Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (77 page)

The statement was confusing to those who hadn't read the press speculation that Michael had two identities-one when he appeared as a Jackson sis ter and the other as himself. But it wasn't Janet the speculation whirled around
but La Toya. One reporter provocatively asked, "Have you ever seen a picture
of Michael and La Toya together?"

Of course, they were two different people, but it was alleged that La Toya
had had plastic surgery done to make herself look more like her brother. The
resemblance between Michael and La Toya was even greater than the lookalike appearances of Janet and Michael.

Fans were wondering why Michael was popping up everywhere after
leading a life as a recluse when not performing. Inquiring minds wanted to
know, and an answer emerged.

In the decade since the release of Thriller, his popularity had slumped. In
a California-based survey of music industry honchos, Michael was placed
#14 on a list of stars, far behind such rivals as Madonna or even Janet Jackson
herself.

"Michael, by his own hand, had transformed himself into a freak," said
one music executive who refused to be named. "Skin bleaching, hyperbaric
chambers, the Elephant Man, the fantasy world of Neverland, and the persistent gay issue that was about to explode in his face-it had all become too
much. And, to make matters worse, it wasn't just the gay thing. Parts of the
world have grown more accepting of gays, and certainly all media attracts
thousands of gays. But there were rumors of child molestation that were making the rounds even before the Jordie Chandler press explosion. That was too
much. Some of the world-not all-might forgive gay. On the other hand, the
suggestion that an artist is a pedophile will make some people go ballistic. But
Michael had become such a famous artist, with so many fans around the
world, that he'd retain a certain fan base through it all."

Michael also popped up at the NAACP Image Awards. Reporters from
black newspapers cornered him, asking him if he had tried to cast a white boy
to play himself as a young child in a Pepsi commercial. He'd denied this persistent rumor before, and he would deny it again on that night of the NAACP
ceremony. "I'm a black American, and I'm proud of my race. I'm proud of
who I am." He would more or less repeat this same statement when cornered
by Oprah Winfrey on television.

He also accepted an invitation from the Clintons to attend one of their
inaugural balls on January 19, 1993 in Washington. The first daughter,
Chelsea, or so it was said, was "ecstatic" upon meeting the King of Pop.
Pictures taken of the two of them together have her looking on adoringly.

As part of the event, Michael led an all-star chorus of "We Are the World."
Later, he shook hands with the new president, Bill Clinton. Unknown to each
of them, both Michael and Clinton would face charges of sexual harassment
before the 90s came to an end.

In Washington, Michael checked into the Madison Hotel. Along with him
was a young boy (unidentified), one of his "special friends." All that the staff
remembered about the visit were requests for the pressing of military costumes and several orders for strawberry ice cream to be delivered to Michael's
darkened suite.

The press reported that prior to the inaugural festivities, Michael had
agreed to perform before the newly elected President, but had demanded that
the other dozen scheduled balls be cancelled so that "I can be the sole performer." This rumor gained such vogue that Bert Fields, Michael's attorney,
had to hold a press conference to deny them. Even so, rumors didn't go away.
Oprah Winfrey pointedly asked Michael on TV: "Did you tell President
Clinton that you had to be the only person there singing?"

"That's the stupidest, craziest story that I have ever heard," Michael said,
barely concealing his anger. "That's not even in my heart. I would never say
anything like that."

In spite of all these denials, aides to President Clinton, speaking off the
record, said that such a request did arrive "from Michael's people." At this
point, the truth can't be confirmed.

Michael's appearances at The Soul Train and Grammy Awards were
dwarfed by the audiences who tuned in to watch a televised appearance, at
Neverland, with Oprah Winfrey on February 10, 1993. His appearance on this
show has become legendary. But in reviewing a transcript years later, it is
much tamer than the reports
written about it at the time.

Oprah did move in on
some delicate topics, but surely this skilled interviewer didn't expect Michael to answer
any of her questions truthfully.
Among other untruths, he
made up love affairs with
women, including Brooke
Shields, which did not exist,
and denied bleaching his skin.

President Bill Clinton and MJ

As the world tuned in,
Oprah was allowed to ask
Michael whatever questions
she chose, although she
showed remarkable restraint.

Before air time, Oprah
was introduced to Jordie Chandler, Michael's new "special friend" who would soon file charges of sexual molestation against the King of Pop.

It was estimated that 90 million people around the world watched Oprah
fire questions at Michael, making it the fourth most watched show in television history, top place going to the final episode of M*A*S*H.

On her show, Michael blamed the press for the stories about the hyperbaric chamber ("it is a lie") and of his attempt to buy the bones of the Elephant
Man ("and why would I want some bones?). What he didn't tell was that he
was behind the planting of those stories.

Michael had only good things to say about his family, with one exception.
Papa Joe was singled out for condemnation.

"I love my father," he said. "but I don't know him. To me, my mother's
just wonderful. She's perfection. I just wish I could understand my father.
There were times when he would come to see me and I would get sick both as
a child and as an adult."

In a blatant attempt to deceive the public, Michael claimed that his use of
plastic surgery "was only two things," admitting to a nose job. He later said,
"I've never had my cheekbones done, never had my eyes done, never had my
lips done and all this stuff."

When asked if he bleached his skin, Michael pretended that "as far as I
know of there is no such thing as skin bleaching. I have never seen it. I don't
know what it is. I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of my
skin; it's something that I cannot help. It's in my family. My father said it's on
his side."

He may have been suggesting that he had vitiligo, a genetic skin disease.
The disease is closely related to albinism. Those who have vitiligo experience
the loss of pigmentation in small oval-shaped patches of their skin. That is
because skin cells, known as melanocytes, fail to produce and store melanin,
which is largely responsible for the uniform pigmentation of the skin.

In the aftermath of the Oprah broadcast, La Toya among others, asserted
that Michael had been using bleaching creams for years. Michael's claim that
vitiligo runs in his family has never been confirmed.

Oprah even asked him why he grabbed his crotch while performing.

In his reply, Michael wandered. "I think it happens subliminally. If I'm
doing a movement and I go `bam,' and I grab myself ... it's the music that
compels me to do it. You don't think about it ... it just happens. Sometimes
I'll look back at the footage and I go, `Did I do that?', so I'm a slave to the
rhythm."

When asked if he dated, Michael introduced the name of Brooke Shields.
He even claimed, as he had before, that he was in love with her. Watching TV
with her mother, Brooke reportedly burst into laughter at this revelation. Michael also admitted
that he'd been in love
with "another girl," but
refused to name her.

MJ on The Oprah Winfrey Show

Oprah even asked
him, "Are you a virgin?"
Michael answered, "I'm
a gentleman," and therefore was not willing to
discuss "something that
is private." When
pressed for more details,
Michael admitted that he
was too "embarrassed"
to answer the question.

At one point Elizabeth Taylor appeared from out of the wings, making a
surprise visit to the set. In front of the camera, she denied that Michael ever
proposed to her. "And I never proposed to him." It was in front of Oprah that
Elizabeth delivered her famous and often repeated line: "He is the least weird
man I have ever known." She had such bubbling praise about Michael that
after the telecast, rumors circulated that she had been paid two million dollars
by MJJ Productions for her worldwide endorsement. Again, like so many
aspects in the life of Michael Jackson, this rumor cannot be confirmed.

The broadcast ended with Michael taking Oprah on a royal tour of his own
Magic Kingdom.

His appearance did not exactly convince the world he was not weird in
spite of Elizabeth's glowing enthusiasm. On late-night TV, Jay Leno quipped
that "the Elephant Man called and wanted to buy Michael's bones." In a cover
story, Entertainment Weekly asked a provocative question: CAN YOU
BELIEVE THIS GUY?

One scalding critic, on reviewing Michael's performance with Oprah,
wrote: "He was obviously lying on camera, but the evidence was right before
millions of viewers. No longer a so-called `Negro,' he was all aglow in an
albino whiteness, the ghost-like effect only heightened by the unfortunate
choice of a coral-colored lipstick best reserved for an aging Joan Crawford in
Technicolor as when she appeared in Torch Song."

Special friends such as Jordie Chandler, who had watched Michael's
interview with Oprah Winfrey, had to go to school during the day. That often
left Michael alone. Sometimes he was photographed with adults, especially
his friend of many years, Michael Milken, the notorious "junk bond king" of
the 1980s. Milken was another "odd couple" relationship for Michael.

At the peak of his career, Milken earned between $200 and $550 million
annually. A United States attorney aspiring to higher office, Rudy Giuliani,
went after Milken, charging him with 98 counts of racketeering and fraud.
Milken was indicted by a federal grand jury. Entering into a plea bargain,
Milken pled guilty to six lesser securities and reporting violations. He was
forced to pay $900 million in fines and served only 22 months in prison
between 1991 and 1993. Even after his release, he still had one billion dollars
of his personal fortune intact.

This impressed Michael. The two men began to hang out together, ostensibly talking about launching an entertainment cable TV network aimed at
children.

When criticized for hanging out with Milken, Michael defended him.
"Michael Milken is my friend because he has been through the fire, as I have,
and emerged better for the process. He has been misunderstood, as I have
been, and harshly judged by those who had no right to assume they knew this
man without ever spending an hour in his company."

Michael often flew with one of his special friends to Las Vegas where he
was seen with not only Milken but with Steve Wynn, the Mirage Casino
owner. Michael later said that he liked Las Vegas because "people here don't
judge you as they do elsewhere." He could also spend hours at a time playing
video games with young boys he flew in, later retreating with these special
friends to the privacy of a hotel suite where, in Michael's words, "you can
order anything you want, even a pink elephant delivered to the parking lot if
that is your desire."

Michael was photographed with Milken and Wynn on a pirate ship during
the grand opening of the Treasure Island Hotel. Steve Miller, a former Las
Vegas City Councilman, once wrote that his hometown was a perfect place for
both Milken and Michael Jackson to use as a haven from the world.

Winfrey "embarrassing" MJ