•
I’m writing about two things in this piece: one being an account from one of the lovely ‘This Is It‘ dancers about Michael’s condition during rehearsals; and another being a well-deserved slap upside the head to the lame$tream and online media by Charles Thomson.
Dancers Who Tell the Truth
Kriyss Grant
Kriyss Grant, who like most of the young dancers chosen to work with Michael on TII, was very excited to be near his mentor and hero and looked forward to a successful dancing career with this TII performance on his resume. But, because I’ve heard from others who were there during these rehearsals, there are a couple of comments that Kriyss made that immediately caught my eye. They caught my eye because they corroborate with accounts others had of Michael’s apparent physical and mental condition during those rehearsals.
…He was 50, and he hadn’t danced like that in a long time. He had to familiarize his body with all those moves he used to do. I think he was scared; he couldn’t take the stage and appear fragile to us.
The last rehearsal: He was his old self. He was interacting with us, giving us suggestions, making changes. In the beginning, he let everyone else run things. Then, he was like, ‘This is my show. We’re going to do it how I want to do it.’ I loved it. That’s something I always wanted to see. I thought he was being taken advantage of in the beginning because he was older. … And you could tell he had something to say, but he wouldn’t say it. But that last day, he took over. He knew what he wanted. The dancers were like, ‘Good, he’s speaking up.’ The dancers had Michael’s back.
These remarks are significant to me because accounts I have of the rehearsals are of Michael having little to no control over many aspects of the production, of him feeling pressured, on edge, and feeling like he may not be able to do 50 shows, especially since he’d originally only signed on for 10 and 40 more were added almost overnight without his prior knowledge or approval.
He’d been off the stage for over 10 years, and yes, he was 50 years old. Doing an athletic 2-hour concert at that age, of the caliber Michael is known for, after having not danced or performed for 10 years is not something you “just go do”. It takes months of physical and mental preparation and training to get back in shape for something like that. And to do 50 of those shows takes even more training and preparation time. It’s just like an Olympic athlete wanting to make a comeback. They don’t just “go do it”. They need months of training. Michael didn’t have months. He had a few weeks, and that was all. Not enough. And he knew it. Yet he had been arbitrarily signed up for fifty shows and given too little time to prepare. For Michael Jackson who is known for being a perfectionist, to be under that kind of pressure was probably extremely debilitating and anxiety-provoking for him. It’s no wonder he had trouble sleeping.
–Randy Phillips of AEG: We spoke [...] Michael said: [puts on a mocking high voice] ‘Randy, Randy no more shows, no more shows.’” -March 13, 2009
Also, the accounts I have were that in the last 2 days of rehearsals, like Kriyss said, Michael changed. Kriyss isn’t aware that Michael had apparently been “talked to” by those running things – pressured to ‘buck up’ and engage, lest the rug be pulled out from beneath him financially (and it was a BIG rug).Michael was under a LOT of pressure and while he had a lot of responsibility for pulling off these shows, he had very little control over them or many aspects of them. It was hardly a good situation for Michael.
So, unbeknownst to this innocent dancer who is only relaying what he saw in his hero and mentor, there was a lot more going on behind the scenes that the dancers – any of them – were likely not aware of. However, Michael’s behavior and condition as identified by them, corroborates the accounts of others who were there and did know the ‘behind-the-scenes’ situation. This makes Kriyss’s account very interesting.
Media That Won’t
Media LIES
As per usual, the media(loids) refuse to tell BOTH sides of the story, much less the TRUTH about anything. Specifically, the story where old sewer rat Gene Simmons decided to call MJ an “abuser” and all the media simply copy/pasted his comments far and wide for the World to see. (Gene Simmons is hardly anyone to be lecturing Michael Jackson on morality, but I digress..)
Subsequently, when Jennifer Batten, Michael’s lead guitarist, refuted his claims on not only fact but sheer logistics, the same media almost totally ignored it.
I’ll let Charles Thomson’s words do the explaining:
Many are quick to scoff when Michael Jackson’s fans speak of a media conspiracy to destroy the star’s reputation and I used to scoff with them, but I find it increasingly difficult to explain the apparent bias.
• • •
Aging glam-rocker Gene Simmons made international headlines last month when he claimed to know that Michael Jackson had molested children. In an interview with Classic Rock, Simmons alleged that Jackson was on tape ordering alcohol for children and that during the star’s 2005 trial a travel agent had testified to importing Brazilian boys for Jackson’s amusement. He also claimed that a musician friend had quit a Jackson tour after seeing ‘boys coming out of the hotel rooms.’
What followed was a classic example of copy and paste journalism. Within hours the story had been duplicated by hundreds of blogs, forums and news websites from Australia to India to the USA. None of them had fact-checked the story before they re-hosted it. Jackson was never on tape ordering alcohol for children. There was never any testimony during his trial about young Brazilian boys. Both of these claims were easily disproven by trial transcripts.
As a relative Jackson expert, I was also unaware of any musician ever leaving one of the singer’s tours midway through. So when I sat down a fortnight ago for an interview with Jackson’s long serving tour guitarist Jennifer Batten, I ran the story by her.
She told me that no musician had ever quit a Jackson tour. Two musicians had been fired but both were let go before the show hit the road, so they couldn’t possibly have witnessed anything going on inside hotels.
When Sawf News published Batten’s rebuttal I observed an all too familiar phenomenon. Although the story appeared on Google News and was picked up fairly swiftly by the Examiner, nobody else seemed willing to touch it. Whilst Simmons’s speculative and ultimately baseless accusations had been reproduced the world over, Batten’s expert rebuttal was being suppressed.
• • •
But more than 48 hours later, typing an exact quote from Simmons’s rant into a search engine produced almost 350 webpages. The number of news outlets hosting Batten’s rebuttal? Three.
This was not the first time I’d had a Jackson story suppressed. After Evan Chandler’s suicide in November 2009 I was contacted by the Sun and asked to supply information about the 1993 allegations. I spent quite some time compiling my research, advising the newspaper of common myths and how to avoid them, being careful to source all of my facts from legal documents and audio/visual evidence.
When I read the finished article I was stunned to find that all of my information had been discarded and replaced with the very myths I had advised them to avoid. I alerted staff to the inaccuracies but my emails were not replied. The same inaccuracies appeared in every single article I read about the suicide.
SO – there you have it. Our media(loids) which have zero integrity to begin with, and wouldn’t know truth if it jumped up and ripped their corporate-owned faces off, are (still) DELIBERATELY suppressing the truth – or even another side of the story, about Michael Jackson. Why? Because they make more MONEY with LIES and sensationalism. TRUTH does not matter to them. Only PROFIT does. This is part and parcel of what helped send Michael Jackson to an early grave. They persecuted the man all his life for sheer profit and now, they continue to do so after his death.
Mark my words – HIS CHILDREN will be next. They’ve already started on them.
If the media finally decided to start telling the truth about Michael Jackson, it would make them look bad. It would make them look bad because they’d have to ADMIT that they’ve been LYING about him for FORTY YEARS for ratings and profit.
And they’re not ABOUT to do that.
March 3rd, 2010 5:19 am
Dear MJJ-777;
Thank you so much for all of your active participation in organizing referencing and relating FACTS about Michael, about the quotes, and trials to media, to sources and to us public on Facebook. This takes a lot of time and Care to find and correlate , differenciate and recognize and send facts and to find sources to whom to send them. Thank you for all your work to uphold and spread TRUTH!
Very Appreciative,
Lisadawn
Lisadawn310@yahoo.com
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.
March 3rd, 2010 7:11 am
Great articles here Seven. Charles Thomson is to be applauded for his wonderful ongoing rebuttals of attacks against Michael. Unfortunately he is correct about the lies mainstream media work so hard to promote. Aphrodite Jones who was at the time and is a highly respected author had to self publish her book because she was blatantly told that they were not interested in anything “Pro Jackson”. Her book of course outlined the media conspiracy against Michael during his trial and time and history have proven her so right.
Gene Simmons first starting attacking Michael with this story literally days after Michael’s passing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFepMwG50jk
It is a disgrace and he is a coward because he is aware there are no consequences for slandering a deceased person. Eight months ago he was insisting that all “victims” of Michael come forward. Well, none have to date but he’s still doing all in his power to keep this dirt going. Of course he is gaining publicity from it which he likes and needs. Let’s face it, how else is he going to get publicity as he has nothing to offer. However, the blame has to go to mainstream media because as usual they have plastered Simmons’ story everywhere simply because it’s negative MJ stuff.
March 3rd, 2010 8:34 am
Karin,
I heard about Aphrodite’s book. VERY telling, that situation.
The media lost integrity over 40+ years ago back when Walter Cronkite left the air (whenever that was) – and it has only gotten worse since. They now have absolutely ZERO integrity or scruples. The tabloids never did and now, the main “news” media doesn’t either. They just parrot the same lies – whatever gets the most website clicks and viewers and thus ratings and $$$$$. Truth, accuracy, and journalistic integrity have long since gone out the window in favor of profit. And that includes broadcast media as well as print and internet media – all of it.
As concerns Sewer Rat Simmons, he has his gall – pond scum that he is, to be out lecturing anyone about morals given is OWN. (Oh where IS that photo of him with his pants down, mooning everyone?) And he ESPECIALLY has no room to question Michael Jackson’s morals, which are and always have been better than HIS and in fact better than most people’s, including the DA who had the vendetta against MJ.
And then there’s the fact that Simmons’ claims are outright lies and logistically impossible given the true situation during MJ’s tours.
Not that the media cares about that . . .it’s all about the moolah – no matter who or what they have to destroy to get it.
March 3rd, 2010 12:25 pm
Hi Seven,
There is something about Randy Phillips that is unsettling. I don’t know what it is but I just get a bad vibe off this guy. I don’t think he had Michael’s best interest at heart. What is with the always mocking Michael by putting on the high voice? That’s just disrespectful in my opinion, no matter who does it. Everyone knows Micahel is softspoken; so are a lot of his brothers. Is it not possible to repeat Michael’s words without trying to do a lame impersonation?
Gene Simmons – ugh – what can you say? This past summer, on July 11th, Paul McCartney played here in our city (Halifax, Canada). It was a huge deal and the whole city was excited. The next Saturday, July 18th, Kiss were playing. The reviews were not good for Kiss though. Gene Simmons felt the need to blame the weather (it rained), Paul McCartney – because he’s just “too big an act to follow”, and finally, the fans – as they weren’t as appreciative of his “talents” as he felt they should have been. I was at Paul’s concert (fantastic!) but not Kiss’, but from those who did attend, some reports were they can barely play their instuments, and were just not very good. Sour grapes seem to be a dietary staple of Gene’s.
March 3rd, 2010 2:01 pm
I feel the same about Phillips. Something psychopathic about that guy (NO conscience). He OBVIOUSLY had NO respect for Michael – as a performer or as a human being. Mocking someone like that is verbal abuse and is an outward sign of animosity and disrespect.
It’s unfortunate that the lame$tream media(loids) pander to Simmons’ and self-indulgent pretentious hypocrisy as they do.
Of course as we’ve seen, most of the media will bed with anyone against Michael Jackson – even his own murderer.
March 3rd, 2010 7:04 pm
The media makes me sick, especially when it comes to Michael!!! They are never fair and rarely tell the truth! And yes you are so right, they are already starting in on his children!
March 6th, 2010 3:29 am
[...] splatter SewerRat Simmon’s baseless lies all over the intertubes whilst ignoring the FACTS, we presented part of Jennifer’s factually and logistically sound rebuttal here, along with Charles Thomson’s observation that while the media parrots those LIES, they [...]
March 6th, 2010 8:36 pm
When Money enters the room, Truth Leaves.
Joe
March 7th, 2010 12:44 am
It’s a shame Gene Simmons couldn’t just keep his mouth shut if he has nothing nice to say. I used to like Kiss, but I’ll never listen to them again now. Today I was driving and listening to a classroc rock radio station. They started playing “Tears Are Falling” which back in the 80’s was one of my favorite Kiss songs. Ordinarily I would have cranked it up, but now-knowing all of the awful things Gene has said about Michael-I could only change the channel in disgust. I will never, ever listen to them again. Which is actually a shame considering the other three guys in the group may be perfectly nice people but I can’t even hear or see Gene Simmons now without feeling sick to my stomach.
However, a bit of good news for what it’s worth…it seems he may be feeling “some” pressure from all the heat he’s gotten, especially the lie about having a musician friend who quit the tour. It seems he has backed off from claiming some of his statements as facts now, and has resorted to merely saying, “I stand by my convictions.” Whatever. He knows he’s lying.
For the record, there was a 14-year-old prostitute in Las Vegas whose services Simmons was known to have employed-many times. I’m sure there are many more such stories where that one came from. Simmons had best be careful lest his big mouth backfire on him and result in a criminal investigation-of himself. The more mud he slings at Michael, the more there are going to be others only too willing to dig into his past and expose it, as well.
I say he needs to think about quitting while he’s ahead.
March 8th, 2010 5:42 am
Raven, I really do hope that this all backfires on Simmons. I think what he has done to Michael since June last year is absolutely low and despicable. He never had the balls to do it when Michael was alive. Good on Charles Thomson for being clever enough to ask Jennifer Batten – at last a witness to the lies.
14 year old girls hey? I wish there was some way that that fact could be made public. What a sick hypocrite.
March 8th, 2010 8:40 am
Gene Simmons needs to shut up. He is loud big mouth aging {badly} rock singer who have way too much time on his hands.
June 10th, 2010 1:48 am
Seven, thank you for all you are doing on Michael’s behalf.
So much has been discovered since we first learned the devastating news of his death. No fan with a mildly curious mind could accept that Dr. Conrad Murray is “solely” responsible for Michael’s death. In fact, I’m beginning to doubt that he actually did inject the Propofol. How does anyone really know? There were no witnesses in that room with Dr. Murray and Michael. What if someone else murdered Michael and set it up perfectly to make it look like it was an improper dispensing of medicine and negligence on the part of the doctor to not closely monitor him.
How sad that two powerful books–Michael Jackson Conspiracy and Redemption PROVE his innocence and yet are NEVER mentioned by mainstream media. Credible colleagues and people who knew Michael have frequently spoken in his defense are all but ignored by the media.
This heartbreaking tragedy had its beginnings even before the first act of extortion. Follow the money and the trail will take you into the board rooms of “Phony”. If you want to learn the truth, get a copy of a book called, The Trials of Michael Jackson by Lynton Guest. Guest was not a Jackson fan so there’s no strong sense of loyalty and admiration on which to defend him like a devoted fan would. Rather, Guest is a musician and industry insider and presents a compelling case based on his extensive experience in the music industry. It’s a dark and corrupt world and the loud protests from LaToya are much more than simply rantings of a sibling. She’s got it right and it’s too bad those charged with investigating his death aren’t widening their suspicion to include the power players of the music industry and the grifters who attached themselves to Michael like barnacles to a ship.
I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling so conflicted about This Is It. I saw it five times at the theatre. I have two different versions of it on DVD. I’ve collected all his most recent music DVD’s but now find myself in a quandry because I’m contributing to the company that may one day be implicated in his calculated destruction. What do we do? God! I listen to his music all the time. I watch the short films. I’m addicted.
I watched that video timeline leading up to his death. Even though I saw some truly exciting images of Michael in This Is It, I began to question, too. So many spliced clips of him–clearly showing they were not all taken during just one rehearsal. Although there were moments of real energy and enthusiasm, he really didn’t look healthy to me. He was so thin and his voice frequently strained. Granted it was rehearsal, but it was a telling documentary.
There are so many unanswered questions. The first announcement of the concerts. The abrupt addition of so many concerts when originally he had agreed to only 10. The unaccounted for time lapses leading up to the time Propofol was administered until it was discovered that he had stopped breathing. The gross negligence on Murray’s part to not disclose immediately that he had been given this drug. The will. Could the paramedics have resuscitated him had they known that he was injected with Propofol? Who really is Tome Tome and what role did he play in Michael’s life? I’ve tried to find info on him and I can’t find much.
We cannot bring Michael back but we can surely work together to uncover the truth–once and for all!
Michael Jackson wasn’t a prescription drug addict, he was being threatened, manipulated, and horribly abused by people who are smart enough to portray themselves as loyal Jackson insiders.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Just like he wrote in his song, ” Anything for money, I’ll lie for you, die for you, sell my soul to the devil.” Watch the Frontline special, Tabloid Journalism, and the 60-Minutes Interview with Ed Bradley, conducted shortly after Michael was charged with child molestation in 2003. He answers a question regarding his Invincible album and he states emphatically that it was No. 1 all over the world but not in America, that he couldn’t say much but there was a “conspiracy”. Of course it was a conspiracy. Break Michael Jackson, get control of the catalogue and the money will just keep coming.
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”
Our only consolation is that Michael cannot be hurt any more. He’s safe now.
We have to dig and find the truth and work tirelessly to get it out in the mainstream media. It’s all for L.O.V.E, Michael. We won’t let you down.