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00:11I think every child is born to do a certain thing.
00:19I knew I wanted to be a star.
00:27Just being on the stage, just looking out over a sea of faces when they're chanting between me.
00:43And I've wanted it because I wanted to be loved.
00:50That's the real truth. I wanted people to truly love me.
00:57A lot of people ask, who was Michael Jackson, really?
01:04I mean, he was a child star who became the most famous man on the planet.
01:16This is a man who changed the music industry. I mean, he is a musical genius.
01:25But he was also accused of abusing children.
01:30And died without a cent to his name.
01:36I mean, this is the ultimate story of power, celebrity and money.
01:47And now the battle is raging for the truth.
01:51And Michael Jackson's legacy.
02:05The number one hottest in the world!
02:19That level of mega stardom is not healthy.
02:23People are not gods.
02:33Tonight, Jackson is wanted by police of multiple felony counts of child molestation.
02:41The Jackson machine just keeps right on rolling.
03:09It's �avam-spank atopkar Türrups which is almost the most famous one.
03:11And we are towards Looking to the University.
03:12The Minneapolis community has
03:13The South Coast and is aì—´ mcageche
03:13I think we always should try it fast,
03:14Are you guys ready for me?
03:22Whenever you're ready.
03:26People don't know my brother.
03:28They never did.
03:29They thought they did.
03:31And I think it's important for the public, the world, to see the, I don't want to say the truth,
03:39but from a family member's perspective.
03:42And that's important to me, so you get it right and you understand, as opposed to reading nonsensical things in
03:51the media.
03:55What do you do mostly?
03:57I mean, you know, in your spare time.
04:01Sports.
04:02Messing around.
04:03Well, I go swimming all the time.
04:05You know, like swimming, you know, play basketball, catching lizards, doing things, you know, swimming.
04:14My memory of Mike is basically a child that was far older than his age.
04:26Mike was always just feisty.
04:31No, sit down.
04:36As young kids, we would have a photo shoot.
04:40He would stand there and then he would get out the picture and say, no, put Jermaine here, Jackie here,
04:45and I will be in the middle.
04:47And this is a little kid talking to his siblings.
04:54Northwestern Indiana is not like any other part of the state because it is solely industrial.
04:59One factory next to another for miles.
05:02The Negro population of Gary, Indiana is 45.8%, the highest percentage in any city north of the Mason-Dixon
05:08line.
05:11Growing up in Indiana, it was humble beginnings.
05:16My father, Joseph, worked in the steel mills.
05:20And we were a large family from a small home.
05:24It was two bedrooms.
05:26In one of the rooms, the brothers slept, and there were six bunk beds.
05:31And my sisters and I, we slept on a let-out sofa in the living room.
05:39We were a family that loved music.
05:45And when Mike was around eight or nine, he would do riffs constantly.
05:51And no matter what you would sing to him, he would do it even better.
05:58My father, he saw them performing together, and he says, geez, he became their manager because he saw a bigger
06:10and brighter future.
06:15They used to do shows.
06:17What they called back then was the Chitlin Circuit.
06:20It was famous black artists, but they were performing for black audience.
06:26Don't be afraid.
06:27Don't be ashamed.
06:28We want black power.
06:30We want black power.
06:32We want black power.
06:39Super phone during that period of time was very challenging.
06:43Based on the fact that we were kind of relegated to certain areas of our country.
06:48And not very welcome in some parts.
06:54But we learned how to deal with it, and how to bring down the barrier that they thought they'd put
07:00in front of us.
07:24I met Michael when they were coming into audition to be on Motown.
07:30I had to kind of just look at him and shake my head.
07:35I said, my God, this kid is amazing.
07:38It was an exciting time.
07:40They wanted it so badly.
07:42And then finally, there they are, signed Motown.
07:57Michael, he had something that nobody else had.
08:02And his performances were meticulously done.
08:07Watching their growth over their years was sensational.
08:12We've got some great guests.
08:15The incredible Jackson 5.
08:21One of the hottest recording groups today is the Jackson 5.
08:25The only American group to have four consecutive number one records.
08:30Kids nowadays don't know how big the Jackson 5 were.
08:36They were our Beatles.
08:38Our black royalty.
08:40You have Beatlemania, you have Jacksonmania.
08:45Since the heyday of the Beatles, has the music world seen anything like the Jackson 5?
08:50About to receive yet another platinum record.
08:53But you have to give a lot of the credit to the original Jackson 2, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Jackson.
08:59I decided to deal with the boys as much as I possibly can, getting them prepared to be in show
09:05business.
09:05They come to us originally from Gary, Indiana, the Jackson 5.
09:14It was just amazing to see this black family post-segregation who were so famous
09:25and that you could identify with, showed black people that we can make it in America.
09:42It's called Los Angeles, the city of the angels.
09:48People from all over the world, drawn by a city of limitless boundaries,
09:53and one that offers unlimited opportunity.
10:03Growing up in Indiana, Mike would have this little projector thing that you put over your eyes
10:08and you would click it and it would show a different slide of L.A.
10:12He would say, oh, this is so beautiful.
10:15I would love to live there one day.
10:18So moving to Los Angeles was simply amazing.
10:24We were so elated and excited just to see the beauty of the city.
10:31And it was such a different life.
10:36We moved to this huge mansion.
10:39And my father just said, I think this will be a perfect place.
10:45And, you know, what my father said, it goes.
10:50Let's introduce Mr. Joe Jackson, the father.
11:03Okay, we're going to find out who's boss around here.
11:06Do you have to ever discipline this lively group you've got here?
11:11I have a way, you know, like when Randy don't do right,
11:15we make him take out all the garbage or something.
11:18Oh, that's fair.
11:20Yeah, but what about Michael?
11:21Michael always does right?
11:24No, not all the time.
11:25The way we discipline Michael is sort of like,
11:29you know, we don't give him as much money to spend.
11:32That's it.
11:33Right?
11:34You think it's a good profession for them?
11:37Yes, I like for them to...
11:39I moved to Los Angeles to work for the family out of Joseph's office.
11:48When Joseph spoke to me about coming to work for the boys,
11:52he presented himself as a really concerned, loving father.
11:59Joseph grew up dirt poor before civil rights.
12:04And to take from nothing and build that act was huge.
12:10And all of a sudden, now he's living in a wealthy house in Encino.
12:15He's got a Rolls Royce.
12:17He really was chasing the American dream.
12:24At that point, they were portrayed as this happy, loving family.
12:30But my experience, can't speak for anybody else's,
12:34but my experience of what I saw, that was the farthest thing from the truth.
12:40I went to high school with Michael's baby sister, Janet.
12:44And Michael was also a very close friend.
12:47When I would be there and Joseph would pull in,
12:51you know, the speaker or the phone would ring,
12:53and it would be like, Joseph's here.
12:54And everyone's like, oh God, Joseph's here.
12:56We weren't that, you know, savvy back then about this stuff.
13:00But knowing that there was just weirdness.
13:06Our career was very important.
13:10My father made sure that we rehearsed every day.
13:14Lock all the doors.
13:15It's time to rehearse.
13:17If you went out of step, you'd get it real bad.
13:24He would oil you down.
13:25Your whole ritual, he would oil you down.
13:29So when the foot of the ironing cord hit you,
13:33it would just, you know,
13:35and your foot's all in the face, your back, everywhere.
13:40He said, if you guys ever stop sinking,
13:42I'll drop you like a hot potato.
13:47I found out later Joseph had done some really awful stuff.
13:54Joseph would put Michael in the closet,
13:57in the dressing room, in the dark,
14:00and lock it so that he would do what Joseph would tell him to do.
14:09And nobody figured out what was going on.
14:18He wasn't as cruel as people think.
14:21But Mike had a fear.
14:23My father, we all did.
14:24Because we felt, okay, what did we do wrong?
14:30He's going to discipline us.
14:31And you were kind of afraid of that.
14:33It just put something in your belly.
14:36And you would say to yourself,
14:39Oh, no.
14:41His eyebrows would go up,
14:43and his eyes would turn a deeper green,
14:48a deeper green than they were.
14:50And you knew he was angry.
14:52Everybody would say,
14:54I don't want to get in trouble
14:55because Joseph's going to strangle us.
15:07We're right almost in the middle of a recording session
15:09with the Jacksons.
15:11And we're going to bring the boys in right now.
15:13All five of them.
15:16Here they are.
15:25Now, I don't have to give any introduction
15:27to these gentlemen, do I?
15:29You knew them originally as the Jackson Five.
15:32They're the Jacksons now.
15:34They record on Epic.
15:38This is really a special picture to me.
15:41Both of our hair was kind of big.
15:44See, his face looks completely different.
15:45So this was earlier, I guess.
15:48He still looks like a great-looking kid, you know.
15:52When the Jackson Five came to Epic,
15:54they were a good pop group.
15:58But Michael was so much the center of it,
16:02the star.
16:05He just wanted to be perfect in a way.
16:08He wanted to be the best dancer ever,
16:11best singer, best entertainer.
16:14He wanted to be a great.
16:16You guys are really riding a big high now
16:18as far as producing records and so on.
16:21Do you think this is the peak of your career now,
16:23or have you gone down a little bit,
16:24are you expecting bigger and better things?
16:26Well, we're looking forward to doing other things,
16:28like producing other people
16:30and producing ourselves in the future
16:33and going into acting and that type of thing.
16:45New York is the most exciting city in the world,
16:48but New York has never seen anything like The Wiz,
16:52a new musical motion picture being made here
16:54that stars Diana Ross.
16:58The Wiz was the black version of The Wizard of Oz,
17:03and Michael really wanted to be in that movie.
17:10My father didn't want him to venture off into movies
17:15because he felt it would break up the group
17:17and he would go in a different direction,
17:19and he wanted to keep the brothers together.
17:22As he always said,
17:24I want to keep my boys together.
17:25But this is something that Mike saw.
17:28He loved opportunity,
17:30and he went for it.
17:42How did you feel when you heard
17:44you got the part in The Wiz,
17:45and especially playing with Diana Ross?
17:47I was very happy.
17:49I would talk to Diana on the phone,
17:51I'd say,
17:51you're going to film The Wiz next week, huh?
17:54Or next month.
17:55She would say,
17:56yeah, next thing I noticed,
17:57I was in it.
18:01Mike and I were extremely close.
18:05So we moved to New York together.
18:11And going to the set every day,
18:14he just embraced it with great joy.
18:18But most of all,
18:19what he would always say,
18:21I'm learning so much, Latoya,
18:22you have no idea.
18:23Hey, fellas,
18:24is today today you're going to help me
18:26get down from here?
18:27Help you down?
18:29What is going down
18:30in that hayloft you call a head?
18:35Living in New York,
18:38we were so used to being with family,
18:42being controlled by my father,
18:46but yet you could do what you wanted.
18:50It was so wonderful.
19:07Is Michael there?
19:09Hi, Michael.
19:10Come on in,
19:10you can come right in.
19:11Hi.
19:11How are you?
19:13You just walked in.
19:14How are you?
19:15Michael, this is Jay and Paul.
19:16I'm sitting over here.
19:18It's been a long day for you
19:20and you're unwinding here?
19:21You mean today?
19:23No, we're all finished with the movie,
19:25but I'm just relaxing now.
19:28Just hanging out in New York?
19:29Yes, Studio 54.
19:31When you hear the name Studio 54,
19:33what does that do?
19:35Does it your pulse quicken
19:36and your beat start moving?
19:37Yeah, I'm ready to have a good time.
19:39It's where you come
19:40when you want to skate.
19:42It's really escapism.
19:44It's true, Michael Jackson.
19:45You don't have it so bad.
19:46What are you escaping from?
19:48I'm not escaping from anything.
19:49It's just a change of pace.
19:51Right, it is.
19:52It's a change of pace.
19:53He doesn't escape from anything.
19:54If anything,
19:55he's one of those people
19:56who are very recognized.
19:56Doing the Wiz
19:58and all the work
20:00that he had done
20:04and the growth
20:05that came with it
20:08took him mentally
20:10in a different direction,
20:13saying,
20:14I want to do a solo album.
20:23By Michael doing the Wiz,
20:25he had a chance to meet
20:26great composer,
20:28arranger Quincy Jones.
20:34And Quincy,
20:36her work with Sinatra,
20:37I mean,
20:38greatest music people ever.
20:44I called Quincy up one day.
20:46I said,
20:46Quincy,
20:47I'm ready to do an album,
20:48a solo album,
20:49but I want a real good producer
20:52to work with me.
20:54I said,
20:54can you recommend somebody?
20:57And he said,
20:58why don't you let me do it?
21:15I remember getting a copy
21:16of Off the Wall.
21:18And when I heard
21:20Don't Stop Forget Enough,
21:21I was just astonished
21:23to hear,
21:24oh my gosh.
21:26I said,
21:26Michael,
21:27this is going to be
21:29it's going to be phenomenal.
21:32This is the album
21:33that's caused the storm
21:34right around the world.
21:36It's Michael's
21:36Off the Wall album.
21:38And hopefully,
21:38we've got Michael in LA
21:40on the phone now.
21:41Let's have a sec.
21:42Oh, here we go.
21:43Hello, Michael.
21:44Hello.
21:45How are you?
21:49He's the first artist
21:50to have four top ten singles
21:52with his Off the Wall album.
21:54He keeps breaking records.
21:55It's just amazing.
22:03It had to happen.
22:07I feel like I'm overwrought.
22:10He had earned
22:11the right to be
22:13Michael.
22:18He felt that
22:19it's now my time.
22:46Hey, guys,
22:46what did you think of this?
22:47Were you ever afraid
22:48when you saw
22:49that big crowd?
22:50Never afraid.
22:51Never afraid.
22:52It's a lot of excitement
22:53and it's nice to see
22:55the fans all come out
22:56to greet us
22:57at the airport.
22:58I think it's wonderful.
23:01What do you have to say
23:02for Atlanta?
23:03I'll start here.
23:05Love it.
23:05I can't wait.
23:06Tomorrow night.
23:08I love it.
23:09We love you, Atlanta.
23:11We love you very much.
23:11Tomorrow night.
23:12Everybody be out there.
23:13We're going to do our best.
23:14Have a good time.
23:26At this point,
23:27Michael really is kind of
23:28the mainstay of the Jacksons.
23:29Has it always been that way?
23:33Yes.
23:34Yes.
23:34Michael has always been
23:36sort of the star.
23:37Yeah, he's been
23:37a highlight the most
23:38because he's the lead singer
23:39and he's up front, you know.
23:41As a little kid,
23:42we put him up front
23:43because he danced so much
23:44and had so much energy.
23:50I think my brothers,
23:53some of them felt that
23:55once he do this,
23:57he's never coming back.
23:59He's going to abandon us.
24:03And that was kind of disturbing
24:06to some of them.
24:07And then the others were just,
24:10well, let's see where it goes.
24:11Let's see where it leads.
24:19I remember the boys
24:20being in the office
24:21and one of them
24:23distinctly said,
24:24if it wasn't for them,
24:26Michael wouldn't be who he was
24:27because they were the ones
24:30and Joseph was the one
24:31who made Michael who he is
24:33and he basically
24:34wouldn't be shit without them.
24:36And it was them that built him.
24:39And Michael's just sitting there
24:39listening to this.
24:42And he sat there
24:44and he took it.
24:45I just remember thinking,
24:47how mean?
24:48Why are you guys
24:48being so mean to him?
24:50I just,
24:50I wanted to go in
24:51and like hurt them
24:53because they were being
24:54mean to Mike.
25:00I think Michael
25:01had grown up feeling
25:02under Joseph
25:04that he wasn't anything
25:05more than a commodity
25:07and I think
25:08in that moment
25:09it crystallized
25:10for Michael
25:11that he was nothing
25:12more than a commodity
25:12to his brothers
25:13and I think
25:14it broke his heart.
25:26So nice,
25:27do you,
25:27do you?
25:29Fine,
25:30how are you?
25:41If things got difficult
25:43for Mike
25:44he always had
25:45a very loving relationship
25:47with my mother.
25:49It was a very
25:52trusted relationship.
25:55If something upset him
25:57she would always
25:58make sense
25:59out of everything.
26:16My mother
26:17was a very
26:20religious person.
26:22She was a Jehovah Witness
26:25and she always thought
26:28if you had a personal
26:29relationship with God
26:31then he would
26:32show you the way.
26:45It's strange being back here.
26:46I haven't looked here
26:47for many years.
26:50Yeah,
26:50it was such a strange time
26:52you know
26:52with Michael being
26:53suddenly so famous
26:54and we're just
26:56going door to door
26:58trying to save souls.
26:59Michael would say
27:01Hi,
27:02my name is Joe.
27:03That was his middle name
27:04so he wasn't lying.
27:05This is my friend Christian.
27:07We're here to talk to you
27:07about the wonderful hope
27:08of God's kingdom.
27:10And the people
27:11would kind of stare.
27:12They would think
27:14that guy really looks
27:15like Michael Jackson.
27:16You can kind of
27:17see it in their eyes.
27:21The Jehovah's Witnesses
27:22are millennialists
27:24so they believe
27:25that Armageddon
27:26is coming any day now
27:27when God's going
27:28to cleanse the earth
27:29of all the evil people
27:30and so our job
27:32as Jehovah's Witnesses
27:33was to go door to door
27:34and try to recruit people
27:36to save them
27:36so that they could join
27:37our religion
27:38and then, you know,
27:40hopefully make it
27:40into the paradise
27:41that was going to come.
27:44Michael had a tough
27:45upbringing
27:45and I think that
27:47he had a, you know,
27:48fantastical view
27:49of what he wanted
27:50the world to be
27:52and I think this idea
27:53of God bringing
27:56a paradise
27:57just was very appealing
27:58and I think that
27:59was a big part
28:00of his enthusiasm
28:00for going door to door.
28:01He genuinely wanted
28:02to tell people.
28:05We did missionary work
28:06door to door.
28:09We did 90 hours a month.
28:11It was just
28:12a wonderful time for me
28:13because it allowed me
28:14to get out into society
28:16and to see people.
28:17I was totally deprived
28:18of seeing people
28:19open their doors.
28:20I don't go
28:21to other people's houses.
28:22I don't know
28:22what they live like.
28:23So when they would
28:24open the door
28:24and say, come in,
28:26I would come in.
28:30I was 15
28:32when we started
28:33hanging out together.
28:35I think he felt safe
28:36with us
28:37because he had
28:38no other space
28:39where he didn't
28:40have something,
28:41some place
28:41where people wanted
28:42something from him
28:43because of his fame.
28:44We just liked him
28:45because of who he was
28:46and that he was part
28:47of this joint community
28:49where we were all
28:50working to do God's will.
28:55But at the same time,
28:56I think he was
28:57conflicted about
28:57who he was
29:00because even though
29:01he was very devout,
29:03I think Michael
29:04had a lot of ambition
29:07around being perceived
29:09as very successful,
29:12very talented.
29:13He was raised
29:13in this paradigm
29:14where success
29:15is how you get validation,
29:16and from the time
29:18he was a little kid.
29:19So I don't think
29:19he ever lost that.
29:20Michael sometimes
29:21would stand in front
29:22of a mirror
29:22and say,
29:23100 million,
29:24100 million,
29:25because he wanted
29:26to sell 100 million albums
29:28on his next album.
29:29And I think that
29:31really fed him.
29:54Michael's ambition,
29:56I believe,
29:57was to make
29:58the greatest album
29:59ever heard.
30:02but he also knew
30:05the power
30:06of motion pictures.
30:09He wanted to use video
30:11to drive sales.
30:14I mean,
30:14rock bands
30:14have been doing that
30:15for years.
30:19I'm not like other guys.
30:23I mean,
30:23I'm different.
30:29I'm a monster.
30:39Michael,
30:39I think this is going
30:40to be the Citizen Kane
30:41of the videos.
30:42I really do.
30:43It's going to be
30:43the most revolutionary thing
30:45in the history
30:45of the videos.
30:50I mean,
30:51it's a new art form now,
30:52but I think this is leading
30:53the way.
30:53Beat it,
30:54and this one is leading
30:54the way.
30:58God,
30:59what a great-looking kid.
31:04Filmmakers,
31:04they usually know
31:05when they have something,
31:07and I knew we had something.
31:11Music video
31:11was new at that time,
31:13and this is pre-internet.
31:17And Michael's videos
31:18were special.
31:20You could tell.
31:26Some prominent black musicians
31:28are complaining
31:28that they are being left
31:29out of the video market,
31:31specifically the music,
31:32television,
31:32cable operation.
31:33We are looking
31:34for a certain sound
31:35and a certain point of view.
31:37Bob Pittman
31:38is the 29-year-old whiz kid
31:40who created MTV
31:41after a successful career
31:42as a radio station
31:43program director.
31:45We are not all things
31:46to all people.
31:46We are cable television,
31:48and what cable television
31:49does best
31:49is specialize.
31:50One thing per channel.
31:52So you know exactly
31:53what you're getting
31:54when you turn on the channel.
31:56It was almost impossible
31:57for a black artist
31:58to get on the cover
31:59of any of the
32:00major magazines
32:02or TV shows.
32:04Over Christmas,
32:05I watched MTV.
32:06I saw no black star.
32:08Plenty of black stars,
32:10but only black stars
32:10who do rock and roll.
32:13And MTV refused
32:14to play Michael's video.
32:16You don't see R&B.
32:18He was outraged.
32:19It was pure,
32:20blatant racism,
32:21plain and simple.
32:24Prejudice is ignorance.
32:27Music has no color.
32:28I don't believe in that.
32:29What I do,
32:30I don't want it labeled
32:31black or white.
32:32I want it labeled
32:33as music.
32:35A few of us
32:36at Epic
32:36and the president
32:37of CBS Records,
32:39we all went up there
32:40and explained
32:41why they had to
32:42play those videos.
32:44They said you can't
32:45continue with a program
32:47like this
32:48without honoring
32:49some of the best music
32:50that America has to offer
32:52and some of the best music
32:53America has to offer
32:54is made and performed
32:56by black artists.
32:58Period.
32:59End of discussion.
33:00They only could look
33:01at the bottom line
33:02and say,
33:02you can't ignore these tracks.
33:04And once they played Michael,
33:08it took off.
33:15Michael Jackson's album
33:16Thriller has been
33:17topping various record charts,
33:19so it should come
33:20as no surprise
33:20that Thriller
33:21is number one
33:22on Billboard's chart
33:23of most successful
33:24pop albums.
33:26Well, the title song
33:27from that blockbuster album,
33:28now the subject
33:29of the most talked about
33:29music video
33:30to come along.
33:31Take a look at this.
33:35Thriller was an amazing
33:37piece of work.
33:39Like, everybody loved it.
33:41And it just got bigger
33:43and bigger.
33:44We love you!
33:46We love you, Michael!
33:48Michael Jackson
33:49was partying in New York.
33:51The occasion
33:51was selling
33:5223 million albums.
33:54He exploded.
33:57Everybody wanted
33:58a piece of him.
33:59Everyone wanted
34:00to see him.
34:02Michael Jackson's
34:04Thriller
34:04is now the highest-selling
34:06solo album
34:07in the history
34:08of recorded music.
34:09The number one artist
34:11in the world!
34:14He is, simply put,
34:15probably the most exciting
34:17and intense performer
34:18of the decade.
34:21You had something
34:22within your records
34:24that everybody
34:25just loves.
34:27Boy, I couldn't say.
34:29I just created it.
34:31Where do you think
34:32the gift came from?
34:33God.
34:34God.
34:35God.
34:38God.
34:39God.
34:40God.
34:56God.
34:58God.
34:59God.
35:00God.
35:00God.
35:01God.
35:02God.
35:02God.
35:04God.
35:04God.
35:05God.
35:08God.
35:12I am saying for the last time, as chairman of the Walk of Fame, if you do not back up,
35:20this ceremony will be cancelled.
35:26Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson, and now welcome home to the Walk of Fame.
35:38The Thriller album was fantastic. It was far exceeding anyone's expectations about how big it was going to be.
35:46And Michael was becoming sort of transcendent as a pop star.
35:52But he was still very idealistic, very devout.
36:00I mean, nobody had been that famous in The Jehovah's Witnesses yet.
36:07It was very much at odds for the church, for someone to be famous, because any kind of notoriety could
36:12be considered controversial, potentially.
36:15Even his deciding to do the Thriller video.
36:19The church was very paranoid about any demon influence and anything with demonology, and so zombies rising from the dead
36:25or anything related to the occult.
36:27Suddenly, the hammer came down from the headquarters of the church.
36:32And so, when he realized that this was going to be a problem for him, he panicked.
36:37He wrote,
36:38Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in
36:43the occult.
36:44And he had to put that at the beginning of the video in order to get the church to go,
36:49okay, you can release it.
36:52It really created some tension.
36:55On the one hand, fame brought him all this opportunity, and I think he liked the adulation.
37:01It was very validating.
37:02But I think he started to feel handicapped by the fact that he couldn't pursue all his creative stuff that
37:07the church was constantly tightening the screws and saying, no, you can't do this, no, you can't do that.
37:13And later on, he just made a decision.
37:18He disassociated himself, which basically meant he was leaving the church.
37:23You know, I left the church in 1990, and when you leave, you know, the church completely cuts you off.
37:29You know, you lose your whole foundation, you lose your family, all of your friends, you're really adrift in so
37:35many ways.
37:37And when he left, he lost the thing that had grounded him for so long.
37:47How long have you had this beautiful beast?
37:50Gosh.
37:52A little bit before Thriller, I had him.
37:55Almost a year.
37:58And this type of snake is not dangerous?
38:01Well, I don't think so.
38:03Some people wouldn't.
38:04Could it be dangerous?
38:05Yeah, they squeeze.
38:06They can really squeeze.
38:10I think he's great.
38:12What other animals do you have?
38:15After Thriller, I saw a completely different Michael Jackson.
38:23I was his personal cinematographer from 1981 to 1987.
38:32And when I first met him, Michael was really humble.
38:39He was a true cool dude.
38:43But after the Thriller album, his personality started to get a little bit different, more eccentric.
39:04I could see he enjoyed being around kids.
39:09I could see he enjoyed being around kids.
39:21I could see him.
39:22Michael Jackson's interview show, OK?
39:25Michael Jackson's interview show, OK?
39:25So, how old are you, young man?
39:26No, not how old are you.
39:28What show are you on?
39:30My show is Webstar.
39:32And who do you play on the show?
39:33Out of nowhere, Michael's good friend was Emmanuel Lewis.
39:40Emmanuel Lewis was a star of the TV show Webster.
39:47And then one day, Michael calls me up.
39:50He goes, I need you to come over.
39:53So, I get there, and he has Emmanuel with him.
39:58And they're dancing to one of his new songs that never, ever was released.
40:04And he's holding him like a baby.
40:15And I could see Michael had a connection with children.
40:21When a child steps in the room, I'm totally changed.
40:26I feel their energy, and I feel their spirit.
40:31When I look in their eyes, I feel healed.
40:43What I saw, Michael liked kids because of the fact that they weren't domineering.
40:53They weren't asking for something.
41:00You know, because you had too many of these producer bigwigs coming over.
41:05What I called, and what he called, suits.
41:08And when the suits would come over, it was a different atmosphere,
41:12because they wanted something.
41:15By then, Michael got so big, now it's just a business.
41:24Jackson's image has been pressed into plastic
41:27In a short six months since they first came on the market,
41:30Michael Jackson toys, dolls, and other products have been selling with a fury.
41:35Jackson has become a mini conglomerate.
41:37He is setting up five separate companies to handle his business interests.
41:41Albums, video cassettes, concert tours, merchandising tie-ins.
41:45This year, Michael Jackson is expected to earn more than $50 million.
41:50Michael Jackson made recording business history today by closing the deal on the Beatles catalog.
41:56From now on, all those royalties go to Jackson.
41:59Michael Jackson has a new manager.
42:01Jackson has hired the vice president of promotion for Epic Records, Frank DeLeo,
42:06to manage his booming career.
42:08Formerly, Jackson was managed by his father, Joseph Jackson.
42:15Mike decided to end the relationship with my father, and his thinking and his thoughts were,
42:23I need a manager who's much bigger and better, and someone who really knows what they're doing in this big
42:29industry.
42:32But I think the part that became difficult was the people that entered into his life.
42:41Because this business can be very overwhelming, cutthroat.
42:46And people will say and do anything to get into your circle and to manage you.
42:53And that part of it destroyed him.
43:02Michael Jackson has not a song on his lips, but a bottle of Pepsi-Cola.
43:07This week, he signed up for $5 million or more to promote Pepsi in concerts and commercials.
43:14A lot of people are asking, why would Michael Jackson do commercials?
43:18Well, the reason is that these commercials are going to be just extraordinary.
43:22They're using state-of-the-art technology.
43:24They're going to be creative masterpieces.
43:27No expenses spared.
43:29They asked me to direct them because I had success and a relationship with Michael.
43:38We were going to shoot two promotional commercials, even though Michael confessed to me that he never drank Pepsi in
43:46his life.
43:47We went down there and started shooting, and the plan was there was an explosion.
43:53Michael would come down and dance.
43:56The pyrotechnics added too much, and all hell broke loose.
44:27The pyrotechnics added to a
44:31a
44:41The scene was wild as hundreds of fans tried to see Michael Jackson
44:44as he was carried into a Los Angeles area hospital with second and third degree burns on his scalp.
45:09I'll never forget the image of Michael being taken away in the stretcher, but smart enough
45:14to take his glove, the famous glove, and wave it.
45:20But it was the beginning of a dark time.
45:46I remember in the early years, Michael would just come out and hang out.
45:50It was just, it was casual, it was normal.
45:55But at that point, Michael started going out a lot less.
46:05Everybody was, like, worried.
46:08He would call all the time.
46:11He would constantly reflect back on things from his childhood.
46:20I was always trying to be perfect, trying to impress my father.
46:30And I wanted him to be proud of me, but he would never say it.
46:37He used to make fun of me.
46:41You are so black, you don't look like my child.
46:46You look vicious, boy, you're not a big nose.
46:52You don't realize how much it hurt.
46:57I wanted to just die.
47:08When I went to the house after the Pepsi burn, with Michael, there were some times where we
47:16would talk and he would come a little close.
47:19And then I would say to myself, what is on his nose?
47:24And those were stitches.
47:26Physically or visually, you could see that it had been, you know, worked on.
47:32I have a shot of Michael when he's leaving the Havenhurst house.
47:36And that was what I saw the change.
47:38You know, the transition from the Negro look to look like something different.
47:51It was heartbreaking.
47:55Michael was trying to erase something off of his face.
47:59And it was all the nastiness and all the things that Joseph said about him.
48:03But I think that set Michael on a very unhealthy pattern and path
48:07for the rest of his life when it came to, uh, facial reconstruction and his skin color.
48:15But I don't think anybody was prepared for how extreme it would get.
48:27Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael,
48:42Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael,
48:51Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael,
48:51Michael, Michael,
49:07Not since Thriller five years ago has the record industry been so focused on a single album.
49:13It's called Bad.
49:15It's Michael Jackson and Bad right here on Kiss FM.
49:23They were queuing all over America, snapping up the first copies of Michael Jackson's latest offering.
49:29But after five years of comparative seclusion, he's changed his image.
49:34It's a lot of talk. A lot of people are talking about it and how foolish he looks.
49:40Well, the new look is not too hot, but the album is great and he's a great entertainer.
49:48I was a fan of Michael Jackson since I was a kid. From, you know, the Jacksons. You know, I
49:56loved Off the Wall.
49:59I was a talent manager at the firm that managed Michael Jackson.
50:04And it was our job to manage his career and public image.
50:08I remember when I met him like up close and personal and I was just surprised at like how white
50:14he was.
50:15I mean, and just almost like, almost like translucent.
50:19That was good. Beautiful. What happened?
50:22You know, we were wondering if he was bleaching his skin or maybe it was makeup.
50:26Come back. Oh, he's making your face.
50:28I can remember one instance and we had made this video.
50:32It was like multi-million dollar video. We had David Fincher, you know, directed.
50:36I remember at one point he literally kind of broke down in tears and he was kind of ranting like,
50:41I look like a monkey. I look like a monkey. And I was like thinking, what?
50:45I mean, he looked great in the video, but in his own mind, he, you know, he hated the way
50:51that he looked.
50:52And some people mentioned, I think it's called baking, where they, you know, could lighten him up throughout the video.
51:00I mean, that word, I look like a monkey. First, it was kind of shocking from him.
51:08I'm thinking, here's this huge, amazing artist.
51:12And his own issues with self-image actually became a form of like self-sabotage with his career.
51:25I remember a lot of the black community felt like he had deserted them and thought that he didn't want
51:36to be black.
51:38And it was really difficult because he was in the tabloids every week.
51:45He sort of became a joke.
51:48First problem is the sex problem. The problem being we don't know what sex he is.
51:57The latest of the Michael Jackson rumors. Are Michael Jackson and his sister Latoya Jackson actually the same person?
52:06I'm here with Lars Bunquist of the IOFC IRA, the Institute of Facial Changes in Recording Artists.
52:13And I understand you had a grant for the last six years to study the facial changes in Michael Jackson.
52:18That's, that's correct, Dave. And, uh, it's been, it's been a full-time job.
52:23To most of us, he's just wacko jacko.
52:26And if some of the press are to be believed and sleeps in an oxygen tent, often with a chimp,
52:32a snake, and an alien.
52:35When you think of Michael Jackson, you don't first think, what a great artist, what a definitive performer. You think,
52:41what a weird guy.
52:42Record stores have been reporting disappointing sales for the new album. Some have already begun taking down the bad promotional
52:49posters.
52:51The bad album had been released in the late 80s, but it hadn't been as successful as Thriller.
52:57We had to get him back to basics as an artist, as a singer, and get away from the wacky
53:04personas and the trappings and everything else and stuff.
53:15We had to make him more relatable to the public, to answer the questions that people had about him, about
53:23his skin, about, uh, bubbles, about everything.
53:28Because, up to that point, Michael hadn't done a major interview.
53:33People hadn't heard him talk. People didn't know anything about him.
53:39And then, Michael's managers had this idea that he should do an Oprah Winfrey interview.
53:58And the whole objective for that interview was to, to humanize him to the world.
54:05Oprah was calling every day, like, five or six times a day. Nothing was left to chance.
54:11His whole career, his reputation, were dependent on this interview going well.
54:23Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson.
54:26Hey.
54:27Oh, hey, hey.
54:29Well, how nervous are you right now?
54:33How what?
54:34How nervous are you right now?
54:36I'm not nervous at all, actually.
54:38You really aren't.
54:39No, I never get nervous.
54:40You don't?
54:42No.
54:42Not even for your first interview and it's live around the world?
54:46I thought you'd be a little nervous, but that's great.
54:49Because if you're not nervous, I won't be nervous.
54:51I just wanted to let the world know that.
54:54We were all watching it on TV and it was pretty eye-opening.
54:58I think it really was the first time that I can recall where he ever sat down for a length
55:04of time, answered the questions that we all wanted to know.
55:07And was really pretty candid.
55:10I was actually surprised how candid he was.
55:13The main thing in that Oprah interview that was talked about was his answer to his skin color changing.
55:21The color of your skin is obviously different than it was when you were younger.
55:26Yeah.
55:26And so I think it has caused a great deal of speculation and controversy as to what you have done
55:35or are doing.
55:36Are you bleaching your skin?
55:38Is your skin lighter because you don't like being black?
55:41The number one, it's just the situation. I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin.
55:47It's something that I cannot help.
55:49Okay? But when people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me.
55:55So it is, it's a problem for me. Okay? I can't control it.
56:01I'm a black American. I'm proud to be a black American.
56:08The black community was really relieved to hear that, you know.
56:12I remember people saying, oh, well, that's why it was. Of course.
56:16Of course, Michael wouldn't desert us. He has a disease.
56:20Makes me feel some of the pain that he's feeling because I can look in his eyes and I can
56:24see the hurt in his eyes.
56:26You know, he looks like he's so lonely and so hurt, you know, and it makes me want to just
56:30reach out to him.
56:33And it worked. And it really changed a lot of people's perceptions of him.
56:41It felt like Michael was back on top.
57:01My name is Rosabelle Smith.
57:05In 1993, I was working the sexually exploited child unit.
57:09A case had come in involving a young boy who was 13 years of age and that the perpetrator was
57:17Michael Jackson.
57:26We knew that it was going to be a huge case.
57:41It was a worldwide best-selling book, but the story behind the book was even more remarkable.
57:46From Radio Wales, The Secrets of Salt Path is on BBC Sounds.
57:49Next tonight, though, Olympics done, BBC done.
57:52Next up for Ian Fletcher, well, let's just hope he doesn't score an own goal.
57:55It's the start of our brand new series 2026.
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