Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (112 page)

Luckman also claimed that Michael wanted to build an airport for aliens,
perhaps set up the landing strip in the Nevada desert. "Michael wants to welcome the extraterrestrials to earth and film the landing." According to
Luckman, the pop star also confided to him that, "I am from another planet
myself." Luckman quoted Michael as identifying his home planet as "A
Capricious Anomaly in the Sea of Space located just beyond our solar system.

In July of 2005, Luckman had revealed that Michael had been so afraid of
dying in prison that he planned to have his body frozen. "Michael discussed having his remains cryogenically preserved so that he might be brought back
to life," according to Luckman. Michael, or so it was said, has taken GH3, the
Romanian-developed drug said to make you live longer. It was also claimed
that Michael had invested millions in DNA research in the hope of engineering perfect offspring. "Michael has gone to extreme lengths to achieve immortality," Luckman claimed.

Raymone Bain, spokesperson for Michael, called Luckman's account
"pure bull."

Luckman only raised more charges of "Wacko Jacko." But Elizabeth
Taylor, appearing on CNN's Larry King Live in May of 2006, defended
Michael, as always. She startled viewers, however, by admitting that she once
frolicked in bed with Michael and his nephews, claiming "there was nothing
abnormal about it. We were all in bed watching Disney movies on TV."

On the show, his close pal erroneously predicted that Michael probably
would never return to the United States. "Really, why should he?" she asked.
"He's been treated like dirt here." On the show she also denied reports that she
was suffering from Alzheimer's.

Reportedly, Michael was delighted at Elizabeth's appearance, which he
hoped would help counter the constant newspaper cartoons, routinely
depicting him as a pedophile. He showed his old anti-media hostility when
GQ magazine ran a picture in its May edition of a look-alike wearing a
Bedouin outfit. The imposter is shown wearing one white glove and with his
head shrouded standing on a sand dune. Michael wanted GQ to apologize and
withdraw the edition from newsstands. The baffled editors responded that the
image was clearly satirical.

That same month, Michael, in an attempt at the rehabilitation of a failed
career, made his first public appearance. He flew to Japan to greet fans,
launching his return at a bash at Tokyo's Yoyugu Olympic Stadium. "I look
forward to saying hello to my huge fan base in Japan," Michael said before his
arrival in Tokyo.

In Tokyo, Michael visited an orphanage where he told 140 kids that, "I
love you." He wore sunglasses and a white T-shirt under a black doublebreasted suit with gold buttons and a red armband. He shook hands and signed
autographs at his first public appearance since his acquittal of child molestation charges.

While in Tokyo, he accepted MTV Japan's "Legend Award" during a
Yoyugu Olympic Stadium ceremony.

If Michael did indeed want to re-launch a faltering career, Japan was a
wise choice as a venue, because his fans there reportedly had remained the
most loyal, while millions of other former admirers, especially in America,
had deserted him in favor of other singers such as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

Back in Bahrain, Michael dramatically severed his ties with his Bahraini
lawyers, accountants, and business managers and hired a New York-based
firm "known for restructurings and turnarounds." Publicist Raymone Bain
announced that she had been named general manager of the new Michael
Jackson Company, which replaced the old MJJ Productions. Through Bain it
was also announced that Michael would be leaving Bahrain and settling in
Europe, perhaps Ireland or maybe France.

What had gone wrong?

The Bahrain dream had actually ended in February of 2006 when it was
reported that Michael had a falling out with Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad AlKhalifa.

Reports coming out of Bahrain in the late summer of 2006 claimed that
the Prince's father didn't like Michael hanging out in the Bahraini capital
when his son wasn't there to play host to him. King Hamad was 57 years old
in 2006, but the young prince was only 31 years old. Michael turned 48 in
Bahrain so he's closer in age to the King than he is to the Prince.

King Hamad was reportedly angry that his son had spent millions of dollars entertaining Michael and his entourage and not one bit of money had been
earned from their record company, Two Seas, which the two men had set up.

Within days of news stories that the welcome sign had been removed for
Michael in Bahrain, the pop star claimed he'd discovered a conspiracy among
his former attorneys to force him into financial ruin. His spokesperson,
Raymone Bain, claimed that the pop singer had discovered documents that
detailed the conspiracy to drag him unwillingly into a bankruptcy court.

Bain did not name the former attorneys charged with conspiracy to bring
Michael down. She also refused to state who provided these secret documents
to Michael. It wasn't clear why Michael's former associates would want to
force bankruptcy onto him-or what they had to gain from such a maneuver.

"That's what we'd like to find out," Bain
said. "Michael has always been suspicious that
some of those whom he entrusted to act on his
behalf may not have acted in his best interest."

Raymone Bain

To stage his "spectacular pop comeback,"
Michael decided that he wanted a "hot new manager," and found one in Guy Holmes, who had
helped launch the "Crazy Frog," an audio/animated cell phone ringtone that soon after became
one of the most popular mobile phone accessories in America.

Michael had become fascinated with Axel F., the animated cartoon frog character. Holmes said that though Crazy Frog had
originally been mainly for kids, "it seems to be that it also attracts a lot of
adults who haven't grown up," which might just might-include Michael.

Cellular News asked a provocative question, "Will we get a duet between
Crazy Frog and the so-called King of Pop?"

In Britain, another headline asked CAN CRAZY FROG REVIVE A
CAREER THAT CROAKED?

Michael was reported to have signed an exclusive recording agreement
with the Bahrain-based Two Seas Records, and Holmes was tapped to be the
CEO of the Two Seas label while still remaining chairman of Gut Records.

A music industry insider claimed that "Holmes is a genius for helping
older acts stay in the limelight," citing how he masterminded Tom Jones's pop
makeover with the 1991 album Reload.

Holmes flew to Bahrain to sign the star at the age of 47. Michael
announced, "I am incredibly excited about the new venture and I am enjoying
being back in the studio making music." He announced that his new album
would be ready for release in 2007.

While preparing for a comeback in Bahrain, Michael was interrupted at
his studio with an urgent call from his California lawyers. New charges of
child molestation had been filed against him in the Orange County Superior
Court in California. In papers filed, a twenty-year-old man charged that the
pop star had "plied me with drugs and alcohol and then molested me." The
man's name was not released to the newspapers at the time.

Charges leaked to the press cited Michael for "repeatedly and forcefully"
sexually molesting the boy beginning when he was only two years old. In
addition, charges accused Michael of "burning and torturing me."

The plaintiff also claimed that Michael "forced me to undergo unnecessary plastic surgery." The young man's lawyer, Michael Mattern, said the most
glaring surgical procedures performed on his client
gave him "noticeably red lips, resembling the garish makeup Jackson often wears in public, and a
pronounced cleft chin."

Larry King

There was more. The plaintiff also charged
that both Michael and Sony stole his song ideas and
lyrics.

The plaintiff's name wasn't new to the
police. During the raid on Neverland in 2003, Santa
Barbara County authorities announced that they
wanted any "past or new Jackson accusers to step
forward." The young man surfaced at the time and
was interviewed by police at length. But reportedly the law officials didn't believe that the boy's story would stand up in court.

Michael's lawyer, Tom Mesereau, denounced the charges as "ridiculous
on their face-they will be vigorously defended." It was doubtful if the case
would even come to court since a judge might refuse to hear it unless he felt
the charges had some validity.

This Orange County case was just one of many that would be filed against
Michael in 2006 by plaintiffs seeking damages for alleged molestation. Jordie
Chandler walking off with $25 million in 1993, a story repeated endlessly in
the Gavin Arvizo trial, had obviously attracted a lot of attention among future
plaintiffs.

With Gavin Arvizo's name being mentioned again in the papers in the
wake of this rather ridiculous new molestation case, the question was raised,
"Whatever became of Gavin Arvizo?"

He was found in Orange County living under an assumed name, hoping to
escape death threats leveled at him by crazed Michael Jackson fans.

The cancer survivor told reporters that the "day Jackson was acquitted
was the worst day of my life. I thought on that day that my life couldn't get
any worse. Why didn't they believe me? I told the truth. Why didn't they
believe me?"

Gavin, at the age of 16, also confided to a reporter that his own mother,
Janet, had "turned her back on me. She blames me, not herself, for the courtroom loss." Reportedly, she even blamed Gavin for the welfare fraud charges
filed against her, since his claims about Michael led to the discovery of her
own misdeeds.

Gavin was still living with his mother, but he said that she treated him
"like dirt and won't let me go to counseling to deal with my trauma."

One source reported that Janet screams at her son. She was quoted as saying, "You allowed him to touch you. You allowed him to do it. It was your
fault the jury didn't believe you."

Unlike Jordie Chandler, who was enjoying the life of a rich young man,
Gavin in the summer of 2006 rode to work across town on his bike where he
was employed in a fast-food joint. He buys his own food because Janet
allegedly refuses to cook for him. With Jay Jackson, her new husband, she had
two more children.

In a press interview, Gavin said, "I wish I had never met Michael Jackson.
He ruined my life, and I've nothing to show for it except trouble."

His brother, Star, said, "I am just plain angry at the world. I saw Michael
Jackson molesting my brother!"

Back in Bahrain, in a surprising story, it was reported that Michael was
undergoing a major revamp to make himself appear more macho, at least
according to author Michael C. Luckman who wrote: Alien Rock. The Rock 'n' Roll Connection. "He's been seen working out, wearing shorter wigs and
less makeup," Luckman said. It was also reported that Michael was holding
talks with a Las Vegas hotel about a long-term performing deal similar to what
Celine Dion has.

But when Michael was spotted with his children touring England, France,
and Ireland, there was no evidence that he'd become a "macho man." In
Ireland, he was reported to be considering linking his name with a theme park
aimed mainly at children, although why investors would want a man accused
of child molestation linked with a kiddie theme park remained a mystery. That
can be filed alongside reports from Stockholm in 2003 that Michael had once
been "seriously considered" for the Nobel Peace Prize.

If Michael indeed moved to Ireland, he might have a companion, as it was
reported that he'd acquired a genuine Irish ghost trapped in a bottle.
According to BBC News, the century-old ghost was bricked up in a window
by a priest following a failed exorcism. An agent representing Michael did the
bidding for him, managing to secure the ghost on eBay for only $473.33.

News of the Irish theme park was but one of several multi-million dollar
projects Michael was said to be considering. News of these never-to-be projects were coming at the press so fast that Michael was held up for ridicule.