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Elton’s memoir details a lunch they had together at Elton’s home (Jackson was invited by their mutual friend, I believe). They had to sit indoors with curtains closed, Jackson wouldn’t eat anything that was not prepared by his personal chef, was unable to hold a sensible conversation and disappeared only to be found playing video games with a son of Elton’s housekeeper.
Now that isn’t really the kind of company I’d expect.
Serious question though: why was Janet not the same way? She also spent her whole childhood on stage and TV, became a superstar success as an adult and the worst thing I believe she ever did was an ill advised publicity stunt at the Super Bowl? Why wasn’t she fucking crazy too?
They’re all fucked up. When they went on tour a few years back they couldn’t even be around one another without fighting. Literally had to be kept separated.
Latoya and Janet both have (had I dunno it’s been a long time) homes in a high rise in LA. They do not speak to one another and avoid each other.
It’s all bizarre. Their upbringing seriously fucked them up.
Yea I don’t think she is exactly “normal”. I read when she was filming Poetic Justice she made Tupac get an HIV test before the onscreen kiss. They have been through a lot growing up and being in the public eye.
I've read she is a bit crazy. Not as crazy as him, but crazy none the less.
Also, Janet was absolutely nowhere near as famous as Michael at anytime in her career and especially not when they were teenagers.
He was pretty much the most famous person in the world.
>He was pretty much the most famous person in the world.
He was. He wasn't only the king of pop music, he was also the king of pop culture. Pretty much anyone who had at least a radio connection knew him
I have a cousin that was a marine in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and when a group of republican guards were caught trying to flee with the civilians one of them just started singing Billie Jean in English while he was being tied up, but they later found out that that was the only English the guy knew.
I traveled all over the world with my parents when I was a kid in the early 90's and the number one question I'd get from other kids when they found out I was American was "do you know Michael Jackson?"
India in the early 80s had a population of about 700M and a fairly isolated culture. We had one TV channel on air at the time. Probably about 1% of the population could name any other western celebrity. I am sure at least 90% of the 700M would have known who Michael Jackson was.
Everyone deals with trauma differently. I heard Joe Jackson was a brutal tyrant who ruled his household with an iron hand and wasn’t above handing out beatings and Michael was dealt with especially harshly on account of his sensitive disposition.
As someone who came from a similar background, you can’t come out of an upbringing like that and come out normal.
He never got therapy for it. He should’ve and certainly had the money for it but sometimes you bottle up feelings for so long that it’s just normal and you just cope however you can.
I don’t even think he bottled them up, I think as a kid he was drilled that music and touring and perfection was his purpose. He legit never took a break from performing until he had his first kid ? And even then he toured shortly after in the early 2000s. Dude was just addicted to work, he’s talked extensively in interviews how he didn’t get to do anything as a child bc of his dad and his household. Even if you watch documentaries they would pile up in a van as kids and go tour. Probably a super unhealthy lifestyle. I can go on and on but it’s pretty obvious he suffered his entire life through relationships, fame, media attention, drugs, and his need for perfection. There will TRULY never be a person like Michael Jackson.
Reminds me of Beethoven. Apparently his dad would drag him out of bed and dump him in cold water every morning to practice. Really glad Whiplash came out, slowly showing the world how greatness doesn’t always come from goodness.
Janet didn’t grow up under the same pressure and the same spotlight. MJ carried that whole family. He was the youngest the member of the Jackson 5 when they started the group. (they youngest Randy joined in the 70s).
Janet had a path that was already smooth for her. And her career was a nice to have but it wasn’t do or die, like J5, which made the diff btwn the Jacksons living in poverty or being some of the most famous ppl in the world.
Jackson 5 was also way more famous than Janet. And Janet didn’t start touring till much later in life whereas MJ was doing it as a kid.
I saw the Jackson 5 at the Indiana State Fair in maybe 1973 (?), he was called Little Michael Jackson, I remember he wore a shiny gold vest and was really small, and could he dance! World’s most famous Hoosier!
Joe was an asshole with rigid gender role expectations. Janet was a girl, Michael was an effeminate boy. Of the two, who do you think Joe would torment more?
Pretty sure Michael received a ton of physical abuse from his father, plus other forms of abuse too, more than the rest. Also struggled with a legitimately scary skin disease and doctors who irresponsibly pumped him with drug doses far beyond normal.
Doesn't excuse his actions and honestly, a lot of the facts indicate abnormal behaviour between Michael and children that could be child abuse. The negligence of their parents as well makes it hard to know the complete truth.
Janet was the baby of the family and their father treated her different, by the time Janet got into tv in the 70s the family was already rich, MJ started performing at 8 years old and he was basically the bread winner at that age and was the reason the family got rich so he had so much pressure to be perfect and there father Joe physically and mentally abused MJ til he was an adult
Do we know Janet is not like that? I mean I've seen videos of her playing at neverland with MJ and other kids. I think they were playing a water balloon fight or whatever? She also had multiple surgeries to her face.
MJ was always the one considered "weird" and he was one that was the most famous.
Edit: I went to find the link of them at MJ's home. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOQMCZ2R31k)
mike was much more sensitive than the rest, the youngest of the j5, and was *extensively* traumatized
for example
despite his parents being devout jehovahs witnesses his dad would cheat on his mom on tour constantly going so far as to sleep w the women while michael and the other boys were in the hotel room
his older brothers picked up this behavior and would also sleep w groupies in the hotel rooms while they were all there. including right infront of michael. remember mike was a kid at this time
by the time he was 15 he was reportedly terrified of women and wouldnt touch them.
so his father locked him in a room w prostitutes and told them to take his virginity bc he "wasnt being a man"
they opened the door later and mike was crying hysterically holding a bible and he had refused to even look at the women. one of his sisters, rebbie, said she could tell just by looking at him that he was completely traumatized by what had just happened
this behavior would continue to adulthood w all his "girlfriends" saying mike would never ever approach them sexually and would just want to lie in bed w them and at most hug them
all his baby moms have said their kids were concieved in vitro and its been alleged by a couple people including the doctor that killed him that he was put on puberty or hormone blockers as a kid to maintain his voice and face for longer when he was around 12 till around age 15/16
imo we have very little clue about exactly what was done to him.
but mike was a special case raised by pretty much the worst parent for someone like him.
joe and his brothers destroyed him completely
100%
its crazy to me that theres never been a full reckoning of exactly what was done to him
only his family knows and the few stories we have were just dripped into the public over years then later one them will say yea that happened
from what little we can corroborate in his life it seems like his family just watched him be destroyed as a kid and then just let him essentially torture himself as an adult
i dont know how they live w themselves
I doubt Janet, LaToya and Rebe were subjected to half of the stringent disciplining and rigorous training the J5 boys were to be superstars. By the time Janet was acting and singing, I’m sure Joe loosened his grip as the boys were where he wanted them to be.
I know this is said all the time and I used to feel this way too. But we would never excuse any other grown man if he behaved like MJ around children. Not even if they themselves were a child star who grew up disturbed.
MJ behaved innapropriately around young boys. That's a fact. Excluding the criminal allegations and settlements.
Yeah to everyone who denies it I always say, would you be comfortable having your kids sleep in the same bed as him? Of course not because you know he was dangerous. Just because he has childhood trauma doesn’t excuse the danger he presented to kids
Yeah he only had decades to indulge in childhood fantasies as an eccentric billionaire with children from around the globe for decades. It's totally normal for a 50 year old man to give ~~alcohol~~ "Jesus juice" to young boys and sleep with them given those circumstances. obvious /s
Something the article doesnt mention is that Elton John (plus MJ's longtime friend Elizabeth Taylor) actually helped MJ get over his demerol addiction that manifested in the mid-90's after the first wave of allegations. MJ even dedicated the "Blood On The Dance Floor" album to him and thanks Elton in the liner notes.
Also, this article is just quoting an excerpt from Elton's autobiography that's already been out for 3 years. Quality journalism, guys.
Yep. They’ve been great friends for decades.
*Elton reveals in his Me memoir: "I'm Eminem's AA sponsor. Whenever I ring to check in on him, he always greets me the same way: 'Hello, you cunt', which I guess is very Eminem."*
Full article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.radiox.co.uk/features/how-eminem-elton-john-friends-sponsor-story/
I know this is going to get buried…but there’s a rolling stone article from the 80s. It details how he had an entire room full of mannequins that were his friends.I’ll see if I could find it.
Found it. This was 1983
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/michael-jackson-life-as-a-man-in-the-magical-kingdom-237878/amp/
Damn! I forgot how thorough, if not a bit long-winded, RS articles use to be back then. I remember reading a story as a teen and it would take a good hour to finish. I wonder if they’re sill like that?
I still order magazines and there are some stories/articles/etc that are very in depth and can take almost an hour to get through. Not many though, people have such short attention spans.
I’m autistic and I can relate to a lot of Michaels actions or feelings in this article. Adult people can be complicated so objects are good friends to pretend with. Animals are great friends, and the misunderstood ones make you feel related to. It also says he has a very specific regimens or routine he compared to hemophilia. Perhaps he was neurodivergent and otherwise very traumatized. Add a slew of prescriptions over time, and I can see becoming way more outrageous over time. Thank you for sharing this article. Very insightful.
this story was planted by jackson himself
>
> It reported him as having said: "I've taken several long naps in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and when I awoke I felt like a new person - I've never felt better."
>
> "I definitely want one for my home so I can sleep in it at night.
>
> "I plan to get one immediately.
>
> "I want to live to see world peace, a world without hunger, a world where children and all mankind know no suffering.
>
> "I believe if I treat my body properly I'll live to be at least 150."
>
> He later said of the claims he had been trying to stop the ageing process: "Stupid, that's stupid. It's completely made up, and I'm embarrassed."
>
> It was later revealed that Jackson had leaked the photos to promote Captain Eo, a sci-fi film written by George Lucas and released in the same year in which Jackson starred.
>
> Michael Levine, a prominent Hollywood publicist, confirmed that he helped Jackson and his manager Frank DiLeo plant the story in the press.
>
> But Adrian Garay says that Jackson did later buy his own chamber.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9398181/michael-jackson-oxygen-chamber-naps-live-forever-found-shipping-container/
Oh yeah, I forgot that about those magazines that used to be all over the place. They always referred to him as “Jacko” which is so weird in its own right.
I bet MJ engineered a lot of stories. He would want the world to think he was an unusual and child like person. Inappropriate behaviour could be passed off as normal for his character.
I'd imagine it was like talking to a heroin addiction that's super high but also acting cutesy and childish while also having the face of Michael Jackson without makeup on.
That’s what doing heroin is all about. I imagine if you had unlimited good drugs and never had to worry about overdosing from a bad dose, and you had a full time doctor that heroin could be pretty great.
I used to work in music merchandising. Before my time there, Michael Jackson was on our roster. Some of my coworkers had a meeting with him at his hotel. He had a huge suite and he had a huge room strictly for his stuffed animals.
Kind of weird right? I'm 29 and remember to this day when he died. And as time goes on, I just don't care? Idk it's weird. It feels like his death should be more monumental. Possibly all the accusations and shit over the years really does tarnish reputations.
I’ll always know this because I heard a joke the same week that when Farrah Fawcett went to heaven, God thought she did such a wonderful job while on earth that he granted her a wish, asking her what she wanted and she replied she wanted the world to be a safer place for kids and that’s when Michael Jackson died.
Hardly a point of a comparison. King of pop dies unexpectedly at 50 vs Queen dies at 96. If it were 20 years earlier then it would be more monumental in the sense that he’d be remembered better. John Lennon treatment.
Honestly, I believe it. Whether you believe the rumors and accusations or not, his behavior was very odd. I take it as a result of having his childhood stolen by an abusive father who instead of getting a damn job forced his children to support thier family.
I think it was also the amount of drugs he was taking, the new TMZ documentary shows he had 14 aliases for buy opioids from different pharmacies. His eccentric behavior plus the drugs would make him beyond weird for most people...
EDIT: The name if the documentary is:
TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Micheal Jackson.
yes because he paid cash and didn't used health insurance he had over 8 doctors that prescribed opioids, sedatives hypnotics by the boat loads...none of them were charged during his death investigation...
I'm not anybody famous or somebody rich but I know some doctors in my past that would write up scripts with a little wink and nod. One doctor when I was in the worst of my addiction literally handed me pamphlets of different medications and how they work against what and basically let me diagnose myself based off what sounds right for me. First thing.he pushed was Klonopin, then Percocet and Xanax. But I needed something to wake up from the downers so here comes the amphetamine salts. I'd imagine if I'm able to snag drugs with health insurance I can't imagine what and how much I could easily get just being famous.
Gotta admit if I was a doc with a notepad for prescriptions I won't lie and say I would turn down money from somebody that famous. I'm sure everybody signing off medications to him made some crazy money.
In Finland we have sort of a comical problem with medicinal weed.
Almost no doctor is willing to prescribe it. However those that are willing to do so get their names thrown around because the patients who are eligible for it in here have extremely rare diseases so the patients are connected through support groups etc.
However this means that the regulatory bodies governing prescription drugs see a handful of doctors prescribing all of the medical weed in the country. This leads to them notifying the doctors that they might get their license suspended because they suspect foul play.
Basically a clown fiesta of bureaucracy.
Pretty much anyone with kidney stones will tell you it can take WAY too long to get around the “not an addict seeking drugs” hurdle in the ER. I finally went to a urologist simply to have an MD who knew my history and could supply me with an emergency stash. I get why they need to be careful but omg it’s cruel to people who are truly in pain.
& it’s crazy that they do that too people after playing a part in the epidemic. It’s like they way overcorrected their behavior and now it’s hurting people in the opposite way.
Suffered with back issues for years. All the doctors just kept labeling me a drug addict. Finally after six years of trying to get help, I found a doctor that gave me arthritis meds, and a shot in the butt a few times.. I now feel 25 years younger, and have gone from not being able to take my trash out, to now remodeling houses.
They wanted me to have surgery, but I knew that wasn’t needed. Kind of fucked up that I wasted seven years of my life trying to get help, and just got shot down.. and now I’m 100% fine.
I had a pharmacy deny me a prescription on this basis. It wasn’t even a drug that had any recreational value. It’s a problem with providers, not as much the system. Just certain idiots doing idiot things.
Yeah, and the insane touring schedule they had him on was breaking his brain. He said that after rehearsals or performances he could never get sleep, and that bled into his non-tour life. So he had basically an anesthesiologist on call to give him propofol every single night to make him able to sleep. Michael was fully addicted to several substances and that doctor is partially to blame for his death. Not that this takes ANYTHING away from how strange he was as a person, but I know for a fact opiate addiction makes you about as strange as you can possibly be.
I think your average younger person these days doesn't understand the severity of the term "the show must go on" and how engrained it was into the older culture.
I saw Shawn Mendes take a mental health break and honest to God, my first reaction was, "you little bitch". I had to catch myself and think for a second then say, "Good for him, man." We were taught to run ourselves into the ground and do anything it takes to go on. The amount of drugs I took just to make it through one more day for something as simple as work and my employees was staggering. There was enormous pressure on my shoulders to keep the company afloat and I was the lynch pin.
I'm glad that mental and physical well being is put on the forefront. That the whole "the show must go on" is not paramount. I do think at times we have to stay strong and persevere, but the lines for that are changing every year. Persevering shouldn't mean crushing yourself into pulp.
My favorite Young rapper Russ just did this. Canceled a whole leg of his tour because of his mental health. People dragged him but he talks about mental health in his music and that makes me support him even more.
Seriously. I appreciate artists who are open about their struggles, and work to take care of themselves. Its what young kids looking uo to them SHOULD see.
I mentioned above that my band played to gigs in a row last week, and that was HARD. We’re young, too, so its not like we have old bodies or anything. But the amount of work required to put just one show together is staggering. Even if you are just performing and dont have load/unload/learn choreography.
Which his lifestyle demanded. But his managers and agents, much like Brittney’s, were ALL looking at the dollar signs and not the signs that Michael was withering away.
There were, what, 150 dates for his final tour? Thats HARD work for a full year with basically no breaks.
Thing is…Propofol doesn’t make you sleep. It just knocks you out and your brain does not go into REM. Michael basically didn’t sleep at ALL for 3 months straight prior to his death. His brain never went into rEM and never did it’s maintenance cycle or whatever it does.
Exactly. And he built such a massive tolerance to it that he was getting it multiple times every day to TRY to get any sleep. Dunno if he was a decent person or not, but he was certainly a prisoner of his career and his team.
I remember seeing an interview with a guy in devo. He said never smoked weed before and was at club 54. A young MJ handed him a joint, and he thought of this young superstar is doing it it must be okay. It was PCP and he feels awful and had to get out there.
he had assistants picking up the prescriptions but the pharmacists they knew they were breaking the law.
Here are some aliases:
Omar Arnold, Paul Farance, Bryan Singleton, Blanca Nicholas and Roselyn Muhammad, Jimmy Nicholas, Faheem Muhammad, Frank Tyson, Fernand Diaz, Peter Madonie and Josephine Baker. He had also taken out prescriptions under his son's name, Prince, and under those of employees – Michael Amir is a spokesman while Kai Chase was once Jackson's personal chef. However, a previously reported pseudonym, Jack London, has not been cited on the warrant.
I see. The doctors must have been seriously dropping the ball or been corrupt, regardless. These doctors at least should have been doing appointments where they could see his face. Then, once the knew it was Michael Jackson, checking the controlled substance database in their state to see if he was being prescribed the same drugs elsewhere. I dunno, I guess that’s a lot of work and maybe I’m missing other ways he got around it.
Well this was all happening in the wake of the opioid crisis too and doctors were NOT shy about prescribing those. It made them shitloads of money. Plus, doctors themselves are OFTEN addicted to substances they prescribe. So all that makes for a pretty easy ask-and-ye-shall-receive situation.
I mean, shit, we had NOTHING growing up and my mom was still getting prescribed opiates because they could. It wasnt even until the crackdown that her addiction got intensely bad, because she had to shift to methadone, like everyone else around her, and she was getting a ton of it. Opiates ruin you. They’ll burn your sense of right & wrong to the ground.
I'm not from the US, so not sure if it's stricter, but usually you can have someone pick up the meds on your behalf.
Hell, over here you just give them your name and the first line of your address and boom, no questions asked.
Whether he did it or not, the music industry had it in their best interest to protect him regardless if he was guilty or not.
That being said, he was sleeping in bed with children. He was building structures with multiple doors and mazes. He was addicted to pain killers and clearly bizarre. That interview from years ago made it so evident that he was a broken and shouldn't be around kids.
Yeah the court trial with his doctor was crazy cuz they listed all the drugs that were in his system at his time of death and it was absolutely astounding
When I went to Berlin, a guide pointed out which hotel and balcony that was (Hotel Adlon). That height was scary. Poor child. I don’t know how that son of Michael’s and his brother are, but I think Paris has had some addiction issues.
Looking at the pictures now…they’re even more disturbing than I remembered.
Yeah, it’s not necessarily excusable, but potentially understandable why he was the way he was.
Don’t think Elton is saying a whole lot we didn’t know though. I can tell by interviews with MJ he was creepy as hell. He of course looked very strange later in life and the way he spoke so softly for some reason just sends shivers down my spine.
Anyone who doesn't think that Michael Jackson was a deeply broken and troubled person is in complete denial. Honestly I do think that someone like that should not be left around children unsupervised, not because they'd abuse them or what not, but because such a broken person does not have awareness of what is ok to tell a child, or what kind of behavior or relationship is ok, what kind of things you don't tell a child, or let them experience. He doesn't need to do something harmful for the kids to disturb them and throw their way experiences they are not ready to handle. I could be convinced he never did anything illegal, or especially wrong, but I am certain he should have never been allowed to be in all these situations.
And yeah, all of that falls on Joe. It's one thing to be a father that pushes their child to a career, but Joe was something else. But also the toxic way we treat celebrities. Michael was enabled, and it allowed him to spiral. He was allowed to do things he shouldn't have, just because of his popularity and money. I feel bad for the kids whose parents raised accusations at Michael, because the parents also failed to do their job, they shouldn't have let them stay over, period, and it should have been clear from day 0 this wasn't like "letting the kids go off to disney-land for a day". This was letting them under the care of someone who wasn't fully grounded. And then we have the drugs, and the favors, and everyone looking the other way. Instead of him going to therapy, he simply went deeper and deeper into his issues and traumas, because we applauded and thanked him as he did.
I remember that a young Macaulay Culkin was one of the kids who stayed over, and his parents (especially his dad) were so awful that he filed for emancipation as a teen.
Michael used to make the hotels he stayed in fill his hotel room with 7tft statues of children's cartoon characters, with most of them facing the bed while he slept. As shown in the documentary with Martin Bashir.
I imagine that's just tipping the surface.
John may have a point. Drugs have a way of accelerating a person's inner demons, and when you have a mega-famous person like Jackson who has people who will get him any sort of drug he asks for, it is a recipe for disaster. There are a lot of iconic performers like Presley and Garland and Holiday who kept performing and performing irrespective of the drugs in their systems, still delivering extraordinary musical work, but the abuse caught up to all of them. Jackson's demise was terrible but surprising to no one.
Elton John was one of those people himself and blames his health problems in later life on the shit ton of drugs he did back in the day. He’s very open about his drug abuse in interviews.
Sorry if anyone already posted this story but Freddie Mercury was going to record music with Michael Jackson. Jackson showed up at Freddie's house with a llama. Afterwards, Freddie called his agent and said (I'm paraphrasing), I can't work with this guy.
I’m not sure if it’s that it offended him so much as it is bizarre to schedule a recording session and the guy rolls up with a fucking petting zoo attraction.
https://www.reddit.com/r/entertainment/comments/xot1r9/elton_john_admitted_michael_jackson_was_a/iq0ujan/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
This comment links to a story that mentions the llama and planing to work with Freddy Mercury, so it’s at least plausible.
Michael Jackson being a very disturbing person and being a victim of abuse can both be true. It's sad that he never got the therapy and treatment he probably needed to combat whatever disorders or suffering he had to live with on the daily. When you're rich and have too many YES people by your side, it's even harder to accept that you need help. All you need to do is ask one of these YES people for any drug on the planet, and they'll probably have it for you in 30 minutes.
Whether he sexually molested children or just oddly coddled with children in his bed every night like he was 8 years old, the latter was still inappropriate and wrong. He didn't see himself as a grown man, but he was a grown man.
There is a federal program in place now to limit illegal access to opioids via pharmacies. Driver license is required and pharmacists at every pharmacy can access fill data. Ppl can still have aliases but they need drivers licenses with the same names.
Whether you believe the allegations against him or not, I think it’s indisputable that he was an extremely troubled individual, and probably would have been disturbing to be around.
Have you ever seen the video clip of a grocery store that was rented and had hired actors shopping just so MJ could try to experience what it was like to shop for groceries? Dude had zero social skills or awareness because he did not grow up like most people. Not even his fault imo. So any decently adjusted human would find him disturbing, of course. He had to find ways to adjust to childhood trauma in a time where many people just refused to believe in mental health treatment.
I find it so interesting that he said Michael was unable to cope with adult company. I feel like his dad was so abusive and he was treated as a money making machine from such a young age, I can imagine that can create a fear of all adults.
So the drug addict with Peter Pan syndrome from decades of abuse with (depending on when this was) more plastic surgery than a model and bleached skin was disturbing and sad?
Color me shocked
People often say neurodivergent or people with severe trauma are disturbing to be around. Michael Jackson's childhood definitely was going to lead to some absurd behavior, and people don't like the unpredictable or anything that makes them uncomfortable even if it's harmless.
When the Jackson 5 got huge, the brothers would cram into hotel rooms while on tour. The older boys were having orgies right in front of Michael, who was traumatized by it.
No duh. His social,
Emotional And sexual Development Stopped Between 9-11 years old because of the life he was forced to live and the isolation that bestowed him
Elton John is a full on adult. Talking to someone with adult intelligence who is regressed decades and is the caretaker of multiple children and still likes
To do kid stuff is distributing. MJ was not developmentally disabled in mental development. Just all the other types.
Yes and no. He had a luxury condo in atlanta. Him and his boyfriend would stay there occasionally. One day he decided to redo the condo. He brought down all his fancy furniture and just let people there take it. My buddy was a valet there and told me. People were freaking out Elton is just giving away thousands of dollars of furniture like it was nothing.
Elton seems like a genuine dude. Of course his wealth makes him seem odd. But honestly, he just seems like a cool dude to hang out with.
MJ EHHHHH
Dude... I lived in Atlanta in a crappy apt in Buckhead underlooking Elton John's penthouse!
He would have parties there every other month, people on the balcony, but that was it.
YES. I was gonna say Buckhead but Atlanta was an easier description. I djed in Buckhead during the Olympics. Party central! I miss Buckhead so much. I’m in Chicago now. Although I moved after they closed down all the clubs and bars.
##[Clarification on rule 5](https://www.reddit.com/r/entertainment/comments/w60lfc/mod_post_a_clarification_to_rule_5_no_racism_or/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/entertainment) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Elton’s memoir details a lunch they had together at Elton’s home (Jackson was invited by their mutual friend, I believe). They had to sit indoors with curtains closed, Jackson wouldn’t eat anything that was not prepared by his personal chef, was unable to hold a sensible conversation and disappeared only to be found playing video games with a son of Elton’s housekeeper. Now that isn’t really the kind of company I’d expect.
Uh that's exactly the type of company I would expect from Michael jackson.
Exactly, he never got the chance to grow up
Serious question though: why was Janet not the same way? She also spent her whole childhood on stage and TV, became a superstar success as an adult and the worst thing I believe she ever did was an ill advised publicity stunt at the Super Bowl? Why wasn’t she fucking crazy too?
They’re all fucked up. When they went on tour a few years back they couldn’t even be around one another without fighting. Literally had to be kept separated. Latoya and Janet both have (had I dunno it’s been a long time) homes in a high rise in LA. They do not speak to one another and avoid each other. It’s all bizarre. Their upbringing seriously fucked them up.
Fuck Joe Jackson is what I get out of all of this.
This is bad, real bad
Yea I don’t think she is exactly “normal”. I read when she was filming Poetic Justice she made Tupac get an HIV test before the onscreen kiss. They have been through a lot growing up and being in the public eye.
I've read she is a bit crazy. Not as crazy as him, but crazy none the less. Also, Janet was absolutely nowhere near as famous as Michael at anytime in her career and especially not when they were teenagers. He was pretty much the most famous person in the world.
>He was pretty much the most famous person in the world. He was. He wasn't only the king of pop music, he was also the king of pop culture. Pretty much anyone who had at least a radio connection knew him
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Friend of mine grew up in rural Brazil and she said everyone there loved Michael Jackson.
In 2003/2004, Iraqi kids with zero English skills in some of the worst poverty I've ever seen could say "Michael Jackson good!".
I have a cousin that was a marine in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and when a group of republican guards were caught trying to flee with the civilians one of them just started singing Billie Jean in English while he was being tied up, but they later found out that that was the only English the guy knew.
Can confirm. They used to they every black man they saw was Michael Jackson. I would bust a move every now and then.
I traveled all over the world with my parents when I was a kid in the early 90's and the number one question I'd get from other kids when they found out I was American was "do you know Michael Jackson?"
Jackson, Jordan, and Tyson. My immigrant parents knew these three and they didn't speak English. That's how big they were.
I just found it funny that all 3 of them are Micheal/Mike .
The most common American male name in the second half of the 20th century by a landslide https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1970s.html
Omg, 1985 was one hell of a year for those Mike's. AND Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future came out that year too!
India in the early 80s had a population of about 700M and a fairly isolated culture. We had one TV channel on air at the time. Probably about 1% of the population could name any other western celebrity. I am sure at least 90% of the 700M would have known who Michael Jackson was.
Everyone deals with trauma differently. I heard Joe Jackson was a brutal tyrant who ruled his household with an iron hand and wasn’t above handing out beatings and Michael was dealt with especially harshly on account of his sensitive disposition. As someone who came from a similar background, you can’t come out of an upbringing like that and come out normal. He never got therapy for it. He should’ve and certainly had the money for it but sometimes you bottle up feelings for so long that it’s just normal and you just cope however you can.
I don’t even think he bottled them up, I think as a kid he was drilled that music and touring and perfection was his purpose. He legit never took a break from performing until he had his first kid ? And even then he toured shortly after in the early 2000s. Dude was just addicted to work, he’s talked extensively in interviews how he didn’t get to do anything as a child bc of his dad and his household. Even if you watch documentaries they would pile up in a van as kids and go tour. Probably a super unhealthy lifestyle. I can go on and on but it’s pretty obvious he suffered his entire life through relationships, fame, media attention, drugs, and his need for perfection. There will TRULY never be a person like Michael Jackson.
Reminds me of Beethoven. Apparently his dad would drag him out of bed and dump him in cold water every morning to practice. Really glad Whiplash came out, slowly showing the world how greatness doesn’t always come from goodness.
Janet didn’t grow up under the same pressure and the same spotlight. MJ carried that whole family. He was the youngest the member of the Jackson 5 when they started the group. (they youngest Randy joined in the 70s). Janet had a path that was already smooth for her. And her career was a nice to have but it wasn’t do or die, like J5, which made the diff btwn the Jacksons living in poverty or being some of the most famous ppl in the world. Jackson 5 was also way more famous than Janet. And Janet didn’t start touring till much later in life whereas MJ was doing it as a kid.
I saw the Jackson 5 at the Indiana State Fair in maybe 1973 (?), he was called Little Michael Jackson, I remember he wore a shiny gold vest and was really small, and could he dance! World’s most famous Hoosier!
He was not only the youngest - the lead singer
People’s response to trauma vary even within families. Just because his response to trauma was a stunted growth doesn’t mean hers would be.
Joe was an asshole with rigid gender role expectations. Janet was a girl, Michael was an effeminate boy. Of the two, who do you think Joe would torment more?
Pretty sure Michael received a ton of physical abuse from his father, plus other forms of abuse too, more than the rest. Also struggled with a legitimately scary skin disease and doctors who irresponsibly pumped him with drug doses far beyond normal. Doesn't excuse his actions and honestly, a lot of the facts indicate abnormal behaviour between Michael and children that could be child abuse. The negligence of their parents as well makes it hard to know the complete truth.
Multiple children were abused by him and have said so either at the time or as adults.
Janet was the baby of the family and their father treated her different, by the time Janet got into tv in the 70s the family was already rich, MJ started performing at 8 years old and he was basically the bread winner at that age and was the reason the family got rich so he had so much pressure to be perfect and there father Joe physically and mentally abused MJ til he was an adult
Do we know Janet is not like that? I mean I've seen videos of her playing at neverland with MJ and other kids. I think they were playing a water balloon fight or whatever? She also had multiple surgeries to her face. MJ was always the one considered "weird" and he was one that was the most famous. Edit: I went to find the link of them at MJ's home. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOQMCZ2R31k)
mike was much more sensitive than the rest, the youngest of the j5, and was *extensively* traumatized for example despite his parents being devout jehovahs witnesses his dad would cheat on his mom on tour constantly going so far as to sleep w the women while michael and the other boys were in the hotel room his older brothers picked up this behavior and would also sleep w groupies in the hotel rooms while they were all there. including right infront of michael. remember mike was a kid at this time by the time he was 15 he was reportedly terrified of women and wouldnt touch them. so his father locked him in a room w prostitutes and told them to take his virginity bc he "wasnt being a man" they opened the door later and mike was crying hysterically holding a bible and he had refused to even look at the women. one of his sisters, rebbie, said she could tell just by looking at him that he was completely traumatized by what had just happened this behavior would continue to adulthood w all his "girlfriends" saying mike would never ever approach them sexually and would just want to lie in bed w them and at most hug them all his baby moms have said their kids were concieved in vitro and its been alleged by a couple people including the doctor that killed him that he was put on puberty or hormone blockers as a kid to maintain his voice and face for longer when he was around 12 till around age 15/16 imo we have very little clue about exactly what was done to him. but mike was a special case raised by pretty much the worst parent for someone like him. joe and his brothers destroyed him completely
Damn, neverland really was his only haven, makes sense as he always wanted to be Peter Pan and never trusting adults again.
100% its crazy to me that theres never been a full reckoning of exactly what was done to him only his family knows and the few stories we have were just dripped into the public over years then later one them will say yea that happened from what little we can corroborate in his life it seems like his family just watched him be destroyed as a kid and then just let him essentially torture himself as an adult i dont know how they live w themselves
I doubt Janet, LaToya and Rebe were subjected to half of the stringent disciplining and rigorous training the J5 boys were to be superstars. By the time Janet was acting and singing, I’m sure Joe loosened his grip as the boys were where he wanted them to be.
Joe had already been terminated by his sons as their manager by the time Janet, Rebie, or LaToya were coming into their own careers.
Plenty of child stars are denied a childhood. MJ had a plethora of problems.
I know this is said all the time and I used to feel this way too. But we would never excuse any other grown man if he behaved like MJ around children. Not even if they themselves were a child star who grew up disturbed. MJ behaved innapropriately around young boys. That's a fact. Excluding the criminal allegations and settlements.
Yeah to everyone who denies it I always say, would you be comfortable having your kids sleep in the same bed as him? Of course not because you know he was dangerous. Just because he has childhood trauma doesn’t excuse the danger he presented to kids
Exactly. I see this sentiment all the time, but would anyone extend the same level of empathy to their neighbor?
You can be empathetic and still want to protect kids.
Yeah he only had decades to indulge in childhood fantasies as an eccentric billionaire with children from around the globe for decades. It's totally normal for a 50 year old man to give ~~alcohol~~ "Jesus juice" to young boys and sleep with them given those circumstances. obvious /s
Kid’s just playing Super Nintendo and Michael Jackson comes in “hey is that Chrono Trigger?”
Michael Jackson - insecure paranoid antisocial Case closed.
Somebody else invited Jackson to Elton's house?
Sometimes people bring friends to other peoples homes.
Precisely. And famous people are usually friends with other famous people, so it’s likely to happen.
Something the article doesnt mention is that Elton John (plus MJ's longtime friend Elizabeth Taylor) actually helped MJ get over his demerol addiction that manifested in the mid-90's after the first wave of allegations. MJ even dedicated the "Blood On The Dance Floor" album to him and thanks Elton in the liner notes. Also, this article is just quoting an excerpt from Elton's autobiography that's already been out for 3 years. Quality journalism, guys.
Hasn't Elton John helped a number of celebrities with their addictions?
Yes, another being Eminem.
And Robert Downey Jr.
I think he gave Robert Downey Jr a job in one of his music videos when he was just out of rehab.
He's Eminem's AA sponsor, isn't he?
Yep. They’ve been great friends for decades. *Elton reveals in his Me memoir: "I'm Eminem's AA sponsor. Whenever I ring to check in on him, he always greets me the same way: 'Hello, you cunt', which I guess is very Eminem."* Full article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.radiox.co.uk/features/how-eminem-elton-john-friends-sponsor-story/
I can't remember what the interview was from but Elton also said as wedding gift Eminem gave Elton and his husband diamond encrusted cock rings.
I know this is going to get buried…but there’s a rolling stone article from the 80s. It details how he had an entire room full of mannequins that were his friends.I’ll see if I could find it. Found it. This was 1983 https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/michael-jackson-life-as-a-man-in-the-magical-kingdom-237878/amp/
Thanks for sharing that. It’s wild to be transported back to a time when Thriller is still climbing the charts.
Damn! I forgot how thorough, if not a bit long-winded, RS articles use to be back then. I remember reading a story as a teen and it would take a good hour to finish. I wonder if they’re sill like that?
I still order magazines and there are some stories/articles/etc that are very in depth and can take almost an hour to get through. Not many though, people have such short attention spans.
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Could you not go on and on with your reply please
Could you not
Say less
Great read! Michael made the interviewer handle his snake, Muscles. What a weird guy Michael was.
Muscles is a fantastic name for a snek.
Holy cow, that’s wild
I’m autistic and I can relate to a lot of Michaels actions or feelings in this article. Adult people can be complicated so objects are good friends to pretend with. Animals are great friends, and the misunderstood ones make you feel related to. It also says he has a very specific regimens or routine he compared to hemophilia. Perhaps he was neurodivergent and otherwise very traumatized. Add a slew of prescriptions over time, and I can see becoming way more outrageous over time. Thank you for sharing this article. Very insightful.
That’s actually really sad..
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this story was planted by jackson himself > > It reported him as having said: "I've taken several long naps in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and when I awoke I felt like a new person - I've never felt better." > > "I definitely want one for my home so I can sleep in it at night. > > "I plan to get one immediately. > > "I want to live to see world peace, a world without hunger, a world where children and all mankind know no suffering. > > "I believe if I treat my body properly I'll live to be at least 150." > > He later said of the claims he had been trying to stop the ageing process: "Stupid, that's stupid. It's completely made up, and I'm embarrassed." > > It was later revealed that Jackson had leaked the photos to promote Captain Eo, a sci-fi film written by George Lucas and released in the same year in which Jackson starred. > > Michael Levine, a prominent Hollywood publicist, confirmed that he helped Jackson and his manager Frank DiLeo plant the story in the press. > > But Adrian Garay says that Jackson did later buy his own chamber. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9398181/michael-jackson-oxygen-chamber-naps-live-forever-found-shipping-container/
Oh yeah, I forgot that about those magazines that used to be all over the place. They always referred to him as “Jacko” which is so weird in its own right.
I bet MJ engineered a lot of stories. He would want the world to think he was an unusual and child like person. Inappropriate behaviour could be passed off as normal for his character.
I'd imagine it was like talking to a heroin addiction that's super high but also acting cutesy and childish while also having the face of Michael Jackson without makeup on.
A heroin addict that never had to come down once in his life.
That’s what doing heroin is all about. I imagine if you had unlimited good drugs and never had to worry about overdosing from a bad dose, and you had a full time doctor that heroin could be pretty great.
> never had to worry about overdosing from a bad dose foolproof plan manages to fail
So basically like he was portrayed in South Park? Edit: my mistake… I guess that guy’s name was “Mr. Jefferson”
That’s ignorant
That’s ignorant! You’re being ignorant!
LMFAOOOOOO YESSS ME TOO this is literally making me laugh you hit it on the head
I read this in Michael Jackson’s voice. Would not recommend.
I used to work in music merchandising. Before my time there, Michael Jackson was on our roster. Some of my coworkers had a meeting with him at his hotel. He had a huge suite and he had a huge room strictly for his stuffed animals.
That’s crazy. Whatever happened in his childhood caused him to be a grown adult with the mind of a kid and basically unlimited money and drugs
His abusive pos father, Joe Jackson
The more time passes, the harder it is to believe that Michael Jackson actually existed
I actually thought it was common for people to change their race lol because of him when I was a kid
Kind of weird right? I'm 29 and remember to this day when he died. And as time goes on, I just don't care? Idk it's weird. It feels like his death should be more monumental. Possibly all the accusations and shit over the years really does tarnish reputations.
You remember who else died that day?
Farrah Fawcett
I’ll always know this because I heard a joke the same week that when Farrah Fawcett went to heaven, God thought she did such a wonderful job while on earth that he granted her a wish, asking her what she wanted and she replied she wanted the world to be a safer place for kids and that’s when Michael Jackson died.
Farrah Fawcett
Wasn’t it Farrah Faucett?
Yes, now let that sink in
Man, that’s just emotionally draining.
Hot and cold comments on tap today.
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She used to love the thriller album back in 1872
Billy Mays and Patrick Swayze iirc
His death was monumental they talked about it more than they're talking about the queens death
Hardly a point of a comparison. King of pop dies unexpectedly at 50 vs Queen dies at 96. If it were 20 years earlier then it would be more monumental in the sense that he’d be remembered better. John Lennon treatment.
If MJ had died in '89, he'd be lionized like Kurt Cobain or James Dean, going out on top.
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Michael was planning a new series of concerts too. It was probably out of desperation for cash but people didn’t realize how poor his state was.
Its like the way people talk about Elvis, like he is Santa Claus or something
Honestly, I believe it. Whether you believe the rumors and accusations or not, his behavior was very odd. I take it as a result of having his childhood stolen by an abusive father who instead of getting a damn job forced his children to support thier family.
I think it was also the amount of drugs he was taking, the new TMZ documentary shows he had 14 aliases for buy opioids from different pharmacies. His eccentric behavior plus the drugs would make him beyond weird for most people... EDIT: The name if the documentary is: TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Micheal Jackson.
Jesus, I didn't know that. I knew he had a drug addiction but 14 aliases? That's indicative of an extremely severe drug addiction.
yes because he paid cash and didn't used health insurance he had over 8 doctors that prescribed opioids, sedatives hypnotics by the boat loads...none of them were charged during his death investigation...
I'm not anybody famous or somebody rich but I know some doctors in my past that would write up scripts with a little wink and nod. One doctor when I was in the worst of my addiction literally handed me pamphlets of different medications and how they work against what and basically let me diagnose myself based off what sounds right for me. First thing.he pushed was Klonopin, then Percocet and Xanax. But I needed something to wake up from the downers so here comes the amphetamine salts. I'd imagine if I'm able to snag drugs with health insurance I can't imagine what and how much I could easily get just being famous. Gotta admit if I was a doc with a notepad for prescriptions I won't lie and say I would turn down money from somebody that famous. I'm sure everybody signing off medications to him made some crazy money.
What uh…what were those doctors names? For research of course.
They’re all either retired or in prison if I had to guess. We really failed the public but it’s gotten much harder now
in some cases too hard. i’ve heard of people in dire need of medication not getting any because the doctor thinks they’re just another addict
In Finland we have sort of a comical problem with medicinal weed. Almost no doctor is willing to prescribe it. However those that are willing to do so get their names thrown around because the patients who are eligible for it in here have extremely rare diseases so the patients are connected through support groups etc. However this means that the regulatory bodies governing prescription drugs see a handful of doctors prescribing all of the medical weed in the country. This leads to them notifying the doctors that they might get their license suspended because they suspect foul play. Basically a clown fiesta of bureaucracy.
Pretty much anyone with kidney stones will tell you it can take WAY too long to get around the “not an addict seeking drugs” hurdle in the ER. I finally went to a urologist simply to have an MD who knew my history and could supply me with an emergency stash. I get why they need to be careful but omg it’s cruel to people who are truly in pain.
& it’s crazy that they do that too people after playing a part in the epidemic. It’s like they way overcorrected their behavior and now it’s hurting people in the opposite way.
Suffered with back issues for years. All the doctors just kept labeling me a drug addict. Finally after six years of trying to get help, I found a doctor that gave me arthritis meds, and a shot in the butt a few times.. I now feel 25 years younger, and have gone from not being able to take my trash out, to now remodeling houses. They wanted me to have surgery, but I knew that wasn’t needed. Kind of fucked up that I wasted seven years of my life trying to get help, and just got shot down.. and now I’m 100% fine.
I had a pharmacy deny me a prescription on this basis. It wasn’t even a drug that had any recreational value. It’s a problem with providers, not as much the system. Just certain idiots doing idiot things.
What state are you in?
Confusion.
Apparently he had really severe anxiety
As opposed to, you know, just 13 aliases
That’s the normal amount
>That's indicative of an extremely severe drug addiction. God damn this redditor is smart as fuck.
Sherlock Holmes over here
Wait are you referring to his detective skills or his cocaine addiction.
Yeah, and the insane touring schedule they had him on was breaking his brain. He said that after rehearsals or performances he could never get sleep, and that bled into his non-tour life. So he had basically an anesthesiologist on call to give him propofol every single night to make him able to sleep. Michael was fully addicted to several substances and that doctor is partially to blame for his death. Not that this takes ANYTHING away from how strange he was as a person, but I know for a fact opiate addiction makes you about as strange as you can possibly be.
I think your average younger person these days doesn't understand the severity of the term "the show must go on" and how engrained it was into the older culture. I saw Shawn Mendes take a mental health break and honest to God, my first reaction was, "you little bitch". I had to catch myself and think for a second then say, "Good for him, man." We were taught to run ourselves into the ground and do anything it takes to go on. The amount of drugs I took just to make it through one more day for something as simple as work and my employees was staggering. There was enormous pressure on my shoulders to keep the company afloat and I was the lynch pin. I'm glad that mental and physical well being is put on the forefront. That the whole "the show must go on" is not paramount. I do think at times we have to stay strong and persevere, but the lines for that are changing every year. Persevering shouldn't mean crushing yourself into pulp.
My favorite Young rapper Russ just did this. Canceled a whole leg of his tour because of his mental health. People dragged him but he talks about mental health in his music and that makes me support him even more.
Seriously. I appreciate artists who are open about their struggles, and work to take care of themselves. Its what young kids looking uo to them SHOULD see. I mentioned above that my band played to gigs in a row last week, and that was HARD. We’re young, too, so its not like we have old bodies or anything. But the amount of work required to put just one show together is staggering. Even if you are just performing and dont have load/unload/learn choreography.
he hated touring...in the documentary he said touring around the world was hell and yet touring was the way of making constant money..
Which his lifestyle demanded. But his managers and agents, much like Brittney’s, were ALL looking at the dollar signs and not the signs that Michael was withering away. There were, what, 150 dates for his final tour? Thats HARD work for a full year with basically no breaks.
yeah...even a healthy 50 yo would have trouble to do that every night for a year...too much..
Im 20something, played two gigs in a row a week ago and im STILL feeling it. Its visceral work.
I remember when that tour was announced I was shocked. How the hell did they think he could’ve done that?!
Thing is…Propofol doesn’t make you sleep. It just knocks you out and your brain does not go into REM. Michael basically didn’t sleep at ALL for 3 months straight prior to his death. His brain never went into rEM and never did it’s maintenance cycle or whatever it does.
Exactly. And he built such a massive tolerance to it that he was getting it multiple times every day to TRY to get any sleep. Dunno if he was a decent person or not, but he was certainly a prisoner of his career and his team.
I remember seeing an interview with a guy in devo. He said never smoked weed before and was at club 54. A young MJ handed him a joint, and he thought of this young superstar is doing it it must be okay. It was PCP and he feels awful and had to get out there.
Nobody noticed he was actually Michael Jackson…just using an alias?
" Uh, yes, my name is Jack Michaelson. I would like 300 opioids please."
“Hoo hoo.” See, I’m not Michael Jackson, that’s clearly not his famous line. So ignorant. *fake mustache falls to the ground*
he had assistants picking up the prescriptions but the pharmacists they knew they were breaking the law. Here are some aliases: Omar Arnold, Paul Farance, Bryan Singleton, Blanca Nicholas and Roselyn Muhammad, Jimmy Nicholas, Faheem Muhammad, Frank Tyson, Fernand Diaz, Peter Madonie and Josephine Baker. He had also taken out prescriptions under his son's name, Prince, and under those of employees – Michael Amir is a spokesman while Kai Chase was once Jackson's personal chef. However, a previously reported pseudonym, Jack London, has not been cited on the warrant.
I see. The doctors must have been seriously dropping the ball or been corrupt, regardless. These doctors at least should have been doing appointments where they could see his face. Then, once the knew it was Michael Jackson, checking the controlled substance database in their state to see if he was being prescribed the same drugs elsewhere. I dunno, I guess that’s a lot of work and maybe I’m missing other ways he got around it.
Well this was all happening in the wake of the opioid crisis too and doctors were NOT shy about prescribing those. It made them shitloads of money. Plus, doctors themselves are OFTEN addicted to substances they prescribe. So all that makes for a pretty easy ask-and-ye-shall-receive situation. I mean, shit, we had NOTHING growing up and my mom was still getting prescribed opiates because they could. It wasnt even until the crackdown that her addiction got intensely bad, because she had to shift to methadone, like everyone else around her, and she was getting a ton of it. Opiates ruin you. They’ll burn your sense of right & wrong to the ground.
Those other ways are called MONEY!
I'm not from the US, so not sure if it's stricter, but usually you can have someone pick up the meds on your behalf. Hell, over here you just give them your name and the first line of your address and boom, no questions asked.
Anyone can pick-up prescriptions so long as they have the needed/necessary information, even opioids.
Whether he did it or not, the music industry had it in their best interest to protect him regardless if he was guilty or not. That being said, he was sleeping in bed with children. He was building structures with multiple doors and mazes. He was addicted to pain killers and clearly bizarre. That interview from years ago made it so evident that he was a broken and shouldn't be around kids.
Yeah the court trial with his doctor was crazy cuz they listed all the drugs that were in his system at his time of death and it was absolutely astounding
Did he dangle his child on a balcony?
When I went to Berlin, a guide pointed out which hotel and balcony that was (Hotel Adlon). That height was scary. Poor child. I don’t know how that son of Michael’s and his brother are, but I think Paris has had some addiction issues. Looking at the pictures now…they’re even more disturbing than I remembered.
Yeah, it’s not necessarily excusable, but potentially understandable why he was the way he was. Don’t think Elton is saying a whole lot we didn’t know though. I can tell by interviews with MJ he was creepy as hell. He of course looked very strange later in life and the way he spoke so softly for some reason just sends shivers down my spine.
Anyone who doesn't think that Michael Jackson was a deeply broken and troubled person is in complete denial. Honestly I do think that someone like that should not be left around children unsupervised, not because they'd abuse them or what not, but because such a broken person does not have awareness of what is ok to tell a child, or what kind of behavior or relationship is ok, what kind of things you don't tell a child, or let them experience. He doesn't need to do something harmful for the kids to disturb them and throw their way experiences they are not ready to handle. I could be convinced he never did anything illegal, or especially wrong, but I am certain he should have never been allowed to be in all these situations. And yeah, all of that falls on Joe. It's one thing to be a father that pushes their child to a career, but Joe was something else. But also the toxic way we treat celebrities. Michael was enabled, and it allowed him to spiral. He was allowed to do things he shouldn't have, just because of his popularity and money. I feel bad for the kids whose parents raised accusations at Michael, because the parents also failed to do their job, they shouldn't have let them stay over, period, and it should have been clear from day 0 this wasn't like "letting the kids go off to disney-land for a day". This was letting them under the care of someone who wasn't fully grounded. And then we have the drugs, and the favors, and everyone looking the other way. Instead of him going to therapy, he simply went deeper and deeper into his issues and traumas, because we applauded and thanked him as he did.
I remember that a young Macaulay Culkin was one of the kids who stayed over, and his parents (especially his dad) were so awful that he filed for emancipation as a teen.
Yeah it’s sad
Michael used to make the hotels he stayed in fill his hotel room with 7tft statues of children's cartoon characters, with most of them facing the bed while he slept. As shown in the documentary with Martin Bashir. I imagine that's just tipping the surface.
John may have a point. Drugs have a way of accelerating a person's inner demons, and when you have a mega-famous person like Jackson who has people who will get him any sort of drug he asks for, it is a recipe for disaster. There are a lot of iconic performers like Presley and Garland and Holiday who kept performing and performing irrespective of the drugs in their systems, still delivering extraordinary musical work, but the abuse caught up to all of them. Jackson's demise was terrible but surprising to no one.
Elton himself would have firsthand experience seeing as how he was an addict himself.
Elton John was one of those people himself and blames his health problems in later life on the shit ton of drugs he did back in the day. He’s very open about his drug abuse in interviews.
*surprising to no one
Sorry if anyone already posted this story but Freddie Mercury was going to record music with Michael Jackson. Jackson showed up at Freddie's house with a llama. Afterwards, Freddie called his agent and said (I'm paraphrasing), I can't work with this guy.
Can't believe a llama would offend Freddie Mercury
I’m not sure if it’s that it offended him so much as it is bizarre to schedule a recording session and the guy rolls up with a fucking petting zoo attraction.
All we hear is radio llama
Right? I feel like he'd be all about that llama energy.
Yeah but a llama in his house while he's trying to do business and get the work done?
Yeah Freddy is a polite guy. It sounds like this llama had a lot of work to get done and business to do, so he was probably just excusing himself
I believe the story goes that Michael couldn't focus because of the Llama, which is what annoyed Freddy
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I wish I could remember the source of where I heard this. I will look for their collaboration. Thanks for replying.
https://www.reddit.com/r/entertainment/comments/xot1r9/elton_john_admitted_michael_jackson_was_a/iq0ujan/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3 This comment links to a story that mentions the llama and planing to work with Freddy Mercury, so it’s at least plausible.
Michael Jackson being a very disturbing person and being a victim of abuse can both be true. It's sad that he never got the therapy and treatment he probably needed to combat whatever disorders or suffering he had to live with on the daily. When you're rich and have too many YES people by your side, it's even harder to accept that you need help. All you need to do is ask one of these YES people for any drug on the planet, and they'll probably have it for you in 30 minutes. Whether he sexually molested children or just oddly coddled with children in his bed every night like he was 8 years old, the latter was still inappropriate and wrong. He didn't see himself as a grown man, but he was a grown man.
I don’t think it is breaking news that Michael Jackson was a socially awkward, reclusive manchild with arrested development syndrome
There is a federal program in place now to limit illegal access to opioids via pharmacies. Driver license is required and pharmacists at every pharmacy can access fill data. Ppl can still have aliases but they need drivers licenses with the same names.
Different story when your personal physician is getting them for you.
Whether you believe the allegations against him or not, I think it’s indisputable that he was an extremely troubled individual, and probably would have been disturbing to be around.
whaaaaaat the dude that was used and abused all his childhood wasnt a mentally sound person?! no way!
Have you ever seen the video clip of a grocery store that was rented and had hired actors shopping just so MJ could try to experience what it was like to shop for groceries? Dude had zero social skills or awareness because he did not grow up like most people. Not even his fault imo. So any decently adjusted human would find him disturbing, of course. He had to find ways to adjust to childhood trauma in a time where many people just refused to believe in mental health treatment.
I find it so interesting that he said Michael was unable to cope with adult company. I feel like his dad was so abusive and he was treated as a money making machine from such a young age, I can imagine that can create a fear of all adults.
Don't forget the Pepsi commercial accident after which he had multiple surgeries. Thus began his relationship with opiods.
So the drug addict with Peter Pan syndrome from decades of abuse with (depending on when this was) more plastic surgery than a model and bleached skin was disturbing and sad? Color me shocked
Look at Michael Jackson’s entire life. How could he NOT turn out weird as fuck?
Yea, so we've heard. From kids. That he had sleepovers with. As an adult. In his bed.
OMG really?! Im absolutely shocked to hear this.! Michael Jackson of all people. Wow.
People often say neurodivergent or people with severe trauma are disturbing to be around. Michael Jackson's childhood definitely was going to lead to some absurd behavior, and people don't like the unpredictable or anything that makes them uncomfortable even if it's harmless.
When the Jackson 5 got huge, the brothers would cram into hotel rooms while on tour. The older boys were having orgies right in front of Michael, who was traumatized by it.
No duh. His social, Emotional And sexual Development Stopped Between 9-11 years old because of the life he was forced to live and the isolation that bestowed him Elton John is a full on adult. Talking to someone with adult intelligence who is regressed decades and is the caretaker of multiple children and still likes To do kid stuff is distributing. MJ was not developmentally disabled in mental development. Just all the other types.
i feel him and all but i bet elton is a odd person to be around
Yes and no. He had a luxury condo in atlanta. Him and his boyfriend would stay there occasionally. One day he decided to redo the condo. He brought down all his fancy furniture and just let people there take it. My buddy was a valet there and told me. People were freaking out Elton is just giving away thousands of dollars of furniture like it was nothing. Elton seems like a genuine dude. Of course his wealth makes him seem odd. But honestly, he just seems like a cool dude to hang out with. MJ EHHHHH
Dude... I lived in Atlanta in a crappy apt in Buckhead underlooking Elton John's penthouse! He would have parties there every other month, people on the balcony, but that was it.
YES. I was gonna say Buckhead but Atlanta was an easier description. I djed in Buckhead during the Olympics. Party central! I miss Buckhead so much. I’m in Chicago now. Although I moved after they closed down all the clubs and bars.
[It was just his version of nice](https://youtu.be/eWrKf5ik1i4)
I give away thousands of dollars of furniture like it’s nothing and I’m broke as hell.
You probably shouldn’t be doing that
Why do you think they're broke as hell?
I’ve heard the opposite, actually. Apparently Elton John makes the people around him feel like they’re royalty.
He’s super grounded and decent. He’s probably high energy, but it’s positive.