Part 27 (2/2)

For starters, LaToya was going to claim that Michael had been s.e.xually molested as a child. When word of this allegation got back to Michael, he was incensed by it. 'She can do what she wants, if she wants to get back at Joseph and Katherine for whatever,' he stormed, 'but don't drag my a.s.s into it. I never did one d.a.m.n thing to hurt that girl. So, stop her, Branca,' he told his attorney, John.

John Branca arranged a meeting with Jack Gordon to discuss the matter. During it, he told Jack that Michael did not want his sister writing that he'd been molested.

'Why not?' Jack demanded to know. 'It's the truth.'

'Look, man, I don't know if it's true or not,' John told him. 'But I do know that if she writes it, Michael will sue her. That, I f.u.c.king know know is true.' is true.'

Rumours that Michael was s.e.xually molested as a child had been circulating for years within the entertainment industry. Michael denies it. With that denial in place, there's not much more anyone else can say about it. It certainly seems that if such a thing were true, it would be known by now considering how exposed Michael's life has been in recent years.

In subsequent letters to LaToya and Jack, John Branca reiterated his position at the meeting: Michael would litigate against his sister if she made any claim about him being s.e.xually abused. He also indicated that Michael would make himself available to read whatever it was she eventually wrote in order that he be able to review it for 'accuracy'.

After he received that particular letter, Jack Gordon telephoned Katherine's ex-business manager, Jerome Howard, to inquire as to whether he still had the power to arrange a meeting with Katherine. According to Jerome, Jack wanted to offer Katherine a deal: if she and Joseph paid LaToya five million dollars, LaToya would cancel her memoirs. 'It's the least they can do for her,' Jack reasoned, 'considering all they have done to to her.' Moreover, if Jerome was the one who could convince the Jackson parents to pay LaToya the money, he would be paid ten per cent of the total: $500,000. her.' Moreover, if Jerome was the one who could convince the Jackson parents to pay LaToya the money, he would be paid ten per cent of the total: $500,000.

'Man, that's blackmail,' Jerome said, according to his memory.

'No, it's not,' Jack responded. 'It's business. Plain, simple business.'

'Well, I don't want anything to do with it,' Jerome told him. 'I'll present the deal to Katherine and have her get in touch with you about it.'

'What? You don't want $500,000?' Jack asked, incredulously. You don't want $500,000?' Jack asked, incredulously.

Jerome said no. 'I telephoned Katherine and then met with her,' Jerome recalled. 'I told her what was going on. If she wanted to stop her daughter's book, it was going to cost her five million bucks. She wasn't pleased. I also told her I didn't want to get involved, that Jack had offered me a percentage but that I didn't think it was fair money. I suggested she should have her lawyer deal with it. I suppose she did.'

After that, someone in LaToya's camp apparently fed a story to the media that Michael had offered her twelve million dollars to kill the project. It was not true. However, in an apparent attempt to maintain heightened interest in her project, LaToya charged that 'Michael's offer is awful, a sign of bribery. Nothing is going to stop me,' she said, as if a war cry, 'no matter how much I'm offered.'

Jack Gordon then made the ludicrous allegation that Michael had offered to purchase purchase G. P. Putnam's Sons, for eighty-four million dollars just so that he could prevent the book from appearing. G. P. Putnam's Sons, for eighty-four million dollars just so that he could prevent the book from appearing.

According to an a.s.sociate of Michael's, 'What really happened is that someone representing LaToya and I'm not saying it was Jack and I'm not saying it wasn't, because, frankly, I don't know got in touch with Michael's people and said that Mike had better come up with millions if he didn't want that book to be published. Mike was hurt. He had never done anything to LaToya to cause her to be so unkind to him, and he felt that Jack was orchestrating all of it. Still, it was LaToya who was responsible for the final outcome of it. ”She doesn't get a free ride just by saying Jack is the one doing the dirty work,” he said. ”She has to take responsibility, just like I do.” I was in the room when Michael made his final decision. ”I'm not going to let my own sister, a person I loved, a person who has known me all my life, blackmail me. This is as low as you can go,” he observed. ”Tell LaToya I said she can go jump in a lake. She's not getting one f.u.c.king dime from me.”'

For LaToya, family loyalty was clearly a notion now relegated to her recent past. In fact, to keep the pot stirred, Jack claimed that LaToya's years at Hayvenhurst had made her so angry and bitter that she would include yet another allegation in her book: that Joseph had s.e.xually molested her.

Katherine was stunned when she first heard the charge from Jack. 'Why, it's just not true,' she insisted.

'Oh, yes, it is,' Jack said.

'But who told you this?' Katherine demanded. 'Did LaToya tell you?' Jack said that it had been Rebbie who told him.

By the time Katherine confronted Rebbie, she was seething. However, Rebbie denied ever having told Jack that LaToya was s.e.xually abused by Joseph.

Michael then telephoned LaToya and, as she later recalled it to me, 'We fought about many things, but the main thing was the book.' When Michael wanted to know if there was anything critical of him in it, she refused to get into details. The true issue was not her book, she told me, but the fact that Michael 'is jealous of all the great exposure I'm getting. He wants to hog the limelight.'

'Look, I've been doing this since I was five years old,' Michael told her, according to her memory. 'And here you come out of nowhere. What justifies your fame? You're not ent.i.tled to it yet, LaToya. You haven't done done anything, yet.' anything, yet.'

'Why, how dare you?' LaToya exclaimed. 'After all I've been through with this family, how can you say that to me?' She had apparently confused familial dysfunction with artistic achievement. At any rate, she said that she never wanted to speak to Michael again, and then slammed down the phone.

On 5 September 1989, LaToya, now thirty-three, and Jack Gordon, fifty, were married in Reno, Nevada. Two days earlier, LaToya telephoned Katherine and said, 'I don't have a family any more. I don't have a mother, father, or brothers or sisters. I've disowned you all.' The Jacksons firmly believed that LaToya didn't love Jack, that she only married him in order to disa.s.sociate herself from the family. Jack said that they had six security guards with them at all times to prevent her from being kidnapped by the Jacksons. 'Jack used to tell me all the time how Joseph was trying to kidnap LaToya, and that LaToya was scared to death. From what I understand, Joseph used to beat her when she was a child,' recalled Gary Berwin, whose business dealings with Joseph went sour in 1985.

'LaToya was not a very happy person. She'd had a hard life, and she found someone to love and rely on Jack Gordon,' Gary continued. 'Finally she had escaped from that family. I asked Jack specifically why he married LaToya. I asked him, ”Did you marry LaToya because you really love her, or did you marry her as a convenience for you and herself?” He said, ”No, man, I really love her.” I said, ”C'mon, man, be honest with me.” He replied, ”I'm telling you, I love her very much.”'

'I want more money than anyone else...'

In August 1989, Michael Jackson turned thirty-one years old. Recent years had not been easy for him. Family pressures and demands, as well as career concerns, seemed to keep him in a continuous state of anxiety. Though he had left home, he never really left the womb. As much as he tried to shun his family, except for Katherine, he just could not seem to do it mostly because they wouldn't cooperate in that regard. They just get coming back for more. Somehow, their problems always ended up his.

Despite the fact that he was now in his thirties, many people in his circle felt that Michael had never grown up, that he was still an adolescent at heart, playing with his teenage male friends and entertaining handicapped youngsters at his palatial estate. He liked wearing his many disguises and was agitated when people pointed him out, not so much because he didn't want to be identified as because he had left home thinking he had such a swell costume, no one should ever have been able to recognize him. Visiting Disneyland, Disney World and Universal Studios was still his favourite leisure-time activity; fantasy was a major part of his life.

On the career front, there had been much discussion as to how to follow Bad Bad. Just as when he was attempting to conceptualize a successor to Thriller Thriller, Michael was concerned about competing with himself. Bad Bad had not sold as many copies as had not sold as many copies as Thriller Thriller and Michael was disappointed. Still, rather than try to compete with the previous two alb.u.ms by issuing another one of new material, John Branca convinced Michael that he should release a Greatest Hits collection, ent.i.tled and Michael was disappointed. Still, rather than try to compete with the previous two alb.u.ms by issuing another one of new material, John Branca convinced Michael that he should release a Greatest Hits collection, ent.i.tled Decade Decade, which would also include a few new songs. It was a good idea. It would take some pressure off Michael at a time when he did need a break in his life.

Michael intended to deliver Decade Decade to the Sony Corporation, CBS Records' parent company, in August of 1989. It was scheduled to be released in November in time for the Christmas sales rush. to the Sony Corporation, CBS Records' parent company, in August of 1989. It was scheduled to be released in November in time for the Christmas sales rush.

'I want more money than anyone else has ever gotten,' Michael told John when the attorney began negotiating with CBS Records for the new alb.u.m. John did not let him down. He arranged an eighteen million dollar advance, which was, indeed, 'more money than anyone else has ever gotten'. The deal included a fifteen million dollar straight advance which CBS would recoup from Jackson's royalties before he would make a profit on the alb.u.m and a non-recoupable three million dollars which was a gift for Michael from his label. (On each of the three alb.u.m deals John Branca negotiated for Michael Jackson at CBS he succeeded in getting for Michael three million as a bonus.) Prior to the latest Michael Jackson deal, the Rolling Stones, who were also represented by John Branca, held the record for the most lucrative contract, with five-million-dollars-plus per alb.u.m. According to the Hollywood Reporter Hollywood Reporter, Billy Joel had $1.7 million as an advance at the time, Bruce Springsteen $2.5 million, and Madonna $1 million before bonuses, which could make it several times that.

Michael Jackson's alb.u.m royalty was forty-one points. What that means in terms of percentage of retail sale varies with each formula, from CD to tape to disc; however, the alb.u.m came to approximately 25 per cent of the retail price of each record. Michael's 25 per cent translated to $2.50 per alb.u.m sold. However, when the three-million-dollar non-recoupable gift was added to Michael's royalty rate, it actually jumped to about 29 per cent of retail.

To put Jackson's royalty into perspective, Madonna made 18 per cent at the time. Most other acts of superstar status made 12 per cent.

In its entirety, Michael's new deal with CBS would be worth as much as fifty million dollars because, in addition to the advance and non-recoupable gift, John Branca had negotiated a joint business venture with the company. According to that arrangement, CBS would finance a custom label for Michael Jackson a subsidiary of CBS Records which would be Jackson Records (shades of Joseph!) which Michael would oversee. CBS would provide 100 per cent of the funding for the new label, and then split the profit equally with Michael. He would also own half the stock and thereby be ent.i.tled to half the a.s.sets if the label was ever sold. This was a coup for Michael and still yet another tribute to John Branca's masterly negotiating skills.

Since Janet Jackson had constantly called upon her brother for advice and guidance, John felt that she would be the most logical choice as first artist to sign to the label. Michael was elated at the possibility. (It didn't happen, though. Instead, Janet signed a contract with Virgin Records for an estimated thirty-two million dollars. When finalized, in March 1991, it was said to be the largest recording contract in history, but these deals are always said to be just that. There's always a way to calculate ambiguous figures and money not yet earned but projected in such a way to make any decent, big-money record deal 'the largest in history'.) In the final coup de grace coup de grace for Michael, as far as for Michael, as far as Decade Decade was concerned, John Branca negotiated a five-million-dollar advance from Warner-Tamerlane Publis.h.i.+ng Corporation, the Warner Bros. publis.h.i.+ng arm that administers the copyrights on Jackson's songs. (Michael owns all of his copyrights. Warner-Tamerlane has no owners.h.i.+p, but, for a small fee, the company does collect money generated by publis.h.i.+ng deals around the world involving his compositions.) For an artist, five million dollars is a huge advance from a music publis.h.i.+ng company; most superstars get about one million. was concerned, John Branca negotiated a five-million-dollar advance from Warner-Tamerlane Publis.h.i.+ng Corporation, the Warner Bros. publis.h.i.+ng arm that administers the copyrights on Jackson's songs. (Michael owns all of his copyrights. Warner-Tamerlane has no owners.h.i.+p, but, for a small fee, the company does collect money generated by publis.h.i.+ng deals around the world involving his compositions.) For an artist, five million dollars is a huge advance from a music publis.h.i.+ng company; most superstars get about one million.

All of the pieces of the puzzle were in place for a tremendous Decade Decade kick-off. However, by January 1990, it was obvious that Michael would fail to deliver kick-off. However, by January 1990, it was obvious that Michael would fail to deliver Decade Decade. He was ambivalent about the format, there was some confusion as to which songs to include on it. The original plan was for the package to consist of four cuts from Off the Wall Off the Wall, seven from Thriller Thriller, six from Bad Bad, three to five new songs, 'State of Shock' (the hit duet with Mick Jagger); 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Someone in the Dark' (from Michael's E.T E.T. narration alb.u.m), 'Come Together' and two vintage Motown songs that Michael was re-mastering. However, Michael kept vacillating about the plan, and, in the end, his close friend, entertainment mogul David Geffen, finally talked him out of putting out the alb.u.m, altogether. Rather, Michael would produce an alb.u.m of new material. (The deal John Branca negotiated for him at CBS and with Warner-Tamerlane applied to any product Michael chooses to issue.) Here we go, again, John Branca must have thought.

David Geffen Influences Michael.

Though Michael is the sole director of all of his companies, he has an investment committee that meets informally about once a year to discuss his many investments. In 1990, that committee consisted of John Branca and his partner, Kenneth Ziffren; Jackson's accountant, Marshall Gelfand; John Johnson of Johnson Publis.h.i.+ng Company (which publishes Ebony Ebony and and Jet Jet); and David Geffen. The committee had no real power; Michael could veto any decision five minutes after it has been made.

None of the members pocketed any money from investments made on Michael's behalf. Mostly, the committee was formed by Michael so that these powerful men would be well acquainted with one another and be able to follow one another's activities throughout the year. Michael believes in having his a.s.sociates watching over one another to see who may be taking advantage of him. Because his investments are so fascinating and because it seems an honour for these gentlemen to be involved, even if it does not mean a personal profit for them Michael has no difficulty in organizing such an investment committee.

In recent months, David Geffen, who had been a member of the investment committee for about ten years, had begun to exert great influence over Michael. At one point, Michael had signed a development deal with David's production company to do a film. David's task was to procure a script that would meet with Michael's approval. However, the two couldn't agree on one. (Michael still wants to do a movie that would be a fantastic, big-budget combination of Star Wars Star Wars and Busby Berkeley.) and Busby Berkeley.) It's easy to see why Michael a man who is most impressed by wealth and power would be enamoured of David Geffen. In its 24 December 1990, issue, Forbes Forbes dubbed David, 'the richest man in Hollywood' and, indeed, he probably was then, and still is, today with an estimated worth of over $100 million. dubbed David, 'the richest man in Hollywood' and, indeed, he probably was then, and still is, today with an estimated worth of over $100 million.

David has a reputation as being shrewd and savvy, an intuitive show-business genius who knows when to buy and, just as important, when to sell. He is intelligent and witty. He can also be temperamental, and is considered by some a.s.sociates to be conceited and arrogant. Over the years, David earned a respectable reputation in the music world (with his Geffen Records) and film world, producing movies that were distributed by Warner Bros., including Risky Business Risky Business and and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. In addition, he made money in the theatre, co-producing the Broadway hit Dreamgirls Dreamgirls with Michael Bennett and helping to finance Andrew Lloyd Webber's with Michael Bennett and helping to finance Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats Cats.

Michael admired David's business savvy and vision. 'Michael told me he thinks David is the most amazing man he has ever met,' said a Jackson a.s.sociate. 'He felt that if he listened to David's advice, he, too, could become a mogul, like David. He hung on to his every word the way he used to hang on to John Branca's. Unlike Branca, though, Geffen really kissed up to Mike, flattered him constantly. He and David became extremely close in many ways. Not only did they have a professional relations.h.i.+p, they also had a close personal relations.h.i.+p. David was the one who told him that Decade Decade was a mediocre idea and that Michael shouldn't waste his time on it. He convinced Mike to do an alb.u.m of new material, and Michael agreed. So, obviously, John Branca is not a fan of David Geffen's.' was a mediocre idea and that Michael shouldn't waste his time on it. He convinced Mike to do an alb.u.m of new material, and Michael agreed. So, obviously, John Branca is not a fan of David Geffen's.'

There was some talk that Michael would hire Quincy Jones for the new project. However, Michael no longer wanted to work with Quincy because he felt that the producer had become too possessive of him and his work, and had taken too much credit for it. Michael was still miffed that Quincy gave him a tough time about 'Smooth Criminal' Quincy didn't want it on the Bad Bad alb.u.m. For Quincy's part, he felt that Michael had become too demanding and inflexible. With emotions running so high, the partners.h.i.+p that had once sold millions and millions of alb.u.ms had soured. Still, Quincy figured he would work with Michael, again. He was never informed otherwise. Michael just began work without him; he hasn't worked with Quincy since alb.u.m. For Quincy's part, he felt that Michael had become too demanding and inflexible. With emotions running so high, the partners.h.i.+p that had once sold millions and millions of alb.u.ms had soured. Still, Quincy figured he would work with Michael, again. He was never informed otherwise. Michael just began work without him; he hasn't worked with Quincy since Bad Bad.

David Geffen had obtained all of Michael's financial information it is quite possible that Michael gave him the doc.u.ments and started discussing with him his relations.h.i.+p with CBS Records. He pointed out to Michael that he had spent about forty million dollars making music videos for Bad Bad (including the cost of (including the cost of Moonwalker Moonwalker), an exorbitant amount to spend on video production. David was right about that. However, John Branca had made back an enormous amount of money for Michael on these videos as a result of distribution and other sales deals, and Michael's net loss was 'only' ten million dollars. Practically no one in the record industry makes thirty million dollars from music videos. But, still, Michael began to believe that CBS Records was making more money on him and his videos than he was making for himself. Soon, he was riled up enough to want to leave CBS altogether.

Prior to this time, Walter Yetnikoff and Michael Jackson had had an outstanding relations.h.i.+p. Michael brought him up on to the stage during the 1984 Grammys. Walter was appreciative and felt that Michael's public show of grat.i.tude helped him earn millions of dollars for himself and his label. 'You don't bring record executives up at the Grammys, 'cause no one's interested,' Yetnikoff told Rolling Stone Rolling Stone in 1988. 'I went back to CBS and I said, ”Give me another two million dollars for that.”' in 1988. 'I went back to CBS and I said, ”Give me another two million dollars for that.”'

Walter Yetnikoff had been one of the most powerful men in the record business for many years. By 1990 his line-up of superstar recording artists included Michael, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. But his power had slipped during the year due to a deteriorating relations.h.i.+p with CBS Records' new parent company, Sony, and, in part, to his estrangement from Bruce Springsteen and Springsteen's attorney, John Landau. Now, without Michael Jackson in his corner, Yetnikoff's future looked cloudy.

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