Michael Jackson Put 'Curse' on Spielberg-Magazine

Reuters ^

[per loin]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Embattled pop star Michael Jackson wears a prosthetic nose and once paid $150,000 for a "voodoo curse" to kill director Steven Spielberg despite being deep in debt, Vanity Fair magazine reported on Monday.

Vanity Fair, in an article for its March 11 edition, also reports that Jackson bleaches his skin white because he does not like being black. The 44-year-old singer sometimes refers to black people as "spabooks," the magazine said

Jackson's manager did not immediately return phone calls and a faxed request for comment on the article. Jackson's London publicist could not be reached for comment.

The onetime King of Pop has been dogged by controversy for months, first over his odd appearance in a California courtroom last November. That same month, Jackson stunned fans in Berlin by briefly dangling his young son from a hotel balcony.

And in February a British television documentary that aired to blockbuster ratings both in England and the United States caused a stir when Jackson told his interviewer that he slept in the same room, and sometimes the same bed, as young boys.

Vanity Fair reported in the article that in 2000 Jackson attended a voodoo ritual in Switzerland where a witch doctor promised that Spielberg, music mogul David Geffen and 23 other people on the entertainer's list of enemies would die.

Jackson, who underwent a "blood bath" as part of the ritual, then ordered his former business adviser Myung-Ho Lee to wire $150,000 to a bank in Mali for a voodoo chief named Baba, who sacrificed 42 cows for the ceremony, the magazine reported.

Vanity Fair reported that Jackson wears a page-boy wig and a prosthesis that serves as the tip of his nose. The magazine interviewed a source close to Jackson who said that, without the device Jackson resembles a mummy with two nostril holes.

According to the magazine, Jackson's extravagant lifestyle and declining record sales have left him $240 million in debt.

The article, which relies in part on court filings in a $12 million lawsuit against Jackson by Lee, said that since the mid-1990s the reclusive entertainer has relied on a series of multimillion-dollar loans to cover his expenses.

In addition to the lawsuit by Lee, Jackson is also enmeshed in a $21 million court battle with German concert promoter Marcel Avram over canceled Millennium concerts and has been sued by Sotheby's auction house for $1.6 million.

The magazine reported that Jackson must pay off the principal on a $200 million loan within a few years, which will be nearly impossible unless he sells his most valuable asset, the Beatles song catalog. He owns only half of the catalog while Sony Corp. owns the other half in an arrangement that might make selling his share difficult, Vanity Fair reported.

Jackson has also run up nearly $4 million per year in expenses from his Neverland Valley ranch in central California, where in April 2001 his amusement park equipment was nearly repossessed for late payments, the magazine said.

[Queen Jadis]

I want my Mommy

[Judith Anne]

Haba Haba! Wabe caballed abit "Ab Talk" aband maby mabothaber tabaught abus! ;-D

[per loin]

The general rule seems to be that factual imossibility is not a valid defense. In particular it is not a valid defense in crimes of attempt. Still hoping a lawyer will enter, stage right.

[Judith Anne]

I've known this as Ab Talk since I was a little kid. Our mother taught us, and it's funny sounding and almost impossible to decipher if you aren't used to it...

You = Yabou. Me = Mabe. Him = Habim. Song = sabong.

Psychology = Psabychabolabolgaby.

;-D

[Judith Anne]

You add the syllable "ab" to every syllable, behind the beginning consonant. If there is no beginning consonant, then at the beginning of the syllable.

Is - abis

no - nabo

Consonant = Cabon sabon abant

[nopardons]

Thanks for the explination.

The Three Stooges had a routine, in one of their films, with a made-up language too. I think that it must have been a craze, in the 1930's , which only caught on and remained, in a few places. :-)

[Judith Anne]

If there is a double consonant at the beginning of the syllable, such as in "spook" then use both, i.e. "spabook."

trash = trabash.

there = thabere

syllable = sabyllababable (there are exceptions to every rule)

exceptions =

abexcabeptiabons.

[Judith Anne]

Your welcome. It's a little more sophisticated than pig latin...but not much. I taught my grandchildren...they think it's hilarious!

Mom used to have an alphabet, too, that we'd spell words out with...it was even MORE complicated...she said this goofy stuff helped keep us out of trouble. It might actually be true...;-D

[nopardons]

Again, many thanks for an even fuller explination. :-)

Your mother was right. Kids used to get caught up in this sort of thing, play games,use their imaginations and that made a great deal of difference !

It's fantastic, that you taught this to your grandchildren. It's like brain teasers and, believe it or not, things like this and music, make the brain grow. :-)

[Judith Anne]

Erk! Make that "You're welcome." (I'm guilty of one of my own pet peeves. I hate when that happens!)

A good brain, such as Michael Jackson may have had, can choose between sick and healthy thoughts, between good and bad behavior, between wise and foolish decisions, between decent and indecent actions, between truth and falsehood...I think he may have destroyed himself by his choices.

[JoeA]

The only good news in this sorry story is that Jackson may have to sell his most valuable asset, The Beatles catalog.

Paul McCartney, call your office.

[nopardons]

I don't think that Michael Jackson ever had a " good " brain ; AB language skills or not. I think that he had emotional and mental problems from day one. The more sucessful he became, the worse he got. Part of that may ( or may NOT ) be because of his parents.

There's no doubt, whatsoever, that he has destroyed himself.

Yes, the contraction mess, which so many are afflicted with here, bothers me too. I knew that your's was a typo...after having read so many of your previous posts. :-)

[jackbob]

Very interesting. Forget the actual feeding of Magic Fairy Pixel Dust (since as stated, it doesn't exist). The question is simplified, by keeping it narrow. Is the act of hiring (or conspiring with) another person to commit an act of murder, by using a non-existant dust, a magical hex, or some voodoo practice a crime?

I believe it is. Jackson should be charged with either attempted murder or conspiracy to commit murder. Obviously, his sanity can be made a defense issue once he has been charged. But it would be very wrong to disregard this because one likes his music, is attracted to his unusual behavior and looks, or because he is just an eccentric rich person.

A crime is a crime, regardless of who commits it.

[aculeus]

This leads me to admit to a long-term relationship with Vanity Fair.

It's not got a conservative slant but lots of juicy articles like this, regular columns by Christopher Hitchens and Dominick Dunne ... and the sexiest fashion ads in existence.

Incidental intelligence: Maureen Orth is the wife of Tim Russert.

[per loin]

But it would be very wrong to disregard this because one likes his music, is attracted to his unusual behavior and looks, or because he is just an eccentric rich person.

A crime is a crime, regardless of who commits it.

Yes. But judging by what I've seen on this thread, Americans are so rapt in awe by Jackson, that they will condone his conspiracy to commit mass murder.

[jagrmeister]

I hesitate to criticize the Vanity Fair piece. To the contrary of what one may think, Vanity Fair has published some excellent articles including an expose on how Clinton failed to accept Osama Bin Laden's extradition despite being offered it on three separate occasions. However, this article's claims appear unsubstantiated. This kind of poorly researched journalism, which I assume was sponsored by Jackson's enemies in the Martin Bashir camp (the two have been feuding ever since Jackson's documentary aired recently; Jackson countered with his own documentary of Bashir's dishonesty on nationwide tv), will unfortunately reduce Vanity Fair's journalistic credibility.

[JudyB1938]

I don't think they are so much "condoning" this action as much as laughing it off as another of Michael's kooky ways. They don't stop to consider that the witch doctor could arrange hits to "prove" the effectiveness of his spells. With a high-profile customer recommendation, like would have come from MJ, the sky would have been the limit for suckering in others.

[per loin]

However, this article's claims appear unsubstantiated. This kind of poorly researched journalism...

Is the issue with the article already available?

[per loin]

I don't think they are so much "condoning" this action as much as laughing it off as another of Michael's kooky ways

I think that the two are, in effect, the same.

[MissBaby]

What cheap shots. "Jackson bleaches his skin white because he does not like being black." They did not get this from Jackson so Reuters does not know. And would they say the same about any other star that has changed their appearance? Not likely.

Reuters is pure drivel. They like printing gossip becuase they don't like being journalists.