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Official Celebrity Statements Thread

Saturday, Jun. 27, 2009
Spike Lee Remembers Michael Jackson
By Tim Morrison

In 1996, Spike Lee — director of films from Do the Right Thing to Malcolm X to the recent documentary Kobe Doin' Work — traveled to Brazil with Michael Jackson to produce the music video for his controversial song "They Don't Care About Us." He talked to TIME about his experiences, Michael Jackson's legacy and having the Gloved One as a houseguest.

What's your favorite Michael Jackson song?
I was born in 1957; he was born in 1958. And so I grew up, literally, with Michael Jackson. We both reached adolescence at the same time. And I had a big Afro like he did, and I hoped that the girls would like me the way they liked Michael — but that wasn't happening. And you know, I loved him as a solo artist, but I have a special place in my heart for the stuff he did with the Jackson 5: "I'll Be There."

Do you remember the first time you heard it?
No. My memory's shot. I'm in Cannes, France, for a conference; I left dinner last night, got home, I turned on CNN and there it was — him being rushed to the hospital. I didn't go to bed the whole night. I just kept watching CNN. So it's a big, big, big, big loss for the world. And I'd like to make this comment: I've seen too many people talking about Michael like they knew exactly what he did. Let's celebrate his genius, his musicality, his gift, his talent, and leave the other stuff at least till he gets buried. Let's celebrate his life now. That's the way I feel.

I can hear Michael Jackson in the background right now.
Yeah, my friend is driving me to Monaco for dinner, and I went out to this store and bought Michael Jackson's greatest hits. So, as we got in the car I said, "This is our driving music!" Going from Cannes to Monaco, listening to the greatest hits of Michael.

What was he like when you worked with him on the video for "They Don't Care About Us?"
Michael was great. He had a sense of humor. He worked hard. People talk about how hard Kobe Bryant works; he didn't work harder than Michael Jackson. This is what I've come to learn. You know, I did a documentary on Kobe, I know him; Michael Jordan, I worked with him a little; Michael Jackson — when you love what you do that much, it's not work. So you can go longer and harder and faster and quicker because it's not a burden. You love what you're doing.

And did you talk to him on the set? Was he accessible?
Oh yeah! Michael was a citizen of the world. I said, "Mike, let's go to Brazil to do this." And he said, "Let's go, Spike!" And it's great when you work with people who say stuff like that — it's not a matter of budget. He wanted to do it? We were going!

Had you met him previous to that?
Yeah, I met him at dinners and stuff like that, but that was the most intimate time I had been with him. Can I tell you a quick story? Michael Jackson called me up and said, "Spike, I want meet you, I'm coming to New York." I said, "Well where you want to meet?" He says, "I want to come to your house." I live in Brooklyn! He wants to come to my house! So, Michael Jackson came to my house in Brooklyn, New York — this was when I was living in Fort Greene. And he said, I want you to direct a video for me. My new album's coming out, pick a song. So we listened to all the songs and I picked Stranger in Moscow. And he said, I don't want you to do that one. And I said, "Michael, just tell me which one you want me to do! Why ask me to pick one?" And he laughed and he said he wanted me to do "They Don't Care About Us." That's how it happened.

How did he like Brooklyn?
Well, I dunno if he'd ever been there before. We spent like two or three hours just talking. I mean, we're the same age. I'm less than a year older than him. To be honest, I dominated the conversation, because I was trying to really tell him how much impact he had on my life. And I could just not believe that Michael Jackson was sitting in my living room in Brooklyn, New York. It was amazing.

I just want to get back quickly to "I'll Be There." What sort of associations did you have with that song? What did it mean to you?
I just remember being young, loving that song, starting to get interested in girls; it was just that period of time. And here's the thing that I remember: growing up, as far as girls, everybody didn't like Michael. They liked Tito, they liked Jackie, they liked Jermaine — it was like the Beatles, the girls had their favorites. It was not always Michael, Michael, Michael.

Was he always your favorite Jackson?
Oh yeah. But I wasn't a girl though.
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1907529,00.html
 
DuranDuran said:
Had you met him previous to that?
Yeah, I met him at dinners and stuff like that, but that was the most intimate time I had been with him. Can I tell you a quick story? Michael Jackson called me up and said, "Spike, I want meet you, I'm coming to New York." I said, "Well where you want to meet?" He says, "I want to come to your house." I live in Brooklyn! He wants to come to my house! So, Michael Jackson came to my house in Brooklyn, New York — this was when I was living in Fort Greene. And he said, I want you to direct a video for me. My new album's coming out, pick a song. So we listened to all the songs and I picked Stranger in Moscow. And he said, I don't want you to do that one. And I said, "Michael, just tell me which one you want me to do! Why ask me to pick one?" And he laughed and he said he wanted me to do "They Don't Care About Us." That's how it happened.
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LOL :lol: :lol:
 
The King lives on! said:
This is on Karen Faye's facebook status.

I know how painful it is to loose this beautiful man....I can barely speak, but I must share with you his reason for getting on stage once again. It wasn't for money or to relaunch his career...it was to send the message that we must HEAL THE WORLD, before it's too late. He wanted to let us know that we have a four year window to get it right, to start walking the highest path, or we will loose the earth.

So what i can conclude out of this, is that MJ believed in 2012! The Mayan calendar

It is true, we have to go to a higher consiousness, in order to evolve and Michael knew this!!
I will ALWAYS LOVE YOU Michael Joseph Jackson!
Thank you for your music and energy!!
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I'm a bit confused by Karen's statement. Four year window?

Anyway, thanks for posting. It's good to hear statements from people who were close to Michael.
 
FinalEyes said:
I'm a bit confused by Karen's statement. Four year window?

Anyway, thanks for posting. It's good to hear statements from people who were close to Michael.
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4 years before 2012, which is the end of the Mayan calendar.
 
Macaulay Culkin
Lionel Richie
Emmanuel Lewis

All these are very close friends who perhaps are still in shock, or cannot gather words to say.

Also for two of them, they have to weigh their words carefully because of a hostile media
 
rsw22 said:
Macaulay Culkin
Lionel Richie
Emmanuel Lewis

All these are very close friends who perhaps are still in shock, or cannot gather words to say.

Also for two of them, they have to weigh their words carefully because of a hostile media
Click to expand...

What? Why would any of those three people have to weight their words carefully? Because two of them were kids when they were friends of MJ? That's trash... they can say whatever they want about their departed brother.
 
Aretha Franklin blesses Michael Jackson's soul at the Hollywood Bowl
12:59 PM PT, Jun 27 2009

6a00d8341c630a53ef01157172d071970b-800wi


During her Friday night performance at the Hollywood Bowl (full review here), Aretha Franklin made sure to pause and pay tribute to Michael Jackson.

Her first mention of the fallen pop star came when she asked her friend the Rev. Jesse Jackson to stand and take a bow, adding that he had flown into town "to be of comfort to the Jackson family."

Later, Franklin spoke of Michael Jackson as a "musical genius" and "a very kind and sensitive young man who never gave less than 150% when he hit the stage." Sitting at her piano, she bowed her head and said, "We do thank you, Michael, for every performance, for every kind thing you did, and we do want to take a moment in remembrance of Michael Jackson."

The near-capacity crowd then fell silent for several moments. Franklin concluded with a brief prayer, saying, "He moved on up, just a little bit higher now."

It was a touching offering from the Queen of Soul to the King of Pop.

-- Ann Powers

Photo credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
http://latimesblogs.latim...a53ef01157172d071970b-pi
 
Just out of curiosoity, has there been any public response from paul McCartney?
 
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1614781/20090626/jackson_michael.jhtml

"It's so sad and shocking," said former Beatle McCartney, who worked with Jackson on several songs (including "Say Say Say" and "The Girl is Mine"), but feuded with the singer after Jackson purchased the publishing rights to the Beatles catalog in a manner that McCartney felt was underhanded. But, according to The Associated Press, he said, "I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever."
 
Fergie: "We have lost one of the greatest icons of all time. He forever set the bar for entertainers all around the world."

Carole Bayer Sager: "He was one of, if not the greatest entertainer of all time, and was without question the King of Pop. He was also my friend. He recorded a song of mine on his 1979 `Off the Wall' album and in 1981 we sang a duet together. We spent a considerable amount of time together in 2001 at my home music studio and I saw him in a totally different light — as a nurturing and caring father."

Lou Ferrigno: "Having been working out with and training with Michael Jackson over the last 15 years, most recently in the last few months, he was a dear friend and inspiration. Michael is an icon and the world has suffered a great loss and to his family I send my deepest condolences and prayers."

The O'Jays: "The world has certainly lost a great individual and we only hope that America and the rest of the world will continue to focus on the positive and not speak poorly of a man who was under constant scrutiny his entire life. We are happy to have had the opportunity to know Michael since he was a little boy and most recently we had the pleasure of working on one of his projects in Los Angeles. ... God bless you, Michael, and we will miss you!"

Martin Scorsese -"When we worked together on `Bad,' I was in awe of his absolute mastery of movement on the one hand, and of the music on the other. Every step he took was absolutely precise and fluid at the same time. It was like watching quicksilver in motion."

R. Kelly: "I am truly saddened that my mentor, brother and friend will no longer be with us physically. At the same time I feel so blessed to have been touched by his music, his dance, his lyrics and his pure genius. It is because of Michael's yesterday that I am who I am today! My condolences to his family and friends around the world. Michael Jackson rest in peace and may your music and legacy forever reign on Earth!"
 
Mark Lester


Michael Jackson asked if I wanted to be Blanket's godfather: Friend Mark Lester gives a touching insight into the tortured singer

They were both childhood stars who made weekly transatlantic telephone calls to one another during a close friendship that lasted almost 30 years.
Mark Lester, who played the lead in the Seventies film Oliver!, and Michael Jackson had mutual trust and when they became fathers, they made each other godparent to their respective children
Indeed, Jackson, who spoke to Lester last Sunday, said he was planning to dedicate his opening London show to Mark’s daughter Harriet – and invite her on stage.

article-1196040-057DF373000005DC-960_470x288.jpg
Family friends: Mark Lester, his wife Lisa and Michael Jackson at Oliver! with star Rowan Atkinson


And according to Mark, who was often at the singer’s side during his most troubled times, Jackson was in good shape physically and emotionally and was looking forward to his mammoth run of O2 concerts.
Lester, 50, who turned his back on showbusiness when he was 19 and is now an osteopath in the West Country, spoke of his shock at his friend’s sudden death.
In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, he said: ‘Michael was absolutely sharp as a razor, really focused. It’s the best I’ve known him in a long time.
'He said he couldn’t wait to get back on stage and that his kids were going to see him perform – it was one of the main reasons for him doing the shows. That’s why the whole thing is such a shock.’



Lester said he finds it hard to believe reports the singer may have died as a result of using painkilling drugs.
‘I’ve never seen him taking anything or any evidence that he was on something,’ he said.
‘I’m an acupuncturist. One time he got a bad spider bite that wasn’t healing. I offered to treat it but he said, 'No, I hate needles, hate them.' That’s why I find it so bizarre that he was supposed to be having these injections.’
During their final conversation on Sunday, he said Jackson was excited about his comeback shows.
‘We were on the phone for about an hour and all of the kids spoke to him,’ he recalled. ‘We were talking about the show. He said he’d been rehearsing and he’d just done a Pop Idol-type competition with the dancers.


article-1196040-0580EFFE000005DC-582_470x288.jpg
Grief stricken: Mark Lester and his daughter Harriet, 15, Michael Jackson's goddaughter who he was going to invite on stage at his first concert


‘We wanted to sit at the front and he said we could have the whole front row. He was supposed to be coming over next week for rehearsals.
‘People have said he was suffering from stage fright but I don’t think Michael ever had stage fright. Performing was what charged him.
‘He told Harriet he wanted her to come on stage with him when he sang his song Dirty Diana. He was really fired up. I asked him what was in the show but he didn’t want to tell us too much. He said, 'I want it to be a surprise. You’re going to be amazed by it.'
‘He was so excited. His children had never seen him perform and he wanted them to see Daddy at what Daddy did best. That’s what Michael does. He loved the attention. He loved being Michael Jackson. He was driven by it.’
Lester now lives in Cheltenham with his second wife Lisa and his four children, Lucy, 17, Harriet, 15, Olivia, 14, and Felix, ten. He last saw Jackson in March when the singer asked him to accompany him to the O2 for the Press launch of the 50-date residency.
He said: ‘I was with him in the car on the way and he was really relaxed. Afterwards the whole family went to stay with him at The Lanesborough hotel. We went out to see Oliver! at the Theatre Royal and spent the whole weekend with him.
‘He did not look like a person who would drop dead a couple of months later. He wasn’t unfit. He showed no signs of being unwell.’
Lester also refused to accept rumours that Jackson may have taken his own life. He said: ‘There’s no way he would have done that. He was dedicated to his family. That was not even an option.’

Child stars: Mark Lester and Michael Jackson became friends after both being young performers


It was 1982, just as the Thriller album was about to be released, when the pair first met. Jackson was on the brink of becoming, at that time, the most famous person in the world.
Lester was at home in London when Jackson’s manager called and said the singer would like to meet him. ‘I was with my sister at the time and she nearly fell off the chair,’ he recalls.

‘A few days later we went to see him at the Montcalm Hotel in Park Lane. He came over, gave me a hug and said, 'Mark, it’s so nice to meet you.'
‘I was very nervous but we had tea and then ordered up burgers and chatted. We shared a common baseline. He was much more famous than me but we had both been child stars and we were the same age. He said that in the teeny mags in America it would be him on one page, me on another and David Cassidy on another. He always used to say we were like the positive and negative, the black and white.’
Out of this surreal beginning grew an extraordinary bond. Lester became one of Jackson’s closest friends and allies and, in 2002, the singer asked him to be godfather to his youngest son, Prince Michael II – also known as Blanket. He also asked if he could become godfather to Lester’s children.
A ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas took place the following year.
‘It wasn’t religious but it was beautiful,’ said Lester. ‘Michael was a very spiritual person and had the room decorated with white roses. Afterwards we went back to the hotel room and ordered pizza.

‘Michael loved junk food. In March 2007 he came back to Cheltenham with us. It was the first time he’d been here. We watched DVDs and the kids played computer games.
‘I think we had pizza from Pizza Hut for lunch and in the evening we had fish and chips from the local shop. Michael loved fish, chips and mushy peas with lotsof ketchup. It was his favourite thing. Wherever we were, whatever restaurant, he’d have to have fish and chips. Everyone imagines he’d have some kind of weird macrobiotic diet, but he wasn’t like that.
‘The thing people never understood about Michael was that he was very clever at illusions. The thing with the veils was just an act. He used to say to me, 'I do it to create an illusion. I’m an illusionist.''
Jackson had traditional views and could be easily offended. Lester said: ‘We saw Billy Elliot and he was quite shocked at the language. He said he wouldn’t have taken the children if he had known. He was very firm with his own children. They weren’t spoilt.’


Beginning of a friendship: Mark Lester and Michael Jackson met in 1982 when Thriller was about to be released


As a long-time friend, Lester was one of the few people allowed to see the real Jackson. ‘He was much more normal than people realised,’ he said.
‘We’d go out for dinner or a coffee and he would notice women walking past and say, 'She’s so cute, she’s got a nice tush,' but then he would be very apologetic. In many ways Michael was asexual, but he had an eye for beauty.’
Jackson turned to his friend for support during many of the most difficult periods of his life. It was Lester who was with him when he first watched the Martin Bashir documentary which led to his 2005 trial for sex abuse. And it was Lester who joined Jackson in Bahrain after he was cleared of all charges.



Michael Jackson performs during the half-time show at the NFL's Super Bowl XXVII in California in January 1993

He said: ‘We were together in Miami when he saw it. Michael was just dumbstruck. He didn’t shout. I never heard him once raise his voice his whole life but he was very upset. Most of all he just seemed confused by it all.’
Lester said he saw nothing in the documentary that shocked him, not even the infamous scene in which the singer appeared holding the hand of 12-year-old cancer patient Gavin Arvizo, who later accused Jackson of abuse.
‘That was Michael. He didn’t see a problem with it. He just loved children. He saw himself as the Pied Piper.
‘At Neverland he had an enormous oil painting covering one wall and it was Michael as the Pied Piper leading hundreds of children of all colours, races, sizes.
‘Some were in wheelchairs. Michael was dancing and these kids were in a huge crocodile line behind him. He always told me he wrote his songs for the age group of ten to 14.
‘He would never do anything to hurt anyone and I don’t believe that anything ever happened with Gavin Arvizo. When I thought about what Michael did for that family, it made me sick to think that they could do that to him. The experience did make him more withdrawn. He took himself away and hid from everyone.’


Michael Jackson at the Festival Palace in Cannes in 1997


In recent years, however, Jackson had picked himself up and was ready to look forward. It is this, according to Lester, that is the real tragedy.
He said: ‘When I saw him in March it was the best I’d seen him in a long time. He was on fighting form. He was always on the phone. Sometimes he’d put on a cockney accent. He’d talk about 'going up the apples and pears'.
‘It’s just so awful. You talk to him one minute and then he’s dead.’
Now Lester’s main concern is for the children, Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket. ‘The really upsetting thing is that the children have lost their whole world, not just their father. Michael was the most wonderful father. I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like for them without him.’
Nor can he imagine quite what his own life will be like without the friend who has meant so much to him.
‘The loss is too great to take in,’ he said, ‘but I’m not the only one. It’s a loss to the whole world.’
 
Joel Madden on twitter:

I can only hope people will have the decency to leave his kids alone. And let him rest in peace.
4:13 PM Jun 26th from web


The media, and the masses that love it is what killed Micheal. They all sat around watching it like a tv show. And they r all still doing it
4:12 PM Jun 26th from web

I'm getting off the computer. Gonna spend time with my family. It was a sad day. Need a break from all of this. Rest in Peace Michael.
5:38 PM Jun 25th from web

Stop the gossip, stop the speculation. Take a moment for Micheal and remember his gift to us all. He was truly great. May he Rest in Peace.
5:03 PM Jun 25th from web

@petewentz All i have to say about all of this is that its shameful http://twitpic.com/8et2f can't believe that was even put out there.
4:56 PM Jun 25th from web in reply to petewentz

This is a sad day.
4:54 PM Jun 25th from web
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We haven't heard from heard from Nicole Richie yet but I'm sure he's comforting her. She just lost her godfather :(
 
http://twitter.com/beegeesforever

RIP Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009). Your legacy will live on forever.8:31 PM Jun 25th from web

"We have not only lost a great friend in Michael but also a wonderful, sensitive human being." - Robin Gibb pays tribute to the king of pop11:20 AM Jun 26th from web

"This tragedy should teach us a lesson to value and praise those gifts while we still have them in the world." - Robin pays tribute to MJ11:20 AM Jun 26th from web

"Millions of people yet to be born will sing his songs." - Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees pays tribute to Michael Jackson11:21 AM Jun 26th from web

"That is the sad truth. One consolation is that he will triumph by his legacy." - Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees pays tribute to Michael Jackson11:21 AM Jun 26th from web

ROBIN GIBB | News | MJ Special: Robin will be appearing on a special edition of Newsnight on Friday 26 June 2009 at 10.30pm on BBC Two1:22 PM Jun 26th from web

ROBIN GIBB | News | Memories of Michael Jackson: Robin Gibb http://tinyurl.com/qg8dk3about 18 hours ago from web

ROBIN GIBB | Appearances | June 28 - Robin will be on Sunday with Adam Boulton live to talk about loss of Michael Jackson - Sky TV, 10-12amabout 5 hours ago from web
 
"The world has lost an amazing man. A man that cared, and loved and gave everything he had for others. Michael I love you!"- David Blaine, twitter message on his website
 
What Mark Lester said did it for me.....so amazingly beautiful....

And Stevie.... God, this hurts so much!
 
choccyclaire - should i even bother to listen to what raymone has to say? i am all about positive energy and love for michael today.
 
TheChosenOne said:
choccyclaire - should i even bother to listen to what raymone has to say? i am all about positive energy and love for michael today.
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She's doing the rounds defending him and speaking positively about him. I have no idea why, but she's one of the few people out there that's saying he didn't abuse drugs and was a good father. Live and let live I guess..
 
000cozzie000 said:
She's doing the rounds defending him and speaking positively about him. I have no idea why, but she's one of the few people out there that's saying he didn't abuse drugs and was a good father. Live and let live I guess..
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Go figure .... It's nice though

RIP Michael JJ
 
President Obama Sends Condolences To Michael Jackson's Family, Fans
Press secretary delivers message on behalf of president.


Although President Obama held a press conference on Friday (June 26), no one asked him for his reaction to the news of Michael Jackson's death on Thursday in Los Angeles. In a separate press conference, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that reporters seemed too shy to ask the president about the legendary singer — even though he is an avowed music fan — so Gibbs said that he spoke with Obama about Jackson's passing.

"I talked to [the president] about it this morning. He said to me that obviously Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer and a music icon," Gibbs said, according to Newsweek. "I think everybody remembers hearing his songs, watching him moonwalk on television during Motown's 25th anniversary. But the president also said [Jackson] had aspects of his life that were sad and tragic. And his condolences went out to the Jackson family and to the fans that mourned his loss."

The president joins a very long list of notable figures paying tribute to the singer, including longtime friends like Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and Madonna.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1614849/20090626/jackson_michael.jhtml
 
noumene said:
Mark Lester


Jackson had traditional views and could be easily offended. Lester said: ‘We saw Billy Elliot and he was quite shocked at the language. He said he wouldn’t have taken the children if he had known. He was very firm with his own children. They weren’t spoilt.’
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Thank you for this. I think Mark and Michael were great friends.

I was at the theatre the day they came to watch Billy Elliott. They came in after the show had started in the dark and not many knew he was there.

When they got up at half time we were amazed, and no-one would sit down for the second half; we were all waiting for Michael to take his seat. (he had intended to sneak back in not to disrupt the performance.) So, they asked him to come down while the lights were still on, and he got a standing ovation from the audience and cast before the show started again. :clapping:It was spontaneous and you felt the love for him - not fans in particular, just a regular theatre audience.

But we noticed Paris didn't come back for the second half and I said to my sister that I thought it must have been because of the language. She was quite young then and there was a lot of swearing (un-necessary, in my opinion, as it was a great show otherwise.)

Angie
x
 
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