Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (87 page)

For their honeymoon, the couple retired to Casa de Campo in the south, a
resort built by the now-defunct Gulf + Western. On their honeymoon night,
Michael stayed in a villa on the grounds of the resort, with Lisa Marie occupying a less opulent lodging, known locally as a casita, some five miles away.

During the course of his wedding night, away from any potential interference from his bride, according to the staff, he placed a call to Elizabeth Taylor,
informing her of the marriage.
For reasons known only to herself, Elizabeth was said to have
broken into tears. Sobbing, she is
alleged to have said, "Michael,
how could you? Her, of all people. She'll ruin your life!"

MJ and Lisa Marie

When confronted by a
reporter two days later in Los
Angeles, Elizabeth snapped,
"That's the most ridiculous rumor
I've ever heard. Michael Jackson
is a sane and reasonable man.
Marrying Lisa Marie Presley
would be an insane act. He is not
crazy!"

After their "wedding night,"

Lisa Marie and her new
groom were seen leaving
the Punta Aguila airport
(which was renamed in
2000 as La Romana
International Airport) in
a private jet. Their flight
plan listed their final destination as Los Angeles.

Lisa Marie

But instead of
California, they landed
in Orlando where
Michael, in a Fu Manchu
disguise, was seen
escorting his new bride
around Disney World.

After that, they flew
to New York where
Donald Trump housed
them in a luxurious twelve-room complex on the 65th floor of the Trump
Tower. The apartment normally rented for $125,000 a month, but its occupancy was presented as a gift to the newly married Jacksons. Obviously, Trump
knew about the secret marriage, but wasn't talking. "I know how to keep a
secret," he later said.

At the Trump Tower, photographer Dick Zimmerman snapped pictures of
the newlyweds. In his review of the body language of the two subjects, writer
Nick Bishop said: "In the photos, Michael and Lisa Marie are draped all over
each other, but Michael's eyes are always focused on the camera. He plays
exclusively for the lens. He touches Lisa Marie when they're draped all over
each other, but he does it lightly and tentatively. She, on the other hand, is
obviously into it. She touches Michael with real enthusiasm. She throws herself toward him. He merely leans into her, holding back, watching the camera."

During their honeymoon in Budapest, Michael was working on shooting
a video for his new album, HiStory. On many a night, Lisa Marie was said to
have eaten Hungarian goulash on her own.

When asked months later to comment on her marriage, Lisa Marie ducked
the question. "Elvis liked to wear uniforms, so does Michael. Elvis loved
amusement parks. My Daddy used to rent out Memphis's Liberty Land.
Michael has his own amusement park."

Back in Los Angeles, Lisa Marie began married life by going to her own plastic surgeon. Press reports claimed that her "breasts looked perkier" when
she recovered. She may also have had her thighs trimmed. Earlier she'd complained that child birth had caused her breasts to sag. As for her thighs, she
told friends that they "looked like two blobs of Jell-O that Elvis was so fond
of eating." She may also have had some acne scars removed.

In the aftermath of the wedding, Elizabeth Taylor invited Lisa Marie and
Michael to her lush home in Bel Air. While strolling with Lisa Marie through
her luxuriant gardens, Elizabeth reportedly advised her "to go for the diamonds. I never turned down emeralds either." When Lisa Marie told her she
didn't like expensive jewelry, the world-class gem collector informed her,
"Then put the gems in your safe for your old age. As Marilyn sang, `These
rocks don't lose their shape."' She also gave Lisa Marie a fashion tip. "Always
find out what outfit Michael is wearing when he takes you out. Top him! Dress
even more glamorously than he does."

Lisa Marie later reported Elizabeth's comments to Michael. "How retro
this woman is. She belongs back in my daddy's heyday."

On August 1, 1994, Lisa Marie herself, through a press agent, announced
that she had become "Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson." She promised to "dedicate
my life to being the wife of Michael Jackson. We both look forward to raising
a family and living a happy, healthy life together."

In her statement, she claimed that she was very much in love with
Michael. She said that news of their marriage was kept a secret to avoid turning the "happy occasion into a media circus."

"People wouldn't think I was so crazy marrying Michael if they saw who
the hell he really is," she said. "That he drinks and curses and is funny and
doesn't have that high voice all the time. I once had this romantic idea that I
could save him and we could save the world. But then I realized Michael was
constantly at work, calculating, manipulating. He scared me like that."

From New York, Lisa Marie called her mother, Priscilla, in Los Angeles
to tell her she'd married Michael. "Yup, I did it!" Lisa Marie said. Her mother's screams could be heard all the way from Los Angeles to the Trump Tower
in New York. "Are you crazy?" It cannot be confirmed, but Priscilla was said
to have called Michael a "black faggot." She was also alleged to have said,
"Elvis will rise from his grave. In a life of making stupid decisions, you win
the prize for this one. I can't believe you've made me the mother-in-law of
Michael Jackson. Weirdo. Wacko Jacko. Just don't have any kids with him,
not that I have to worry about that!"

When Lisa Marie slammed down the phone on Priscilla, she told her new
husband, "I gave her the finger in marrying you."

Priscilla was distraught at the news. "Picture this, the former wife of Elvis
Presley, and now today the mother-in-law of Michael Jackson. What a Thriller!"

In the days and weeks to come, Michael and Lisa Marie would make even
more headlines, including one within a tabloid that proclaimed: THE CENTURY'S ODD COUPLE MARRIAGE!

After charges of child molestation were leveled against Michael, and in
the wake of his marriage to Lisa Marie, John Evans, a reporter, wrote:
"Priscilla Presley should know all about child molestation from her own life.
After all, she was only fourteen when Elvis became smitten with her when he
was stationed in Germany. She should identify with her new son-in-law. She
is reported to have regular chemical peels to get rid of wrinkles and unwanted brown spots. Maybe she can give Michael tips about how to get rid of that
alleged brown spot on his dick."

The media responded in a frenzy of headlines, The London Times calling
the secret wedding, "A Marriage from Mars!" TV talk show host David
Letterman evoked riotous laughter when he told his audience, "If he comes
home with lipstick on his collar, you can be pretty sure it's his own."

The astrologer for The New York Daily News told her readers that "according to the stars, the marriage has not been consummated."

Bulletins were flashed around the world: The King of Pop had taken as his
bride the daughter of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. "It wasn't really an interracial marriage," said a TV commentator (in Spanish) in Santo Domingo. "By
now, all of us know that Michael Jackson is white."

One journalist went even further. "It could happen only in America.
Michael Jackson was born a black boy. Now he's become a white woman.
Does that make Lisa Marie a lesbian for marrying him?"

Bob Jones, Michael's publicist, alleged that, "the poor girl seemed genuinely smitten with Michael before she realized that she had been the victim
of a heartless scam." He alleged that Michael's real intent in marrying Lisa
Marie involved not only adding a "testosterone boost" to his soiled image, but
a desire to gain control of the Elvis Presley songbook, evocative of the way he
had secured copyrights to The Beatles' songs.

Michael, of course, would never own the complete Presley catalogue.
However, unknown to many of Elvis's fans, Michael did own several of the
Presley songs as part of his Sony/ATV Music Publishing Company.

Jones faced a public relations nightmare. Even though the press was not
fully aware of all of Michael's activities, as they became in the years ahead,
reporters knew enough to realize that this bizarre wedding smacked of a publicity stunt. Jones, fending off the vultures, said privately that he knew that
Michael "had no desire for a woman-not the natural desires that straight men
have."

As the press inquired deeper into how the pop star came to marry Lisa Marie, Michael said, "We were in my living room at Neverland having a glass
of wine after we'd watched that old film All About Eve, with Bette Davis. We
both love that movie. I just walked over to her, reached into my pocket, and
pulled out a knock-you-dead diamond ring. `You wanna?' I asked her. Other
than that, I never popped the question or got down on my knees."

When Michael was asked about the interracial aspects of his marriage to
Lisa Marie, he said, "Somehow it seems appropriate. When Elvis was first
heard on radio, listeners initially thought he was black."

The marriage was greeted with cynicism in the press, some commentators
even suggesting that it was a business move to unite the music houses of
Graceland and Neverland. A lavender marriage was suggested: That is, a marriage of convenience wherein one or both of the parties is trying to conceal the
fact that one or both of them is gay.

Journalist Nick Bishop claimed that Michael entered into a marriage to
Lisa Marie to combat charges of homosexuality with young boys. "Because
Michael Jackson settled with the Chandlers, the perception of him on the
street among many people is that he is a compulsive pedophile, a sexual addict
in a way that most people find repellent. People these days often turn up their
noses at the mention of his name. He is reviled by many and seen as decadent
and deeply troubled. He didn't take his own marriage seriously and neither did
anyone else with an IQ in the double digits. This move was clearly the old
wedding bells as the ultimate sexual bearding trick, and of course it didn't
work."

A PR agent privately said, "Michael Jackson married Elvis's daughter just
to publicize his greatest hits album." He was referring to HiStory. "He needs
all the help he can get with that album. I think most of his fans will desert
him."

Jack Gordon, La Toya's husband, said that Michael had promised Lisa
Marie a music career as a condition of her marrying him. He would never
deliver on that promise. Gordon had other comments to make. "It's one thing
to get married, but to
Elvis's daughter was
totally absurd.
Something went wrong
in that marriage, and Lisa
Marie will soon be
telling all. Michael will
be destroyed."

Graceland

Comedian Dennis
Miller cited the wedding
as conclusive evidence that Elvis was not alive. "If Elvis were alive, he would have put the kibosh on
it."

Weeks after news of Michael's marriage was made public, fans sent letters to him claiming, "You married the wrong Lisa Marie Presley. The woman
you married is an imposter."