Phone Messages of a Paranoid Michael Jackson Emerge

Recently made public taped phone messages, in which late singer Michael Jackson is begging for money and says he lives in fear for his life, seem to indicate that he had serious addiction issues as early as 6 or 7 years ago. The tapes were unveiled by journalist Daphne Barak, who got them from people close to the late star but who chose to remain anonymous. Barak handed them over to The Sun.

The explanation behind making them public is not that Barak wanted to denigrate the name of the singer but rather to show that he might have been having problems related to his drug use very early on. This would, of course, also mean that it was virtually impossible for anyone of his many doctors not to pick up on his addiction, which is to say they were his enablers and are, thus, partly responsible for the demise, Barak says for the British tabloid.

“It is Michael calling. It is very important, I want that 150 in that account for me, because... I am very concerned about my life. I am hearing a lot of stories that (name withheld) is still trying to sabotage (inaudible) me and I want to be in a different environment and, um, I’ve found a place that I like and now (inaudible) I want to be away for a while where they can’t find me. So please help me, help (inaudible) help me, and, um, more important than (inaudible). We are brothers,” one message says.

“It is Michael. Ahh, it is 4:30 in the morning here that's why I sound very sleepy (laughs) and I’m really worn out... but please check the message I left a day or so ago. I am very concerned. I don’t trust that man. We think he’s bad, we think he is Italian mafia. Please... we must be smarter than him. So please, help me with this. I need to get that, those funds so I can do that, I wanna be away... I don’t want to be in Neverland right now,” he says on another tape, showing that he was really convinced someone was out to harm him.

In another message, Michael clearly says that he believes he’s being stalked and even names the supposed stalker (though his identity has been withheld from the public). On another tape, the singer is in a different state of mind and talks business with the friend who made the tapes public, saying that the timing was perfect to come up with a project somehow linked to the frenzy of superhero movies.