation was supplying Jackson’s security detail and Farrakhan’s son-in-law, Leonard Muhammad, was appointed as Jackson’s business manager, though his role has lessened significantly in recent years. In late 2008, a shadowy figure who called himself Dr Tohme Tohme suddenly emerged as Jackson’s ‘official spokesman’. Tohme has been alternately described as a Saudi Arabian billionaire and an orthopaedic surgeon, but he is actually a Lebanese businessman who does not have a medical licence. At one point, Tohme claimed he was an ambassador at large for Senegal, but the Senegalese embassy said they had never heard of him. Misguided: Michael Jackson showed no sign of understanding why anyone might be legitimately concerned about him sharing a bed with young boys Tohme’s own ties to the Nation of Islam came to light in March 2009, when New York auctioneer Darren Julien was conducting an auction of Michael Jackson memorabilia. Julien filed an affidavit in Los Angeles Superior Court that month in which he described a meeting he had with Tohme’s business partner, James R. Weller. According to Julien’s account, ‘Weller said if we refused to postpone [the auction], we would be in danger from 'Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam; those people are very protective of Michael'. He told us that Dr Tohme and Michael Jackson wanted to give the message to us that 'our lives are at stake and there will be bloodshed'.’ A month after these alleged threats, Tohme accompanied Jackson to a meeting at a Las Vegas hotel with Randy Phillips, chief executive of the AEG Group, to finalise plans for Jackson’s return to the concert stage. Jackson’s handlers had twice before said no to Phillips. This time, with Tohme acting as his confidant, Jackson left the room agreeing to perform ten concerts at the O2. Before long, however, ten concerts had turned into 50 and the potential revenues had skyrocketed. ‘The vultures who were pulling his strings somehow managed to put this concert extravaganza together behind his back, then presented it to him as a fait accompli,’ said one aide. ‘The money was just unbelievable and all his financial people were telling him he was facing bankruptcy. But Michael still resisted. He didn’t think he could pull it off.’ Eventually, they wore him down, the aide explained, but not with the money argument. ‘They told him that this would be the greatest comeback the world had ever known. That’s what convinced him. He thought if he could emerge triumphantly from the success of these concerts, he could be the King again.’ The financial details of the O2 concerts are still murky, though various sources have revealed that Jackson was paid as much as £10million in advance, most of which went to the middlemen. But Jackson could have received as much as £100million had the concerts gone ahead. It is worth noting that the O2 Arena has the most sophisticated lip synching technology in the world – a particular attraction for a singer who can no longer sing. Had, by some miracle, the concerts gone ahead, Jackson’s personal contribution could have been limited to just 13 minutes for each performance. The rest was to have been choreography and lights. ‘We knew it was a disaster waiting to happen,’ said one aide. ‘I don’t think anybody predicted it would actually kill him but nobody believed he would end up performing.’ Their doubts were underscored when Jackson collapsed during only his second rehearsal.

Hidden life: It was 'clear Michael Jackson was gay' but he married twice, firstly to Lisa Marie Presley, above ‘Collapse might be overstating it,’ said the aide. ‘He needed medical attention and couldn’t go on. I’m not sure what caused it.’ Meanwhile, everybody around him noticed that Jackson had lost an astonishing amount of weight in recent months. His medical team even believed he was anorexic. ‘He goes days at a time hardly eating a thing and at one point his doctor was asking people if he had been throwing up after meals,’ one staff member told me in May. ‘He suspected bulimia but when we said he hardly eats any meals, the doc thought it was probably anorexia. He seemed alarmed and at one point said, 'People die from that all the time. You’ve got to get him to eat.'’ Indeed, one known consequence of anorexia is cardiac arrest. After spotting him leave one rehearsal, Fox News reported that ‘Michael Jackson’s skeletal physique is so bad that he might not be able to moonwalk any more’. On May 20 this year, AEG suddenly announced that the first London shows had been delayed for five days while the remainder had been pushed back until March 2010. At the time, they denied that the postponements were health-related, explaining that they needed more time to mount the technically complex production, though scepticism immediately erupted. It was well placed. Behind the scenes, Jackson was in rapid decline. According to a member of his staff, he was ‘terrified’ at the prospect of the London concerts. ‘He wasn’t eating, he wasn’t sleeping and, when he did sleep, he had nightmares that he was going to be murdered. He was deeply worried that he was going to disappoint his fans. He even said something that made me briefly think he was suicidal. He said he thought he’d die before doing the London concerts. ‘He said he was worried that he was going to end up like Elvis. He was always comparing himself to Elvis, but there was something in his tone that made me think that he wanted to die, he was tired of life. He gave up. His voice and dance moves weren’t there any more. I think maybe he wanted to die rather than embarrass himself on stage.’ The most obvious comparison between the King of Pop and the King of Rock ’n’ Roll was their prescription drug habits, which in Jackson’s case had significantly intensified in his final months. ‘He is surrounded by enablers,’ said one aide. ‘We should be stopping him before he kills himself, but we just sit by and watch him medicate himself into oblivion.’ Jackson could count on an array of doctors to write him prescriptions without asking too many questions if he complained of ‘pain’. He was particularly fond of OxyContin, nicknamed ‘Hillbilly heroin’, which gave an instant high, although he did not take it on a daily basis. According to the aide, painkillers are not the only drugs Jackson took. Performer: Michael Jackson was unable to dance and sing like he once could due to his illnesses ‘He pops Demerol and morphine, sure, apparently going back to the time in 1984 when he burned himself during the Pepsi commercial, but there’s also some kind of psychiatric medication. One of his brothers once told me he was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was younger, so it may be to treat that.’ His aides weren’t the only ones who recognised that a 50-concert run was foolhardy. In May, Jackson himself reportedly addressed fans as he left his Burbank rehearsal studio. ‘Thank you for your love and support,’ he told them. ‘I want you guys to know I love you very much. 'I don’t know how I’m going to do 50 shows. I’m not a big eater. I need to put some weight on. I’m really angry with them booking me up to do 50 shows. I only wanted to do ten.’

One of his former employees was particularly struck by Jackson’s wording that day. ‘The way he was talking, it’s like he’s not in control over his own life any more,’ she told me earlier this month. ‘It sounds like somebody else is pulling his strings and telling him what to do. Someone wants him dead. 'They keep feeding him pills like candy. They are trying to push him over the edge. He needs serious help. The people around him will kill him.’ As the London concerts approached, something was clearly wrong. Jackson had vowed to travel to England at least eight weeks before his first shows, but he kept putting it off. ‘To be honest, I never thought Michael would set foot on a concert stage ever again,’ said one aide, choking back tears on the evening of his death. ‘This was not only predictable, this was inevitable.’ On June 21, Jackson told my contact that he wanted to die. He said that he didn’t have what it would take to perform any more because he had lost his voice and dance moves. ‘It’s not working out,’ Jackson said. ‘I’m better off dead. I don’t have anywhere left to turn. I’m done.’ Michael’s closest confidante told me just two hours after he died that ‘Michael was tired of living. He was a complete wreck for years and now he can finally be in a better place. People around him fed him drugs to keep him on their side. They should be held accountable.’ Michael Jackson was undoubtedly a deeply troubled and lonely man. Throughout my investigation, I was torn between compassion and anger, sorrow and empathy. Even his legacy is problematic. As I have already revealed, he has bequeathed up to 200 original songs to his three children, Prince Michael, aged 12, Paris Katherine, 11, and Prince Michael II (also known as Blanket), seven. It is a wonderful gift. Yet I can reveal that his will, not as yet made public, demands that the three of them remain with Jackson’s 79-year-old mother Katherine in California. It promises an ugly row. Ex-wife Deborah Rowe, the mother of the eldest two, has already made it clear to her legal team that she wants her children in her custody, immediately. The mother of the third child has never been identified. I fully expect that it will emerge that the children had a ‘test tube’ conception, a claim already made by Deborah Rowe. Michael Jackson may very well have been the most talented performer of his generation, but for 15 years that fact has been lost to a generation who may remember him only as a grotesque caricature who liked to share his bed with little boys. Now that he’s gone, maybe it’s time to shelve the suspicions and appreciate the music.

Jackson's skin had been a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, but starting in the mid1980s, it gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that he [69] might be bleaching his skin. According to J. Randy Taraborrelli's biography, in 1986, Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus; the vitiligo partially lightened his skin, and the lupus was in remission; both illnesses made him sensitive to sunlight. The treatments he used for his condition further lightened his skin tone, and, with the application of pancake makeup to even out blotches, he could appear very [70] [71] pale. Jackson was also diagnosed with vitiligo in his autopsy. By the mid-1990s several surgeons speculated that he had undergone various nasal surgeries, a forehead lift, thinned lips, and cheekbone [72] surgery—although Jackson denied this and insisted that he only had surgery on his nose. Jackson

claimed that he had only two rhinoplasties and no other surgery on his face, although at one point he [73] mentioned having a dimple created in his chin. Jackson lost weight in the early 1980s because of a [73] change in diet and a desire for "a dancer's body". Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy and speculated that he was suffering from anorexia nervosa; periods of weight loss would become a recurring [74] problem later in life. During the course of his treatment, Jackson made two close friends: his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, and Klein's nurse Debbie Rowe. Rowe eventually became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his [75] two eldest children. He also relied heavily on Klein for medical and business advice. Jackson became the subject of increasingly sensational reports. In 1986, the tabloids ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow the aging process; he was pictured lying down in a glass box. Although the claim was untrue, according to tabloid reports that are widely cited, Jackson [76][77] had disseminated the fabricated story himself. When Jackson bought a chimpanzee [78] called Bubbles from a laboratory, he was reported to be increasingly detached from reality. It was reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "elephant man") and although [76][77] untrue, Jackson did not deny the story. Although initially he saw these stories as opportunities for publicity, he stopped leaking untruths to the press as they became more sensational. Consequently the [77][79][80] media began making up their own stories. These reports became embedded in the public [81] consciousness, inspiring the nickname "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise. Responding to the gossip, Jackson remarked to Taraborrelli: Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars? Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, "I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight," people would say, "Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth."
[82]

Jackson wore a gold-plated military style jacket with belt in theBad era

Jackson collaborated with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute 3-D film Captain EO, which debuted in September 1986 at both the original Disneyland and at EPCOT in Florida, and in March 1987 at Tokyo Disneyland. The $30 million movie was a popular attraction at all three parks. A Captain EO attraction was later featured at Euro Disneyland after that park opened in 1992. All four parks' Captain EO installations stayed open well into the 1990s: the Paris installation was the last one to close, [83] [84] in 1998. The attraction would later return to Disneyland in 2010 after Jackson's death. In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses, in response to their disapproval of [85] the Thriller video. With the industry expecting another major hit, Jackson's first album in five [86] years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated. It did not top Thriller as a commercial or artistic triumph, but Bad was still a substantial success in its own right.

The Bad album spawned seven hit singles in the U.S., five of which ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana") reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. This was a record for most number one Hot 100 singles from any one album, [87] including Thriller. Although the title track's video was arguably derivative of the video for the earlier single "Beat It", the "Bad" video still proved to be one of Jackson's iconic moments. It was a gritty but colorful epic set against the backdrop of the New York City Subway system, with costuming and choreography inspired by West Side Story. As of 2012, the album sold between 30 to 45 million copies [88][89][90][91][92][93] worldwide. Thanks to the Bad album, Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy [38][45] for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989. In the same year, Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards because Bad is the first album ever to generate five number one singles in the U.S., the first album to top in 25 countries and the best-selling album [94][95][96][97] worldwide in 1987 and in 1988. In 1988, "Bad" won an American Music Award for Favorite [98] Soul/R&B Single. The Bad world tour began on September 12 that year, finishing on January 14, 1989. In Japan alone, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record of 200,000 in a [100] single tour. Jackson broke a Guinness World Record Citation is empty when 504,000 people attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium. He performed a total of 123 concerts to an audience of 4.4 million people. The Bad Tour turned out to be the last of Jackson's concert tours to include shows in the continental United States, although later tours did make it to Hawaii. In 1988, Jackson released his only autobiography, Moonwalk, which took four years to complete and sold [101] 200,000 copies. Jackson wrote about his childhood, The Jackson 5, and the abuse he had [102] suffered. He also wrote about his facial appearance, saying he had had two rhinoplastic surgeries and [73] a dimple created in his chin. He attributed much of the change in the structure of his face to puberty, [73] weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hair style, and stage lighting. Moonwalk reached the [103] top position on The New York Times best sellers' list. The musician then released a film called Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films that starred Jackson and Joe Pesci. The film was originally intended to be released to theaters, but due to financial issues, the film was released direct-to-video. It saw a theatrical release in Germany, though. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Music Video Cassette chart, staying there for 22 weeks. It was eventually knocked off the top spot [104] by Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues. In March 1988, Jackson purchased land near Santa Ynez, California, to build Neverland Ranch at a cost 2 of $17 million. He installed Ferris wheels, a menagerie, and a movie theater on the 2,700-acre (11 km ) property. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. In 2003, it was valued at approximately [105][106] $100 million. In 1989, his annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and concerts was [107] estimated at $125 million for that year alone. Shortly afterwards, he became the first Westerner to [104] appear in a television ad in the Soviet Union. His success resulted in his being dubbed the "King of Pop". The nickname was popularized by Elizabeth Taylor when she presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, proclaiming him [112] "the true king of pop, rock and soul." President George H.W. Bush designated him the White House's [113] "Artist of the Decade". From 1985 to 1990, he donated $500,000 to the United Negro College Fund, [114][115] and all of the profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity. Jackson's live rendition of
[108][109][110][111] [99]

"You Were There" at Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration allowed Jackson to receive his second [52][104] Emmy nomination.

1991–93: Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation, and Super Bowl XXVII
In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65 million, a record-breaking deal at the [116] [117] time, displacing Neil Diamond's renewal contract with Columbia Records. He released his eighth album Dangerous in 1991. As of 2008, Dangerous had shipped seven million copies in the U.S. and had sold 32 million copies worldwide. The Dangerous album was co-produced by Teddy Riley, one of the pioneers of "new jack swing" which convinced Michael to feature a rapper on his album for the first time, [118][119][120] the act worked and it turned out to be the best-selling album associated with that movement. In the United States, the album's first single "Black or White" was its biggest hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and remaining there for seven weeks, with similar chart performances [121] worldwide. The album's second single "Remember the Time" spent eight weeks in the top five in the [122] United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the end of 1992, Dangerous was awarded 1992's best-selling album worldwide and "Black or White" was awarded 1992's best-selling single worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. Additionally, he won an award as [123] best-selling artist of the 1980s. In 1993, Jackson performed the song at the Soul Train Music [124] Awards in a chair, saying he had suffered an injury in rehearsals. In the UK and other parts of Europe, "Heal the World" was the biggest hit from the album; it sold 450,000 copies in the UK and spent five [122] weeks at number two in 1992. Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity organization brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to enjoy theme park rides that Jackson had built on the property. The foundation also sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. In the same year Jackson published his second book, the bestselling collection of poetry, Dancing the Dream. While it was a commercial success and revealed a more intimate side to Jackson's nature, the collection was mostly critically unacclaimed at the time of release. In 2009, the book was republished by Doubleday and was more positively received by some critics in the wake of Jackson's untimely death. The Dangerous World Tour grossed $100 million. The tour began on June 27, 1992, and [122][125] finished on November 11, 1993. Jackson performed to 3.5 million people in 70 concerts. He sold the broadcast rights to his Dangerous world tour to HBO for $20 million, a record-breaking deal that still [126] stands. Following the illness and death of Ryan White, Jackson helped draw public attention to HIV/AIDS, something that was still controversial at the time. He publicly pleaded with the Clinton Administration at [127][128] Bill Clinton's Inaugural Gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research. In a high[129] profile visit to Africa, Jackson visited several countries, among them Gabon and Egypt. His first stop to Gabon was greeted with a sizable and enthusiastic reception of more than 100,000 people, some of them [129] carrying signs that read, "Welcome Home Michael." In his trip to Côte d'Ivoire, Jackson was crowned [129] "King Sani" by a tribal chief. He then thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed official documents formalizing his kingship and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial [129] dances. In January 1993, Jackson made a memorable appearance at the halftime show at Super Bowl XXVII. The performance began with Jackson catapulting onto the stage as fireworks went off behind him. As he landed on the canvas, he maintained a motionless "clenched fist, standing statue stance", dressed in a

gold and black military outfit and sunglasses; he remained completely motionless for a minute and a half while the crowd cheered. He then slowly removed his sunglasses, threw them away and sang four songs: "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White" and "Heal the World". It was the first Super Bowl where the audience figures increased during the half-time show; Jackson's Dangerous album rose 90 places up the [69] album chart. Jackson was given the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. "Black or White" was Grammy-nominated for best vocal performance. "Jam" gained two [122] nominations: Best R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song. The Dangerous album won a Grammy for Best Engineered – Non Classical, awarding the work of Bruce Swedien and Teddy Riley. In the same year, Michael Jackson won three American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time") and was the first to win the International Artist Award, for his global performances and humanitarian concerns. This award will bear his name in the [38][45][130] future.

1993–94: First child sexual abuse allegations and first marriage
Main article: 1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson Jackson gave a 90-minute interview to Oprah Winfrey on February 10, 1993, his second television interview since 1979. He grimaced when speaking of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood years, admitting that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, stating for the first time that he had vitiligo. Dangerous re-entered the [22][69][122] album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its original release. In the summer of 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy named Jordan [131][132][133] Chandler and his father, Dr. Evan Chandler, a dentist. The Chandler family demanded payment from Jackson, and the singer initially refused. Jordan Chandler eventually told the police that Jackson had [134] sexually abused him. Dr. Chandler was tape-recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, saying, "If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever ... Michael's career will be over". Jordan's mother was, however, adamant that [133] there had been no wrongdoing on Jackson's part. Jackson later used the recording to argue that he [133] was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort money from the singer. In August 1993, Jackson's home was raided by the police who, according to court documents, found [135] books and photographs in his bedroom featuring young boys with little or no clothing. In Dec 1993, [136] Jackson was strip searched. Jordan Chandler had reportedly given police a description of Jackson's intimate parts, and the strip search revealed that Jordan had correctly claimed Jackson had patchy-coloured buttocks, short pubic hair, and pink and brown marked testicles, but wrongly claimed Jackson was circumcised, though doctors at the strip search also struggled to tell if Jackson was [136] circumcised. Reportedly, Jordan had also previously drawn accurate pictures of a dark spot on [137] Jackson's penis only visible when his penis was lifted. This dark spot was corroborated by the sheriff's [138] [139] photographer and the District Attorney in sworn affidavits. Jackson's friends said he never recovered from the humiliation of the strip search. The investigation was [140] inconclusive and no charges were ever filed. Jackson described the search in an emotional public [131][136][141] statement, and proclaimed his innocence. On January 1, 1994, Jackson's insurance carrier settled with the Chandlers out of court for $22 million. A Santa Barbara County grand jury and a Los

Angeles County grand jury disbanded on May 2, 1994 without indicting Jackson, after which time the [143][144][145] Chandlers stopped co-operating with the criminal investigation around July 6, 1994. The out-ofcourt settlement's documentation specifically stated Jackson admitted no wrongdoing and no liability; the [146] Chandlers and their family lawyer Larry Feldman signed it without contest. Feldman also explicitly [147] stated "nobody bought anybody's silence". A decade after the fact, during the second round of child abuse allegations, Jackson's lawyers would file a memo stating that the 1994 settlement was done [144] without his consent. In May 1994, Jackson married the daughter of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie Presley. They had first met in 1975, when a seven-year-old Presley attended one of Jackson's family engagements at the MGM Grand [148] Hotel and Casino, and were reconnected through a mutual friend. According to a friend of Presley's, [149] "their adult friendship began in November 1992 in L.A." They stayed in contact every day over the telephone. As the child molestation accusations became public, Jackson became dependent on Presley [150] for emotional support; she was concerned about his faltering health and addiction to drugs. Presley explained, "I believed he didn't do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started [151] falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it." She eventually persuaded him to settle the [150] allegations out of court and go into rehabilitation to recover. Jackson proposed to Presley over the telephone towards the fall of 1993, saying, "If I asked you to marry [150] me, would you do it?" They married in the Dominican Republic in secrecy, denying it for nearly two [152] months afterwards. The marriage was, in her words, "a married couple's life ... that was sexually [153] active". At the time, the tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a ploy to prop up Jackson's [152] public image. The marriage lasted less than two years and ended with an amicable divorce [154] settlement. In a 2010 interview with Oprah, Presley admitted that they spent four more years after the [155] divorce "getting back together and breaking up", until she decided to stop.
Michael Jackson at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for the Ghosts music video premier

[142]

In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of hit singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at 6 million copies, it is the best selling [168] [168][169] remix album ever released. It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track. In the US, [118][160] the album was certified platinum, but only reached number 24. Forbes placed his annual income at [106] $35 million in 1996 and $20 million in 1997. Throughout June 1999, Jackson was involved in a number of charitable events. He joined Luciano Pavarotti for a benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show was in support of the nonprofit organization War Child, and raised a million dollars for the refugees of Kosovo, [170] FR Yugoslavia, as well as additional funds for the children of Guatemala. Later that month, Jackson organized a set of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men,Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to [171] the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross andUNESCO. MOONWALKERS

As a kid who grew up dancing, Michael Jackson loomed larger than life. At school, every talent show was capped by the best Jackson impersonator and every playground dance battle ended with someone busting out a full MJ routine. Even a mimic, wearing a white kitchen glove, could throw the packed school auditorium into palpitations with the right display of Jackson’s trademark moves, especially the moonwalk, which Jackson first debuted on March, 25, 1983, one day after I was born.

Michael Jackson didn’t invent the moonwalk, but he did make it his own, performing it with such technical mastery, and to such a wide audience, that the move and the man became inseparable. The legendary first performance occurred during a live television special, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, which drew a one-night audience of 47 million people. The move comes late in the performance of his hit single “Billy Jean” and is, in essence, a simple back slide. The same move had been demonstrated by countless performers, from Cab Calloway to Fred Astaire, and was a standard among tap dancers for decades. Yet something about the way Jackson performed it that night made it stand out for the ages. Parents; Joseph and Katherine. Sisters; Rebbie, LaToya, Janet and Joh'Vonnie (half sister). Brothers; Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Brandon (died at birth) and Randy (not AI judge).
With the passing of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop leaves behind eight siblings, each of whom has at once point been a recording artist. From the Jackson 5, to Michael and Jermaine's solo careers, to Janet becoming one of the leading female artists of her generation, the Jacksons seemed born with music in their bones.

Rebbie (May 29, 1950)
The oldest of the nine Jackson siblings, Rebbie didn't get a shot at stardom with her brothers. It wasn't until 1976 that she began a professional singing career, albeit one in the background: She was a backup vocalist on albums by the Emotions and other R&B acts. In 1984, fresh off the record-breaking success of Thriller, Michael produced Rebbie's hit single "Centipede," which rose to #4 on the R&B chart. Since then, she's come out with several albums, the last — 1998's Yours Faithfully — on Michael's MJJ record label.

Jackie (May 4, 1951)
Along with Michael, he was lead singer of the Jackson 5. After recording 13 albums for Motown, the group signed with CBS Records in 1976 and became the Jacksons. Their first few efforts faltered, but the 1978 album Destiny re-established their reputation and produced a top-10 single in 1979, "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)." As a solo artist, Jackie released a self-titled debut in 1973 and Be the One in 1989.

Tito (October 15, 1953)
After the success of Destiny, Tito and the Jacksons released the platinum-selling Triumph in 1980 and the multiplatinum-sellingVictory in 1984. After Michael and then Marlon left the band, Tito became a successful studio musician. In 1989, the Jacksons returned for a largely Michael-free album called 2300 Jackson Street,the final Jacksons album.

Jermaine (December 11, 1954)
In 1972, while continuing to perform with his brothers, Jermaine released his first solo record, which produced the top-10 single "Daddy's Home." When the Jacksons left Motown, Jermaine left the band, as he was married to Motown founder Berry Gordy's daughter. Subsequently, he carried on releasing solo material, including hit singles like the Stevie Wonder-produced "Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming" and the dance track "Dynamite."

LaToya (May 29, 1956)
LaToya got her start singing backup vocals for the Jackson 5 and went solo with a 1980 self-titled album.

She continued to churn out solo music but is perhaps best known for posing nude for Playboy in 1989 and writing a tell-all autobiography that led to estrangement from some siblings.

Marlon (March 12, 1957)
The guitarist for the family group, Marlon left in 1987 to pursue a solo career. His first single "Don't Go" — from debut album Baby Tonight — climbed as high as #2 on the Hot R&B chart. But Marlon's subsequent efforts proved considerably less successful. He appeared on only one track on 2300.

Michael (August 29, 1958)
He's the King of Pop for a reason: More than 750 million records sold worldwide, eight platinum or multiplatinum albums, 13 #1 singles and 13 Grammy Awards. Read more about his legendary career.

Randy Jackson (October 29, 1961)
Randy joined the group after Jermaine left in 1976, though he'd been performing with his brothers as a percussionist for some time. He performed on hit Jacksons albums like Triumph and Victory. Following the band's dissolution, Randy became a successful studio musician and also formed his own band, Randy & the Gypsys, which put out an album in 1989. He reunited with his brothers for 2300.

Janet Jackson (May 16, 1966)
The youngest Jackson appeared with her siblings onstage and on television but embarked on a solo career starting with a 1982 self-titled record. 1986's Control proved to be her breakout album, eventually going platinum five times and spawning hit singles like "When I Think of You." Her next two discs, 1989's Janet Jackson' s Rhythm Nation 1814 and 1993's Janet, became even more successful, each going platinum six times. Michael Jackson's 1st wife, Lisa Marie Presley, was the Love of His Life. They were married in the Dominican Republic on May 26, 1994. They were divorced in January of 1996. They met at an early age, Michael was a young teenager, and Lisa Marie was 7 years old when she used to go see Michael perform in Las Vegas. Michael said, in his Diane Sawyer interview with his wife at the time, that he always asked about Lisa Marie and had a crush on her. Watch how cute they are and what he said.... Diane Sawyer Interview Part 1 So, I believe from their interview together that Michael and Lisa Marie really did love each other. Lisa Marie was interviewed by Diane Sawyer after she was divorced from Michael and she had this to say about it.

photo courtesy of popculturenerd.wordpress..

photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

photo courtesy of huffingtonpost.com Lisa Marie and Michael Toured different children's Hospitals and orphanages all over the world. Lisa Marie was a very supportive wife during their marriage,

unfortunately it did not last. Michael was devasted and married second wife Debbie Rowe less than a year later. photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

photo courtesy of blish.in.com Debbie Rowe was Michael's 2nd wife. Michael married Debbie Rowe on November 14, 1996 in Sydney, Australia as a result of prompting from his mother Katherine Jackson She was 6 months pregnant with his 1st child. photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk Debbie Rowe gave birth to Michael's 1st child, a boy, Michael Joseph "Prince" Jackson, Jr. on February 13th, 1997. Within a year's time she gave birth to his second child, a girl, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson on April 3, 1998. They divorced on October 8, 1999. Debbie rowe gave up her parental rights and full custody went to Michael. She received an $8 million dollar settlement.

Michael's Three Children
photo courtesy of DailyNews.com photo credit Djansezian/Getty The Oldest Child of Michael Jackson is "Prince." We don't know much about him but here is a video of Prince as a small child with his daddy. Watch this sweet video of young Prince and Michael If you would like to know more about Prince, please click on his Page. Prince's Page Paris is the 2nd born child to Michael. She is a very beautiful and exoctic looking young lady. We know she loved her daddy very much. Watch Paris' Birthday

photo courtesy of socialitelife.celebuzz.com Paris' Fan site

Paris is growing into a beautiful young lady. Would you like to know more about Paris, then click on Paris's Page

photo courtesy of Prince Michael "Blanket" Jackson II was born to an unidentified surrogate mother on February 21, 2002. photo courtesy of lipstickalley.com Blanket's Fan site Blanket is still a young child and still getting over his father's death. On Blanket's Page Let's watch this child grow into a young man.

Prince, Paris and Blanket Together
On Sunday Jan. 31, 2010 at the Grammy Awards, Paris and Prince Jackson accepted an award on their father's behalf. Accompaniedby Their 3 cousins, the group "3T", Prince made a very heartwarming acceptance speech.

8/24/2009: Michael Jackson's death was ruled a homicide. 6/25/2009: Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center. 6/27/06: Having shuttered his Neverland ranch in Santa Ynez because of financial difficulties, Michael Jackson was said to be moving to Europe. 6/13/05: After a four-month trial, and about 30 hours of deliberations over a seven day period, the jurors acquitted Michael Jackson of all charges. Born: Michael Joseph Jackson: August 29, 1958 at Gary, Indiana. Died: Michael Jackson: After being rushed to UCLA Medical Center, Michael Jackson died at age 50. Initial reports were that Jackson suffered from cardiac arrest. Source: Andrew Blankstein, Phil Willon. "Michael Jackson is dead." LATimes.com. 6/25/2009. Charles Montaldo: "Michael Jackson died of a lethal dose of a powerful anesthetic and the Los Angeles coroner has ruled his death a homicide." Source: Charles Montaldo. "Anesthetic Killed Michael Jackson." Crime.about.com. 8/24/2009.

Marriages:
 

Lisa Marie Presley - May 18, 1994 til January 18, 1996 - ended in divorce. Lisa Marie and Michael were married in the Dominican Republic. Debbie Rowe - November 15, 1996 til October 8, 1999 - ended in divorce.

Children:
  

Prince Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr: Born in 1997. His mother is Debbie Rowe. Paris Michael Katherine Jackson: Born in 1998. Her mother is Debbie Rowe. Prince Michael Jackson II aka Blanket: Born in 2002. He had a surrogate mother.

Presley -- Jackson Marriage: Michael Jackson's marriage to Lisa Marie Presley took place in De La Vega, Santa Domingo. Many believe that their marriage was a PR stunt to cast Jackson in a better light after allegations of sexual molestation charges involving a 13-year old boy. Jackson and Presley separated on December 10, 1995. Irreconcilable differences were cited as the reason for their divorce a month later. Presley had two children from her six-year marriage to musician Danny Keough. Lisa Marie Presley: ""I do believe he loved me as much as he could love anyone and I loved him very much ... I became very ill and emotionally/spiritually exhausted in my quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior and from the awful vampires and leeches he would always manage to magnetize around him. I was in over my head while trying ... He was an amazing person and I am lucky to have gotten as close to him as I did and to have had the many experiences and years that we had together." Source: Brian Orloff. "Lisa Marie: Michael Would Talk About His Death." People.com. 6/26/2009. Rowe - Jackson Marriage: Michael Jackson's November 15, 1996 marriage to Debbie Rowe, a former nurse, age 37, took place at a hotel suite in Sydney, Australia. She knew Jackson for 15 years before they were married, and was apparently six months pregnant at the time of their marriage. Although she also cited irreconcilable differences as a reason for their divorce in 1999, on 4/27/05 she testified at the Michael Jackson trial that "[we] never shared a home; we never shared an apartment." She also stated that she had not seen her children in more than two years. Debbie had been limited to seeing her children only every 45 days, and then for only eight hours under the supervision of a nanny. After her divorce, she received a $1 million home in Beverly Hills, but had to sign a confidentiality agreement stating that she couldn't speak to the press or anyone in the public about "Michael, the children or our lives together."

Michael Jackson Trial: 6/13/05: After a four-month trial, and about 30 hours of deliberations over a seven day period, the jurors acquitted Michael Jackson of all charges. 4/28/05: Debbie Rowe defended Michael Jackson as a "good father" who was "great with kids." She also described him as a victim of aides who were "vultures" who exploited Michael. 4/27/05: Debbie Rowe testified at the Michael Jackson trial that she was not rehearsed nor given a script in the rebuttal video she appeared in. It is expected that she will be asked more questions about the videotape on Thursday. 4/25/05: Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson's former wife, is set to be called to testify against him. It is expected that she will talk about being pressured into giving a scripted videotaped interview so she could have visits with her two children. 2/24/05: Jury selected: eight women, four men, ranging in age from 20 to 79. Reportedly, the racial/ethnic diversity is seven whites, four Hispanics and one Asian. Occupations of the jurors include head cashier, army widow, computer programmer, civil engineer, and a horse trainer. 02/07/05: The Michael Jackson trial was postponed for a week following a death of the sister of lead attorney Tom Mesereau. 01/05: A Santa Barbara County grand jury charged Michael Jackson with molesting a 13-year old boy, conspiring to commit extortion, false imprisonment, and child abduction. Jackson pleaded innocent. 12/04: A DNA sample was voluntarily given to authorities by Michael Jackson.