Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (63 page)

When he was interviewed by Barbara Walters on TV,
Michael admitted, "I fell back in grief and started to
cry, upon learning of Diana's death. I said there's
another one real soon. I feel it coming. There's another one, and I pray it's not me. Please don't let it be me.
And Mother Teresa came."

Dr. Steven Hoefflin

When Walters asked Michael if he were psychic, he
said, "I don't want to say that but I've done it before."
Michael's claims about his link to Princess Di contradicted reports made by staff members, such as Bob
Jones. "Diana had desperately wanted me to meet her
children," Michael said, "and we talked about it many
times, but I never got the chance. Dodi talked very highly of the boys. He says they are wonderful, and he had some good times
on holiday with the boys and Diana."

In seances during the months that followed, Michael reportedly spoke to
the spirit of the since-departed Princess Di. According to Michael, she assured
him that she was "in good spirits," and asked him to intervene in the parenting of Prince William. According to Michael, the Princess told him, "William
should be brought up by you-not Charles."

It is believed that Michael met Dodi in 1987 in the office of their mutual
plastic surgeon, Dr. Steven Hoefflin. Michael was trying to erase the final
traces of his "Negroid nose," whereas Dodi didn't like "my Arabic beak."

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, three years before Michael, Dodi was the son
of billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed.

Even before they met, Michael was impressed with Dodi's achievements
in the movie industry, especially as they related to the 1981 Oscar-winning hit,
Chariots of Fire. Michael was also impressed that Dodi's father owned
Harrods in London, the world's most famous department store, and the Ritz in
Paris, the world's most famous hotel.

Dodi's father had made a fortune by working for Saudi arms dealer Adnan
Khashoggi. It is said that Khashoggi had been involved in almost every single
conspiracy theory in the latter part of the 20th century, ranging from Watergate
to the Iran-Contra affair.

Michael met Dodi as his eight-month marriage to the American model,
Suzanne Gregard, was coming to an end. Dodi grew up in a world of privilege, dividing his time between family homes in Egypt and France. He also
had homes in New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles, and Switzerland. An
avid night-dubber, he was addicted to fast cars and even faster women.

Long before Diana, there were so many other women. Critics of Dodi
called them his "trophy women" and suggested he was a Middle Eastern
social climber.

Like Michael, Dodi had also dated Brooke
Shields, but his dating with her was for real. Dodi, to
make Michael jealous, would speak of his conquests
of famous or infamous women, including Winona
Ryder, Cathy Lee Crosby, Mimi Rogers, and the
notorious Koo Stark who in 1982 had launched a
scandalous affair with Britain's Prince Andrew. "I
was far superior in bed," Dodi bragged.

Dodi Al-Fayed

Dodi's romance with Barbra Streisand had ended
long before he met Michael. Again, Dodi liked to
bring up the name of the diva to "send Michael into
a jealous rage."

A gossip columnist reported, whether accurately or not, that Streisand
once said, "Tina Sinatra and Michael Jackson may find the fire in Dodi. I
never did."

In addition to bonding with Dodi, Michael had another reason for wanting to know him. At the time of their introduction, Dodi was contemplating
his role as an executive producer of the Peter Pan story, and, of course,
Michael still dreamed of playing "the boy who wouldn't grow up." The picture, after it was abandoned by Spielberg, later resurfaced as Hook. Michael
lost the role.

He also claimed that he and Dodi discussed "night after night" the launching of other films starring Michael, with Dodi being the executive producer.
"We laughed and joked about the mischief and mayhem we'd create in
Hollywood," Michael said. "Dodi has taken a lot of flak in this country, which
is so unfair. He is one of the sweetest, kindest men you could ever know. The
problem is that people judge people before they even know them. To me, he
is like a big Santa Claus. He loves giving, he's very wise, creative, talented,
and kind-hearted."

Apparantly, Dodi loved fast cars. Long before his death in Paris, Dodi,
once or twice with Michael positioned beside him in the back seat, sometimes
ordered his chauffeur to "hit the floor" with the gas pedal. Michael was often
shaken by the danger but apparently never objected. Months after the death of
Dodi and Princess Di, Michael said, "There but for the grace of God go I."

One night when Michael was engaged in a private rendezvous at Dodi's
house, two men arrived to evict Dodi. His house was one of the most expensive rentals in Hollywood, but Dodi had written a bad check to his landlord
who wanted him evicted. In the film industry, Dodi had a reputation for writing bad checks. A producer who refused to be named claimed that "Dodi was
a deadbeat, a bad guy."

Was Dodi's relationship with Michael sexual? That was the question at
Hollywood parties for several months late in the 1980s. The answer might
never be known. Dodi is dead, and Michael doesn't speak of such things.
Michael's detractors claim that there was definitely "something there, more
than a friendship, but we couldn't call it love." Even so, the two men seemed
very devoted to each other.

Although Michael and Dodi had enjoyed a close bond, Michael didn't
seem jealous when his friend launched an affair with Diana. "They were a
match made in heaven," Michael claimed. "I thought they were beautiful
together. It was lovely to see them like that. Diana was a wonderful person
with a good heart. She went around the world as a philanthropist just like
Mother Teresa. Diana proved that she really, really cared about people, children especially. The way I do."

Michael later confided to friends that he understood why Jackie Kennedy
"married that beast, Onassis. There was this extraordinary circus going on
around Jackie. Onassis offered her a chance to escape from that. For that same
reason, I think Diana will marry Dodi. But there's a big difference. Jackie did
not love Onassis. Diana loves Dodi. Of course, I love both of them."

The gay rumors linking Michael with Dodi remained confined mainly to
insider Hollywood. But after a brief lull, the gay rumors about Michael resurfaced once again in the media during the late 80s and early 1990s. This time
they would never go away.

Katherine Jackson's memoirs were released in 1990 and in her book this
member of the homophobic Jehovah's Witness cult denied the rumors about
her son. Either naively or with calculation, she claimed, "Michael is not gay."
One of her reasons she cited for her son not being gay is that the "Bible speaks
against homosexuality and he's very religious." By now, however, this absurd
defense had become a tired cliche. In her memoirs, she claimed that Michael
"wants to settle down and get married one day. We've talked about it. And he
will." In this case, mama knew best. Her son would eventually "marry" not
only once, but twice.

For her book, Katherine engaged Rebbie, her oldest daughter, in the cultural war raging around her younger brother. Even though Rebbie was far
removed from what was actually going on at Neverland, she provided a quotation for her mother's book: "If Michael were married, the gay rumors
would stop immediately."

Within Katharine's memoirs, Rebbie concluded with a statement that was
particularly unconvincing to an America growing more hip, more cynical, and
more skeptical than ever about her brother. "Just being around him and hearing the little things that he says about women tell me he's definitely heterosexual." That remark brought guffaws to some reviewers of Katherine's tome.

Michael's purported homosexuality was not the only angle pursued by the
media. Because of the extraordinary changes in his physical appearance, they
began to speculate even more daringly. One tabloid raised the question, IS
MICHAEL JACKSON DEAD?

The journalist speculated that Michael might have died and that the
"money men" behind him had substituted another singer and dancer to fill his
shoes. As wild as this seemed, precedents for such scenarios aren't unknown.
Some writers, for example, have died, but their estates have kept churning out
novels in their name.

Tabloids not only focused on Michael but began to tear away at the public relations hype associated with the so-called loving Jacksons themselves.
Papa Joe helped fuel that speculation by telling People magazine: "We wonder why things have changed like they have, why Michael doesn't seem to care about his family. The few times we've spoken to him, he seems glad to
hear from us. But when you talk to other people, they say Michael doesn't
want to be involved with his family."

Caught up in personal matters and spending days, even weeks, in his private quarters at Neverland with his boy of the moment, Michael often neglected business. But on September 13, 1989, he showed up for a press conference
in Los Angeles. Officials of LA Gear announced that they had just signed
Michael to a multi-million dollar two-year endorsement deal.

A lot of the journalists at the conference suggested that LA Gear had hired
the wrong Michael-"perhaps they meant to hire Michael Jordan, not Michael
Jackson," one reporter facetiously suggested.

For the $20 million he was being paid, Michael made a major concession
to the sportswear company. He discarded his black loafers and white socks
and showed up wearing a pair of LA Gear tennis shoes in black with silver
streaks. LA Gear was retiring its spokesperson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the
basketball star. With its elaborate Hollywood-style palm trees and fog
machine, the press conference cost LA Gear $50,000.

Michael's comments before reporters were very brief: "I am very happy
to be part of the LA Gear magic, and I hope we have a very rewarding, successful career. Thank you."

Reporters noted that Michael appeared nervous and anxious, and he
seemed like he wanted to flee from the press conference. One writer described
Michael "in a panic to escape, like one of his pet rats if cornered menacingly." That reporter was right in his assessment. Regrettably for Michael and LA
Gear, a concealed microphone picked up Michael's desperate plea to one of
the company executives. "You've got to help me!" Michael said in a whimpering voice that verged on tears. "Get me out of here or I'll faint. Don't let
them ask me questions!"

After Michael had fled into the fake fog being generated as part of the special effects, reporters openly jeered. "It was a total disaster," said Ronald Bank
from a newspaper in Sacramento. "To think I drove all the way to Los Angeles
to see Jackson run out of the room while blowing an insincere kiss. That lady's
not to be believed! I'm convinced that Jackson not only thinks he's Marie
Antoinette, he's become the Queen reincarnate!"

When reporters heard this, especially Michael's whimpering, they popped
questions at Robert Greenberg, the company CEO. "Why have you hired a
spokesman who can't-or won't-speak?"

The chairman was obviously embarrassed but tried to put a good spin on
Michael's disastrous performance. "Pepsi couldn't get Michael to drink that
soft drink," he said. "But at least we got Michael to show up at the press conference in our shoes-not bad."

Even though his days as Michael's attorney were numbered, John Branca had pulled
off this amazing deal between Michael and
LA Gear. Word got out that Branca, in the
interests of his client, had "walked off with
the company store."

The Michael Jackson
sneakers released by LA Gear