Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (115 page)

In spite of Michael's lack of cooperation, Jermaine Jackson went ahead
and claimed to the press that the Jackson brothers were rehearsing for a
nationwide concert tour, this announcement garnering massive publicity.

But on November 7, Michael pulled the plug on his siblings' hopes and
ambitions. Through a spokesperson, he announced, "My brothers and sisters
have my full love and support," he said. "We've certainly shared many great
experiences, but at this time I have no plans to record or tour with them. I am
now in the studio developing new and exciting projects that I look forward to
sharing with my fans in concert soon."

No sooner had he issued that statement than headlines assigned him a new
name: AL-JACKO, reporting that Michael had converted to Islam and officially changed his name to Mikaeel. A former Jehovah's Witness, Michael
donned Islamic drag at a ceremony at a friend's mansion in Los Angeles.

Michael, as reported, sat on the ground floor of the mansion wearing a tiny
hat. An Imam was summoned to officiate at the ceremony.

Showing up to help Michael, or Mikaeel, celebrate the conversion was Cat
Stevens, the British singer who had previously changed his name to Yousef
Islam in the wake of his own conversion to Islam.

That same month, Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the second-born son of the King of Bahrain, sued Michael for $7 million, the case filed in
London at the Royal Court of Justice. The Sheik had itemized every penny of
the money he claimed Michael owed him, including within the total a $35,000
utility bill he had paid as a means of keeping the electricity on at the
Neverland Ranch. Also included on the Sheik's requests for reimbursement
were the costs of a round-trip air ticket for the transport of Michael's hairdresser, and the cost of a carton of Michael's favorite frozen Haagen-Daaz ice
cream that His Highness had personally paid for.

In his affidavit, the sheik asserted that Michael had walked out on a deal.
According to the court document, Michael had agreed to allow the Sheik to
produce the superstar's next album and to publish another of his autobiographies.

In the days leading up to the trial, London papers revealed that Michael no
longer even had a bank account in his own name. His former aide and nanny,
Grace Rwaramba, claimed at the time that she put some of the money given
to Michael by Sheik Abdulla into her own bank account as a means of paying
household expenses. At one point, she testified that those funds had exceeded
a million dollars in cash.

For a year, Michael had been a resident of Abu Dhabi, living in a palace
owned by Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the emirate's king and father
of the Sheik bringing the lawsuit.

In November of 2008, Michael reached an undisclosed settlement with the
Bahraini prince.

Also during that November of 2008, the news broke that "the days of wine
and roses, giraffes, and late night visits from Macaulay Culkin" had formally
come to an end at Neverland. Michael filed a grant deed, transferring ownership of Neverland to the Sycamore Valley Ranch Company, a joint venture
between himself and Colony Capital, a real estate investment company. The
owner of the company, Tom Barrack, bought up Michael's debt in May when
he defaulted on the ranch's mortgage, which had ballooned to $24.5 million.

Right before Christmas of 2008, investigative journalist Ian Halperin
stunned the world with an announcement that Michael was gravely ill, suffering from a rare illness known as Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The condition
was defined as so severe that Michael would need a lung transplant, even
though doctors reportedly claimed that because of his weakened condition,
such an operation might kill him. He was also said to be suffering from
emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding.

Halperin also claimed that Michael could barely speak, and that "the vision
in his left eye is 95 percent gone." Reports such as these continued to surface
right up until Michael's untimely death six months later.

In January of 2009, The National Enquirer ran a frontpage headlineMICHAEL JACKSON, 6 MONTHS TO LIVE! How could they have
known?

In the Enquirers article, an anonymous "family friend" was quoted as saying, "It's tragic. His condition is just so far gone. I'd be surprised if he lasts six months. Painkillers and booze have caught up with him. The only way he
was able to cope with the stress of sex scandals and a roller-coaster life
involved masking the pain with substance abuse. But the end result is an
addiction that will hill him." This so-called friend turned out to be aprophet.

A newspaper report about Michael's health during the post-millennium
years appeared almost weekly in some newspapers. Britain's Sun reported
that Michael had cancerous lesions on his body and pre-cancerous cells on his
face. In vivid contrast, at around the same time, one of Michael's doctors, Dr.
Tohme Tohme, claimed, "He's in perfect health-no diseases whatsoever."

In February of 2009, just after Michael denied that he was suffering from
a potentially life-threatening lung disease, new health rumors surfaced. He
was said to be receiving treatment for a MRSA-type superbug, the skin infection allegedly occurring during his most recent plastic surgery. Reportedly, he
was receiving treatment at a Beverly Hills clinic.

Adding credibility to the rumor, a picture was snapped of him on his way
to treatment at the clinic. He was wearing his usual sunglasses and a surgical
mask.

The fear arose that MRSA, a particularly virulent form of staph infection,
might develop into a flesh-eating disorder that would devour his skin.
The disease is resistant to conventional antibiotics.

In spite of growing reports about his ill health, Michael himself, in
February of 2009, ordered an auction of some of his treasures from Neverland,
including a campy and pretentious 1995 portrait of himself in Elizabethan
dress, holding a crown poised atop a pillow. One of the most valuable treasures to go up for auction was a 1999 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph limo with an
interior the star had adorned with 24-karat gold doo-dads. "It looks like something that royalty would ride in," said Darren Julien, head of Julien's Auctions,
the organization that-orchestrated the April 22-25 sale in Beverly Hills.

Other memorabilia included the glittery white glove worn by Michael during his stage performance of "Billie Jean" and a robotic effigy of Michael
Jackson that a special effects team had specifically commissioned for the 1988
film Moonwalker.

Even the gates at Neverland were put up for auction. Michael gave his
blessing to the auction, but retained selected pieces for himself "that were personal and sentimental."

By March of 2009, the world was learning about Michael's attempt at a
comeback scheduled for the 02 Arena in London. In Britain, headlines blared:
WILL IT STILL BE A THRILLER? Backers of the King of Pop's concerts
hyped his return as "the mother of all comebacks."

There was fear that the once-golden brand of entertainment conjured up by
Michael had been tarnished beyond repair.

"Because of what's happened to him and how he's lived his life over the
last twenty years, he's made it very difficult for people to "out" themselves as
Michael Jackson fans," said John Aizlewood, a British music writer and
broadcaster. "These concerts are a huge opportunity for rehabilitation."

The announcement of Michael's comeback was not always greeted with
glee, especially by a cynical press. Writing in The New York Post on May 15,
2009, columnist Cindy Adams declared:

"Michael Jackson, still alive and kicking-although not as high-is now
doing a Streisand. Making his 3, 000th comeback. I mean, it's time he
should put his feet up, take his hat off pack his nose away and join the
YWCA like other retired ladies. But, no. Some people would say
Michael's followers these days are mostly financiers, bankruptcy lawyers,
Arab princes, little boys, and plastic surgeons. "

By private jet, Michael arrived in London to make a "special announcement" about the series of concerts to be held at the domed 02 Arena beside the
River Thames, the stadium holding up to 20,000 fans. Other performers previously slated for concerts there had included Britney Spears, Prince, and Led
Zeppelin.

It came as no surprise that the cynical and skeptical British press did not
interpret Michael's arrival in London "as the Second Coming," in the words
of one reporter. Only a small group of curiosity seekers joined the press and
paparazzi outside Michael's hotel. When interviewed, some members of the
public admitted that they weren't fans at all, but had come to the neighborhood hoping for an autograph from Michael, which they'd subsequently sell
on eBay.

Michael's most recent live performance in Britain had not been particularly successful. Configured as part of the 2006 World Music Event Awards,
he'd been scheduled to perform a rousing rendition of "We Are the World."
Michael had disappointed his fans that evening by singing just a few lines
before hastily exiting from the stage.

In London, Michael informed The Daily Express that he had at last "shaken off"those child molestation charges. He said that he had made contact with
an adoption agency in Britain and planned to "follow in Madonna's footsteps"
and adopt an African child. "I feel my British fans really understand me. For
me, the London concerts will make a new beginning."

Only two dozen people, including members of the press, showed up for
Michael's announcement that he'd be making a comeback in London at the 02
Arena. This lack of interest did not forebode well for the concerts.

"I'll be performing songs my fans wanna hear," he told his meager audience. "This is it.This is my final curtain call. When I say this, I really mean
it."

The tour was promoted by AEG, the world's second-largest promoter. Tim
Leiweke, the company's president, told Billboard magazine that "Michael is
not mentally unstable. He's also passed a physical at our company's behest.
The man is very sane, the man is very focused, the man is very healthy. I think
he has been dragged through the mud."

British bookmakers went to work, taking bets that Michael would not show up for this gig. William Hill, plc, the largest bookmakers in the UK, was
offering 5:1 odds that Michael would be a no-show. A spokesman for the company, Graham Sharpe, said bets were being made in record numbers. "Once
people start buying tickets they may well want to have a bet that he won't
show, up as aform of insurance," Sharpe told the press.

The broadcaster, John Aizlewood, predicted that the ever-erratic Michael
would show up for the concerts. "This is Michael Jackson playing his greatest hits-some of the greatest hits in the history of music-live. It is a great
event. I think even Michael Jackson won't blow it."

It need not be pointed out which side won all those bets in London.

At lam on the morning of March 14, 2009, one million tickets for the concert series went on sale. By 11:45am that same morning, they were all gone.
The first of Michael's string of London concerts had been scheduled for July
8. The original commitment had been for only ten gigs. Based on the number
of advance tickets sold, the number of concerts was soon increased to fifty.
After they went on sale, tickets sold out in just five hours, a world record.
They sold at the rate of 40,000 a minute, as Michael's fans swamped the
Ticketmaster website.

"This was undoubtedly the busiest demand for tickets for an event which
we have ever experienced." Truer words were never spoken by Chris
Edmonds, managing director of Ticketmaster United Kingdom.

As director general for his London comeback, Michael turned to Simon
Fuller, the man who gave the world the Spice Girls and the Beckhams. After
several meetings, Fuller turned him down. Michael then sought help from
Simon Cowell, the American Idol judge. Cowell delivered a firm, "No
thanks."

Time proved that both Fuller and Cowell were correct in refusing any
involvement in Michael's London concert series. Ironically, despite Michael's
various injuries and accidents, and his massive potential for drama, his backers of the London concert series, AEG, maintained till the very end that he was
in perfect health, having recently passed, they asserted, a recent 4'/z -hour
physical exam conducted by independent doctors.

In May of 2009, as Michael rehearsed for his London concerts, a $44 million lawsuit was levied against him by Raymone Bain, a former spokeswoman
and one of his former partners.

In her suit, she claimed that he'd reneged on a promise to give her a ten
percent cut on deals she helped negotiate. That included the refinancing of
both his music catalogue and the 25th anniversary re-release of his Thriller
album.

The suit also demanded compensation for her participation in his upcoming string of London concerts, which-if they'd been completed-might have
netted him more than $400 million. In the wake of his death, that suit, like so
many others, lands in muddy waters. As regards why she had initiated the lawsuit, Bain told the press. "I have been left no choice."