14 DAY TRIAL // Organizers AllGood Entertainment were set on suing Michael Jackson to the tune of many millions of dollars if the singer did not agree to fulfill his contractual obligations as regards a Jackson 5 reunion concert, to which his manager had agreed on his behalf. A TMZ paparazzo has managed to stumble upon Michael the other day and even to get an answer from him regarding the reunion gig – but whether it can be taken as an official announcement is yet to be determined.
As fans must know, the Jackson 5 reunion was supposed to take place sometime in 2010 and, while the Jackson brothers and Janet had personally agreed to do it, Michael sent his manager to act on his behalf. He signed the papers and then went on to work on the details of the “This Is It” series of show, which is to kick off in a little over a month, despite a clause in the first contract clearly saying Michael was not to engage in any other activity of the kind for the following 18 months.
Consequently, the organizers threatened to sue, while Michael insisted he would not do the reunion show, since rehearsing for it would conflict with performing for “This Is It.” Should the answers he gave to the TMZ pap be any indication of what Michael fans have in store for the following year, then it’s safe to assume they will be having a blast since the singer plans to do both “This Is It” and the reunion concert. Case in point: the singer answered a loud “Yes!” to all questions coming from the paparazzo, including the one about the reunion.
Granted, there are certain things one must bear in mind before getting overexcited about the so-called confirmation of the reunion. Stars are known to deliberately deceive the paparazzi, first of all, because they often try to keep details to themselves; secondly, because they have no reason to speak the truth when they can do so via official channels (publicists, spokespersons, record labels). Celebrities are also known to tell the paparazzi whatever they think they want to hear just to make their escape as quick as possible – and this clearly seems to be the case with Michael as well, with him being rushed to his car to avoid further questions and having his picture taken.
Last time anything official was heard of the reunion tour was when organizers AllGood Entertainment had presented Michael with an ultimatum: either perform or risk losing in court. Also at the time, reports had it that the King of Pop stood to make $3 million for a one-night performance, Janet $1 million, while the Jackson brothers would cash $500,000 between themselves.