Michael Jackson at the 2006 World Music Awards in London
Shortly before his death, Michael Jackson was negotiating to buy an extensive collection of nude celebrity photos. Of course he was. From E!:
Website and magazine owner Celebrity Sleuth (that's what he goes by) says that he was alerted to Jackson's interest in the photos by Jack Wishna, the Las Vegas businessman who facilitated Jackson's return to the U.S. from overseas and was trying to organize a comeback engagement for the beleaguered artist in 2006 and 2007.
"Michael was one of the people to show the most interest right away and, up until literally the day before he died, I had an email from Jack saying 'M.J. wants to do this' and so forth," says Sleuth.
He would not reveal the exact amount Jackson was offering, but says it was "eight figures."
"This goes back to the '20s and the '30s and the '40s," says Sleuth. "They're pictures that I've collected, bought, been given, been given by the celebrities themselves over the years . . . If you can think of their name and they're famous, then they're in the collection. I would say nobody in the last 65 years who is a female celebrity is not in the collection."
There's an obvious reason why Michael wanted naked photos of
celebrities from all the way back to the 1920s -- that's when the "Little Rascals" were the biggest stars in Hollywood. Interestingly, the only nude photos Michael didn't want to buy were those of Macaulay Culkin, Corey Feldman, and his next door neighbor's kid Ben. Weird . . . I wonder why?
Us Weekly is claiming that an incident on the 1984 set of a Pepsi commercial is what created Michael Jackson's lifelong addiction to painkillers and other prescription drugs. In the video, Jackson is dancing down stairs onto a stage and a pyrotechnics display goes off early, catching his hair on fire. HE THEN CONTINUES TO DANCE. Holy shit. Us adds:
To relieve the second and third-degree burns on his scalp and body (and later to help him tolerate multiple surgeries on the scorched spot on his head), Jackson was prescribed several medications -- which kicked off his addiction to painkillers and obsession with plastic surgery, multiple sources tell Us.
OK, I take back every negative thing I've ever said or even thought about Michael Jackson. That dude was pure fucking badass. I once took down an entire biker gang with a Swiss Army knife* and even I would never dance with my head on fire. I'd probably just curl up into a fetal position and start sucking my thumb.
*I guarantee you that was the last time that gang fucked with someone at their bar who ordered a Shirley Temple with extra cherries.
NOTE: The video is now on PAGE 2 (click here). Thank you Us Weekly for playing annoying streaming ads on your videos.
I'll keep this post updated throughout the day. UPDATE (10:42 PST): We have our first celebrity sighting, the star of the 1987 hit Summer School: Kirstie Alley!
UPDATE (11:08 PST): They closed the 101 Freeway in LA for the motorcade to the Staples Center. When asked to comment, the average LA commuter replied, "FUCK YOU MICHAEL JACKSON!!!! FUCK YOU!!!!"
UPDATE (11:50 PST): According to E! the memorial service is costing the city of LA at least $3.5 million:
...And rising. For a city that is operating on a deep deficit.
"We have city employees getting pink slips because the city dollars are not there," points out L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine. But even though city officials have asked AEG to pick up some of the public costs, the company has declined, Zine tells me. AEG did not respond to my requests for comment.
"You would think AEG would say, 'We're the ones who did this, we could have had a private ceremony and not a major public memorial.' AEG is a big entertainment company. They're going to get international coverage and tons of publicity from this."
$3.5 million? So a few parks don't get mowed for the rest of the year and little Timmy trips over some weeds and breaks his leg. Big fucking deal. How many #1 hits has that stupid kid had? Little punk.
Joe Jackson (with Jesse Jackson) outside his house in Encino (6/26)
Cut out of his son Michael's will earlier this week, Joe Jackson is doing exactly the dignified thing you'd expect: he's going down swinging. From the Chicago Sun Times:
It's hard to believe, but a source close to Joe Jackson -- who is working with him on several new business projects -- says the outspoken patriarch of the Jackson clan may find himself further alienating his estranged wife, Katherine Jackson, and a number of his children.
The reason? Joe Jackson reportedly made several comments Tuesday -- after learning details about Michael Jackson's will -- that he might consider challenging the document that reportedly doesn't mention him at all. Though it's well-known that Joe Jackson had had a difficult and often strained relationship with his son, my source tells me he was "still pretty pissed that there was no mention of him in the will whatsoever."
Dude, I really think this guy is Satan. Look at that picture of him above -- taken mere hours after his son's death. He looks like he's at a fucking carnival. I've seen kids at Disneyland holding cotton candy in one hand and a balloon in the other who looked less happy than that.
The whole world is pissed off at OK! magazine right now -- not for spending $500,000 on Michael Jackson's "last" pic (he was probably dead in the pic), but for tastelessly putting the pic on the cover of their "tribute" issue. From the New York Post:
OK! magazine spent more than $500,000 on the "last" picture of Michael Jackson on a stretcher and possibly dead -- but was it worth it? Our well-placed source says some staffers objected to owner Richard Desmond's decision to put the ghoulish picture on this week's cover -- and it looks like advertisers and readers may agree. The source told us, "Media buyers have canceled upcoming meetings to discuss rates. It's a disgrace. They've sunk to a new low." In addition, Sean Combs and Jay-Z are said to be so furious, "they're organizing a boycott," according to our source.
The fact that OK! magazine put THIS picture on the cover of their publication is not only tasteless, but disgraceful. Considering how absolutely shocking and compelling it is, it's no wonder Diddy and Jay-Z are so upset about THIS picture. Anyone that would use THIS picture just to draw attention to their magazine/website is not only heartless, but exploiting a person's untimely death for their own financial gain -- and by THIS picture, I mean THIS one.
You force your lawyer to issue a statement that your son loved you. Wow.
Three stories about Joe Jackson I pulled off the Internet not told at the Jackson Family reunion.
1. Michael said that his father beat him and that "just a look would scare you." Michael said that he would get physically sick — as a child and as an adult — just at the sight of his father. He also spoke of emotional abuse. "I was so shy I would wash my face in the dark," Michael said, referring to an acne outbreak. "I wouldn't look in the mirror and my father teased me. I just hated it. I would cry every day. He would tell me I'm ugly."
2. Michael had a pet guinea pig "sparky" that Joe absolutely hated. One day Michael came home to find the cage empty. Joe explained that sparky had run away. That night, Michael was surprised when his father served him dinner (beef stroganoff), as Katherine usually did the serving. After dinner, Joe asked Michael if enjoyed dinner and Michael replied that he had. Joe then dropped the bombshell that he had killed sparky and mixed him into the beef stroganoff. Michael was horrified.
3. One night while Michael was asleep, Joseph climbed into his room through the bedroom window. Wearing a fright mask, he entered the room screaming and shouting. Joseph said he wanted to teach his children not to leave the window open when they went to sleep. For years afterward, Michael suffered nightmares about being kidnapped from his bedroom.
Though Michael Jackson died with debts of $500 million, it's believed his assets outweigh the debt by $200 million. Which is good news for those mentioned in his will, which surfaced yesterday. Good news for his mom Katherine, his three kids, and "one or more" charities. Wait, I didn't see his dad Joe mentioned. There must be some mistake. Maybe the Wall Street Journal can help clear up the matter:
One or two other earlier wills have emerged since Mr. Jackson's death last Thursday, according to people familiar with the situation. The Associated Press reported that Mr. Jackson's parents, Joseph and Katherine Jackson, said in a Monday court filing that they believed the singer had died without a valid will. Joseph Jackson isn't believed to be included in the most recent will.
It would have been nice to be mentioned in Michael's will, but the fact of the matter is that he really doesn't need the money. If you watch the clip I posted earlier of him at the press conference yesterday, you'll notice that Joe uses phrases like "we have fans all over the world" and "we're loved all the world." With fans all over the world, Joe must have a cajillion dollars in the bank. Hell, he probably told Michael to leave him out of the will, so the charities could get more. It just seems like the sort of selfless thing he would do.
Michael Jackson, son Prince and daughter Paris, leaving Tom's Toys in Beverly Hills (5/15)
Michael Jackson never put his sperm in any of his three kids . . . wait, that sounded really bad. I mean to say he's not the biological father. And his ex-wife Debbie Rowe is not the biological mother to the two children she gave birth to, Prince in 1997 and Paris in 1998. All three kids were test tube babies. From TMZ:
Multiple sources deeply connected to the births tell us Michael was not the sperm donor for any of his kids. Debbie's eggs were not used. She was merely the surrogate, and paid well for her services in the births of Michael Jr. and Paris.
In the case of Prince Michael II (the youngest), we're told the surrogate was never told of the identity of the "receiving parent" -- Michael Jackson. Three days after Prince was born at Grossmont Hospital in San Diego County, Jackson's lawyer came to the hospital to pick the baby up and deliver him to Michael.
We do not know if Jackson chose the sperm or egg donors or if he even knew who they were.
Hate to say I saw this coming but I did. Just looking at their skin color and feathers, it's pretty obvious they were conceived by another man.
Joe Jackson is still heartbroken by his son's death
Following his gut-wrenching interview Sunday at the BET Awards in which he could *barely* promote his new record label, Michael Jackson's father Joe held a news conference in Encino yesterday. Before hitting the play button, try and guess what he spends the opening 40 seconds talking about:
1. How heartbroken he is over the death of his son. 2. How his son's children are doing in the wake of their father's death. 3. Marantz Records distributed by BlueStar and Blu-ray.
Go ahead, guess. I bet you'll never get it, not even in 100 years.
Michael Jackson's dad gave his first public interview Sunday at the BET Awards in Los Angeles. Just a warning, this is really hard to watch -- especially at the 3:13 mark when Joe barely musters the strength to promote his new record label. Heartbreaking stuff.
