Michael Jackson's interview with Bashir. Michael Jackson accused an English journalist to whom he gave a television interview of fraud

Yan Runov, New York: British Martin Bashir's documentary about Michael Jackson, based on an interview with him, was a resounding success. ABC, which paid Bashir $5 million for the rights to show it, received the highest ratings that night: the film was watched by more than 27 million viewers. The emphasis placed by the author of the film was unexpected for Michael Jackson himself, who stated: “Everyone who knows me knows the truth: my children come first for me, I will never endanger or harm any child.” And further: “I believed Martin Bashir and let him into my life and into the life of my family because I wanted him to tell the truth, and he betrayed me. His program is terrible and unfair.”

After watching the film, many children's experts said that Michael Jackson should not be allowed near boys. And psychiatrist and director of a psychiatric hospital in Brewster, New York, Michael Nucitelli, said that Jackson is mentally ill and that he often loses his sense of reality. Doctor of Psychology Patricia Farrell from New Jersey believes that Michael Jackson cannot be a father, because he does not perceive the world as it is. He lives with infantile fantasies. In the film, Michael Jackson admits that he still loves sleeping in the same bed with his friends' children. He denied in an interview what he did plastic surgery, called the changes in his face natural under the influence of time.

British journalist Martin Bashir spent 8 months seeking Michael Jackson's consent to an interview, promising to help the singer breathe new life into his artistic career, which had clearly declined. But the result was the opposite: millions of viewers around the world witnessed the terrible state to which the once most popular singer had reached. Psychologist Patricia Farrell was shocked by footage of Michael Jackson holding his little son named Prince Michael the Second behind the balcony. The doctor is outraged that the singer’s children do not know that they have a mother.

10 years ago, Michael Jackson was accused of pedophilia. To avoid bringing the case to trial, the singer paid the plaintiff about $20 million. But he has now admitted that he continues to share beds with boys (although he denied it was sexual in nature). As renowned New York lawyer Raoul Felder said, Jackson's confessions should prompt a judicial investigation.

Michael Jackson prepared a counter-film from those fragments of his interview that were thrown out by Martin Bashir. At first, it seemed that none of the major American television companies wanted to show it. Then everyone wanted it, but the singer preferred the Fox television company, which announced on Wednesday, February 12, that it would show the counter-film on February 20. The film is called "Michael Jackson, Part Two: The Interview They Didn't Show You."

I doubted whether it was worth posting the translation of these transcripts - there is no new information about Michael here, and what there is requires serious “filtering”. But still, the story of the “relationship” between Martin Bashir and Michael Jackson will not be complete without this second series of Bashirov’s “documentary.”

This film can only be interesting as a kind of “document of the times”, as a clear example of how “it” was done: how the truth was mixed with half-truths and lies, how “public opinion” was processed on the eve of the trial - and none other than witness for the prosecution, who was number one at the upcoming trial.

Foreword by David Edwards (sanemjfan) :

“In February 2005, Martin Bashir aired his second film about Michael Jackson, called The Secret World of Michael Jackson. If there was any thought to it, Bashir was full of remorse for what he did to MJ with his first movie, then this one documentary will completely destroy such an idea. And the timing of this pile of garbage was no coincidence: it aired right before jury selection, and it was obvious that it was intended for their ears.

They essentially tried to sweep this documentary under the rug. ABC News said it was not for sale on their site, even though hundreds of their other 20/20 and Primetime Live materials are for sale on their site."

The film is essentially a compilation of interviews that were taken from a British documentary previously made for ABC News, excerpts from the film " Living With Michael Jackson", and new filming made by Bashir specifically for this film.

Transcriptsfilm « MichaelJackson’ sSecretWorld»

(I made some notes in translation - for ethical reasons)

Disclaimer (preface): this program contains excerpts from a documentary made by a British production company, which was broadcast in the UK three weeks ago. Some of the individuals who appeared in this film received compensation for their participation. Interviews conducted by Martin Bashir or ABC News were not paid..

Introduction: So, it started with his own words. Words that the whole world, mind you, really took notice of: “ Why can’t you share your bed?” (“Whycan'tyoushareyourbed?") Was it an innocent, loving friendship? Or something more sinister? As preparations begin for the trial of the century, Martin Bashir returns to the secret world of Michael Jackson, exploring his unusual friendships with young boys that began more than 20 years ago. You will hear both his ill-wishers and his friends. You will hear children who will say that nothing reprehensible ever happened between them, and boys who have grown up and who now say that something happened. Plus, we'll feature the kid who befriends Jackson and the boy who received $25 million in the settlement. So, a new look at Neverland, with the man whose documentary ignited a storm, in a 2-hour special produced by Living With Michael Jackson author Martin Bashir, who takes a closer look at the secret world of Michael Jackson."

Martin Bashir(voice-over): More than 2 years ago I started making a documentary about Michael Jackson. I saw some unusual things. We went shopping. We raced in a go-kart. I saw his children... his little child. And then I returned to Neverland. What happened in the next few hours would forever change the lives of everyone who was there. . I could never have foreseen the consequences this meeting would have. The boy I interviewed that day would later claim that Michael Jackson had abused him. I had to ask myself, “Could his statement about what happened that day be true?” So I'm back to square one. I'm about to re-enter the secret world of Michael Jackson. Once again, this will be a journey into a wonderful, unusual and strange world. This is a world where Michael Jackson shared his wealth, his home, and sometimes even his bedroom, with much younger boys. Were these relationships innocent, as Jackson and many of the boys claim, or were some of these relationships criminal, as at least 2 boys claimed?

It all started when he himself was a little older than just a little boy.

La Toya Jackson: (excerpt from a British documentary): I didn't really have (a childhood), and I know everyone knows that, but in reality he didn't have a childhood at all either.

La Toya Jackson(excerpt from a British documentary): He loved discipline, and when I say discipline, I mean if he felt you had done something wrong, then of course he could whip you.

Excerpt from “Life With Michael Jackson”:

Martin Bashir: How often did he hit you?

Michael Jackson: Too often.

Martin Bashir: He only used one belt?

Michael Jackson: (Crying). Why are you doing this to me? No, more than a belt. When he hit me, oh my God, it was bad.".

La Toya Jackson(excerpt from documentary): He was strict. It was like, “Why do we always have to do this? Why can't we do this? But that's part of growing up.

Martin Bashir(voice-over): According to Jackson, he didn't want to grow up. He longed for the childhood he never had. Michael Jackson didn't want to enter the adult world. When I asked Jackson about meeting Tatum O'Neal, he told me that the thought of sex scared him at the time.

Excerpt from “Life With Michael Jackson”

"Michael Jackson: She told me to go and lie down on the bed and I did and she slowly came over and she touched the button on my shirt to unbutton it and I raised my hands like this (covers face with both hands) , and I didn’t let them put them down, and she just left. She knew I was too shy for that. This is what happened.

Martin Bashir: Didn't you feel experienced in all this?

Michael Jackson: No.

Martin Bashir: Were you just scared?

Michael Jackson: I was scared. I was afraid."

Martin Bashir(narrator): In her recent book, Tatum O'Neal denies that she tried to seduce Jackson. Despite his experience with girls, he would soon begin friendships with boys who were much younger than himself. Jackson's sister says that all these the relationship was completely innocent.

La Toya Jackson(excerpt from a British documentary): He always had a lot of friends, of all ages. And then, he had little children who were his friends, but you have to remember that Michael was so loved all over the world and that everyone wanted to be around him.

J. Randy Taraborrelli(excerpt from a British documentary): He feels very strongly that he has missed out on his childhood, and one of the ways he thinks he can regain his childhood is by communicating with children.

Terry George(excerpt from UK documentary): When I was 13, I was a bit cheeky, and I think I was a bit naive, looking back.

Martin Bashir(voice-over): Terry George says he was 13 and keen on collecting celebrity interviews when he met Michael in the city of Leeds in northern England. For the rest of the Jacksons, it was just another stop on their 1979 European tour. But for Michael, says Terry George, it was a chance to make a new friend.

Maureen ORT(excerpt from a British documentary): Michael would be touring all over the world, and there were little boys everywhere, coming to hotels.

Terry George(excerpt from British documentary): I didn't really interact with other people. I didn't have many friends then.

Martin Bashir(voiceover): Heading to an interview with his idol, Terry says he found out where they were then, then, armed with Michael's hotel room number and a tape recorder, he simply knocked on his door.

Terry George(excerpt from British documentary): Michael said, “Who is this?” and I said, “Hi, my name is Terry George, I'm here to do an interview.” He opened the door and he looked a little shocked when he saw me. He was looking at this level, and I was somewhere on this.

Terry George(excerpt from a British documentary): He gives me his number and asks me to give mine, and it wasn't a strange feeling, it was great, it was exciting. I was happy that I was in contact with a celebrity.

Terry George(excerpt from a British documentary): His calls came quite late in the evening, usually from 11 pm to up to 5 am, in some cases.

Terry George(excerpt from British documentary): “I had Phone Sex with Jacko!” that's what the press wrote.

Terry George(speaks directly to Bashir): He talked about m...tion, about his m...tion, and whether I did it. I never saw it coming. This was not what I expected. It was just obscene, really. He said, “Do you believe I'm doing this now?” And he let me hear it on the phone and I could hear it.

Martin Bashir: And what do you think he meant by that?

Terry George: I knew what he meant because he was talking about m...tion. I felt uncomfortable, I remember, felt uncomfortable. I felt awkward.

Martin Bashir: What were your thoughts when you hung up?

Terry George: I thought that I didn't react the way he wanted me to react, and I thought that maybe he would never call again, or that I would never hear from him again. Looking back at it now, I know the conversation probably never should have happened, it probably wasn't natural.

Martin Bashir(voiceover): Terry George says there was no more sex talk. One time and it stopped. Terry Georges' friendship with Michael Jackson was over. A source close to the Jackson camp says, “The Terry George story is not true. In the past, he sold his story to the press. These are all old, unsubstantiated allegations."

Some people who were investigated said that Michael Jackson ultimately rejected many of his young friends.

Diana Dimond ( excerpt from British documentary ): Michael Jackson is changing his phone numbers, he is no longer reachable by phone.

Maureen Orth(excerpt from British documentary): Once they get a little older, at puberty, and they get their first facial hair............

Diana Dimond(excerpt from British documentary): .........he just moves on to the next little “special friend”.

Martin Bashir(voiceover): But soon Michael wanted to take one of his friends, before America's press, on a double date with one of the most beautiful women in the world. For the superstar who calls himself “Peter Pan,” the transition from childhood to adult pop idol status hasn't been easy.

La Toya Jackson(excerpt from a British documentary): He went through this phase in his life where he was extremely shy, and he changed completely. He completely changed his behavior. He didn't want to see people, he just became a completely different person.

(Excerpt from “Life With Michael Jackson””)

Michael Jackson: One of my brothers always made fun of my acne. You know, I would just go into the bedroom and cry.

Martin Bashir: Is it true that your father said that you had a thick nose?

Michael Jackson: Yes.

Martin Bashir: What did he say? What did he actually say?

Michael Jackson: “God, your nose is big! You couldn’t get it from me!”

Martin Bashir: What does it do to a person when they go through that as a teenager?

Michael Jackson: You want to die. You want to die. And you are at the top, you have to go on stage in the spotlight, in the presence of hundreds of thousands of people. It's hard! I'd be happier with a mask!

Martin Bashir(voice-over) At 21, Jackson was on his way to becoming a full-fledged superstar. But friendship with the boy amazed the whole world. This video for “Don"t Stop Till You Get Enough” helped get started solo career Michael. He looks like a man who has broken free.

J. Randy Tarroberrelli(excerpt from British documentary): When you see Michael, you'd like to think he's enjoying it. In fact, this was one of the darkest periods in Michael Jackson's life.

Translation of Martin Bashir's documentary “Living with Michael Jackson"(2003)

I suggested to Michael Jackson - show me a real person, but show me everything, so that there are no restrictions. He thought about this proposal and said: “Yes. Come to Neverland."
(Neverland, evening, park, all the lights on the rides are on.)
- Do you come here alone?
- Yes!
- How often?
- All the time.
- Just like that, alone?
- Yeah.
- And you go on rides...
- Yeah. I ride the carousel and turn on the music. I love when the carousel plays classical music and sometimes “Childhood” or “Smile” or songs from people like Barbra Streisand. Something beautiful, you know.
- What about the Ferris wheel?
— I love the Ferris wheel, it’s a traditional, very old attraction. And it calms you down, it’s not meant to take your breath away, it’s just comfortable, calm, you can make wishes, dream...
-Can we go for a ride?
- Certainly!
- Come on.
(Film taken on the wheel. Bashir says that here Michael is hiding from the troubled reality of his life today.)
(Michael and Martin Bashir go for a ride in little cars around Neverland. Bashir starts first, and Michael exclaims after him: “He's cheating!”)
- This is Michael Jackson, whom you have never seen before. An inside look at his music, his money, his children, his sex life, his face. Simply put - on his world.

(Conversation in the studio. Michael is sitting at the piano.)
— How do you write a song?
- How I write a song... well...
— You sit down at the piano, what’s going on?
- If I sit here, play a few chords and say - I will write the best song in the world, then nothing will work. Something in the sky just says, “Hey, the time has come, it has to happen now, and this is what I want to give you.” I remember when I wrote "Billie Jean" I was driving down the street in my car. Before that, I just told myself that I wanted to write a song with a strong bass line and didn't think much about it, and a few days later this came... (Imitates the opening chords of the song.)
-Where did this come from?
— (Shrugs his shoulder and makes a gesture with his hand, implying the sky.) From above.
- Okay, so you sang this bass line, but how did the whole arrangement come about, all the other instruments, how was it done?
- This... the main thing here is not to interfere with the music itself. Don't stand in the way of music. There is no need to write music - you need to let it write itself.
- Is it the same with dancing?
- Yes, it's the same thing.
- How do you do it, how do you dance, can you show me?
- Oh God...
- Come on, just stand up and show me.
-...I’m uncomfortable...
- Well, just show me, show me, teach me.
- ...they already know this about me - I’m terribly shy, I’m uncomfortable...
- Okay, you're uncomfortable, but just stand up and show it.
- OK then.
(Michael comes out from behind the piano and makes a few of his signature moves.)
-What do you think about when you dance?
- I don't think. Thinking is generally the biggest mistake a dancer can make. You have to feel. You become a bass guitar, wind instruments, flute, strings, drums...
- How do you convey this with your body?
- Yes, absolutely right.
(Michael teaches Bashir to do the moonwalk, explaining that you need to push off with one foot and slide on the heel of the other foot.)
- It's not that easy.
- This is very difficult to explain... Look, you always slide only on your heel, not on your toe, but on your heel...
- It’s not easy, it’s a rather unnatural movement for a person...
- Well, yes, and this is how an illusion is created.
(Bashir tries to repeat.)
- Well, that's about it. Here's the idea.
- You are a very kind person...

(Day. Neverland - zoo, fountains...)
Michael Jackson's home, Neverland is a 3,000-acre ranch three hours from Los Angeles. Like almost everything in his life, this estate must be seen with your own eyes to be believed in its existence. Inspired by the children's tale of Peter Pan - o little boy, which never grew up - this estate, which cost millions of dollars to create, is a man-made embodiment of fairy-tale reality. There is a huge amusement park here, as well as a zoo with giraffes, elephants, tigers and a couple of orangutans. From the chimpanzee Bubbles, the menagerie has grown to an entire reserve. This is a real paradise for a ten-year-old child - but Michael Jackson is now 44.

(Conversation in the cinema.)
— The inspiration for Neverland was Peter Pan. Why does a character like Peter Pan inspire you so much?
- Because Peter Pan for me represents what is very dear to my heart - youth, childhood, the desire to never grow up, magic, the ability to fly... Everything that, I think, is the essence of children, miracle, magic. But I never grew out of love for all this; for me it is still very precious.
“And you identify with him.”
- Fully.
- You don't want to grow up.
- No. I am Peter Pan.
- But you are Michael Jackson.
- At heart I am Peter Pan.

Climate is an issue in Jackson. He says that due to his disease, which changed the color of his skin - vitiligo - straight sunlight harmful to him. Under the cover of an umbrella, he took me to the most secret place.
(A huge tree grows in a clearing.)
“I call it the Giving Tree because it inspires me.” I love climbing trees in general, but I love this tree the most because I climb on it, look down through the branches, and it gives me... I love it so much, so many different ideas, I wrote so many songs on this tree. I wrote here “Heal The World”, “Will You Be There”, “Black Or White”, “Childhood”...
“So you're saying you're climbing this tree?”
- Yes.
- How high can you climb?
- Over there to that branch...
-Can you climb in right now?
- Yes, sure!
- Come on, I'll hold your umbrella. I just want to watch you get up there.
(Michael gives the umbrella to Bashir and runs to the tree. He quickly climbs up the crooked branches.)
-Aren't you coming?
- No way.
- This is a big secret, I never talked about my Giving Tree.
- Okay, I'll try. (Starts climbing the tree.) I'm a little worried that my boots will slip...
- Come on!
(Michael waves from the tree.)
-Are you having fun?
- Certainly!
- And I'm scared. I probably won't go any further.
- Don't you climb trees?
- No, never.
(Back on earth.)
— I love climbing trees, these are my two favorite activities - water balloon battles and tree climbing.
“And you don’t prefer making love, or going to a concert, or... Do you really prefer water balloon fights to anything else?”
- Well, some people like to play basketball, but I like to climb trees...

How did his musical genius lead him to the surreal world that his life has now become? I started looking for answers at the very beginning of the story.
— Do you remember when you first discovered that you had a special musical talent?
“My mother once caught me making my bed and singing. And she told my father that I could sing, but he didn’t want to hear about it, he said that the main singer in the group is Jermaine. The mother said, “Joe, you really need to listen to him sing.” He said: “No, Jermaine sings in the group, period.” She finally got him to listen to me, and from then on I became a singer in the group. ...All the time as a child, I remember people talking about me - “this is a forty-two-year-old dwarf.” I didn't understand it at first, but they meant the way I moved on stage, the skill with which I sang...
-Did anyone teach you this?
- No. You can't teach this. It must come from within, it is a gift...
…I remember very well going to the Motown studio to record, and there was a park right across the street from the studio. I heard the kids having fun there, playing football, volleyball, baseball... I remember many times looking around and just covering my face with my hands and crying... I wanted to play so bad sometimes, but I couldn’t. I just couldn't, I had to go to the studio.
— When you trained, your father adhered to very strict discipline. What did this mean?
- (Pause) Hmm!.. (another pause) ...I didn’t get it so much because he used me as an example. He said: “Do as Michael does.” And he trained us with a belt in his hand. If you are wrong, then expect that you... (imitates the whistling of a belt)
- So you're saying that when you were rehearsing dance moves, your father led the rehearsals with a belt in his hand?
- Yes. He could just tear you apart if you were wrong. And not only did we practice, we were also nervous during rehearsals. Because he was sitting in a chair, he had a belt in his hand, and if you don’t do everything right, he will tear you apart. You'll get it in full. I got it a lot, but I think my brother Marlon got it the most because it wasn't easy for him to rehearse and he tried really hard. My father always said, “Do like Michael, do like Michael.” And everyone else was nervous, and I was nervous too. Because he was very harsh.
- Did he beat you?
- So many.
- Just with a belt?
- (Hovering his face with his hand) Why are you doing this to me?.. No, not just with the belt...
- What else?
- Rope... anything you can get your hands on. And as hard as I could.
“But you were just a child.”
- I know…
— You were a kid, and you created successful records...
-...I know... He was just losing his temper. I remember my mother screaming: “Joe, you're going to kill him, stop, you're going to kill him!..” And I was very agile, and sometimes he couldn't catch me, but if he did, oh God... It was terrible .

I looked at the screen and couldn't help but think about the effect this cruelty had on little Michael.
“We were terrified, simply terrified. I don't think he still understands how scared—SCARED—I was. I just felt sick.
- Did you vomit?
- Yes.
— What caused such a reaction?
- His presence. One look at him. Sometimes I would lose consciousness and my bodyguards would catch me.
- When he beat you, did you hate him?
- Yes... I hated it terribly... And that’s why now I don’t lay a finger on my children, I don’t want them to ever feel the same way towards me. Never. And he didn’t like it when we called him “dad,” but I really wanted to call him daddy... He said: “I’m not your daddy, I’m Joseph,” you know. And I completely forgave him for all this, it was necessary. But I don't like it when my kids call me "Michael." I say - I'm a dad. It’s the other way around now... And when people say “bad treatment,” it’s wrong, completely wrong.

Thirty years later the memories were still fresh. But there was little time for reflection. It was the end of summer, and Michael Jackson was leaving Neverland. (Filming in Las Vegas.)
Hotel "Four Seasons". It quickly became clear that Jackson was terribly bored and isolated. He really liked having someone beside him other than the strange collection of mannequins and instruments I found in his room.
- Is this your number? What do you like about Las Vegas?
- Mmm... I like entertainment. It's interesting to come here.
— (Pointing to a toy, something like a scooter) What is this?
- This... When I'm bored, I ride this around the hotel corridors. I rush through the corridors late at night sometimes...
- You're kidding.
- No, seriously.
(Michael is standing on an electronic skateboard simulator - he pushes off with his foot while standing still, and on the screen in front of him a character rushes through the streets on a skateboard.)
— I like this game... (Comments on what is happening on the screen, making exclamations as if he was actually skating.)
(There is a large figure standing in the corner. Bashir turns his attention to it.)
- Who is this?
- This is the Green Giant. All of America knows this advertisement, it should convince children to eat green peas. (Humms commercial tune) Ho-hou-hou, Green Giant...
I soon learned that Las Vegas was full of unpleasant memories for Jackson.
“I had to sleep in the same room with my brothers while on tour. And in my room every night certain events took place... I heard everything. And I had to pretend to be asleep, and my brothers told me: “No matter what happens, don’t get up, don’t open your eyes!” I said, “I won’t, I promise...” And all these girls came, I heard them say, “Is that little Michael?” The brothers said yes. And the girls: “Oh, he’s so cute!” ...And I heard everything.
- What did you hear?
- With these girls?..
-Did you hear them having sex?
- Yes.
- In the same room with you?
- Mmm... let me think... well, sometimes yes, sometimes no.
“So sometimes you lay there and pretended to be asleep while your brothers had sex with girls in the same room.”
- Yeah...
— Did you have many girlfriends when you were a teenager?
- No... My first girlfriend, whom I loved very much, was Tatum O'Neal.
— Was it a typical romantic teenage love?
“Yes, it was, but I don’t think I was ready for some of the things she said... I was quite naive, all jokes aside.” I hope she will forgive me for telling this story. Tatum, please forgive me. I remember she called me to her house, her house was in Beverly Hills, and when I came, she tried...
- What did she say?
- All sorts of sexy things. I was scared to death.
- That is, she calls you and says - Michael, come to my house, I want to make love to you.
- Yes.
- And you were scared.
- I was very scared. Because I had never tried anything like that... And I came to her, tried to act bravely, and I remember she turned off all the lights in the bedroom, pulled back the curtains, and you could see the entire skyline of this city, it was very beautiful. She told me to come and lie on the bed and I did. And she walked up slowly and touched the button on my shirt, unbuttoned it, and I covered my face with my hands, like that, and couldn't put them down. And... she just left. She realized that I was too timid for this. That's it.
“And you didn’t feel any temptation, you were just scared?”
- I was scared. I don't think I was ready for this.

We're going shopping in an amazing place. (Conversation in the car.)
— Do you like shopping?
- Adore.
-What do you like about it?
— I like shopping, and... I like watching people make things, I like crafts, when people make things with their own hands.
—Have you always been good with money?
- Yes. I remember getting checks for $200,000 when I was 12 or 13 years old. The father asked: “What are we going to do with this money?”, and they put it into the account...
- And you were only 13 years old.
- Yes, and I received a certain amount in my hands so that I could buy what I wanted. And I bought gum, candy, things like that.
- How much money do you have now?
- A lot, but I would...
- No, just how much?
- A lot...
— About a billion dollars?
- Yes, approximately.
- More than a billion.
- Yes...
We have arrived at our favorite shopping mall Michael. He told me he wanted to spend some serious money - and he wasn't kidding. When Michael Jackson goes out somewhere, there are fans waiting at every turn to greet him. (Someone in the store, a grown man, approaches Michael, saying that he is a big fan of his and loves to sing with a guitar. Michael hugs him, asks: “Where are you from?” - “From Texas. I have a sister there, when she finds out that I saw you, she will cry like a child.” Michael laughs and says goodbye to him.)
- This happens all the time, right?
- Yes.
— People come up to you, say they love your music, love to play...
- Yes, it’s nice... (pointing up) These ceilings, look how cool they are.
- Yes, this is an extraordinary painting.
- Incredible.
(Michael and Bashir walk through the shopping center.)
— Do you like buying jewelry?
- (Very casually) No. For my mother or Elizabeth Taylor, yes. Elizabeth loves jewelry, my mother loves jewelry, and if there is a girl I like, I buy her jewelry. That is, if there is one.
- Is there any now?
- At the moment - no. I haven't found anyone yet.
(Approaching one of the shops located in the building, Michael points to a lit display case.)
— This is my favorite place, I bought a lot of things here.
This is Michael Jackson's favorite store in Las Vegas, with the happiest manager in the world.
(Michael walks between various things in the store - lamps, tables, vases, a luxurious chess set, everything is very chic - almost without looking he points out: “This, this, this...”, asks questions to the manager, negotiates. Bashir tries to find out the price. “ Do you have enough space for all this in Neverland? “He asks. “There’s enough room,” Michael replies, “and that’s for the other house.” Bashir wants to know how much everything is. Michael spends here, but the manager cannot answer. “You buy things that will make your house look like an imperial one,” says Bashir. “That’s my taste,” Michael replies. “You can retire after today.” Bashir jokingly says to the manager. “What about the paintings?” Michael asks Michael, selecting several paintings hanging here.)
The news that Michael was in the building spread quickly, and a crowd gathered wanting to get a glimpse of him. This has always happened, since he was still a boy. But what happened to spark his lifelong obsession with the way his face looks?
— I have never looked at myself in the mirror. Never. I washed my face in the dark, and I had a lot of acne, and... It was difficult to meet the public. I remember once at the airport, somewhere in Virginia, or something, one woman recognized my brothers and gasped: “Oh my God, this is the Jackson Five, where is little Michael, where is Michael?” - and she looked around, looked down in search of little Michael. And then another person said to her: “Here he is” - and she... (imitates the sound of disappointment), and "what happened?.." - she was like this. And, God, I wanted to die on the spot. She actually said this to me.
— Did your father and brothers tease you because of your appearance?
- My father teased me, and one cousin too...
-What did your father say?
- Oh God... well... this is quite unpleasant... He teased me, and very much.
- This is cruel.
“Yes, he hurt me with this... I don’t think he realized how much it hurt me.”
- What exactly did he say?
“He teased me about the way I looked, saying that I didn’t get it from him, that it was from Kate—he always called my mother Kate—like, “It can’t be from me.” And I would say, “Thank you for the comfort”... And they would laugh... I don't think people understand how it can affect a person... And my cousin would always tease me about my acne... I would go into my bedroom and cry.
“Is it true that your father told you that you have big nose? What was he really saying?
- “God, your nose is so big, it’s definitely not from me...”
— How do you feel going through this as a teenager?
“You want to die... you just want to die... And to top it all off, you have to go on stage, under the spotlight, in front of hundreds, thousands of people... God, it's hard. I would be happier if I could wear a mask.
(Shots from the store - Michael looks at different masks, takes one off the wall, and tries it on Bashir.)
Was it this teenage experience that led Michael Jackson to alter his face to create his own mask? I had to ask him this question.
- What can you say to people who say that when Michael Jackson was little, he was black, and now he is an adult and looks white?
- Well, ask God about it. This isn't about me at all, OK? And this is ignorance.
“What do you mean when you say it’s not about you at all?”
- I didn’t control my condition as a teenager, I didn’t control this lightening... And - how many white people spend whole days in the sun to look like black people? And there's a multi-million dollar business in suntan lotion. And no one says anything about it. People do this - they try to look different than they are, and that's normal as far as I'm concerned, right?
- And you tried to look different than you are?
- No.
— And what should I say to those who think that you have implants in your cheeks...
- (Frowns) Oh God...
(Bashir lists - “lips, eyes, chin...” - and Michael repeats: “This is stupidity, this is stupidity...”)
- ... this is stupid, all this is not true. This is bullshit, they made it up. They are lying. They want to make me answer for everything, when I walked around with a beard, they wrote that each hair in it was transplanted individually with a laser - this is just ignorance. Am I not even able to grow a beard now? This was written by an ignorant fool. Don't believe this nonsense, don't waste your money on it. When you buy these newspapers, you are not buying something that is based on the truth - it is not the truth, it is garbage.

And so I met the children of Michael Jackson - Prince Michael the First and Paris. They are rarely seen in public. (Children run in; Prince is wearing a mask in the shape of a dark butterfly, covering his entire face.)
- This is an amazing mask! It's a butterfly... let me see. What is it made of?
Prince: - I don’t know. It's black on the inside...
(The kids talk to Michael, they all walk down the corridor together.)
Jackson told me he never allows children to go outside without a mask to hide their appearance. The children are the result of his short marriage to dermatology nurse Debbie Rowe. Paris is now four years old, Prince is almost six.
(In the elevator. Bashir addresses Prince.)
- I see you have shoes from " Star Wars».
Prince: - Not from the second part. ...I want more from Spider-Man too...
— They say you don’t like the second part of “Star Wars,” but why?
Prince: “She’s kind of boring and stupid.”
- Is it true? What makes you think that you can give such a strict assessment?
(Prince is lost, the question is asked in too complex a formulation. Michael helps him out.)
- Why do you think you're right? Do you think you're right? (Prince nods confidently.)
(Michael and the children go outside, singing “Smile”. Several people are waiting for him, these are fans from Spain, they behave very calmly. Michael talks to them, then he and the children get into the car.)
— Did you cry when Prince was born?
- Yes.
- You can tell me how it was, do you remember it?
- Certainly. When he showed up, he had a very big head, and I saw this head and thought about my great-grandfather and my brother Randy, they have exactly the same head shape... I said, “Oh, God,” and then they handed him to me and I I cut off the umbilical cord, with scissors in the shape of a stork, and then they washed him and all that... And I ask - can I take him home? They tell me no, they can’t take him away. I say why? "There are some serious problems" I - what? "We have to put him in intensive care, he's not breathing properly." No... I said - please, Lord, don't let me have a sick child, please... And I waited an hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, I was so afraid... And after five hours this nurse came out and said: “ OK, you can go home." I was so happy...
— Paris was born shortly after that.
- Yes.
— Were you present at her birth?
- Certainly. Of course, and it was just... magic. She was born in the wrong position, and her neck was wrapped in the umbilical cord, I was very worried... And the birth lasted longer. And... I was so eager to take her home that as soon as the umbilical cord was cut, I kidnapped her... I took her home right in the placenta, in all this...
- You're kidding.
- No, I'm not joking. He grabbed her in a towel and ran away. They told me that everything was fine, that it was possible. I took it home and washed it all myself.
- She was just born.
- I know.
- Why did you want to do this?
- Because I knew it was possible, they told me it was nothing, and Debbie allowed it, and the doctor allowed me. I was just so afraid that they would tell me some bad news, but nothing bad happened, and after this fear I just went home, home, home...
“Apparently Debbie stayed in the hospital, because she just gave birth to a baby.”
- Yes.
— And she didn’t mind parting with the newborn child?
- She gave me permission herself.
- Should I pick up the baby?
- Yes, she said - go, I know that you want it, and I don’t mind at all. I asked - are you sure you don’t mind? She replied yes.
“And how long did it take before she was reunited with the child?”
- I don’t remember how long it took... I don’t know exactly.
(Michael with the children and Bashir accompanying them in Vegas. They approach the ancient Egyptian golden tomb.)
- Amazing! Just look at this face. This is wonderful.
— This is a copy of Tutankhamun's tomb.
- Yes.
- And you bought it.
- Yes.
- Why did you buy it?
- Because I really like it, look at the painting, it’s phenomenal, it’s a work of art.
- Would you like to be buried in such a coffin?
— (Laughing) I don’t want to be buried at all.
- Is it true?
- Yes. I would like to live forever.

— Are you trying to give your children a normal upbringing?
- Yes. Certainly.
- And what about such things as school, education? Do they go to school?
- Yes, they have a school.
— Do they go to a regular school?
- No, never.
- Why not?
“Nothing good would have happened.”
- Why?
“The paparazzi are following us everywhere, I wouldn’t want the press to besiege the school.” They would be there in the bushes, in the trees... I remember how it happened to me, and the reporters would do the same, and even worse, to them. And I don't want this envy from teachers, the words "just because you're Michael Jackson's kids, don't think we're going to treat you any differently than anyone else." They don't require any special treatment, and I would not be happy to encounter this.
“It turns out that the truth is that they simply cannot have a normal life.”
- No, he can’t.
(Scene in the store. Michael walks holding the hands of both children. Someone hands him a notebook for an autograph, he wants to take the notebook, but Paris does not let go of his hand. The nanny comes to the rescue and unhooks the girl’s palm. “When I say, let go , then we have to let him go,” says Michael. “I sometimes have to give autographs.”)
- You care about the effect that your life has on them, the fact that you are a star, and a lot is decided for them, sometimes they simply have no choice.
- This is the state of affairs. And... Sometimes life manages to improve, in the past many people succeeded in this, you build, sculpt, create your own world, and many people succeeded quite well.
It's obvious that Jackson loves being a dad, and it came as a surprise to me that Prince and Paris recently got a little brother.
— You recently had a third child.
- Yes.
— Were you present at his birth?
- Yes.
- What is he like, what is his name?
- Prince Michael II, but we call him Blanket.
-You call him Blanket? Why?
- Because this is the expression that I use in conversations with my family, with my employees. I say, “You can cover me,” or “You can cover her,” meaning that the covering is a blessing. This is a way to show love and care.
- Who is his mother?
- His mother? I can't say. Because she will be overwhelmed... well, you know. We have an agreement that we can't - that is, a contract that we don't say who she is, that's what we decided.
- And you had some kind of relationship with her?
- Yes.
“But you kept them secret.”
- Yes.
“And that’s because she doesn’t want anyone to know about it?”
- Yes, and I don't want anyone to know. She doesn't want to end up in the newspapers and tabloids, she doesn't want that, and I don't blame her. Because she knows how nasty their comments can be, you know.
- Do any of your mothers live with you now?
- Do they live with me? No.
— Is it difficult for you and the children?
- No... no, why should it be difficult?
- And the children are not looking for their mother?
- No. They're fine. How many children live with their mothers and have no father. Nobody says anything. No, they live well.
- Is it just the other way around for you?
- Yes. And they live wonderfully. They have enough women in their lives. They are everywhere. In my house there are women all around, that is, children are with them all day long.
— What would you say to those who find this a little strange?
“People always have their opinions on everything you do, so it doesn’t bother me.” Anything may seem strange to some. And this interview is strange for someone. So what's the difference, right?

Several thousand miles from home, Michael's behavior as a father came under serious scrutiny. A few weeks later I met him in Berlin. And just as I was on my way, this happened. (Footage of the “balcony incident.”) Michael Jackson dangled his small child from a Berlin hotel window. His fans outside were going crazy. Once in his room, I began to worry - something manic appeared in him that I had never seen before. And he really enjoyed the attention of the screaming fans outside the hotel.
(Michael quickly writes something on the pillow, Bashir reads aloud: "'I love you with all my heart, Michael Jackson...' Does this pillow belong to the hotel?" Michael: "Yeah." He goes to the balcony and throws the pillow down to the fans. Below continuous screams are heard. “What were they singing now?” asks Bashir. “Fuck the press, Michael is the best,” Michael quotes. “How?.." Michael chooses to spell it out: “F-U-C-K... I won’t spell it.” word".)
He arrived in Berlin a week after the trial in Los Angeles. Press reports of the trial said his face was falling apart. (Michael, walking into the elevator, makes faces at the camera, flirts, hiding from the lens, laughs: “That was stupid...” “What do you think about Berlin?” asks Bashir. “I like Berlin.”) While the fans were waiting at hotel, hoping to see his idol, his escort rushed away. I wanted to know if the articles about his face upset him.
— What do you think about how the press covered the trial?
- I have not seen anything. I don't talk about it... I don't watch TV, I don't read tabloids. It would be nice to organize a tabloid burning, collect such a mountain and burn them all. People should better understand that there is not a word of truth there. This is sensationalism, this is ignorance. This happened to Lady Diana, she was hunted by these people.
- What do you think about the comments that were made about your appearance during your appearance in court? There were a lot of conversations...
- Oooh, don't even start about it...
(The driver intervenes, exclaiming, “Look at him!” Someone jumps out into the roadway and dances in front of Michael’s car. A policeman immediately drags him off the road. Michael and his men laugh loudly. “Every time he starts dancing, the police It’s enough, every time! He only manages to make one turn, poor thing!”) We were driving to the restaurant, and Michael’s army of loyal fans got there first. Among them was his desperate fan, who was finally able to perform his dance. (A guy dances in front of several cameras. When he stops, someone asks him: “Have you been dancing like this for a long time?” - “Since I was very little.”) By the time we were about to leave, hysteria was growing in the atmosphere . (The security guards, covering Michael from all sides, lead him to the car through the crowd of fans. Having climbed inside, Michael asks: “I want that poster, give it to me, please. Come on, that one with the kids... I want more.” To Michael they hand over several gifts from fans. One girl is allowed to climb into the car and hug Michael.)
While Michael was driving back to the hotel, a thunderstorm erupted surrounding the Blanket incident. The next morning he was eager to show me how much he cared about his children. (Michael feeds Blanket from a bottle, throwing a translucent cloth over his head. The baby cries, Michael tries to entertain him with different sounds, shakes him on his lap. “Blanket, Blanket, I love you, Blanket!” The baby calms down, sucks from the bottle.)
- I love my children. Very.
- Does he like food?
- Yes!
-Have you heard what they say about all this?
- This is complete ignorance. I would never do anything to my children or any other child. Trying to kill them?.. What nonsense. There were thousands of fans waiting down there and they were chanting that they wanted to see my baby and I just let them look at him, there was nothing wrong with that.
(Prince II sucks greedily from the bottle.)
- He looks hungry.
— (Laughing) He just loves milk. (Michael takes the baby away.)
Jackson's behavior was starting to scare me. (Still footage at the Berlin Zoo.) Worried about the safety of the children, I found myself in the middle of a crowd of paparazzi with them. (Bashir's voice is heard: “The Prince is with me, I'm holding him.”) It was a completely unsuitable trip for two small children, that's all This was understood - except for Jackson himself. It was hard to believe that this was the same person I met in Neverland. I had the opportunity to talk about his strange behavior in the evening, behind the scenes of a charity auction.
— What can you say about today’s trip to the zoo?
“I love going to zoos, but it’s always difficult because of all the crowds.” I always go to see gorillas, I love them very much.
“It looks like someone poked Prince in the eye.”
- Prince? Oh no, he's fine.
“They are under enormous pressure, all these people around...
- Yes, I know... We have been hiding them since birth, and helicopters even flew over the maternity hospital...
“But wouldn’t it be easier for the bodyguards and nannies to take them to the zoo alone, so as not to expose them to what they had to go through today?”
- No, I can't do that, no. If something happens, it better be my fault.
“And you wouldn’t let them go with bodyguards?”
- Yes, we have enough security, they tried very hard today...
— You’ve had a difficult week... The press writes that you are irresponsible towards children.
- The press is wrong. I love my children. I held my son very tightly. Why would I throw a child off a balcony? This is the most stupid thing I've ever heard. I love my children and they know I love them, and two minutes before everyone saw the baby, Prince was doing the exact same thing, I was holding him in my arms.
- I saw it.
“I did it, but I held it tightly in my hands.”
“Were you just overexcited?”
- No! They chanted that they wanted to see the baby. I just wanted to show them the baby. I wouldn't let him fall.
- But you didn’t actually show the child, they didn’t see him, he was closed.
- They saw. They felt everything. And he responded too, he sang... (Michael imitates the sounds that Prince II made.)
Jackson donated his jacket to auction, which was sold for 16 thousand pounds. And the fans continued their desperate attempts to meet Michael. (Michael meets with fans from Germany.)
IN last night In Berlin, Jackson was to receive the Bambi Award for his achievements in music. Jackson seemed very excited and for the first time he didn't want our camera to film him. He wanted us to film only his adoring fans. While his guards were making final checks, the action on stage was building towards his award ceremony. A very long and serious presentation was organized. And on Jackson's disastrous journey to Berlin, another unpleasant incident occurred. During the ceremony, Jackson took the stage too early. (Michael begins to walk up to the stage, but is intercepted in time. He hides while sitting on the steps.) This misunderstanding was painful for all of us. It was not him who was called to the stage, but Boris Becker, who was to present the award. (On stage, Becker announces the award to Michael, and Michael finally takes the stage.) The award was supposed to cement his title as the King of Pop. But by the end of this journey she could no longer help. And something else bothered me - in Neverland I met one of his best friends, a 12-year-old boy.

When I met Michael Jackson, we talked about many aspects of his life, except one - his relationship with his children. To me this is the most disturbing aspect of his life. As he often does, he invited a group of children to Neverland - they could not believe their happiness. (The train rides through Neverland, Michael tells the children what can be seen from the window. “Keep your head down!.. I’ll dance with you later, are you dancing? No, I learned the moonwalk from you...” The train slows down, stopping. Michael gets up, but quickly sits back down: “Don’t get up, sit down. I’m the one behaving badly, don’t get up, now he’ll twitch.” last time... Here, now let's go.") He clearly enjoyed the company of the children, and they also enjoyed being here. (Michael tells the kids that he's going to build another water park in Neverland.) The kids get everything they want here, and it's all free. And for this day, Jackson became one of them.
The problem was that I, like everyone else, knew that 10 years ago children stayed overnight in Neverland. One of them, a 13-year-old boy, accused Jackson of sexual abuse - an accusation that cost him several million dollars. I figured he was more careful now. But to my deep amazement, I discovered that children still spend the night here. Sometimes in his house, and sometimes in his bedroom. I met 12-year-old Gavin and his brother and sister. Gavin met Jackson two years ago when he was dying of cancer.
(Filming in the kitchen, Michael and Gavin's family are talking vying with each other.)
— Gavin, what helps Michael communicate so well with children? What exactly?
Gavin: Because he real child in the shower. He behaves just like a child, he knows what children are, what children think about. You see, you don’t have to be a child simply because society considers everyone over 18 years old to be an adult. It doesn't matter. You are an adult when you want to be.
Michael: - And no more cancer. It's all gone! He was then told that he would die.
Gavin's sister: - My parents were told to prepare for the funeral, because there was no longer a chance. He wouldn’t have grown up, he couldn’t have had children... And after chemotherapy he grew up so much!
Gavin: I grew from 4 feet to 5 feet four inches.
Michael: Doctors don’t know anything about all this, do they?
According to Gavin, Michael's friendship and support helped him overcome cancer. Since then they have become close friends.
— When you stay here, do you live in the house? Does Michael allow you to walk around the house?
Gavin: One evening I asked him if I could stay in his bedroom. He allowed me to stay in his bedroom. And I told him, “Michael, you can sleep on the bed,” and he said, “No, no, you’ll sleep on the bed,” and I argued, “No, no, no, you’ll sleep on the bed,” and then he said: “If you love me, you will sleep on the bed.” And I said, “well, well...”, and in the end I was sleeping on the bed. It was fun.
— I slept on the floor. It was a sleeping bag, wasn't it?
Gavin: “You made a whole nest of blankets on the floor.”
- But Michael, you are a 44-year-old man, why do you need this?
Gavin: - He’s not 44, he’s 4!
- Yes, I'm four. I love... I think they get from me what I get from them. I've said this many times, my biggest inspiration comes from children. Every song I write, every dance I do, every poem, everything is inspired by this innocence. This is the consciousness of purity. All children have this. I see God in the faces of children. And I just love being around them all the time.
- But when people hear that children from other families came and stayed in your house, in your bedroom?..
- There are not many of them.
- Okay, but some people stayed, and they tell you whether an adult should do this? What is your answer to this?
“I feel very sorry for them because they judge someone who just wants to help people.” Why can't you share your bed with someone? It is the greatest act of love to share your bed with someone.
- Do you really think so?
- Yeah... Of course. You can take my bed if you want, sleep in it. I'll sleep on the floor, the bed is yours. You always try to give the best to your friend, you know, like him, because he was going to sleep on the floor, and I said, “No, you'll sleep on the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor.”
“But don’t you have rooms or a guest house where he could stay?”
- No... Well, yes, we have guest rooms, but when the children come here, they always want to stay with me. I never invite them into my room. They say, “Can I stay with you today?” and I say, “If your parents don’t mind, then you can.”
“Are your parents happy that you were here with Michael?”
Gavin: Yes, my mother was very happy. And I know that they are happy because I am happy.
— Did they come with you together?
Gavin: I spent most of my time not with my parents, but with Michael.
“And they liked having you here?”
Gavin: Yes.
I felt uneasy after this conversation. I knew I would have to confront Jackson about what I thought was his obsession with children. This could not be avoided. At the beginning of the new year, Jackson agreed to a final meeting. She went to Miami. I had a lot of questions for him - about those areas of his life about which, in my opinion, he was the least sincere: his face, his denial of plastic surgery, his relationship with Blanket's mother, and, of course, I wanted to return to those who stays in Neverland overnight. Arguing with him was not going to be easy, but it had to happen now.
In preparation for this interview, the atmosphere was unusually tense. This time Jackson brought in his own lighting guy. Maybe there were reasons for that. Plastic surgery has been the subject of several difficult issues.
“When we talked a while ago, you talked about what you went through as a teenager. It was a terrible time for you. And I saw some photos of you from that period - you had a lot of acne.
- Yes.
“And one of the things that you used to cope with the problems of growing up was to change your appearance, you changed physically, and your photographs...
- No, as a teenager you just grow and change.
“But even the shape of your face has changed.”
- No, it hasn’t changed. I didn't redo my face, it's just my nose. This has helped me breathe better and I can hit the higher notes.
- So you're saying there was only one operation.
- Two. As far as I remember. Only two.
- But when I look at photos of you as a teenager...
- Yes, I changed, people change.
“But if you look at the pictures from the Thriller era, your lips are completely different now.”
- No.
- But they look different.
- No, sorry, no.
- But I don’t understand this...
“I’m quite happy with my lips.”
- Okay, let's leave the lips, this is just a detail, but...
— In Hollywood, everyone does plastic surgery, plastic surgery They weren't invented for Michael Jackson. Everyone does it.
- I'm not saying that it was invented for Michael Jackson, but sometimes people go too far. Sometimes - if they have a lot of money and the opportunity, they might say, “Oh, I'll do it.” Especially considering your childhood, I began to understand how difficult it was for you, how unhappy a child you were. And how unhappy you were as a teenager because of your appearance. You told me in Neverland that your father abused you. In Las Vegas, you told me that your father kept talking about your nose. And so I can understand why you wanted to change your appearance, it makes sense. I would like to...
- But not the whole face, just the nose. They say why does he keep changing his face... This is not true. It's just the nose, you know.
“But even your face shape is different.”
- But I have changed!.. I was a little child...
- No, I'm talking about the time when you were 20.
- Well, I just changed, I change with time, I'm telling you the truth.
- Honestly?
- Honestly!
We took a break, but not for long. Next point there was my concern about the children.
“When I talked to Prince one day, he told me that he didn’t have a mom.”
— He said he doesn’t have a mother?
- Yes. I said, Prince, where is your mom, and he said, “I don’t have a mom.”
- Right.
- Did you tell him to say that?
- No.
- What do you think he means when he says that he doesn’t have a mother?
- What he said is that he doesn’t have a mother.
— Don’t you still think that it would be better for children to maintain contact with their mother?
- No, because she doesn’t... this is private information. She doesn't...she can't handle it.
- She can't handle her own children?
“She prefers them to be with me rather than with her.”
- Did you know that she didn’t want to communicate with children when you married her?
- Yes... She did it for me. Did this for me. She's a wonderful person.
- So, did I understand everything correctly: she knew that Michael Jackson loved children, and she knew that Michael Jackson wanted to have children...
- Yes, that's why. She said, “you need to be a dad.”
“Right, she said that you need to be a dad more than she needs to be a mom?”
- Yes. And she wanted to give this gift to me.
- Gift - what do you mean?
- Present; I sometimes walked with doll babies in my arms...
- Is it true?
- ... because I really wanted to have children.
“And you just said that your wife gave you two children as a gift because she wanted you to be a father?”
- Yes. This is a wonderful thing to do.
- This is an incredible act.
- Yes, and there are surrogate mothers who do this every day. This happens every day in the world—it’s happening right now.
“And that’s how Blanket was born?”
“I used a surrogate mother and my own sperm. My own cells are also in my other two children. These are all my children, but I took surrogate mother, and she doesn't know me, I don't know her. This is how he was born.
- And how did you choose your mother?
“Nothing mattered to me except her health.” I didn't care what race she was, as long as she was healthy, if she had good eyesight... And her intelligence - I wanted to know how smart she was.
- You conceived a child with black woman?
- Certainly.
“But I saw Blanket, and I think it's safe to say that his mother was probably white.”
- No, you're wrong.
- Am I wrong?
- You're wrong.
“So Blanket’s mother is black.” But is it so light?
“Black people are also called people of color because we come in every color, from very white, like my hands, to very dark, like your shirt.” My father has blue eyes. And when people see Paris, they always talk about Debbie, but it could be my dad's genes, you know.
- Is it true?
- Certainly…
- And when do you want to have your next child?
- I would like to have it today...
- Is it true?
“I’m thinking about adopting two children from each continent in the world.”
— A girl and a boy from every continent?
- From every continent. This is my dream.
And so we return to our meeting in Neverland with 12-year-old Gavin. For me, this was the most disturbing moment in the entire last eight months.
- That's when you talk about children; we met Gavin - and it was an honor to meet Gavin because he had a lot of suffering in his life - when Gavin was here, he talked about the fact that he slept in your bedroom.
- Yes.
- Do you understand why people are worried about this?
- Because they are ignorant.
“But should a 44-year-old man sleep in the same room with a child who has no relation to him?”
- This is wonderful.
- And this shouldn’t bother you?
- Why should it bother, what is the crime... who is Jack the Ripper? Just a person trying to help a child recover... I’m in a sleeping bag, on the floor. I gave him the bed because his brother named Star was with him, and so he and Star took the bed, and I slept in a sleeping bag...
-Have you ever slept in the same bed with him?
- No. But I have slept in the same bed with many children. We slept in the same bed when Macaulay Culkin was little, Kieran Culkin slept on one side of the bed, Macaulay Culkin on the other, and his sisters... we just all rolled around in bed together. We woke up at dawn, cheated balloons hot air, we filmed it all, I have all these recordings...
- But is this right, Michael?
- That's absolutely correct. This is an expression of love, this is what the world needs right now - more love, more heart...
— The world needs a man who is 44 years old and who sleeps in the same bed with children?
- No, you imagine it... no, you imagine it all wrong.
- Well, tell me, help me understand...
- Well, because what's wrong with sharing love? Don't you sleep with your kids? Or with some other child who needs love, who didn't have a good childhood...
- No, I wouldn’t even think...
- This is because your soul has never been where mine has been...
“But what do you think people would say if I said, “I’ve invited some of my daughter’s or my son’s friends over and they’ll sleep in my bed”?
- This is wonderful!
“What do you think their parents would say?”
- If they have this quirk, they will say, “No, you shouldn’t,” but if you are close to this family, if you are almost a member of this family, and you know them well, and...
“But Michael, I wouldn’t want my children sleeping in anyone else’s bed.”
- Well, I wouldn't mind if I know this person well. Barry Gibb and I are very close friends - Paris and Prince can stay with him at any time; My children sleep with other people every now and then.
- And you like it?
- Everything is great. These are honest, very kind people. This is not Jack the Ripper.
“I think for a lot of people the problem is what happened in 1993.” Or what didn't happen then.
- What didn't happen.
“Just so you remember, what was it like when you first heard the accusations made against you?”
“It was a shock, but I’m not legally allowed to talk about it, so...
- But how did you feel? I'm not asking you to talk about what was said then.
“I was shocked because... Lord knows that I adore children with all my heart.”
“Isn’t that the whole problem, that when you invite children into your bed, you never know what will happen?”
“When you say bed, you think about sex, and they talk about sex.” And there's nothing sexy about it. We just go to bed, I tuck the blanket in for them, turn on quiet music, read books. We go to bed, the fireplace is on, I bring them hot milk, we eat cookies, it’s very cute, charming, the whole world should do this...
— And then you didn’t go to prison because a financial agreement was reached with your family?
- Yeah, I didn't want it to turn into a long TV story like with OJ Simpson, all that nonsense, you know. It would be wrong. I said, look, let's get this over with. I want to move on with my life. This is ridiculous, I've had enough, that's it.
I questioned him further, but due to confidentiality agreements, we cannot show you this part of the interview. My questions deeply upset him.
- (With tears) People no longer sit down at the table with their fathers and mothers... Family ties have been destroyed, it desperately needs attention. Why do they come to school with weapons? They wouldn't... They want to be touched, to be hugged, but their parents are busy at work all day, and they leave them at home on the computer, and they do all these crazy things. And it is destroying our world. We need those bonds again, it's very important, Martin.
- Why does this mean so much to you?
“I’m just very sensitive to their pain, I’m very sensitive to the family, to the condition of people, you know.” This question means a lot to me and I want to help. Any way I can help, I've said it a million times before and I'm not afraid to say it. If there were no more children on earth, if someone announced that all the children had died, I would have thrown myself from the balcony immediately - I would not have existed.
And so I left Michael Jackson, he was going back to Neverland. I realized that Neverland is not just a house near Los Angeles, it is the world of Michael Jackson. A place where his vast wealth allows him to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and how he wants. He had created this place and lived there since he was a child, and it was clear that he had never left it.

On last week Jury selection has begun for the trial of Michael Jackson. The trial promises to be long and scandalous. "Power" brings to the attention of readers summary the first act of a soap opera that will surely compete with any other entertainment offered by television and the press for the next six months.
The first appearance. Boy and singer
In 2000, Gavin Arviso was ten years old, but he had already experienced a lot. He was diagnosed with cancer. Made several major operations. He spent almost most of his time in the hospital, which, however, was even good for him: at home the boy was awaited by parents who were always quarreling and fighting with each other and frightened, downtrodden sisters.
Television helped him forget about his illness, at least for a while. From one television program he learned about the international charity campaign “Make a Wish,” which is dedicated to fulfilling the cherished wishes of terminally ill or dying children. He talked about the transfer to his mother and said that he would like one of his idols to write to him - actors Jim Carrey, Chris Tucker, Adam Sandler. He put Michael Jackson in first place, of course, but was absolutely sure that his main idol would not find time to write to him. Nevertheless, Gavin wrote a letter to Michael Jackson with the help of his mother.
A few weeks later, Gavin's hospital phone rang. Michael Jackson, having read the boy's letter, wanted to talk to him on the phone. The first conversation lasted only a few minutes. Michael promised to call again. And he kept his word. The world celebrity and a ten-year-old teenager from Los Angeles became “phone friends.” They talked almost every day. Soon, gifts from Michael Jackson began to arrive at the hospital. Gavin was happy. And soon Janet told her son that as soon as he recovered enough to leave the hospital, they would all go together to Michael Jackson in Neverland.
The first trip to the estate of the famous singer took place in August 2000. Michael Jackson sent his own limousine to pick up Janet, Gavin and his sisters. Since then, the boy very often came to the singer’s estate, either accompanied by his mother or one of his relatives.

The second phenomenon. Same with the director
In 2002, another guest appeared at the Neverland estate - television journalist and director Martin Bashir. World fame Bashir was brought a documentary about Princess Diana, in which she spoke candidly about life in the royal family. Bashir has repeatedly expressed a desire to meet Michael Jackson and interview him. Michael agreed.
The TV journalist spent several months with Michael Jackson, filming his life in Neverland and communicating with his friends, including Gavin. Actually, it was thanks to Bashir that Gavin became a celebrity. Bashir's camera repeatedly captured moments of extraordinary friendship. Here Michael hugs the boy, here they walk holding hands through Neverland. Gavin says that Michael cured him of cancer.
The release of the film "Life with Michael Jackson" in 2003 created a real sensation. Not only was the great singer filmed walking and playing with teenage boys, but he also openly admitted to the camera that he shares his bed with them and does not see anything reprehensible in this. Martin Bashir, of course, did not call Michael Jackson a pedophile. There was no need for this. The footage from the film spoke for itself. Martin Bashir gave interviews in which he spoke of "deep concerns" about the influence of Michael Jackson on teenagers.
The singer tried to protest. He made several statements in which he accused Bashir of treason. A new film has appeared on the screens - "Michael Jackson, take two. The interview that they will never show you." It included footage from Jackson's own cameraman, who turned out to be filming Martin Bashir making a film about Michael Jackson. In "Take," Bashir did not seem at all concerned about the morals and health of Jackson's young friends. “Tears come to my eyes when I see you with these children. Your relationship is so natural, so caring, so kind,” Bashir enthusiastically told Jackson.
The resonance generated by the films was enormous. Show business stars and Jackson fans came to the defense of Michael Jackson from the traitorous reporter. Janet Arviso also had her say. She was outraged by Bashir's insinuations, as well as the fact that her son was interviewed without parental consent. In all the interviews she gave at that time, a mandatory part of the program was a promise to sue the journalist. However, before lawsuit it never came. The Arviso family suddenly disappeared from the field of view of journalists.

The third phenomenon. Same with the prosecutor
It is quite possible that the "film war" would have eventually been forgotten if Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon had not intervened in the case. He had a long-standing and not at all friendly relationship with Michael Jackson.
Ten years before the events described, charges of seducing a minor had already been brought against Michael Jackson. The parents of teenager Jordan Chandler have appealed to District Attorney Thomas Sneddon to protect their son from being molested by the pop star. Sneddon set to work with extraordinary zeal. Some attributed this zeal to the prosecutor's strong moral principles (Sneddon is a deeply religious Christian, the father of nine children, and his wife is a writer who has devoted herself to writing books on how to raise children in the Christian spirit). Others explained Sneddon's zeal as a desire to become famous (by that time he had already served as district attorney of Santa Barbara for ten years without any hope of further career development).
However, no matter what explains the activity of the prosecutor who opened the case of corruption of minors, it did not bring him anything good. Jordan Chandler refused to testify, his parents withdrew their statement, entering into an out-of-court settlement with Jackson settlement agreement. It was rumored that the rock singer paid $30 million for the boy’s silence, but this did not make Sneddon feel any better. Moreover, in agreement with Jackson's lawyers, the Chandlers promised never to bring any charges against the singer again and never testify against him in court.
Sneddon added insult to injury. Jackson's 1995 album HIStory featured the song "DS" about Don Sheldon, who waged a dirty war against the song's hero. Neither the public nor the district attorney himself doubted that Don Sheldon should be understood as Tom Sneddon.
The experience of ten years ago clearly benefited Tom Sneddon. In the fall of 2003, just as the Bashir film scandal seemed to be winding down, the District Attorney's Office conducted a surprise search of Michael Jackson's estate. As reported from the department, computer hard drives with pornographic images, many cassettes with pornographic films and magazines with similar content were seized. Everything collected testified to Michael Jackson's unhealthy fascination with teenage boys. A few days later, prosecutor Sneddon issued an arrest warrant for Michael Jackson, who was accused of corrupting minors. The main witnesses for the prosecution, as journalists found out, were Janet Arviso and her son Gavin.

The fourth phenomenon. Same with the lawyer
On the recommendation of his lawyers, in late 2003, Michael Jackson brought himself to justice, spent several hours in jail, and then appeared in court, where he was formally charged with nine counts of indecent assault of a minor, two counts of drunkenness of a minor, and one count of kidnapping. minor. The accused pleaded not guilty and was released on bail.
Jackson's main defense attorney was Thomas Mesereau Jr., one of the most famous criminal defense lawyers in the United States. His track record includes a short stint as a legal adviser to Mike Tyson, whom he successfully defended against rape charges, and a dozen successful trials in which the defendants faced the death penalty.
Mesereau's favorite defense tactic is attack. Jackson's lawyers did not justify their client. They began to blame the accusers. Almost in all public speaking Mesereau and his assistants are talking about what the defense calls "the personal vendetta of the prosecutor." It is impossible, they say, to expect a person who has a burning hatred for Michael Jackson to obey the law. Therefore, you should not pay attention to the evidence collected by Sneddon. They are either fabricated or presented to the public and the court in a manner unfavorable for the singer.
There is no trust in the main prosecution witnesses either. For several years, Janet Arviso admired her son's friendship with Michael Jackson. After the release of Martin Bashir's film, she was one of the first to call it libelous. Gavin Arviso himself was also an active defender of Jackson and repeatedly spoke of his affection for the singer. Now he is the main witness for the prosecution. "What caused this strange metamorphosis?" - Jackson's lawyers ask the question and answer themselves: the sudden change in the Arviso family's attitude towards Michael Jackson occurred immediately after Janet and Gavin were summoned for questioning by the district attorney's office. It was then that Janet Arviso, who had previously said that Michael Jackson was helping her and her children hide from the ubiquitous journalists, suddenly announced that she and the children were forcibly held in Neverland.
Lawyers cannot yet say what motivates Gavin and Janet. Are they victims of intimidation by the district attorney or banal hunters for Michael Jackson's millions? But, lawyers say, they intend to find out all this in court, the honesty and impartiality of which there is no doubt.

Fifth phenomenon. Same with the judge
Judge Rodney S. Melville, who is presiding over the trial, is one of the most controversial figures in California. He rose to national prominence in the mid-1990s by becoming the first high-ranking judge to publicly admit to being an alcoholic. In his own words, he became addicted to alcohol in Boy Scout camps, when he was 12 years old. Through his efforts, special courts for alcoholics and drug addicts were opened in California, which sentence the accused not to prison, but send them for rehabilitation to the appropriate clinics in the state.
It is said that it was because of Judge Melville's special attitude towards alcohol and alcoholism that the district attorney decided to add cases of underage drinking to Jackson's list of charges, pitting the judge against the accused in advance. However, until now the judge seems to have done everything to ensure that no one could accuse him of bias. According to many experts, Judge Melville gave the widest opportunities to both the prosecution and the defense. For example, granting the district attorney's request to show the jury scandalous film Everyone considered Martin Bashir a huge victory for the prosecution. On the other hand, the judge's decision that fifteen-year-old Gavin Arviso will testify in person in court, which the defense insisted on, is called a victory for the lawyers: they will be given the opportunity to cross-examine the witness.
However, the task facing a judge—to ensure a fair and impartial trial—seems almost impossible to many. In mid-January, just before the start of jury selection, the newspapers published the text of the testimony that Gavin Arviso gave during the preliminary investigation in the absence of Michael Jackson's lawyers. The testimony is so frank and shocking that not a single decent newspaper dared to publish it in full. The most decent story was about how Michael Jackson almost forcibly tried to give Gavin wine. The testimony was confirmed by the words of one of the witness’s sisters, who, however, admitted that she herself was not present, but learned about everything from her brother. Where the newspapers received the text, banned by the judge from publication, remains unknown.

End of the first act
Formally, the trial on charges of seducing a minor against Michael Jackson began last Monday, when the jury selection process began. From 700 applicants, 12 primary jurors and seven alternates must be selected. Given the obvious desire of the prosecution and defense to have as many people convenient for them on the jury as possible, this process will last at least a month.
About two billion people witnessed the beginning of this, the second act of the documentary soap opera. Leading US television networks, as well as many television channels in Europe and Asia, broadcast live from the courtroom in Santa Maria.
As for the third, main act, which will begin when the jury is sworn in, the number of spectators is completely impossible to calculate. More than 50 TV channels will cover the trial on a daily basis with regular live broadcasts from the courthouse. Considering that almost every channel has its own website, where you can also find news from the trial, the number of daily viewers will significantly exceed the two billion who watched Michael Jackson enter the courtroom on January 31.
Only astrologers, who promise Michael Jackson a conviction, are more or less confident in predicting the results of the trial. Legal experts are preparing the public for a long process and a completely unpredictable result. “We have a multimillionaire who is the idol of millions of people around the world, an anti-him district attorney who is ready to do anything, and several witnesses who apparently changed their testimony throughout this story,” says one California lawyer. All this makes the process completely unpredictable."

Martin Bashir to Michael Jackson:
Martin: You don't want to grow up?
Michael: No. I am Peter Pan
Martin: But you're Michael Jackson
Michael: Yes, but at heart I'm Peter Pan.

Actor Michael Madsen (who co-starred in Michael Jackson's You rock my world video) once told me: “Michael Jackson was a very open and kind person, but he seemed to me the loneliest and most unhappy person on the planet. It’s difficult to sincerely be friends with someone and trust people if you’ve been living since the cradle in a world of lies called “show business.”

Six years have passed since the moment when the King of Pop's heart stopped on June 25, 2009, and with it the whole world. I remember on this day almost all the news channels in the world were talking only about this, the planet stood still. The magic seemed to have disappeared forever.

I would like to call this article my tribute, a kind of collection of factual sketches and personal reflections about my hero Michael Jackson, who united and inspired a billion hearts and instilled in me a love of music since childhood.

I am deeply convinced that the media played a large role in Jackson's ills. They tormented him for many years, shrouding him in cynicism, exaggerating unproven conjectures and pseudo-facts. The press, like countless faceless termites, undermined him until it turned the great artist into a paranoid, hermit and recluse who lost confidence in almost everyone. Michael became a hostage to his own fame, in the shackles of which he lived his entire life. People killed him with rejection, and they resurrected him after death. A sort of Judas weathervane. Madonna at the 2009 MTV Awards, leading up to her Michael tribute performance, was at her most honest. She said boldly, as befits a queen, looking straight into the hall:

"We all pulled away from him when he was having a hard time. And you all and I. We were too busy judging instead of supporting a man who has never been equaled in the history of music. There will never be another Michael Jackson I won’t say that we were close friends, but there was a period when we talked. I once offered him a ride, and then we went home to watch a film. While watching it, he suddenly took my hand. There was so much innocence in it. "

Michael Jackson and Madonna

Few people know that Michael Jackson had an “inspiration tree” at his Neverland ranch. He deftly climbed it and could sit for hours and look into the distance, composing songs. Some of his greatest hits, such as Will You Be There, were written on this very tree. In an interview with Martin Bashir, which later played a cruel joke on him, Jackson said:

“Some people like to play football, others like basketball, but I like to climb trees. Don't you climb trees in free time? - he asked Bashir. He shook his head negatively. "ABOUT! You are missing out on a lot,” Michael concluded. At that time, the King of Pop was 44 years old.

All his life he tried to regain his childhood, which was irretrievably stolen. And few people understood this, calling such attempts at least strange. As part of their myopia and conservatism, the crowd was unaware that this man initially did not know love and received many psychological traumas in childhood. They didn't realize that Michael's first Christmas was in mature age, and then thanks to the efforts of Elizabeth Taylor. Few people thought that the problems in Jackson’s relationships with the opposite sex lay in the fact that he couldn’t understand how you could cheat on a woman if you became her husband. He believed in the sanctity of marriage and the cult of family values, but he constantly saw counterexamples even in his own family. According to the memoirs of one of the singer’s biographers, Randy Taraborrelli, when Michael found out that his brother Jackie was cheating on his wife Enid with singer Paula Abdul, he took it so hard that it was as if he himself had been betrayed. He had always lived in a world where male infidelity was considered commonplace, and this affected his perception. Famous photographer Francesco Scavullo once said: "Michael asked me: 'How do you act when you fall in love?' Aren't you afraid that she's with you because you can do something for her? “I replied, “Mike, you can’t live your whole life in such disbelief. You have to try to believe.” To which he told me: “I’m afraid. I’m afraid because of what I saw. The men in my family don’t know how to treat women. I don’t want to become like my brothers.”

JacksonFamily (partially)

Despite the inimitable energy and confidence with which Jackson performed, causing crowds of people to lose consciousness with just one dance step, in life he was extremely shy and had a fragile mental structure. So Bill Bray, Michael’s security guard, who worked with him for thirty years, said: “When I met Jackson, I realized that he had really lost his childhood and could not come to terms with it. Despite his talent in business, there is a strange vulnerability about him. You want to go up and hug him, telling him to take care of himself. And I wouldn’t call myself a sentimental person.”

Too busy digging into the “dirty laundry,” the press did little to cover the other side of the life of the great artist and philanthropist. Little known fact: Michael Jackson was the initiator of the creation of the “Universal Bill of Rights for Children,” the content of which he himself determined. These points clearly demonstrated how accurately Michael understood the problems of children. Among them were such important topics as: “The right to be loved without having to earn this love”, “The right to consider yourself worthy of adoration (even if you have such an appearance that only your mother could love you)” or “The right to know what you represent unique value, even if you haven’t done anything in this world yet.”

Michael Jackson with childrenNeverland

“Michael’s smile heals the soul,” wrote Uri Geller, “he had a unique energy. He had a great talent for choosing words that could touch the one to whom they were intended.”

However, Jackson was an impulsive man, and perhaps if it were not for his colleagues at the peak of their careers, for example, John Branca, we would never have seen the most brilliant Thriller. The point is that Michael for many years was a Jehovah's Witness, and the elders insisted that whatever the King of Pop created went through their personal artistic council. In the late 70s and 80s, Michael Jackson unquestioningly believed in the ideology of the Witnesses and showed the elders a video of the Thriller he had just filmed. The latter were indignant and said that they would excommunicate Michael if this short film was released. Jackson called John Branca, who at that time was handling his affairs, mainly legal, and literally “ordered” all copies of Thriller to be destroyed. “This, you hear, should never go on air,” Michael shouted nervously into the phone. Branca didn't sleep all night. “How could such a masterpiece, in which huge amounts of money were also invested, be allowed to turn into ashes because of this whim?” John recalled. Branca found a way out. He suggested that Michael write a statement before the start of Thriller stating that its content does not reflect Michael's personal and religious views. Jackson agreed, the elders were satisfied. Michael would later say, “God bless John Branca. If it weren't for him, Thriller would never have seen the light of day." If Thriller changed the world music videos By making Jackson an innovator in the creation of short films, allowing him to erase racial and stylistic boundaries in music, and canonizing MTV, Billie Jean changed music forever. This song remains to this day one of the most successful singles of all time. Every year at the MTV Awards, the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award is presented, which is one of the most prestigious awards in the world of video clips. During the creation of the Thriller record together with the brilliant producer Quincy Jones, with whom they recorded two more masterpieces Off the wall and Bad, different situations arose. For example, at the very beginning of work on the album, few people believed that it would sell more than 3,000,000 copies.

“Records are selling very poorly now, Mike,” his colleagues, as well as the head of the record company and Jones, told him. This statement infuriated Jackson. He said sharply: “This will be the greatest disc in history, and if you don’t believe in it, then there’s no point in wasting a second of your time.” There was silence in the room, which was firmly broken by Jones: “Ok,” he said, “Let’s get to work!” It is known that during this period there were very tense relations between Quincy and Michael. Jones criticized the song "Billie Jean" as not being good enough for the album, but Jackson adamantly insisted that the song be given credit. special attention, and he turned out to be right. It was Billie Jean who brought the Thriller album to the top of Billboard, where the disc spent 37 weeks in first place. To this day, Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, a cult classic and a true classic of modern music, inspiring hundreds of millions of people, as well as most of today's superstars. Thriller also erased once and for all all racial barriers in music.

Michael Jackson: The AgeThriller

The tandem of Michael and Quincy performed miracles, the largest in effect in the world of music. Jones said: “Mike, listen to the music, let it tell you what you need. Let God into the room." And MJ listened. Working until exhaustion, always not 100% satisfied with the result. Then he continued to work again and again until he achieved perfection. At the same time, Quincy was not a supporter of dictatorship in production. He did not impose his views; rather, he fully revealed the hidden potential that was inherent in you from the very beginning. The merit of Michael and Quincy is that they turned the standard idea of ​​​​pop music upside down and allowed people to see the limitless possibilities of truly great creativity. Despite the fact that after the Bad album, for a number of reasons, the couple never worked together, warm relations between Jones and Jackson remained until the very end. Moreover, after the singer's death, Quincy repeatedly criticized the idea of ​​releasing posthumous albums. He said that this is blasphemy, you can’t think only about money, and many colleagues agreed with him, emphasizing that if Michael were alive, he would never allow albums like Michael and Xscape (the latter produced by Timbaland, Darkchild, L.A. Reid and many other greats) saw the light of day. Michael was a perfectionist and would hardly have been happy with such “crude” releases. However, the numbers speak for themselves. When Xscape's latest album was released last year, it immediately topped the UK charts and reached number two on Billboard.

Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones

For many years, Michael's sound engineer was Bruce Swedien, a sound genius, master and wizard who always achieved a unique sound. This is a unique person. Nobody in the world knows the geometry of sound better than Bruce. Proof of this is at least his work on Michael's album Invincible, recorded in 2001, which is objectively considered the best sounding in the history of pop music. Still. 14 years later.

Initially, Jackson wanted to record his hit Bad in a duet with Prince, who was at the peak of his career at that moment, but communication between the artists did not work out from the very beginning. They met and discussed the project. Michael and his management have come up with a great plan: launch a rumor campaign in the press, saying they are with Prince worst enemies who hate each other, and then, when the whole world savors this and is divided into two camps, they will make an official statement that these are just rumors and present a video for Bad, where, according to the original plot, they will compete with each other , finding out who's bad. Prince was not enthusiastic about this idea, and after hearing the demo of the song, he completely refused, citing the fact that the guys would succeed without him. When Frank DiLeo (Michael's manager at the time years) asked what he thought about it, Jackson shrugged indifferently and replied: “Numbers.”

There was always some kind of struggle and rejection of each other between them. Prince sent Michael a box of amulets and feathers as a gift. It later turned out that she was bewitched by Voodoo masters, which horrified Jackson. Prince considered Michael a bore, and he said that Prince, although he writes good music, is evil in himself and treats women terribly. “Besides, he’s not much of an actor. It doesn’t represent anything.” Not too upset, the king of pop performed the song Bad himself, and the great Martin Scorsese made a musical short film about it. By the way, Wesley Snipes can be seen on screen for the first time. The song became another revolution in the world of music and attracted a huge number of street audiences.

Michael Jackson: eraBad

The album Bad sold dizzyingly, but it never managed to replicate the sales success of Thriller. Moreover, at the Grammy Awards in 1988, in the most anticipated nomination for Michael, “Album of the Year,” he lost to one of U2’s most outstanding discs, The Joshua Tree. Having released the most hits of the year and sold the most copies, Jackson left without this award, which undoubtedly made him despondent, but not for long. The next super hit, Dangerous, went on sale in 1991 and became Michael's most successful record since Thriller. Among other things, Dangerous had the most significant influence on all modern R"n"B music, greatly changing it. There was a lot of controversy about the album cover, many tabloids looked for hidden meaning in it, and even the message of Jackson's involvement in the illuminati was traced. The author of the cover, Mark Ryden, said that he was very inspired by Michael's video Leave me alone, which became the impetus for creating just such an image. “This is the largest format for a cover. The original was about 90 square centimeters,” recalls Mark. “If you look at it very carefully, you will see that the titles, themes and messages of the songs are displayed in detail on it. It took me several months to create it. It was long, painstaking and very important work for me.”

Michael Jackson album coverDangerous

One of the most personal songs on the album is Who is it, the video for which was directed by the iconic David Fincher. Who is it is imbued with tossing and inner questions of the singer. In the depths of magnificent harmony, innovative music, captivating hypnotic melody and performance, there is a deep drama of loneliness in a crowd of many-faced people, behind whose masks it is impossible to discern sincerity. Especially in women. Line of distrust female love in this work is so clearly expressed that it is impossible not to feel all this emptiness of brokenness as a result of the deepest disappointment. In Michael Jackson's life, there were perhaps four women whom he idolized: his mother Katherine, Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross and Lisa Marie Presley. And if Taylor was his closest soulmate and support, and Ross was his mother in show business, then he definitely had feelings for Lisa of a different nature. They were similar. Both of them spent their childhood under the spotlight, both did not know a normal life, she genuinely understood and idolized him, and he listened to her advice. It was she who once told him: “Michael, a peaceful sleep is more valuable public opinion“It was she who held his hand on the edge of the abyss. This puzzle had to fit. And he agreed. True, not for long, but, nevertheless, he gave Jackson and Presley several happy years. After Michael’s death, Lisa said that Jackson repeatedly repeated the phrase: “I think I’ll end up like your father.” The anthem of their relationship was the song, a super hit from the album History - You are not alone, written for him by R. Kelly. You are not alone - one of the best pop ballads in modern music.

Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor

Michael Jackson and Lisa Presley

Michael always wanted to reach people, to tell them: “don’t judge me, I’m just a person. Just like you, I, just like you, just want to love and be loved,” and he sent these subtle messages through his sensual songs. How else could he do it? But how many of us can read between the lines? A huge bird descends onto the stage, hugging him with its wings in Will you be there, “before you judge me try hard to love me,” begging, he sings in the soulful Childhood, “when you"re alone and you"re cold inside" on the doomed he explains in anguish in Stranger in Moscow, he more aggressively tries to convey his pain to people’s understanding through Why you wanna trip on me, Scream and They don’t care about us and sums up this desire through global themes about the problems of the Earth in the brilliant Earth song, as well as hymns to goodness We are the world, Heal the world and Man in the mirror. If we look at the composition Stranger in Moscow in more detail, then, of course, it turns out to be the most personal song Jackson has ever created. Randy Taraborrelli said that the idea for the song and video was originally conceived as a reflection of the intimacy of the singer’s inner world. He started writing it after his first tour in Moscow. This metropolis seemed to Jackson a complete identification with his own life. In his perception, Moscow remained a gray, bustling city of people running somewhere, where you feel the loneliest in this crowd. Randy said that even at the peak of his career, Michael sometimes went on walks to make new friends. But to no avail.

“Even at home, I feel loneliness,” Jackson said, “sometimes it gnaws at me so much that I can’t cope with my emotions, I lock myself in the room and cry. You have no idea how hard it is to find true friends. Sometimes I walk around the neighborhood at night with the hope of meeting someone, just to talk about something abstract, but every time these walks end in nothing.”

He envied people who could calmly walk the streets, shop in a supermarket (once his friends closed one of them especially for Michael so that he could imitate shopping), meet, fall in love, walk in the park. The greatest artist dreaming of simple things. A hermit with hundreds of millions of crazy fans, a lonely dreamer, riding a Ferris wheel in Neverland for hours on the tenth circle, looking at one point, lost among hundreds of evening lights. A grown man with the soul of a nine-year-old boy, stuck in time, who so wanted to be understood. A man yearning for sincerity and genuine miracle in a world of people who always wanted to take something from him, touch him, be involved in fame and money, but never thought about giving this man even a little true love in return. Unconditional. Open. Hence the purchase of human-size dolls, which he kept at home, giving them names and talking to them, in the same parallel there is a park of wonders, his favorite pastime is shooting with water pistols and friendship with Macaulay Culkin. Children are presumably the audience he was comfortable with because they are genuinely sincere. “If I wake up and find out that there is not a single child left on Earth, I will throw myself off the balcony immediately,” said Michael. The desire for this sincerity and the childhood environment in which he received it played a cruel joke on him in the world of selfish, unprincipled and greedy adults who were eager to snatch at least something from this “pie”, to destroy and trample Jackson’s empire, as it says, “by any means necessary.” In the end, they succeeded. But it is unlikely that it will ever be possible to shroud in oblivion the great musical heritage that the King of Pop left in his songs, videos, and performances. Incredible, brilliant creativity, settled in millions of hearts forever. This extraordinary man changed the world and gave us magic. And magic never dies.

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