from TSCM
realize at this time that none of us want to hear anything about this tabloid-ridden book, and had this not happened to Michael Jackson we wouldn't have had to since it was going to be released by a very small independent firm and likely wouldn't have sold more than a few copies. However, now he has changed the title, changed the cover, and re-written a portion of the book to make it appear more positive to the unsuspecting eye. It is now being released by a mainstream publisher while also being discussed by countless media outlets. In it, he alleges an insurmountable number of salacious rumors while citing anonymous sources and unknown names; this includes claims of diseases he says Michael had (which he did not), that Michael was gay, that he couldn't sing or dance at all, and other outlandish claims.
I am deliberately creating this thread to share a response that I hope can be used, or paraphrased, by the fans in responding to this nonsense across the various blogs and news sites. The content is entirely fact-based, unlike Ian's own stories.
Unfortunately, Michael Jackson can no longer defend himself or file libel suits against people like this who are now basically free to to allege anything they want. For that reason, I feel it is still important for fans to at least make the public aware of Ian's past.
QUOTE
It truly disturbs me that the media continues to report on Ian Halperin's gossip and innuendo just to help line his pockets without critically questioning the validity of his claims or asking for solid proof to confirm any of it before reporting it. He is the one who insisted last December that Michael Jackson was suffering from all of the following rare and deadly diseases: Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (a genetic, hereditary disease chiefly affecting European Americans), chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, severe emphysema, 95% blind in his left eye, near mute (unable to speak), lung and liver disease(s), in dire need of a transplant, serious back and leg pain, virtually bedridden and unable to get out, amongst other outlandish illnesses which seemed to grow each week. Yet, at the same time Ian was making these claims Michael was shopping for antiques, signing autographs and chatting to fans on video, and preparing for the then unannounced concerts (which Ian was one of the very last to report about; apparently his sources didn't let him in on that little tidbit of information).
To substantiate these claims, Ian referenced gossip blogger Perez Hilton (who in turn cited a British tabloid) and also posted an 18-month old alleged quote from the now fired Fox News gossip columnist while proclaiming that it was a brand new statement for his own story. All of these illnesses were categorically denied by Michael Jackson, who had to undergo a mandatory five hour medical exam by the insurance carriers earlier this year before the O2 concerts could go on. The medical examiners and AEG officials independently confirmed that he passed all tests with flying colors and the ONLY illness he had at the time was slight hayfever (a common cold) in addition to his near life-long and enduring skin conditions Vitiligo and Lupus. Following Michael's untimely passing, his autopsy again "made no mention of an injury or trauma to the body and no mention of natural disease," thus indicating that Michael Jackson died not because of any of these non-existent diseases which would have been easy to confirm, but because of another reason still being investigated (indications point to a dangerous sleeping drug administered by a questionable doctor).
Ian is now giving the false impression that he is a supporter and fan of Michael Jackson, this change of heart only occurred after Michael Jackson's death, likely after he observed how millions around the globe were sadly mourning the loss and buying up Michael Jackson's albums in record numbers and tired of the negative. Don't be fooled, the agenda and content of this book is as grotesque and sensational as ever (the original title was: "Michael Jackson: Peter Pan or Pervert?"). One early quote from Ian's blog reads: "Michael Jackson, who is gravely ill with a rare lung disease, has his butthole cleaned every afternoon...It takes about 30 minutes. They use a machine that looks like a mini vacuum to go up his butthole to get all the dirt out." In a video blog just weeks before Michael's death, he stated that his book about "W*cko J*cko" will "shock you as to how sick a human being can actually be. How screwed up, how ****ed up, a man--if you call Michael Jackson a man--can be."
Ian compulsively uses anonymous sources to make his claims, while throwing around unrecognizable names or pseudonyms insisting that they are close friends or family of the ones he's writing about (despite no such people ever having been referenced in context of the celebrity before). For instance, he cites a man named "Dean Smith" as being a close friend of Michael Jackson who told him exclusively that Michael Jackson had an incurable disease. I challenge anyone to find a single time this "Dean Smith" has been spotted with Michael Jackson or mentioned by any reputable media outlets as Michael's close friend--there is no such friend. Ian also exaggerates his credentials, Rolling Stone had to confront him on this fact when he first started spreading the Michael Jackson stories. In truth, the only award he ever received was a college journalism award that was distributed amongst the entire student newspaper staff. In fact, while a student writer in Canada, Ian was sued for libel in a $100,000 suit which ultimately led to criminal charges filed against him for perjury after three different sources said they did not provide the information he claimed they had. Ian fled to Europe for more than two years before returning, whereby his parents had to pay to bail him out of jail. What an honorable man.
Ian's stories and absurdities extend well beyond Michael Jackson. He has also exclusively claimed that Angelina Jolie has sex with men, women, dogs, plants, and suggestively even her own children. He claimed exclusively on several occasions that David Carradine was murdered; medical examiners confirmed he died of accidental asphyxiation. He regularly outs countless celebrities as being gay without any proof behind such claims, the latest in the mix is naturally Michael Jackson. Of course, not even the prosecutors during the criminal trial (which Ian admits was unfounded and that he was innocent) made such a suggestion because there was simply no proof of this. I only wish the media would be more critical of authors promoting their unauthorized books especially now that Michael Jackson is gone and cannot defend himself nor file slander suits, so authors like Ian are basically free to say as they wish.
Pictures and videos of Michael Jackson's final rehearsals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles were released by AEG officials. They recorded more than 100 hours of HD video of Michael singing and dancing night after night, including just hours before he passed away. It is expected that they will be releasing this material on DVD, in theaters, or as a Pay-Per-View event in the future. I want everyone to take a look at those pictures, and at the video of Michael dancing and singing, and then remember that Ian proclaimed he was bedridden and "could no longer sing, for a start. On some days he could barely talk. He could no longer dance." According to concert promoters, Michael also sang live much of the time during rehearsals and sounded better than ever even though he was told to preserve his voice for the real concerts, this too will come out when more video gets released.
