Oprah - October 2010
O: Are you struck between the parallel from your father’s life and Michael Jackson’s life? Your father and your former husband?
L: Yes. It really blows me away to be honest with you. I still try to figure out why, what is it that I had to go through twice? Where these two incredible people and I speak with the utmost respect and love for both.
O: Your father and Michael.
L: Yes, who had the same fate. What is it about me? I went through it once and that was painful and I went through it again. I don’t quite understand it, y’know.
...
O: You thought there was some drug use?
L: Yeah, yeah. There were times when I would pick him up from a certain doctor’s office and he would not be coherent. There was some behavior now looking back at it. I knew that that was, because of injections because they were painful and he would need certain things because he needed to…
O: He would need things for what?
L: Injections or whatever various dermatological…
O: Was this for his skin disease?
L: Skin, various things he needed.
Wikipedia
"Drug use was heavily implicated" in Presley's death, writes Guralnick. "No one ruled out the possibility of anaphylactic shock brought on by the codeine pills to which he was known to have had a mild allergy." A pair of lab reports filed two months later each strongly suggested that polypharmacy was the primary cause of death; one reported "fourteen drugs in Elvis' system, ten in significant quantity." Forensic historian and pathologist Michael Baden views the situation as complicated: "Elvis had had an enlarged heart for a long time. That, together with his drug habit, caused his death. But he was difficult to diagnose; it was a judgment call."
The competence and ethics of two of the centrally involved medical professionals were seriously questioned. Before the autopsy was complete and toxicology results known, Medical Examiner Dr. Jerry Francisco declared the cause of death as cardiac arrhythmia, a condition that can be determined only in someone who is still alive. Allegations of a cover-up were widespread. While Presley's main physician, Dr. Nichopoulos, was exonerated of criminal liability for the singer's death, the facts were startling: "In the first eight months of 1977 alone, he had [prescribed] more than 10,000 doses of sedatives, amphetamines and narcotics: all in Elvis's name." His license was suspended for three months. It was permanently revoked in the 1990s after the Tennessee Medical Board brought new charges of over-prescription.
In 1994, the Presley autopsy was reopened. Coroner Dr. Joseph Davis declared, "There is nothing in any of the data that supports a death from drugs. In fact, everything points to a sudden, violent heart attack." Whether or not combined drug intoxication was in fact the cause, there is little doubt that polypharmacy contributed significantly to Presley's premature death.
By this point, he suffered from multiple ailments—glaucoma, high blood pressure, liver damage, and an enlarged colon, each aggravated, and possibly caused, by drug abuse.
Lisa's Myspace - June 2009
"At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, “I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did.”
I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that."
~~~Let me make something clear here:
***Michael Jackson did not die from a drug addiction in any shape or form.***
The only correlation I see between Elvis and Michael is they both died broken by the forces that created their public personas. They died with a lot of pain in their hearts. That is where the similarities end concerning their deaths.
Elvis' died with 14 medications found in his body, 10 in significant quantity. "Polypharmacy" has been suggested to be a possible cause of death--drug abuse is also implicated as a cause of death or contributing factor to his health problems, including glaucoma, high blood pressure, liver damage, and an enlarged colon, and an enlarged heart.
Michael died from one medication, or moreover, the lack of the necessary means/equipment/reason to give this medication with the remaining medications in his system not responsible for his death. All his medications were personally administered to him by Conrad Murray who had complete control of the situation while Michael was likely unconscious. He was not a chronic propofol abuser, he should have never had this drug administered to him in the first place as there is no logical or reason for it to be given for sleep. Of all people, a doctor would know this.
Michael died healthy minus some issues with his lungs that seem to be attributable to something like lupus. He had no organ damage due to drug abuse or any other problem, either. He did not die the result of years of drug abuse--he died from "acute" propofol intoxication, acute meaning "sudden" which was given intravenously by a doctor who knew this medication did not produce any form of sleep.
The fact that Michael came out of a dermatology clinic non-coherent does not mean he had a substance abuse problem. I know this same scenario has been brought back up concerning his visits to Dr. Klein before he passed. It is obvious that he was having procedures done to his face and scalp just by looking at his photos. Refer back to the video of him during the Bashir interview above and count how many times he uses his powder compact. He was not obsessed with looking good--he was so afraid of looking ugly, which is so far removed from the truth, but he attempted to "fix" physical aspects of himself on top of necessary treatments for things like acne scars and vitiligo. He also had issues with discoid lupus affecting his face and scalp, on top of his scalp never healing properly due to the burn he suffered.
Klein has admitted to giving Michael Demerol or Percocet (not both at the same time) before procedures such as administering dermal fillers for pain/sedation recently. This would be considered legitimate use of these medications, that is, it is legitimate to give pain medications and/or anti-anxiety medications for procedures that may cause anxiety or pain. (I will not get into questioning whether or not the doctors were committing malpractice at this time.) What is important is to realize that if someone is addicted to Demerol or Percocet they are not going to be getting a little bit of it here or there a couple times a week--they will need it or want it often if they are addicted which includes craving a substance, and if the addiction is bad enough, they will need it every so many hours, if not multiple times during the hour. For a drug test (ex. urine analysis) to come back negative for Demerol, as Michael's did, a healthy person would have to go about a week without the medication based on the half-life of the metabolites of the drug. If just oxycodone (the narcotic in Percocet) itself is tested it would be about 15 hours before this drug was removed from the body for a non-time released formula though I am sure metabolites are examined and have longer half-lives. Michael's toxicology/drug tests were negative for all pain killers/opioids like Demerol, oxycodone and morphine. There were no such medications in his house, either. I cannot help but draw the conclusion that if he was addicted to these substances he should have had some in the house and his toxicology reports would have been positive for something. Evidence for an addiction to pain killers/narcotics, especially when he died, just does not exist from what we currently know. Addiction to any drug is just not visible from the autopsy report. Propofol, again, is not addictive. It does not cause withdrawals or tolerance drugs of abuse. Even if he had taken pain medications before he died, they nor addiction have anything to do with his death.~~~
VI. Protecting your Father, Hurting your Ex-Husband
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DogQhVI2q_s
Rolling Stone Magazine – April 2003
There were other fault lines opening. Jackson had asked her never to speak about him, and she felt he was taking liberties, particularly in a TV Guide story at the time. “He was quoting me, ‘Lisa Marie told me Elvis had a nose job,’ which is absolute bullshit,” she says. “I think it justified something in his mind — they were asking him about his plastic surgery. I read that, and I threw it across the kitchen."
Playboy - June 2003
"Like when Michael and I split up, he said, “Don’t talk about me.” He never wanted anybody talking about him. I didn’t say a word about him. So the next three interviews I saw, he was talking about me. And I was like, “All bets are off, dude. You did it.”
~~~This just seems so petty but felt I should touch on it. I do not blame him for not wanting anyone to talk about him, it was once in a blue moon that anyone said anything good about him, and certainly the good was is still masked by the bad or the good was made into something bad. Now he is not here to talk about himself anymore, forever silenced, only able to speak through the emotions he left behind on June 25th, 2009.~~~
VII. The Marriage and Divorce
Rolling Stone Magazine – April 2003
“I’d had enough. That’s all.”
You pulled the plug?
“Yes. I told him I wanted a divorce. Then he didn’t talk to me for a couple of weeks.”
Oprah – March 2005
O: Do you think he used you?
L: This seat is hot, let me tell you! Do I think he did? All signs point to yes on that. I can’t answer for him.
Oprah - October 2010
O: I can’t remember the exact month you divorced, but you divorced and several months later, I know by October, it was announced that Debbie Rowe was pregnant. How did you feel about that?
L: Well, I knew it was a bit of a retaliatory act on his part. Because I didn’t have a baby and I know that she was there the whole time telling him she would do it.
~~~First, let me say this, please do not defend your marriage anymore Lisa. You consistently do it to defend yourself and your actions and your emotions, not Michael's, when not many are questioning your motives--they are questioning Michael's motives and sexuality which is not any of their damn business. I personally could not care less what went on in the bedroom when you two were together. It is not anyone's business, either, and I would think someone as bold as you would not care what others think and would tell them such. Your marriage to Michael is history. The media twisted the marriage just like they twisted him--into something it was not. If you speak about your marriage in the future I hope you will tell us about the wonderful times you spent as a husband and wife.
As for Michael retaliating against you by having children, I cannot believe this for one second. He wanted children and he wanted them with you first and foremost--that is part of the reason he married you. You chose not to go forth with such actions which was likely a good decision--a custody battle would have destroyed him. I just wish you had been up front about it with him first, then again, I am not sure if he would have married you then.
Children were always a source of unconditional love for Michael. He needed that love and innocence in his life to help him escape the pressures of his life and had no other way to go about it without you wanting to have another child. Your two children had a devoted father in their lives. You were a young mother. He was 38 years old when Prince was born. He could not wait forever. I am so happy he had his children in his life--they were everything to him, especially in the end. They brought him light in a very dark world.
Michael never beat you, never tried to kill you, never tried to hurt you be it physically or emotionally. He tried to make it work, we all get inadvertently hurt in relationships. For what appears to be at most an emotionally-exhausting marriage/divorce it seems to have brought about so much bitterness for you and it still persists even after his death. Please, let it go. He never meant to hurt you Lisa.~~~
VIII. Personal Health Scare
The Independent – July 2003
The marriage remained a bizarrely public one – the couple being interview on US TV, seemingly happy to answer even the most intimate questions (yes, they were a regular couple; yes, they had sex) – but Presley became increasingly wary that she was merely a pawn in Jackson’s PR rebuilding exercise. Exasperated by his increasingly erratic behavior, she divorced him three years later, and promptly fell ill with stress. She suffered from panic attacks, suspected asthma, hypoglycemia, and had her gall bladder removed. The tabloids were convinced she was trying to kill herself, and her depression deepened, she lived on a diet of chicken and broccoli, and lost a lot of weight. Eventual salvation came from some unlikely advice: a homeopathic doctor told her to have the fillings in her teeth removed because mercury fillings, as she so succinctly puts it, “can make you go fucking crazy”. As soon as she had them taken out, her health started to improve.
Jane Magazine - September 2003
When her marriage to MJ fell apart after 20 months, so did she. “I was insane, and nobody could tell me what was wrong. I was trying to pull myself out of somebody else’s world, somebody else’s way of thinking.” At that time, she went under the care of a doctor who sounds totally psycho.
“She was the most treacherous soul, she was like fucking Nurse Retched. She gave me too many pills, which created a problem with my stomach, which led to my gall bladder failing. So, I get it taken out, and she came into the hospital and said [using a spooky voice], ‘It was the most beautiful gall bladder I’ve ever seen.’”
~~~I am sorry, I just cannot buy that "fillings" caused all these hideous illnesses. I know people will disagree with me--that is fine, and I am not saying they may not cause some health problems sometimes. I have heard things like people can pick up radio signals from metal fillings and such but I figure there is more mercury in our water, our vaccines and fish than teeth fillings (though that is just a guess). I do believe in natural medicine but my take on this was it was purely emotional pain from the divorce because you loved him. I know Scientology frowns upon psychiatry but I am speaking from the heart, not the mind.
Now, recall all that pain, the feeling of being ill and imagine what Michael felt like when he had to experience the 2005 trial. Removal of fillings would not have solved his problems.~~~
IX. Did He Love You?
Oprah--October 2010
L: Puppeteering – manipulating to some degree. It’s true but, see and I always confused that manipulation, thinking that that manipulation meant he didn’t love me. But I understand it better now. The manipulation was because it was a survival tactic for him.
...
O: Was it the kind of marriage where a lot of things went unsaid or unspoken or did you feel a sense of intimacy and connection, that you could ask him anything?
L: I honestly can tell you that it was in every sense a normal marriage and everything was spoken. In the middle of the night, if he needed to wake up and tell me, bounce something off me, and wake me up and wanna talk… if there was trouble…
~~~I cannot believe after all this time the question of "did he love you" still exists even if you are more accepting to it now than before. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen you question this man's love for you and are just now coming to terms that maybe he did, just maybe. It should not have taken his death to entertain this possibility. There is one word I see over and over again and sadly it is not "love" -- it is "manipulation". Stop listening to your mother and the media and know this man loved you. Michael did not manipulate you--the media did and it did a damn good job at it, too, because you are still not convinced he loved you. You can SEE the love he had for you--I pray someday you will be able to feel it like I can see it.
Sometimes people build walls around themselves to deal with the pressures of life. Michael built a wall around himself to survive. He is not the only one to build a wall around himself, either. Some build it upon themselves in a physical manner like him--others build purely emotional walls which prevent them from expressing what they really feel.
He allowed you to past his wall and allowed you to join him in what amounted to his life, as abnormal as it was, but it was as normal as it could get for him. He married you with no pre-nuptial agreement regardless than you had your own money. He never said one foul comment about you once you divorced, certainly nothing I would call foul or disrespectful. His love may have been immature to some degree but it was his first marriage and likely his first "real" relationship given the wall he put around himself because he was afraid of being hurt and used. Like you said, sometimes you both would argue for three days, only taking a break to eat and sleep. He wanted it to work--give him some credit. He wanted to be with you because he loved you very much.
It is not difficult to see in photographs of you both that he loved you. His body language in photographs speak volumes. The only photos I see him comfortable in are photos with children--and you. He shared that comfort with good friends Elizabeth Taylor and Brooke Shields, too. But, when you see a photo like this one below, you cannot help but see the love this man had for you:
Go back and look at the photographs with other people, other women especially. Look at his hands, the squaring of his body, his closeness to them (or lack thereof). It is not there--except with you and the others I mentioned above.
Yes, Michael did love you as much as he could. He may have never let himself love someone completely as he was too afraid of being hurt--he had to protect himself especially after 1993. He had been hurt too many times, seen the hurt of others too many times as well, but it seems the ones who hurt him were the ones he least expected to do such.
I have sat and read this letter over and over again. Is it fake? Is it real? I think I finally figured it out. It likely is real and it was about you. Maybe you did not receive it, maybe you were not meant to receive it, maybe you are not even addressed in the letter but there is no doubt that if he did in fact write this it was you in his thoughts. I know he said in the past that his heart had hardened, that he had moved on--what he really meant was he was afraid of being hurt again. I am sure at times he struggled to really understand why it did not work out between both of you, especially when he tried so hard and he loved you, and he reminisced about what he wished could have been for both of you. He just wanted to understand it all just like you did, too.
After reading all of the interviews and especially seeing the Oprah show this past week--one cannot help but question now, did you really love him? I think you did but why you will not allow yourself to really express it, I do not know. Lisa, Michael is gone. We all make mistakes and we all have regrets. No relationship is perfect. I wish you felt compelled in your heart to do more for him than you are doing now. He may no longer be the love of your life but he will always be a part of your life. Let it be an object of beauty and not regret.~~~
X. Conclusion
I sit here asking, how much of the Oprah show from this year was discussed before the actual interview (perhaps, like, on the hike)? How much is honest and fact and how much is assumed? Why did your eyes keep drifting when you spoke about Michael? I was shocked at the inability to remember exactly how Michael proposed to you. I was also shocked that none of the "highest of highs" aka the good times were not discussed but when the "lowest of the lows" were asked about by Oprah, none could really be mentioned.
You also said you were shocked by his death when you heard the news, you did not cry, you were just in shock. If you knew he was in such trouble, had so many issues, how could it have been a shock to you, then? Did you really think his problems were that bad or not?
I saw any attempts at helping this man as futile regarding this last interview. I wish you would defend him with the heart of a lioness, but at minimum, please stop blaming him for all the wrongs in your life. I personally do not know how you do not feel as compelled to stand up for him as you do for your father--you said you loved them both but you discuss them so differently. I hope for Michael's sake you do not speak about him anymore if subsequent interviews are to be like the one that recently aired. Many fans would love to hear about the wonderful times you had together, the good things you did together for others, the fun moments you shared. There are plenty of us out there, like myself, who defend Michael and try to help restore his legacy on a daily basis. Since Michael died he never leaves my thoughts, ever. My greatest problem is I am not blessed to have any form of an audience besides my friends and the few that stumble upon my blog. Many of us who defend him do not have the first-hand experience with his man thus our credibility is limited, too. I do not have to have known him to know he needs someone in his corner fighting for him, fighting for the truth, fighting to make his legacy actual reflect the person.
As much as I hate to say this, you may have not been able to save him but you could have done more, much more. I would never want to make someone feel guilty about something like that, in some ways I think we ALL could have done more for him, but I guess my main point is it's never too late to try and right a wrong.
I think it is so upsetting that throughout all the years nothing was ever mentioned about drug abuse or addiction until he is gone. Why now? Why do that much more damage to him? The worst part about all of this is that he did not even die from addiction--he was killed by the hands of another human being yet he is being painted out to be some other celebrity who succumbed to drugs. He was afraid and his fear was not far removed from reality. He was killed and his death is not much different had someone shot him with a gun instead.
To be discussing suspected drug abuse during this time is agonizing. It would be wise to keep mum on the topic for his sake and out of pure respect for one of the most disrespected men to ever live. Murray's potential trial is lingering in the balance while he hammers it hard that Michael is dead because he made Murray give him propofol due to...addiction and/or demands. Wrong, but I will not get into that right now. Plus, last time I checked the speculation does nothing to help his legacy. Whether he had some dependency issues in the past has no relevance or benefit today especially due to the nature of his death--the topic should be avoided at all costs. I cannot emphasize this enough. It does nothing to help him or his legacy or non-fans' view of this man and could taint the jury for Murray's trial, if not that, it will certainly mar his legacy forever. That is not fair. I know life is not fair but it should not be this unfair. Michael was never given the break he deserved, he never got that "happy ending" he deserved more than anyone.
Source for Interviews:
http://lacienegasmiled.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/1993-1998-lisa-marie-presley/
Nikki said, "He married you with no pre-nuptial agreement regardless than you had your own money."
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. However, If I may, according to the interview they did together with Diane Sawyer, they were asked about this and they said there was a prenup.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
I agree with your observations from above about MJ's affection for Lisa. I believe he did love her, and at the beginning at least, she did love him. She acknowledges that their relationship continued for 4 years after the divorce. And according to Michael, she wanted to get re-married and have as many kids as he wanted. Michael clearly didn't want to go there again despite being O.K. with continueing the relationship on some level there afterwards. It has been reported that Latoya had said that they continued to be seen together only because of obligations that had been booked long in advance of the divorce. I'm sure in part this was true but not totally.
ReplyDeleteThe more I think about this interview, the more I pity LMP. Yes, PITY her. Not feel sorry necessarily. She has said some very unpleasant things about Michael in the past and I believe she is still tormented by her own conflicted feelings for him, ESPECIALLY since his passing. There is now NO opportunity to make things right with him.
I've read, forgive me for not having the source, that Oprah has advised her to get over her MJ obsession or it could destroy her current marriage. That's probably very true. I think her husband has given her a lot of space to process her feelings over the last year and change. Hopefully he continues to be patient with her. The other sad thing is that she does need to see a therapist about this or it will continue to eat her from the inside out. As a Scientologist, she can't seek this kind of help since Sctlgst's don't believe in it and are in fact very hostile to this type of therapy. I strongly believe that Oprah is filling that role for her unofficially in the short term.
Another thought. The last time LMP was on Oprah was in 2005, during Michael's trial, she was promoting a new album. In the 2010 interview, she also mentions the upcoming release of a new album. Of course this looks bad for obvious reasons.
At the end of the day, she has said some hateful things about Michael. I hate the things she has said, but I don't hate her. I continue to pray for her.
Nikki said, "The worst part about all of this is that he did not even die from addiction--he was killed by the hands of another human being yet he is being painted out to be some other celebrity who succumbed to drugs."
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!!! And Oprah NEVER put this in its proper perspective and that was to re-assert what the coroner determined which was that Michael's death was a homicide resulting from "acute intoxication from Propofol." Oprah, Michael is NOT Anna Nicole Smith or Heath Ledger and his internal organs showed no sign of damage due to any type of drug addiction. As we know, none of this was mentioned. As a so called journalist, it was her responsibility to enter this fact for the record in order to put the current situation in its correct context.
Hey Sandy!
ReplyDeleteReally about the pre-nup? I read somewhere Michael said there wasn't one--LOL! I wish I remembered where I read that, though. It wasn't from the "tapes" was it?
You know, Michael did say he was closed off from her and had he really wanted to be with her again, she was available. It seems obvious he did not want to at least be married to her again--and honestly, I do not blame him. Could be because he was afraid of another divorce which was painful enough, I am sure there were some trust issues there, too. Michael had a family after he divorced Lisa. He had his children. I think that also made things different. He put them first. I think it sort of changed his priorities a bit.
Sandy, I pity her, too. That is why I tried to be respectful in my blog even though in reality I am thoroughly pissed at her. I am afraid someday it will hit her that this man is not just away on another continent--he is gone, gone. When you cannot see someone, hear someone, touch someone--get feedback--it can be unbearable. She can never have that chance to make things right with him again, to at least just be civil, and if she really does love him, it will be a hard blow. If she really did love him, like I think she did, and when it hits her, she will need a lot of prayers. Hopefully her husband and mother will be there for her. Who knows though, that day may never come.
I hope for her sake that her marriage does not have any issues from Michael's death but I am sure there are some. They seem to have a strong marriage though and if you really love each other mutually you can work things out, I think, I hope.
Lisa has released two albums:
"To Whom It May Concern" on April 8th, 2003
"Now What on April" 5th, 2005
She has a new album coming up next year. Yeah, it does look bad. I will allow it to be likely coincidence though, especially with the date on that 2003 album, unlike Oprah's airing of molestation shows, which is not coincidence.
Oprah does not care about Michael. She cares about herself, her image, her ego. I bet Oprah did not take the time to read the autopsy report or even know the exact cause of death. I nearly puked when Oprah sat there at one point and said something about the drugs, it was her exaggeration of the word "drugggggs"--IMO that part looked like it was rehearsed or certainly played up. Oprah let Lisa keep rambling about him being this drugged-up spaced out ex-husband and did not even attempt to establish some facts about his manner of death, that his doctor is facing manslaughter charges (that should be murder charges), that Michael was actually healthy, that he died from one drug that was administered to him by someone other than himself, etc. Michael was 50 years old and healthy--that in itself is a grand exception for anyone! Many 50 year old men, especially African-American men, have health issues like heart disease, even if they are active and such. Michael had none. Elvis was 8 years younger than Michael and had multiple health issues most of which can be attributed to drug abuse. It is sad that most people will not know these key differences and will now assume Michael was just another Elvis when that simply is not true. No justice for Michael through such assumptions.
Hi Nikki,
ReplyDeleteThis is a source concerning the pre-nuptial agreement between Lisa and Michael. During the interview Diane Sawyer asks about a pre-nup. The pair said that "agreements" were made and certain "things" were signed. Of course Michael asserts that the details are confidential. They don't officially use the term pre-nup, however, if there were agreements with signatures, that would sound like a pre-nup in my mind.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
By the way, thank you very much for your replies!
Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paMQXQzsJbc&feature=related
Hi Nikki,
ReplyDeleteOn another issue, if I may...
I saw this twitter post that makes some disturbing claims about intentions to use Michael's children as promotional tools in future Jackson business ventures. Also, Mr. Shaffel's name is mentioned in regard to this. I don't know the validity of the statement and frankly it sounds like a cruel joke to me. Nikki, are you familiar with this statement?
"According to Gayle King (on her satellite radio show) Oprah did NOT “court” or seek out the Jackson’s in any way, it was Marc Schaffel (teenporn producer/KJ biz partner) who CONTACTED the Oprah team. Oprah & her team were planning an episode on “Teen Heartthrobs” (which coincidentally aired today) and when Oprah was a kid her “crush” was Jackie Jackson. The ONLY call Oprah’s team made was to Jackie to see if he would participate.
Days later the Oprah producer assigned to the Jackie Jackson segment received a phone call and faxed letter from Marc Schaffel on behalf of Joe & Katherine Jackson pitching an interview for KJ’s book about MJ. THE OPRAH TEAM REJECTED THE PITCH FROM MARC SHAFFEL, JOE, & KJ saying thanks but no thanks.
A few days after Oprah’s team turned them down Marc Schaffel contacted them again to say that “Mr. & Mrs. Jackson would ‘sweeten’ the deal and allow Oprah an ‘exclusive’ interview w/ the children of MJ if she would agree to feature KJ on her show.” According to Gayle, there was MUCH debate between the producers whether or not to do the show. Gayle said the Oprah team is taking great care in the way they are featuring the kids. She said Schaffel made it clear to producers that the Jackson’s were willing to leverage the children to promote their biz ventures to other outlets."
Source:
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/6qr8eh
Hi Sandy!
ReplyDeleteInteresting on the "agreement". I guess anyone who gets married should have one, especially when there is a lot of money involved. I do think Michael always trusted that Lisa was not after his money. That, to me, is why she was not mentioned in his will (if the will is legit).
I have heard that claim from Gayle King. I have yet to hear her radio show comment though, as in, her voice saying it. I will say at the moment until there is more proof, I do not believe it, and certainly, I hope it is not true. That would devastate me if true and really break my heart for multiple reasons. Michael's children are NOT pawns--they are children who suffered a massive tragedy last year, the worst thing that could happen to them. Their safety is of grave concern to me, and should be for their family as well. Their lives will be different forever because of it, they lost their best friend, their rock, the best father to ever live in my eyes. I sometimes sit here distraught because I realize the gravity of Michael no longer being alive. Then, I think of his children, oh my God, there is nothing worse to me than knowing his children cannot ever see him, feel him, hug him, kiss him again--and vice versa. This is the worst thing that could happen to Michael and his children. I know life must go on in some aspects but it seems like sometimes this is too much.
I will say this about Marc Schaffel. I do not trust him. He sued Michael. He supposedly called him a heroin addict (maybe the tabloid just made it up, though), he has porn-industry ties which is the opposite of Michael's morals. Marc and Debbie Rowe are close, right? I would think she would be against her children being on the show, too! I do not get why she is with him, either. So, this is so bizarre. The thought of having Michael's children talk to someone, to give this woman ratings when she has used their father for not only her propaganda but insinuated that he was guilty of being a pedophile/molester which is by all accounts not true. I hate to think of the day Prince, Paris and Blanket realize the scope of what their father went through. I figure they know some, but not everything, not yet. I pray to God someone will be there for them because it is not easy to deal with, at least, it has not been easy for me and I did not even know him.
I cannot imagine Oprah turning down any Jackson for an interview, unless she figured Katherine would say too many "good" things about Michael and she did not want that. I noticed this show seems to focus again on bullshit, aka drugs and addiction and not all the wonderful things he did in life (I blame Oprah). I guess if Oprah thought she could somehow twist out an agenda, she would do it. The Jacksons (some of them) need to realize that most, if not 99.9% of people they are dealing with are not in it to help them or Michael. If they want to help Michael they better do something quick--time is of the essence. They really ought to "clean house" and keep speaking out about what happened to him and to try and help repair his legacy. It makes me sick that he has a new album, a new "tour" (maybe two) and this all came at a cost--his death. I do not want people continuing to believe he was a pedophile or someone who caused his own death from drug abuse--both are not true.
I want to do anything I can to help restore his legacy to what it should be. I do not have to make up all these wonderful things he did--I just need to get people to understand the facts and then the cloud of lies will be lifted and the great things he did will shine for themselves. But, rumors of drug abuse and not tackling the child abuse claims head-on with evidence will keep his true legacy clouded forever if something is not done. That is not fair. Michael sacrificed so, so much. Aspects of his life were miserable because of all the sacrifices he made to help others. He could not find his soul mate, he could not enjoy being "normal" as in shop as himself around others, he could not trust anyone to love him or care about him for him instead of the celebrity or entertainer, he could not live a life without gossip, drama and isolation. People owe it to him to make it RIGHT.
ReplyDeleteSorry for rambling. :-S
Nikki and SandyK - so now we know where the pictures in Katherine's book, Never Can Say Goodbye, came from - that awful leech Henry Vaccaro, who came into possession of the Jackson Family's storage locker years ago. I am so sorry I bought her book, but at the time, June 2010, I thought a Mom should be able to put out a book about her son without having to jump through Sony's hoops to do it. Now that I know where the pix came from, I am so sad.
ReplyDeleteSo Katherine is partnered with Howard Mann, Mark Schaffel and (by using Vaccaro's pix), Henry Vaccaro, owner of Vintage Pop. Where, I ask, are Katherine's children in all this? Aside from Randy's occasional twitter, Jackie put out his own record on ITunes; Janet (on Larry King last week) says she's the happiest she has ever been; Jermaine tries to sing when he's lost whatever voice he had; Marlon and Jackie WERE working with Sony on the album; Latoya is, well, Latoya. Tito says nothing; seems the only Jackson's speaking out against these injustices are T3, Tito's sons, and that's only through Twitter. If Katherine and Joe were my parents, I would be shouting from the rooftops about the vultures surrounding these 80 somethings with this newfound responsibility of three young children.
And today Katherine will be plugging her book (at least that's some of what O's trailer shows); this book which I thought contained priceless family treasure pictures which were ultimately obtained from the leech Vaccaro.
This is the type of (though not as severe) exploitation and skullduggery Michael dealt with for at least the latter half of his life; now that he's gone, they are circling over his mother. They are WORSE than Sony.
Time to leave for work and try to oput this behind me for awhile ....
Hi June!
ReplyDeleteI will respond here shortly, hopefully tomorrow!
Hi Nikki,
ReplyDeleteregarding the pre-nup between Michael and Lisa - yes, they both told Sawyer that certain things had been signed obviously, but I bet you were thinking about something Michael told the Rabbi - he said Lisa didn't take a penny. I too remember that.
This particular post of yours has got me extremely emotional, the things you say, and the way you say them - there is so much love and compassion and understanding of Michael and it touches me in very deep places and the hurt gets almost unbearable.
Thank you for being here for him, not only with the love but with the brains and the knowledge.
Simona
You know what is sad June, I really believe Katherine wanted to do something for the fans and her son, just like she said on Oprah. It is obvious the loss of her son is something horribly painful and she will never get over her loss. What is sad is how those priceless possessions should have never become property of Vaccaro in the first place which has led to the association with Mann who has no business working with Katherine when his claim to have is women's nude wrestling. What is also sad is Katherine's son is once again "property" of Sony. I bet if Katherine went rummaging in her closets at home at Hayvenhurst, pulled out some photos of Michael and placed them in a book she would be sued by Sony or whomever has authority over his "image" because they were removed from the process (and may lose profits which we know they would not want).
ReplyDeleteI am very concerned about Katherine. I pray her children are helping guide her with a Michael-like consciousness but I really do not know if that is happening or not. Someone needs to be there by her side who can outsmart these sharks circling her. Just her dealing with her son being killed and now having to raise his children is hard enough on her. She needs help, she needs protection, she needs guidance, and certainly she needs it all with love.
All the siblings you just named--it makes me worry and ask, have his siblings moved on from his death already? I pray not. I mentioned this on Facebook and was attacked. I cannot help but think that given what I am seeing. I don't know what goes on behind closed doors, I really don't care what does but why isn't anyone still reminding the masses that Michael was killed? I mean, not a day goes by where I do not think of Michael, not really even an hour. It is not just his death that is such a severe injustice, either. He was surrounded by injustice his entire life almost. So many people stand uninformed, not against the notion of Michael being one way or the other.
Hi Simona!
ReplyDeleteYes! That is what I remember reading in the rabbi's tapes, that she did not take a penny. I guess from that I assumed no pre-nup since if there had been one she shouldn't have even been able to even attempt to take anything other than what was stipulated. I do respect Lisa for that very much, either way.
Thank you so much for your beautiful words Simona. I appreciate it more than words could actually express. I try my best to help Michael with both insight and pure love. It makes me think, from your comment, I must be successful at my attempt! Funny thing is, before Michael passed, I never really wrote anything but a few poems here or there and projects that were school-related. I always thought myself a horrible writer, actually. But, when Michael passed away it transformed me in a way I never imagined--this is the outcome of that.
Hi Nikki,
ReplyDeletethank you for acknowledging my comment :-)
Well I'm not surprised at hearing that Michael's passing touched you so very much - sadly, the same oes for me and for so many of us around the world. Yet not all who love him, feel him and bring him inside have been gifted with the ability to contribute in any useful way to the (desperately needed) spreading of the truth about him.
And truth is what he needs the most, to me. Truth is the only way to go, and the only real form of love we can show. When you say what you fear the most is Michael's gonna be "forgotten", I admit that is my worst fear as well. That HE will be not only forgotten but, which is so much worse - never known by so many. And the thought to me is physically intolerable. It is already as hard as it gets to deal with his passing, so hard that I'm not ashamed to say it still hasn't really sunk in. But to think that the truths about him might never be spoken out so loud and so clearly as to silence once and for all all the deafening lies - well that is not to be accepted.
Truth, knowledge, honesty, perseverance and Love are our weapons now, and those who know how to use them effectively are a precious part of Michael's legacy.
I am full of gratitude for the work of people like you, it is important to let you know because I imagine it must not be easy. And please never give up.
A hug all the way from Italy,
Simona
Nikki - I loved your comment to Simona and hers back to you. I feel so much the same, although expression remains difficult for me. I wonder why my last thought at night and my first thought in the morning has something to do with Michael and why his music runs through my head nearly every waking hour, even at work or with my kids and grandkids. Sometimes it's maddening. I was not a huge "fan" prior to June 25, 2009. Only when I began researching the life of this complex inspirational man was I opened up to an entirely new way of viewing even my own world.
ReplyDeleteNikki, yours is one of the best Michael blogs around, IMO, and I hope you keep going as there are many problems to be solved and more puzzles to piece together.
Thank you both Simona and June for your lovely comments! <3
ReplyDeleteI will definitely keep going, the way I see it, I am just getting started!
Hey I really love you blog, but I don't agree with everything you said. MJ did have "real" relationships before Lisa, don't forget that he was in a relationship with Diana Ross from '78 till around '82. He was in love with her and many say that she was the true love of his life. There are many blogs and forums where this relationship has been researched. After Diana he did not allow himself to be that close to a woman again untill Lisa that is. Because he was devastated and heartbroken of the fact Diana married Arne Naess in the mid 80's. According to various people of his circle including his chief of security, Diana was MJ's first. But she played with his emotions.
ReplyDeleteHe indeed really loved Lisa, but after a couple of months started doubting the relationship because Lisa turned out to be not like he tought. He felt like she was trying to change him, the people at Neverland were not too fond of her either. But he tried to make it work, but when he found out she was still on the pill and unwilling to give him children he became dissapointed and started losing interest in the marriage. Having Children was the most important thing to him.
Anyway, I think Lisa is still hung up on Michael. But I think Diana was the love of Michael's life. The chemistry between them is undeniable when you watch old footage of them together, or at the world music awards in 1996 where Diana sings to Michael. I also find the fact that she was in his will very telling. Michael confronted Diana in 2006 for the way she treated him in the 80's. they weren't as close to each other anymore after this, but he remained in touch with her son Evan Ross. He was mentoring him.
But the good news is that MJ did have relationships in the later years of his life up untill his death. His daughter has said this, his niece and other insiders like his bodyguards have too. So he wasn't entirely lonely.
ReplyDeleteI found this blog to be very insightful about MJ and his relationships. It sheds some interesting light on it, and the creator of the site sis a good job researching, the articles and sources are on the site too.
ReplyDeletehttp://lacienegasmiled.wordpress.com/