Disclaimer: The opinions from this review are
strictly my opinions and does not represent the opinions of the Michael Jackson
fan community, the Jackson family, the Michael Jackson Estate or anyone that ever knew Michael Jackson.
When I first heard that Jermaine Jackson, the brother of the
late, great Michael Jackson, was going to (seriously) do a book, I was excited.
I thought that his book would be about his life and how certain things in his
life happened to him. When I read the press release for the book, I was
disappointed. I was wondering why Jermaine would want to write a book on his
brother. What could he possibly tell the public what we already know? At that
time, I was an MJ fan who was sympathetic with the Jackson family so I tend to defend, in a way, their every move.
Most fans were already throwing shade at Jermaine’s book
without giving it a chance. Most of these fans did not want to hear or read
what he had to state. However, I and a few other fans wanted to know what he
had to state. So, I pre-ordered the book at amazon.com and got the book the day before
the book was released nationwide. Even after the admission that was revealed on tmz.com that Jermaine was planning an escape plan for Michael if he was going
to be convicted for child abuse charges in 2005, I still wanted to read the
book. After reading the book, I honestly do not know what to think of the book
and of Jermaine.
This blog entry is not about trashing Jermaine’s book or
trashing him as a person. This blog entry is about correcting the various
mistakes that Jermaine made, stated, assumed and claimed in the book. I am not
interested in telling fans what to do with their money as far as getting the
book. Personally, the book was a fair book and if there are fans who are curious about what Jermaine stated in his book, they should go ahead and purchase the book. This review is an alternative to
the various reviews about the book. There have been reviews done by fans and
media alike that focused on the positive aspects of the book. MJ fans love
positive news about Michael but the truth is just because the news is positive does
not mean that it is true. That is where this review of the book comes in.
Jackson 5 Promotional pictures.
Before I am a semi-supporter of the Jackson family, I am a diehard
Michael Jackson fan. I respect the family because they are Michael’s family and
they are good people. I believe that the family are the only ones that should
raise/take care of Michael children because I believe that is what he would
wanted. In the point of view of a diehard fan of Michael’s, I will believe what he
stated over anyone, which includes his family.
Another promotional picture.
In this entry, I will be posting various articles, pictures, videos, quotes, etc. to prove the points that I will make. I want the reader to get an understanding of where I am coming from. At the end of the day, I have no power to break a bond that Michael had with his family. Nothing that I state on this entry will ever change people’s minds about Michael or his family. However, if someone can learn from what I have stated on here, then I did what I am supposed to do in regards to this entry.
There are going to be eight (8) categories to discuss each
part of the book. The categories are: 1. Early Years/Motown Years/Victory, 2.
Joe’s Parenting: Abuse or Discipline, 3.
Inspirations Corrections/Memory Lapses/ Mistakes/Nonsense, 4. The Women in
Michael’s Life, 5. The "Word to the Badd" Mess, 6. Jermaine’s View on Michael’s
looks, 7. Michael’s Later Years and 8. In Closing. So,
to start off the review, I am going to either post a quote from the book or
summarized a part in the book and offer my views. At times, it will accompany
with an article, link, quote or video.
You will get the picture when you read the entry. (I will skip some
chapters.)
1. Early
Years/Motown Years/Victory
The first seven chapters of the book are the best parts of
the book because it talks about the upbringing that the Jackson family had in
Gary, Indiana in the 1950s and 1960s. On pg. 8, Jermaine states how Michael
would be a fair businessman when it came to selling candy to the children at
the neighborhood. Jermaine stated that Michael was not “ruthless” enough. Well
unlike Jermaine, Michael became a businessman and quite a successful one at
that. Jermaine had memories of his brother and how their mother, Katherine
Jackson, was singing songs to him. Even at an early age, Jermaine had to
“protect” his brother. Jermaine claimed to be a “momma’s boy” like Michael and
like Michael had a fear of germs. Jermaine seems to compare himself to Michael,
probably that was the start of their competition against one another.
In
chapter 3, Jermaine talks about the family’s love for music and liking great
artists/performers such as James Brown, Jackie Wilson and The Temptations.
Jermaine talks about how Joseph was teaching them how to perform like the
greats, the showmanship, how to hold a microphone, how to hold the guitar and
how to tell a story through their performances. Jermaine mentioned how the
brothers and him would study songs and make sure that the songs were performed
just right. Jermaine talked about the first time he heard Michael sing “Climb
Every Mountain” at a school recital. After that, Michael was quickly bought into the
group. In regards to how each member of the family remembers their childhood, on
pg. 48, Jermaine states that coming from a big family, everyone remembers things
differently. My thoughts: Even though that would be the case, should Joseph’s physical and
verbal abuse be ignored? When Michael stated that his father would beat him
badly, should that be ignored because other family members remember their
childhoods differently?
A classic picture of a 12 year old Michael. His beaming smile warms anyone's heart.
On page 69, Jermaine talks about how Michael applied well in
school and how his love for knowledge developed because he was always curious.
When it came to the dynamic of the brothers in the family, on page 70, Jermaine
explains that the older brothers would boss Michael and Marlon, Randy was the
youngest and wanted to know everything and the brothers often left Jackie alone
because he was the oldest and the cranky one. On pages 108-109, Jermaine
explains the relationships Michael had with each of his brothers: Jackie was
the brother that Michael went for the facts about life; Tito had the ability to
answer Michael’s never-ending questions, Marlon was his competition who would
show him a dance move and Jermaine was the one he would go to talk about
creativity, girls and songs. In the
chapter regarding their Motown days, on page 102, Jermaine would state how he
was annoyed whenever he would play basketball and how Michael developed a skill
for scoring baskets with accuracy without effort.
Another promotional picture. Nice afros.
On page 144, Jermaine talks about the very first time he and
his brothers met John McClain. McClain later became instrumental in Janet’s
career and he is currently one of the co-executors of the Michael Jackson
Estate. The brothers became so close to McClain that he was/is considered an
“adoptive” brother to the Jacksons. However, not everyone in the family is fond
of McClain. Randy stated on his twitter account that he invited John McClain to
Michael’s funeral but did not come. Instead he knew the time it was to sign
the
contract with Sony/BMG .
You get the picture. Jermaine did his book or was in the
process of doing his book when Randy did these tweets on McClain, who is like a
“brother” to the brothers and Michael. So, instead of talking about this person
like he meant something to Michael, why didn’t Jermaine just ask Randy about
McClain??? Wouldn’t that make sense?
During the Victory tour days, on page 240, Jermaine states
“Unlike Epic and then Sony, we never viewed Michael as a robotic money-making machine.”
I wonder, since Sony viewed Michael that way, why didn’t Jermaine stated more
about that in the forthcoming chapters? Even on page 229 when he talks about
John Branca, one of the co-executors of Michael’s estate, Jermaine does not
question his role in what happened to his brother. He does not even remotely
criticized Branca either.
Victory Tour promotional pictures.
2. Joe’s
Parenting: Abuse or Discipline?
When Jermaine was trying to ignore the obvious that Joseph
Jackson abused him and his siblings, it really angered me. It even angered me
more when I was on youtube and watched interviews of the Jacksons talking about
the abuse that they experienced with their father. On pages 86-87, Jermaine
states that Michael was the most sensitive of brothers because he was “alien”
to Joseph’s ways. I do not know how can Jermaine sleep at night and defend the
abuse that his father did on him and all of his siblings. For years, Michael,
Janet and Jackson fans have often had various debates, disagreements and down-right
fights regarding if Joseph was an abuser or a strict disciplinarian. After so many stories, articles, quotes,
videos of the Jacksons, friends and business associates of the family talking
about Joseph’s paternal ways, I am beyond convinced, without any doubt in my
mind that Joseph abused all of his children in different forms of abuse
(mental, emotional, physical and verbal). I think Jermaine – no - I know
Jermaine is in complete denial of his father’s abuse. He clearly does not get
it. I was reading the book and wanted to scream at what I read. How can someone
even defend this crazy behavior this man did to his own children? Did you know
that if Michael and his brothers decided to leave the group that Joseph would
disown them?! That revelation was mentioned in that Rabbi Schemley book that he
did on Michael. It was clear that Joseph was never interested in being a father
to any of his children when they were children. He wanted to get something out
of them. His approach to wanting his children to achieve a certain goal was
despicable. Even if he was ignorant about the different ways to raise children,
it still does not excuse the abuse.
The Jacksons in 1989.
Jermaine must have never watched any of the interviews in
which his brothers, sister and mother talked about the abuse that they went
through/saw in the hands of Joseph. In a series of videos, the Jackson family
discusses the harsh treatment that they have received and seen from Joseph.
Michael telling Oprah in 1993 that his father would make him vomit whenever he was around him.
Michael telling that clown Martin Bashir in 2003 the abuse he had to go through from his father.
Janet tells Piers Morgan how Joseph treated her as a child and how she does not have a relationship with her father.
This clip is from the Jackson Family Dynasty Reality show in which Tito and Marlon along with their nephew and Jackie's son Siggy (Dealz) and their cousin and Katherine's nephew/confidant, Trent Jackson went to Gary, Indiana. When they went into the house that they grow up in, watch Marlon's body language when he talked about Joe.
Katherine finally telling Joseph that he was too hard on the children. Of course, Joe was silent when she stated that... I think.
This is a clip from Michael's 2003 special called Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies. This is the part in the special where they celebrated Joe Jackson day.
Even after the abuse they endured, the end result was that none of his children went to jail or have died before they turned 25. Yes, he wanted his children to become successful in life. However, at what cost? Michael performed the best that he could not only to have a great show but so his father can finally tell him that he did a great job. He wanted his father to be supportive of what he did. Instead, Joseph never really showed Michael that gesture when it mattered to him. When Michael died, Joseph went to the 2009 BET Awards and he was interviewed by CNN’s Don Lemon about what he would remember about his son. He stated that his son was the greatest entertainer of all time. Even at that time when people who loved Michael were in pain because of his death, his own father still saw him as a product. However, after everything their father did to them, the Jackson siblings still decided to have a day for him in a way to thank him for what he has done for them in the long run. That is strength because not a lot of children who were abused by their parents would even do that.
3. Mistakes/Memory
Lapses/Inspirations Corrections/Nonsense
In the book, Jermaine made mistakes that should have not
been made. I never thought that I would find mistakes in his book because he
always seems to know what Michael was about. However, when it comes to some
members of the family that believes they know everything about Michael, those
members are usually wrong. I guess they would feel insecure about their
knowledge of their brother if they would not admit that they really do not know
Michael all that well. Maybe when Michael was younger and spent a lot of time
with his family. However, at times, especially in a big family, some members
felt that they want to confide their secrets to a few members of their family
that are not interested in spilling the beans about them to other family
members. Whatever the case, Jermaine is not correct on certain things about MJ
and here are some of the errors he made being corrected. Jermaine states on pg.
85, that two gang members were fighting nearby their house. Gun shots were
fired and the family hid for cover. After the scare, the coast was clear.
Jermaine claims that is where Michael got his inspiration for the “Beat It”
video/short film. In an interview that Michael did for MTV back in 1999, he
talked about the inspiration for the video but he never talked about the
incident him and his family experienced in Gary.
Also, the director of the short film, Bob Giraldi, did an interview with boards.com and he talks about how “Beat It” came about –
Michael's 1999 Interview for MTV and TV Guide on their countdown of the 100 Greatest Music Videos of all time.
Also, the director of the short film, Bob Giraldi, did an interview with boards.com and he talks about how “Beat It” came about –
“One of the things that is totally mistaken that I've read many times is that most people think "Beat It" was inspired by West Side Story and that's absolutely not true at all.I grew up in Paterson, New Jersey - always an edgy town but full of people really trying to be so much tougher than they really are. It seemed to me this song of peace, this song peace, this song of reconciliation that Michael had written was perfect for a quasi kind of rumble. I've read where, the two lead dancers - Michael Peters and Vince Paterson - when they had their wrists tied and held the switchblades, that came from West Side Story. That's not true at all. That came from a story I heard when I worked in a factory one summer. A real tough kid from Jersey told me that he'd witnessed two guys who had their wrists tied and they held switchblades, and only one came out - and not too well. It was based on that little fable.Michael liked my idea and decided he was going to include the Crips and Bloods, which I thought was insane. If you see the video, you'll see guys that look like the real deal because they are the real deal.”
So, that is how the concept of the video came about. With
simple research and using the google.com search engine, Jermaine would have
found that out. It is clear that he never asked Michael how the concept of the
short film came about. He just assumed because he was Michael’s brother, he was
there so he would “know”. In the book, he also stated that “Beat It” was a 1985
hit. *Sigh* ……The only hit that Michael had in 1985 was the famine relief
classic song, “We Are The World” that he wrote with fellow legend, Lionel
Richie. “Beat It” was a number one song in 1983, we all know that. I am
bothered that Jermaine made such an easy mistake. Simple research would give
him his answers.
Michael with his "friend" producer Quincy Jones from the time they were doing the song "We Are The World" in 1985.
On page 131, Jermaine experienced one of his memory lapses.
He claims that he could not remember an argument or fight he had with Michael
when they were children. However, on page 132, Jermaine remembered fighting
with Michael regarding using the bathroom mirror. I know you must be thinking,
“ok, Jermaine, which memory do you want to reader to take?” Here is the thing,
I had the privilege to communicate with a promotional person who knew Michael
since Michael was a child. (This person will be mentioned a few times on this
blog entry.) Sadly, when I communicated with him in 2004, I never got his full
name. It was one of those things that I cannot even explain – how can I have
not gotten this man’s name? Anyway, I knew of a fan who also communicated with
this man and when I had the chance to compare notes with the fan, I read a
question that the fan asked the gentleman. The fan asked him, “Has Michael ever
punched someone on the face?” Here was the answer,
“YES. But it was Jermaine. It was nothing serious, just misunderstanding when they were young.”
A picture of Jermaine and Michael during the Jackson 5 days.
I guess Jermaine completely forgot about that incident he
had with his brother.
On page 186, Jermaine talks about the time Michael visited
him and his then wife Hazel at his house in Malibu.
“On the fourth of July in 1977, Michael was with me at the Malibu house to enjoy Hazel’s barbecue. As she prepared the sunset feast, he decided to go splash around the ocean. I watched him from the balcony – he had the beach to himself – sprinting down the slope in his shorts ad jumping into the breaking waves. I was too busy watching Michael as the sun started to drop. Something told me to keep my eyes on him, out there in the fading light, in the surf by himself, about five houses down. I saw the waves and then his bobbing head….the waves….his bobbing head. He looked like a seal. Fireworks started shooting into the sky from somewhere around Malibu Pier but I kept my eyes on Michael.”
I posted this quote because
Jermaine did a special that was aired either in 2010 or 2011 on A&E in
which he talked about this very incident. The issue is that in the special,
Jermaine stated that this event happened in 1984, after the Victory tour was
over. So, how can Jermaine make a mistake on an event in which he practically
saved his brother’s life? You do not forget the year that it event took place.
*Sigh*
One of the last pictures of Michael along with his nephews Austin, Jeremy and Jordynn (Jermaine's sons).
Austin Brown is the nephew of Michael, the son of Michael’s sister, Rebbie Jackson and an up and
coming singer. He did a U-Stream chat with fans on February 3rd,
2012 in which he talked about a time in his life that he was afraid of his
uncle Michael because he believed that his uncle would turn into a werewolf in regards to the "Thriller" short film. It
was not until the time the video 2300 Jackson Street was released in 1989 when
Austin got over his fear of his uncle. His uncle told him when he carried him,
“I am not going to turn into a werewolf. I am your uncle.” A sweet memory that
Austin shared about his loving uncle to the fans. What was the difference
between Austin’s recollection of his fear of his uncle because of the “Thriller”
video and Jermaine’s recollection he stated on page 226? Jermaine did not make
it clear when Austin was fearful of his uncle. The "Thriller" video was release
in 1983 and if you are not a diehard MJ fan, you would never know what age
Austin is and what year he was born. That is why details on important and
certain things need to made clear so that people understand where Jermaine was
coming from.
Michael with the late Frank Dileo, who was his manager in the 1980s with legendary actress Meryl Streep.
Jermaine talked about the late Frank Dielo, who was
Michael’s manager in the 1980s and again in 2009 . On page 228, Jermaine stated
that Frank was from Philadelphia when actually he was not. If you read up Frank
Dielo’s Wikipedia webpage, you will see that Frank was from Pittsburgh, Pa.
I know that Jermaine is not from the east coast and is not
familiar with the cities from the east coast. However, when it comes down to
it, every American (hopefully) should know that Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are
two cities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but they are not the same city.
Often times, Michael has never really talked about the
inspirations behind his classic songs. The reasons could be because the media
loved to focus on the circus instead of the reason why Michael became the
legend that he became. So, because of that, fans were robbed by knowing the
information on how Michael was inspired to write the songs he
wrote, performed and created. In many ways, the special that Michael did in 2003
that aired on the FOX television network, Michael
Jackson’s Private Home Movies, was like a God sent because he had a chance
to tell the viewers his inspirations for some of the short films that he
created. Michael would record things about his life on the regular when he was
with us. He shared with the viewers, his inspiration for the “Smooth Criminal”
short film.
He had a cameraman record him plotting ideas for the short film. Now, the way he talks about how he came up with the concepts is interesting because he was detailed about it. Jermaine stated in his book on page 261 that “Smooth Criminal” the song, was inspired by a mass serial killer who was killing people in San Francisco and Los Angeles. To be honest, we have no real idea what was the actual inspiration for the “Smooth Criminal” song because when you read Jermaine’s recollection of it, he never stated that Michael told him that was the inspiration to the song. It is Jermaine assuming things in his book.
Michael's 2003 special in which his talks about his inspirations behind his classic songs and short films.
He had a cameraman record him plotting ideas for the short film. Now, the way he talks about how he came up with the concepts is interesting because he was detailed about it. Jermaine stated in his book on page 261 that “Smooth Criminal” the song, was inspired by a mass serial killer who was killing people in San Francisco and Los Angeles. To be honest, we have no real idea what was the actual inspiration for the “Smooth Criminal” song because when you read Jermaine’s recollection of it, he never stated that Michael told him that was the inspiration to the song. It is Jermaine assuming things in his book.
It was rumored and now confirmed in the book that Jermaine
fell in love with a then unknown future singing legend, Whitney Houston. Here
is a video of their performance.
Video of the two singing one of their songs in 1985.
In the book, Jermaine states on page 271,
“Michael raised an innocent enough question:
‘So how it is going with Whitney?’ He heard me predict that “She is going to be the biggest thing when people hear her voice.’
‘We’re getting along very well,’ I told him, smiling.
‘You like her?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, I like her.’ Still smiling.‘Oh, you really like her!’ He started chuckling.
‘I really like her,’ I said. Smile now gone.
Michael got excitable. ‘You in love with her?’‘I can’t be in love,’ I said. ‘I’m married’. That was a deliberate lie.”
Jermaine and his first wife Hazel on the cover of Ebony magazine in 1981.
So, as you read, he was in love with another woman while
married to his then wife Hazel Gordy, the daughter of the legendary Motown founder, Berry
Gordy. Jermaine seems to like to embarrass or make a fool out of his wives. If
you read Margaret Maldonado’s book you would know all of the things Jermaine
did to her. I even saw this video of Jermaine coming out of a restaurant with
his current wife Halima Rashid, talking to the paparazzi about his ex-wife
Alejandra Jackson.
Interesting about what he states about her. By the way, Jermaine’s son, Jermaine Jr. narrates the book for audio and I wonder what he must have been thinking when his father admitted that he was in love with a woman that was not his mother. I hope he was not devastated.
Video of Jermaine and his current wife Halima coming out of a eatery.
Interesting about what he states about her. By the way, Jermaine’s son, Jermaine Jr. narrates the book for audio and I wonder what he must have been thinking when his father admitted that he was in love with a woman that was not his mother. I hope he was not devastated.
There is one thing for an older brother to worry about his
younger brother. It is another thing when that older brother complains that his
younger brother does not call him as much as he should. On page 279, Jermaine
states,
“Between our last tour ending in December 1984 and 1992, the family saw Michael sporadically, say three or four times a year in those eight years. When those occasions came around, at Hayvenhurst or Neverland, I found myself snatching time with him before he’d disappear again for the longest periods without a phone call.”
*Sigh* I could SCREAM right now because I can never
understand why Jermaine felt the need to know what was going on with Michael.
Why would he need to know these things about his brother? Here is the thing –
Michael was an ADULT and had a right to talk to whoever he wanted to talk to. I
can understand if his mother had an issue (she did) with it but Jermaine, who
had children to raise, fooling around with his baby mother at the time,
Margaret, and had an existing career at the time, should not have an issue.
LaToya was not talking to the family at the time and that Michael was not
required to speak to anyone that he probably did not want to speak to but his
mother. Katherine is the only person, next to a girlfriend Michael probably had
at the time, that should complain if Michael speaks to her or not. Jermaine
does not own Michael. On page 280, Jermaine claimed that Michael did not own a
cell phone. Were cell phones even the rage in the late 1980s and early 1990s??? Let’s say that Michael had a cell phone at that time because cell phones did
exists at that time, maybe the reason why Michael did not want to speak to
Jermaine on the phone was because he probably had nothing to state to him. If
Michael was not responding to Jermaine’s messages then maybe that is a sign
that Michael did not want to speak to talk to him. The truth is, at that time,
Michael did not need his brothers. If he wanted to speak to Jermaine, he would
have returned his messages. If people in Michael’s camp, at that time, were
deliberately not telling him that Jermaine called him, then Michael would have
done something about that. Something tells me that Michael did not really want
to talk to Jermaine at that time.
Michael doing his thing on the Bad short film. Go ahead, Michael.
It has been rumored for years that the brothers were jealous
of Michael’s success. I can believe that some of the brothers were jealous of
his success. Heck, I would even believe that Janet might have been jealous of
her brother’s success. That is OK. I am not angry about that because I know
that his siblings loved him very much. I know their jealousy was not rooted
from hate but friendly competition. However,
for Jermaine to deny that he and the brothers were ever jealous of Michael is
lame. On page 240,
“We read accounts of constant feuding, rampant jealous and how the brothers ‘refused’ to talk to each other on their way to the stadiums. I guess this was another side of Michael’s new-found fame: that for every public hero, the rules myth demand villains, too.”
Jermaine does not flat out
deny jealousy on his part but he did not confirm it either. So, what is the
deal? Here is what I do know, in 1984, Life
magazine did some sort of a pictorial on the famous 1984 Victory tour. In the magazine, Jermaine stated a quote that screams
jealousy. Page 96 -
“Of Michael’s life, Jermaine says, ‘you dance till your side hurts and you take oxygen. Then you hide – that’s not happiness’.”
Jermaine is
a whole fool, for real. If that quote is not a quote from a jealous brother,
then what is? Admit that you were jealous of your brother, Jermaine. Michael
was the star and you were almost that star, though, you just did not make the cut.
4. The
Women In Michael’s Life
For at least ten years, I have been having the guilty
pleasure of being interested in Michael’s love life. So, sue me. I have always been
fascinated with stories about his love life. In the future, I will do a blog on
Michael and the Ladies in his life. It will be an extension of this part of the
blog. In Jermaine’s book, he makes it clear that Michael was straight but he
does not destroy the image of Michael being perceived as an asexual. You would
think that Jermaine claiming to be so close to Michael, that he would know some
things about Michael and his relationships with women. However, as I soon
learned by reading this book, Jermaine and probably the rest of his family (and even some of his friends) really do not know anything about Michael's love life. On page 250, Jermaine states
that religion was the reason why Michael was more restrain than his brothers.
He also stated that Michael longed to know a full and intimate relationship was
like. I can laugh right now, seriously. Jermaine never heard of research. Wow.... I guess since Jermaine did not do thorough research on this subject, he decided
assuming was the best way to explain this. What is that saying about people who
assume – they make an a -- well, I do not use curse words on this blog but you
get the picture. Since Jermaine used
Michael’s only autobiography, Moonwalk, as one of many sources for his book, he must have intentionally forgotten this quote Michael stated on page 166,
“There have been a lot of wonderful women in my life, women whose names wouldn’t mean anything to the readers of this book, and it would be unfair to discuss them because they are not celebrities and are unaccustomed to having their names in print. I value my privacy and therefore I respect their as well.”
Ok, then.
A picture of Michael enjoying the company of women.
Jermaine did that on purpose. If
you are gonna talk about MJ and women, please come prepared, especially if you
are related to Michael. Either put up or zip it up. He ignored the interview
that Stephanie Mills - wait a minute - didn’t Jermaine and Hazel signed her up at
Motown? Yes, they did yet Jermaine did not know what Stephanie and Michael did
at Sutton Place in NYC in the 1970s??? In 2004, Stephanie Mills did an
interview for Power 99 in Philadelphia to promote her latest album at the time.
The talk was mostly about Michael. Once this interview aired on the radio, it
went viral quickly. The MJ boards had a field day with this one.
Oh, the tea was pouring that day…. Jermaine ignored that interview. Interesting…. In 2009, weeks after Michael was murdered, word came out that a former girlfriend of Michael’s was going to write a book about her time with Michael.
Theresa Gonsalves, who was first mentioned in J. Randy Tarborelli’s book on Michael called Magic and the Madness, wrote a book called Remember the Time: A True Intimate Look at Michael Jackson Through “Letters to Michael” in which she goes into detail of her time with MJ. Jermaine probably knew about this book and never thought of checking out the book. Of course, why would he? Jermaine was too proud to know the information. SMH. Pages 40-41 and pages 60-62 has the tea and that is all I am going to say. As for Michael longing for what it would be like to be in a real relationship – I have a hard time believing that MJ never had one before he married that first wife. I would state more but why would I publically display my tea? Jermaine was this man’s brother, he should know. Also, religion does not stop someone from having sex. It didn’t stop Michael when he was with Diana Ross. If Michael wanted to have sex, then he was free to do that. At the end of the day, he was not going to hell for that. Trust me.
Audio of the famous interview Stephanie Mills had with a Philadelphia radio station talking about Michael. Classic.
Oh, the tea was pouring that day…. Jermaine ignored that interview. Interesting…. In 2009, weeks after Michael was murdered, word came out that a former girlfriend of Michael’s was going to write a book about her time with Michael.
A picture of Michael with Stephanie, Jermaine with then wife Hazel and brother Randy in the 1970s.
Theresa Gonsalves, who was first mentioned in J. Randy Tarborelli’s book on Michael called Magic and the Madness, wrote a book called Remember the Time: A True Intimate Look at Michael Jackson Through “Letters to Michael” in which she goes into detail of her time with MJ. Jermaine probably knew about this book and never thought of checking out the book. Of course, why would he? Jermaine was too proud to know the information. SMH. Pages 40-41 and pages 60-62 has the tea and that is all I am going to say. As for Michael longing for what it would be like to be in a real relationship – I have a hard time believing that MJ never had one before he married that first wife. I would state more but why would I publically display my tea? Jermaine was this man’s brother, he should know. Also, religion does not stop someone from having sex. It didn’t stop Michael when he was with Diana Ross. If Michael wanted to have sex, then he was free to do that. At the end of the day, he was not going to hell for that. Trust me.
During the Victory tour days, the Jacksons met an unknown
future music icon Madonna when she was backstage meeting the brothers. Jermaine
seemed shocked that Michael dated Madonna (he even added quotation marks in the
book when he stated dated) in 1991 given that she was very direct and
in-your-face when, according to Jermaine’s account on page 269,
“she walked up to Randy, grabbed his face, stuck her tongue down his throat and told him, ‘When you’ve finished with this bitch, give me a call’.”
Now, we and Michael,
all knew/know how Madonna was back in the day. The woman was a piece of work,
but why did it bothered Jermaine that Michael dated Madonna? Michael called her
on the phone in 1991 and asked her who was she going with to the Oscars.
According to an interview that she did in 1991,
she explained that she did not know who she was going with and then she asked MJ if he would come. Michael stated to her that he would come. It was his decision, knowing how she was, to go on a date with her. Even after the Oscars hoopla, they were still hanging out with one another. Michael has talked about his time with Madonna on the Rabbi Schelemy tapes that the Rabbi made into a book. Michael was bothered by a lot of things that she did. So, in a way, he learned his lesson the hard way but that was up for him to know for himself. I was thinking about the times Michael would hang out with movie legend Elizabeth Taylor and why Jermaine never had an issue with that given the fact that she introduced Michael to one of his killers, dermatologist to the stars, Dr. Arnold Klein.
By the way, according to Jermaine and I actually believe that this is true, one of the things that turned Michael off about Madonna was that she was hating on his sister, pop star, Janet Jackson when they were dating. I see that Michael would get angry if people would throw shade on Janet but how come Janet never did that for Michael when she would go on Jay Leno and David Letterman who had a ball trashing her brother? On page 269, Jermaine talks about Michael dating Brooke Sheilds during that time and I wondered why he never mentioned in the book that Brooke went out with Michael for public relations reasons? Brooke will never admit to the media that she was more into Michael than he was into her, especially during the 1980s. Jermaine, you should have researched more.
From the VH1 special about Michael's Greatest TV Moments, a clip of Madonna talking about going to the Oscars with Michael.
she explained that she did not know who she was going with and then she asked MJ if he would come. Michael stated to her that he would come. It was his decision, knowing how she was, to go on a date with her. Even after the Oscars hoopla, they were still hanging out with one another. Michael has talked about his time with Madonna on the Rabbi Schelemy tapes that the Rabbi made into a book. Michael was bothered by a lot of things that she did. So, in a way, he learned his lesson the hard way but that was up for him to know for himself. I was thinking about the times Michael would hang out with movie legend Elizabeth Taylor and why Jermaine never had an issue with that given the fact that she introduced Michael to one of his killers, dermatologist to the stars, Dr. Arnold Klein.
Michael with Madonna in 1991.
By the way, according to Jermaine and I actually believe that this is true, one of the things that turned Michael off about Madonna was that she was hating on his sister, pop star, Janet Jackson when they were dating. I see that Michael would get angry if people would throw shade on Janet but how come Janet never did that for Michael when she would go on Jay Leno and David Letterman who had a ball trashing her brother? On page 269, Jermaine talks about Michael dating Brooke Sheilds during that time and I wondered why he never mentioned in the book that Brooke went out with Michael for public relations reasons? Brooke will never admit to the media that she was more into Michael than he was into her, especially during the 1980s. Jermaine, you should have researched more.
Jermaine starts to talk about Michael’s first wife, Lisa
Marie Presley, the only child of rock legend, Elvis Presley and his brother’s marriage
to her. Jermaine writes about things that was known about how Michael and Lisa
Marie got hitched and he seemed to be supportive of the union. From page 335,
“Now he had someone real, firm and big hearted, who wasn’t afraid of the vultures around him.”
I could laugh, seriously. I guess loyalty was not one of
those qualities and we all knew Michael loved loyal people. I do not think any
of the Jacksons ever saw the interview that Lisa Marie and her evil mother, Priscilla
Presley, did with residential hater and television legend, Oprah Winfrey on her
show months after the 2005 verdict of the child abuse case was known.
On the same page, Jermaine stresses that the relationship was real. To be fair, we probably do believe that the relationship was real but was the marriage real? There is a difference. By the way, I wonder if Rebbie and Janet ever had a connection to the other women in Michael’s life like they did with Lisa Marie. When there was friction in the “marriage”, mentioned on page 337, Jermaine was not aware of it. I guess he did not understand that when a marriage is fake and it is based on the public ignoring the lie of 1993 and a child of music royalty trying to convert Michael into Scientology, friction is bound to occur. On page 338, Michael had to take care of his second cousins while being married to Lisa Marie. Jermaine believes that was one of the things that hurt the marriage. Also, Michael was at the studio and not at home most of the time and Lisa Marie did not like that. Here is how I see it: if Lisa Marie could not accept that Michael had to raise his cousins because he was worried about them and family comes first, then she has to go. Lisa Marie was supposed to give Michael children but she was more concern about his whereabouts than being a submissive wife. If she could not understand that part of Michael’s profession was being at the studio, then she should have gotten a job or join Michael in the studio. Also, why didn’t any of the Jacksons stepped up and offered to take care of their cousins?? This quote makes me laugh from, page 340,
Hatred Part 1.
Hatred Part 2.
On the same page, Jermaine stresses that the relationship was real. To be fair, we probably do believe that the relationship was real but was the marriage real? There is a difference. By the way, I wonder if Rebbie and Janet ever had a connection to the other women in Michael’s life like they did with Lisa Marie. When there was friction in the “marriage”, mentioned on page 337, Jermaine was not aware of it. I guess he did not understand that when a marriage is fake and it is based on the public ignoring the lie of 1993 and a child of music royalty trying to convert Michael into Scientology, friction is bound to occur. On page 338, Michael had to take care of his second cousins while being married to Lisa Marie. Jermaine believes that was one of the things that hurt the marriage. Also, Michael was at the studio and not at home most of the time and Lisa Marie did not like that. Here is how I see it: if Lisa Marie could not accept that Michael had to raise his cousins because he was worried about them and family comes first, then she has to go. Lisa Marie was supposed to give Michael children but she was more concern about his whereabouts than being a submissive wife. If she could not understand that part of Michael’s profession was being at the studio, then she should have gotten a job or join Michael in the studio. Also, why didn’t any of the Jacksons stepped up and offered to take care of their cousins?? This quote makes me laugh from, page 340,
“Michael only ever wanted to know what a real relationship felt like and he wanted to be loved and find true love. As much as the reality didn’t work out in the end, his heart finally got to know true love and I think a part of it stayed with Lisa Marie right until the very end.”
Oh,
stop the dramatics, Jermaine! Michael has been in a loving relationship before
he even had sexual feelings for Lisa Marie. He knew all about true love and I
am going to leave that part at that. At the very end when Michael wanted to
know if Lisa Marie still loved him, she told him that she felt “indifferent”
about him.
That isn’t love, Jermaine. Lisa Marie just knew what time it was to marry Michael and to divorce Michael. It is some the Jacksons and the MJ fans need to accept regarding this union Michael had with this woman.
The reality of utter trash.
That isn’t love, Jermaine. Lisa Marie just knew what time it was to marry Michael and to divorce Michael. It is some the Jacksons and the MJ fans need to accept regarding this union Michael had with this woman.
Michael’s second “wife” Debbie Rowe, the biological mother
of Michael’s two children, Michael Jr. (Prince) and Paris Katherine was
mentioned in the book. On page 342, Jermaine stated,
“As ever, he kept his lips sealed about his plans to have children, with or without Lisa Marie, but when a motherly blonde admirer offered to bear him children, it was an ‘offer from God’ that he wasn’t going to ignore.”
To re-read those fables and to believe
them, you would have to be plain stupid. As a researcher, or sorts, of this
aspect of Michael’s life, I felt insulted reading that. Debbie Rowe was never
motherly and to even describe her as such is an insult to the real mothers all
over the world that never chose money over raising their children and would die
for their children. Debbie’s only interest was to get paid and get paid in the
millions. Ever saw that picture of Michael and her when they were married? Did
you noticed her smile? If you added dollar signs on to her eyes, you would have
captured her exact reaction when she married Michael. Here is the deal and if
people cannot accept it that is not my issue: Michael never loved Debbie and
she knew it. Michael never even wanted to marry Debbie and according to the
promotional man that I mentioned earlier on this entry, he stated that,
“eventually knocked up Debbie,
which, (if I didn't love and adore his children and think they
saved his life) I would say was probably one of the biggest mistakes of his
life. He was never faithful to Debbie after they married, never even
wanted to marry her but Mike doesn't like to break his mother's heart.”
I cannot make this
up. I guess Jermaine never read an
article that I found that was stated that Debbie invoked child abuse charges on
Michael during the time of the 2005 trial:
“Separately, court documents made public on Wednesday showed that Jackson's ex-wife has sought repeatedly over the past year to gain custody of the couple's two children, at one point invoking the molestation charges against him.”
(Article from Dan Whitcomb of Reuters from December 15th,
2004).
Ok, then.
Jermaine mentioned that Prince II aka Blanket, came from a surrogate,
according to what Michael told him. Well, here is what I think about it,
Jermaine never seemed to be interested in this aspect in Michael’s life because
he refused to know anything about it. A lot of people worked with Michael and
Michael, when he felt he could trust them, told them things about his life.
Once again, I will use a quote that the promotional man stated about this:
“until he met his third child's mother, fell very much
in love with her, but he is his father's son, so he wasn't entirely
faithful to her, which is why they split up shortly after she found out
she was pregnant."
At the end of the day, believe what you want to believe. I
have always been the type of person to give Michael a benefit of the doubt
regarding his personal business. When people are extremely private about their
love life, it is because they do not want people to know their personal
business. If Michael told various people how his youngest son came into the
picture, then that was his right. A smart person, who studied Michael, would
have never fell for what Jermaine fell for. Just saying.
5. The
Word to the Badd Mess
The event that showed the Michael Jackson fan community that
Jermaine will forever be jealous of Michael. This is how the debacle started –
on 285, Jermaine visits Michael at the hospital and he talks to him about being
converted to Islam and the books he got from his pilgrimage. Jermaine mentions
to Michael that he was working with up and coming and now legendary producers,
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and L.A. Reid. On pages 287, Jermaine talks about
waiting for three months to start working with the producers. Jermaine finally
found out why it took so long – the producers were working with Michael in L.A.
When Jermaine found out, he was furious and questioned why. When the men
returned to Atlanta to work with Jermaine, on page 288, they were furious with
the way Michael worked in the studio and that Michael was not going to use the
songs that they worked on with him. According to Jermaine on the same page,
“That much was obvious when, during a phone call, they shared a hook from a song they had already written for me called ‘Word to the Badd’. The hook that resonated – because of its implied selfishness – went like this:
It ain’t about your world/It ain’t about the things you do/If you don’t care, I don’t care/You keep thinking about you/You been taking all of my pie/You been taking for a long time…”
A picture of MJ, L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds at an event in 1989. L.A. Reid tweeted this picture months ago.
Jermaine explains that the song was written to relate to the
anger he felt when he found out that Michael was working with Edmonds and Reid.
When the song was leaked to the radio in Atlanta, it quickly spread like
wildfire. He did not know how to handle the the attacks that he was getting so
he contacted his mentor and now former father in law Berry Gordy. Here is what
transpired on page 290:
“His advice was as straightforward as I needed it to be. ‘Did you write it?’‘No.’‘But you sang it?’‘Yes.’‘We’re you upset when you sang it?’‘Yes.’‘Well, you have to take full responsibility, Jermaine. There is nothing more I can say’.”
After that, he had to confront his brother Michael and
because I do not have Margaret Maladondo’s book in which she describes in
detail what happened, I cannot compare which side I believe. However, I did
wonder if Jermaine was telling the truth when he told Berry Gordy that he did
not write the song. So, I did some research and I stumbled upon an 1991 L.A. Times interview that Jermaine did
with writer Chuck Phillips. As I was reading the article I read this part -
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-11-07/entertainment/ca-1387_1_jermaine-jackson
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-11-07/entertainment/ca-1387_1_jermaine-jackson
"I understand he's a very busy person, but after you repeatedly try to contact your own brother and he doesn't call you back, you begin to wonder if he hasn't just completely lost touch with reality," Jermaine, 37, told The Times."I know people are going to go off on a tangent and say that Jermaine is jealous. But it's not true. Michael and I have never feuded. The only reason I wrote this song--and it came from the bottom of my heart--was to help my little brother get a grip on reality. I never meant to discredit him. The song was never supposed to come out in public. But now that it has, I am hear to say that, yes, I wrote it and I stand by it."
I mean, what can I say at the moment? This man lied on his own book stating that he never wrote the song. He lied to his mentor, Berry Gordy, that he never wrote the song. I am not trying to hear that the media was bias and made up that story that Jermaine wrote that song. The L.A. Times is not the National Enquirer or the Globe. It is a respectable newspaper that has credibility. All Jermaine had to do was tell the truth. State in his book that he was angry on what his brother did and that he wrote the song just to get his brother’s attention. This is what happens when you cannot let people be – you start to become obsessive with what they are not doing to you and you start to do things that you normally will not do. I do not understand some people like that.
If Kenneth Edmonds and L.A. Reid had such a bad time working
with Michael, then how can Jermaine explain that Michael worked with Edmonds
after the 1991 first studio encounter:
“Just a few of the scores of singers who have recorded his songs or who have been produced by him include Aretha Franklin (“Honey”), Whitney Houston (“Exhale-Shoop Shoop”), Madonna (“Take a Bow”), Mariah Carey (“Melt Away”), Michael Jackson (“On the Line”)”
The song, “One the Line” was done in 1996 for the Spike Lee
movie called On the Line.
On Michael’s 2001 hit album, Invincible, Edmonds worked with Michael for the song, “You Are My
Life”, page 9 on the CD booklet. He did the background vocals, keyboards,
acoustic guitar, drum programming, bass guitar and Michael recording and mixed
the song at Edmonds recording studio called Brandon’s Way Recordings (Click here)
L.A. Reid has always had nice things to state about Michael.
In 2004, L.A. did a piece for Rolling Stone magazine about the Greatest Artists
of All Time. This is what he stated –
“By Antonio "LA" Reid Posted Apr 15, 2004 12:00 AM
Michael Jackson is the world's greatest entertainer. One of the most explosive performances I've ever witnessed was Jackson sliding across the stage at the Motown twenty-fifth anniversary show. Just watching that made us all know: That's what greatness is, and anything that doesn't measure up to that is beneath greatness. Before him there were the Beatles and Elvis and Frank Sinatra; Michael Jackson takes his place right alongside those greats. I'm almost the same age as Michael, and I was one of the original fans. I first saw him at the Ohio State Fair, when I was very young; the Jackson 5 were performing with the Commodores. Michael came on, and that voice of his rang over the whole fairground. I was deeply touched by that voice from the very beginning.
"Billie Jean" is the most important record he's made, not only because of its commercial success but because of the musical depth of the record. It has more hooks in it than anything I've ever heard. Everything in that song was catchy, and every instrument was playing a different hook. You could separate it into twelve different musical pieces and I think you'd have twelve different hits. Every day, I look for that kind of song.
Michael has influenced so many artists, some of whom are picking up on the grandeur and showmanship of his live performances. You can see his influence in his sister Janet, in Justin Timberlake, Usher, Britney Spears, and in Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey. You can see his influence in the dance moves -- the syncopated choreography -- that a lot of young artists use. And a lot of them have picked up his work ethic. When you look at a Britney Spears production or a Justin Timberlake production, or if you look at an Usher production, you really see that they took a page out of Michael's book; they went to rehearsal, and they must've worked eight hours a day, because their shows are flawless, as Michael's shows were flawless.
There are many, many people who think of Michael as a spectacle, and it's sad. All of it has taken away from our ability to see him for the artist he really is. A world without Michael Jackson would be a very, very different world. And I think we should all feel very blessed that an artist of that caliber came into our lives, because he has enriched our lives.
(From RS 946, April 15, 2004)”
That was posted on the now deleted website called MaximumJackson.com.
Reid also participated in a discussion panel with journalist Charlie Rose on
June 26th, 2009 discussing about Michael. Here is a link to that
video –
If these men had such a horrible time dealing with Michael
in the studio back in the early 1990s, then why did Edmonds worked with Michael
two times after that? Why did Edmonds do a tribute to Michael in 2009?
Why did Edmonds considered Michael a friend? Why did Reid do a great piece on Michael to a magazine that never respected Michael? These are questions that need to be asked to Jermaine. It is clear to me that these men have always respected Michael and regardless of any disagreements, they put their differences aside and worked with one another like grown people usually do.
Video of Edmonds performing one of Michael's songs in tribute to him.
Why did Edmonds considered Michael a friend? Why did Reid do a great piece on Michael to a magazine that never respected Michael? These are questions that need to be asked to Jermaine. It is clear to me that these men have always respected Michael and regardless of any disagreements, they put their differences aside and worked with one another like grown people usually do.
6. Jermaine’s
View of Michael’s Looks
It is one thing to have an opinion on someone but to give
out and diagnosis when you are not educated and qualified to do so is another.
On page 344, Jermaine took it upon himself to explain his view about Michael’s
looks:
“Personally, I think he preoccupation with plastic surgery was some form of body dymorphia, a condition often rooted in childhood or puberty where the sufferer finds exaggerated flaws that do not exist. This is my opinion, not a diagnosis.”
However, you diagnosed
your brother anyway. To be fair, can we all give Jermaine a diagnosis called
“Not Paying Child Support Syndrome”? Michael had a very good reason to get
plastic surgery and if he did not want to disclose to people why he was getting
plastic surgery, then good for him. From what we know of, the root of
Michael supposed obsession with plastic surgery deals with his fear of looking
like his father Joseph. That information probably came from J. Randy Tarborelli
but because of Joseph’s crazy parenting “skills” he displayed to his children
when they were younger, I tend to believe that Michael’s issues with his father
is the main reason why he went under the knife. Think about it, if Joe Jackson
was your father, would he want to look like him? I didn’t think so.
A picture of Michael when he was doing the Ghosts short film.
7. Michael’s
Later Years
The most difficult part for me to read was the last years in
Michael’s life. It was difficult because in reading it, I do believe that if
Jermaine was never involved in what Michael was doing, things would have been
different. I am in no way trying to blame Jermaine or anyone in the family for
what happened to Michael. The family has always been there for Michael through
the good, bad and tragic times. So in 2001, the family decided to celebrate 30
years that Michael was a solo artist. Jermaine starts to talk about the
anniversary special on pages 352-353. On page 353, he talked about the producer
of the show, David Gest, who was one of Michael’s closest friends.
“But David was adamant, saying his focus was to create a spectacular salute to Michael. That was everyone’s, focus, but the important details – like the fans and Motown’s role in our lives – seemed lost on him.”
Here is the issue: it was an special to celebrate 30
years of Michael being a solo artist. His work on Motown has nothing to do with
remaining part of the 30 years. Yes, Michael never left the group when he
became a solo artist. However, once Michael made Thriller, he was no longer seen as a member of the Jackson 5 and
Jacksons – he was seen as a solo artist. The songs that Michael did with his brothers during their Motown days were performed on the special. Maybe Jermaine
forgot…..
As for the fans, they were happy to see Michael performing the hits his with brother and his classic hits. I never read any stories of fans being disappointed. Jermaine was reaching it. It was nice to see the brothers performing together but it was also nice to see a sold out crowd enjoying greatness before the unthinkable happened. Jermaine did not mentioned in the book that he was too demanding during the rehearsals for the concerts. I mean, what else is new? According to Gest’s documentary on Michael, Michael stated to David that if Jermaine does not stop being demanding, he cannot be in the show. Eventually, after Katherine called David wanting all of her sons to be at the show, Jermaine came to his senses and behaved. Interesting.
Michael and the brothers performing Jackson 5 and Jacksons hits. So, how did David Gest forget Motown's role in Michael's career, Jermaine???
As for the fans, they were happy to see Michael performing the hits his with brother and his classic hits. I never read any stories of fans being disappointed. Jermaine was reaching it. It was nice to see the brothers performing together but it was also nice to see a sold out crowd enjoying greatness before the unthinkable happened. Jermaine did not mentioned in the book that he was too demanding during the rehearsals for the concerts. I mean, what else is new? According to Gest’s documentary on Michael, Michael stated to David that if Jermaine does not stop being demanding, he cannot be in the show. Eventually, after Katherine called David wanting all of her sons to be at the show, Jermaine came to his senses and behaved. Interesting.
A 2005 picture of Michael and Janet.
Fast forward to 2005 when Michael was going through a
difficult time in his life. The 2005 Child Abuse Trial was one of the most
covered news “event” in the last ten years. In the Prologue chapter in the
book, (pg. xiii) Jermaine question the very reason why things were happening to
Michael. However, why didn’t he continue to question throughout the whole book?
Regarding the “plan B” situation that Jermaine was referring
to on pg. xvii, the question I had was why was Jermaine making these plans in
the first place? Why didn’t he just tell Michael about these plans? What was he
afraid of? Was he afraid that Michael would be against the plan? Why was he
making plans in the first place? Michael was going through hell and his brother
is making plans????
Jermaine mentioned in the book that once Michael was found
innocent in 2005, he would do everything he can to clear Michael’s name. Here’s
is how I think he can do that – stop doing interviews with people who did not
respect your brother like Piers Morgan, Joy Behar, who had a show on HLN
(Headline News) that was cancelled, The View, Billy Bush from Access Hollywood.
Most importantly, don’t voice sympathy for the people who falsely accuse your
brother of child abuse.
During this time, Jermaine was secretly doing financial deals
that did more harm than good to Michael. On page 384,
“During the trial, I had to go to Bahrain for a few days. I stayed in touch with Mother and Tom (Meserau) by phone, but didn’t tell anyone I was there to do a deal that would ease Michael’s financial worries. Once he was free of court, I wanted him to be free of debt’s burden, too. That was what I was aiming for as I spent time with Prince Abdullah, the King’s second son.”
Thanks to Jermaine controlling Michael’s
life, unintentionally, Michael had to face a lawsuit that could have ruined
him. On page 395, Jermaine stated,
“But it was also a frustratingly characteristic of Michael to sign a contract without reading the small print - just as in 2000, he had discovered his masters weren’t being returned by Sony”.
At times, research can be magic. I
decided to look up some information about the time the Prince sued Michael in
London regarding a “contract” dispute and I read this article regarding the
dispute –
“Jackson's lawyers argued that there was no valid agreement with Sheikh Abdullah, and they have tried to portray the prince as a generous but naive, star-struck pop music amateur.”
Michael with Prince Abdullah in 2005.
In the article, there was no mentioning of a contract and
according to the lawyers who represented Michael in that case, there was no
valid agreement with the Prince. So, if there was no valid agreement, then what
was Jermaine talking about Michael signing contracts without reading the contract???
Then, I read a quote from page 396 that really angered me.
“To be fair, Prince Abdullah appeared to be a fan, a good man and earnest. Unfortunately, Michael misunderstood the contract; he often didn’t read contracts and so ended up walking into a $5 million debt that he simply couldn’t afford.”
Oh man…..
Jermaine was trying to, by the way I am reading this, put the blame on what
Michael went through with those suspect people in Bahrain on Michael instead of
himself. No one asked Jermaine to interfere with Michael’s financial issues.
Michael, for what I have read, never asked for Jermaine to find solutions for
his money woes. Michael had accountants he hired for that. I know that at
times, even accountants do not do what they are supposed to do. However, we are
not sure what issues Michael had with his money and that does not mean that
Jermaine had to even care what his brother was dealing with regards to his money. Michael
enlisted the help of the Reverend Jesse Jackson and businessman Ron Burkle
with his money issues.
“In April, the pop star faced the possibility of losing the catalog to foreclosure when he was a day late making a full $3 million payment to Bank of America, said the Rev. Jackson, who met with the president of the bank on behalf of the singer.The move, combined with efforts by Burkle, "worked out well and Michael no longer has a cash flow problem," the Rev. Jackson said. "It was really unnecessary for any kind of a foreclosure. But if the foreclosure had taken place, it would have had an impact on Michael's catalog. His whole financial empire would come crumbling down."
and -
"The Rev. Jesse Jackson and billionaire Ron Burkle came through with key advice to save singer Michael Jackson from financial disaster when he was fighting child molestation charges, Jackson says in a court deposition."
Jermaine
had no business in Michael’s financial affairs. Yes, he was his brother but so
are Marlon, Tito, Randy and Jackie and they knew what time it was to help him
and what time it was to let him be. Who gave Jermaine the authority to go out
of his way and try to control Michael’s business affairs? He never even owned a
damn company let alone handle his brother’s business affairs. The nerve of
Jermaine. I also read that the Prince of Abdullah spent $450,000 on him in 2004
and 2005 and paid for a Rolls-Royce car. Hmmm, I wonder why the Prince and his
suspect people never called Jermaine a “freeloader” or if Jermaine ever had to
pay back the money that the Prince gave him.
Ridiculous.
It is
clear that Jermaine wanted to help Michael, but the various people he put in
his brother’s life eventually led to Michael being murdered by Conrad Murray. In
2008, Jermaine and his current wife, Halima, visited Tohme Tohme at his
home and as he got to know him, he liked what he saw. Eventually, they would
talk about Michael (of course, Jermaine can’t talk to anyone without talking
about Michael) and a business venture called “Crystal City”, a venture that
Jermaine wanted to work with Michael on. Jermaine found out that Neverland was
going to be sold by bankers and he could not let this happen. I noticed that Michael
seemed to have no interest in “saving” Neverland so why was Jermaine interested
in it? The property was not his so his concern about the future of an estate
that he did not own was weird. He did not pay the bills to the place to
maintain it and to make sure utilities were on.
At this time, Michael was residing in Las Vegas and seemed to be living alright. Michael, with his children, would stay at the MGM Hotel and at the rented home he was living in. If Michael wanted to save his Neverland estate, he would have every intention to do so and it seems as though Michael was not going to do that. When Jermaine notified Tohme Tohme of the future of Neverland, he mentioned Tom Barrack. Tom Barrack is the chairman of a real estate investment firm called Colony Capital. Eventually, Michael, Tohme Tohme and Barrack met and after the meeting, Michael had to pay off a $23 million loan by 10 AM because of an emergency email Jermaine received regarding Neverland being very close to foreclosure. The money was wired and Barrack received 50% ownership of Neverland. The ranch did not foreclose.
Michael's Las Vegas home. He knew how to live.
At this time, Michael was residing in Las Vegas and seemed to be living alright. Michael, with his children, would stay at the MGM Hotel and at the rented home he was living in. If Michael wanted to save his Neverland estate, he would have every intention to do so and it seems as though Michael was not going to do that. When Jermaine notified Tohme Tohme of the future of Neverland, he mentioned Tom Barrack. Tom Barrack is the chairman of a real estate investment firm called Colony Capital. Eventually, Michael, Tohme Tohme and Barrack met and after the meeting, Michael had to pay off a $23 million loan by 10 AM because of an emergency email Jermaine received regarding Neverland being very close to foreclosure. The money was wired and Barrack received 50% ownership of Neverland. The ranch did not foreclose.
Thanks to
Jermaine bringing in Tohme Tohme, Juliens Auctions came into the picture. The
Auction company, with the help of Tohme, most of the items for the Neverland
estate were being auction off. When Michael found out about this, he was furious
because he thought that the Auction company was going to auction off the furniture
only. It just seems like Jermaine could not let go of his brother and let him
do his own thing. On page 407, Katherine told Jermaine something,
This quote that his mother stated seems to be something that Jermaine never learned from. Thanks to Tohme, Tom Barrack came into Michael’s life to help him get back on tour and make money. With the help from Barrack, Phil Anschutz, the owner of the now infamous AEG gave Michael an offer. Sadly, as we all know, the “This Is It” tour never happened because Michael was murdered.
“Jermaine, look at it like this. You’ve helped your brother at a time when he really needed it and he knows that. Now walk away…..”
This quote that his mother stated seems to be something that Jermaine never learned from. Thanks to Tohme, Tom Barrack came into Michael’s life to help him get back on tour and make money. With the help from Barrack, Phil Anschutz, the owner of the now infamous AEG gave Michael an offer. Sadly, as we all know, the “This Is It” tour never happened because Michael was murdered.
In
Closing
“I am the captain of my ship. I take suggestions and listen to what everyone has to say, but the final decision is mine.”~Michael Jackson
This was a quote that I found when I was on
twitter.com and it sums up basically what Michael Jackson was about when it
came to the decisions in his life. I am an older sister and I know what it is like
to watch out for my younger sibling. I want my sibling to do the right thing
but I also want her to live her life and be happy. That is how Jermaine should
have viewed his relationship with his brother.
Jermaine helped Michael and he, at times,
did a good job with that. However, there were times were Jermaine helped his
brother a little too much. When Jermaine’s “help” led to Michael being sued for
money he did not have, Jermaine should have been the big brother and stated in
his book that he did not mean to put his brother through that mess. Instead he
just blamed Michael for what happened.
I will never understand what it must be
like to be related to Michael Jackson but I do understand what it is like to
have lost a love one. I have been there and I am still going through the pain.
Jermaine’s book was done for probably therapeutic reasons and also to get his
side of the story told. Sadly, for me anyway, his side of the story has done
nothing for me to change my mind about him. I used to defend Jermaine on
message boards because I believed that he really knew what he his brother went
through. After reading his book, I have come to the conclusion that Jermaine
did this book to enjoy the press that he has received from telling his story.
I do believe that Jermaine loved his
brother very much and no matter what I state, his love for his brother will
never change. I also believe that he never really saw Michael as an adult man.
After the successes of his music career, Michael to Jermaine, was his little
brother at the end of the day. No matter how big Michael became, Jermaine still
saw him as his little brother that he can use to get his name in the papers.
Jermaine, along with his first wife Hazel, used to find talent for Motown acts
such as Switch, DeBarge and Stephanie Mills. Why did he stop doing that? Jermaine
had a talent for finding talent. Imagine how much talent he could have found if he was not so concern with what his little brother Michael was doing.
The lesson learned here is let people be. You can offer suggestions or
advice to help them but at the end of the day, the ball is on their court and
not anyone else’s. Life is about the choices people make and Michael made
choices that helped him and hurt him. Regardless of the choices, he made a
choice to change the world and no one, not even Jermaine, could have stopped
him from doing so.
Family is everything.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Books -
You Are Not Alone Michael: Through a Brothers Eyes by Jackson, Jermaine, 2011.
pgs: xiii, xviii, xix, 8, 48, 69, 70, 85, 86-87, 102, 108-109, 131, 144,186,226, 228, 229, 240, 250, 261, 268, 271, 279, 280, 285, 287, 335, 337, 338, 340, 342, 344, 352-353, 384, 395, 396 and407.
Moonwalk, by Jackson, Michael, 1988 and revised 2009. Page 166.
Magazine -
Life October 1984. Quote by Jermaine Jackson on page 86.
Articles/ CD Liner Credits:
Boards.com, "Q&A: Bob Giraldi on directing 'Beat It'"
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/threads/87955-Positive-websites-and-videos-that-celebrate-MJ/page97
"Jermaine Jackson: Word to the Badd"!! A Call to Michael", Phillips, Chuck. Los Angeles Times, Nov. 7th, 1991,
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-11-07/entertainment/ca-1387_1_jermaine-jackson
"Ten Time Grammy Winning Songwriter Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds"
http://www.lasentinel.net/Ten-Time-Grammy-Winning-Songwriter-Kenneth-Babyface-Edmonds-on-an-All-New-TV-One-On-One-Sunday-Nov-4 (Link no longer exists.)
Rolling Stone.com, "L.A. Reid on Michael Jackson"
Invincible CD booklet page 9.
"Michael Jackson, Bahrani Prince Reach Settlement in Court case"
http://www.haaretz.com/news/michael-jackson-bahraini-prince-reach-settlement-in-court-case-1.258102
"Jackson's Finances Continue to Dwindle"
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/8149929/ns/today-entertainment/t/jacksons-finances-continue-dwindle/#.TzHcosXLyrY
"Michael Jackson Thanks Jesse Jackson, ron Burkle for Financial Advice",
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,283552,00.html
Videos:
All videos are from youtube.com.
Pictures:
From my personal harddrive.
