| The World Mourns the Loss of a Music Legend part2 |
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The world of music will never be the same. Part 2 At the height of Jackson’s success in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, he became the subject of increasing media attention and fodder for the tabloids. Every photo of him was presented in a way that painted him in an unflattering light. One story that accompanied a photo of Jackson laying in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber said that he slept in there to avoid growing old, when in fact that photo was taken when he was touring The Michael Jackson Burn Center, and he wanted to know what the patients experienced while being treated since that is what that piece of equipment is used for. These types of stories would become increasingly negative and increasingly hurtful to Jackson into the later years of his life. It has been widely speculated that Jackson suffered from Anorexia because of his fluctuating weight over the years. According to Jackson, his slim build was not the result of an eating disorder, but rather the result of a change in diet and his intense dance work outs. Jackson has always had a slight build, which led to rumors of homosexuality as well, although these have been denied by more than one woman. When asked about these tabloid reports Jackson responded with; Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars. Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, "I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight," people would say, "Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a damn word that comes out of his mouth." —Michael Jackson Because Michael was so successful, he became the target of unscrupulous extortionists. In 1993 and again in 2003 Jackson was accused of sexually abusing some of the children who visited his ranch. He was completely exonerated on all charges and it was later revealed that the families of both children were simply after money from Jackson. After the last accusation, Jackson vowed he would never again live at Neverland and essentially abandoned the property.  Michael Jackson Jackson made the following statement about the accusations; “I've been in the entertainment industry since I was six-years-old... As Charles Dickens says, "It's been the best of times, the worst of times." But I would not change my career... While some have made deliberate attempts to hurt me, I take it in stride because I have a loving family, a strong faith and wonderful friends and fans who have, and continue, to support me.” —Michael Jackson In 1993, Michael gave an all access interview to Oprah Winfrey at his Neverland Ranch. It was one of the most spectacular and highest rated primetime shows of the time. In the interview, he tried to dispel many of the rumors about him that had circulated about him for years, including the changing color of his skin. Jackson had a skin condition called Vitiligo, which affects those of African descent, causing them to lose the pigmentation in their skin, resulting in a blotchy appearance. This caused Jackson to have to wear heavy pancake makeup to even out the color, resulting in a lighter appearance. Around the same time as the Vitiligo diagnosis, he was also diagnosed as having Lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes joint inflammation and causes the body’s immune system to attack it’s owns cells. The lupus also added to the strange appearance of his skin. While treating the Vitiligo, Jackson met Debbie Rowe, the woman who would become his second wife and mother to 2 of his 3 children. In 1994, Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley. The two had been friends for many years, however the relationship didn’t turn romantic until Presley helped Michael through the first allegations of child molestation and the subsequent prescription drug abuse that followed. Jackson battled an addiction to prescription pain killers following several injuries and burns sustained during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. After the molestation charges, Jackson also began using strong anti-anxiety and depression medications as well. The pair married secretly in the Dominican Republic. Shortly after, during a performance on an award show, the most talked about kiss on television of the time occurred. The pair divorced less than 2 years later, though they remained friends for the rest of Jackson’s life. Michael even confided in Lisa Marie at one point that he feared dying in a fashion similar to her father, Elvis. His fears would prove to be prophetic.  Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley 1995 saw the release of HIStory, a double album that contained past hits as well as new material. Jackson toured for a year in support of the album and during that year married second wife, Debbie Rowe. Jackson would have a third child by a surrogate mother in 2002. Jackson rang in the new millennium with much conflict and the release of his final album, Invincible. Even though he was an entertainer, Michael Jackson was also a businessman. Early in his career, Michael invested in a catalog of song rights. As the owner of these songs, he had the right to do with them what he pleased. At the beginning of the millennium, Jackson was signed to a contract with Sony Records, headed by Tommy Mattola, though it was Jackson’s understanding that his contract was nearly up. He was waiting for this contract to expire which would return the right to his songs to him, thus allowing him to promote his older material any way he saw fit. However upon review of his contract, he discovered that a less than honest attorney, who was working for Sony, tied up the rights to those songs for several more years. At the same time, Sony had been heavily pressuring Jackson to sell his collection of songs, therefore making it advantageous to Sony for Jackson’s album to fail so that he would have to sell that collection to them. Jackson used this information to get out of his contract, though it did delay the release of Invincible.  Michael Jackson After the September 11th attacks, Jackson helped organize a concert that featured several big names, and in which he performed with his brothers on stage for the first time since 1984. The concert also helped promote Invincible, which was a small commercial success. Jackson has been honored by two different Presidents for his various charity works, as well as holding the record for giving to charities, at one point supporting 39 different organizations. Bookmark us: 
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