14 DAY TRIAL // Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who was a close friend of Michael Jackson, has waited eight years to step forward and come to his defense by releasing a series of tapes with private talks the two had between 2000 and 2001. The tapes in question include confessions and discussions on anything from Michael’s fear of growing old, his fascination with death, his loneliness and his much-mediated relationship with Madonna, as E! Online can confirm.
Boteach’s book, “The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation,” is being released based on the 30 hours of discussions, as the name also implies. The rabbi says it was Michael’s wish to have the world know exactly what he was thinking on several topics, although why he didn’t make the tapes public before his death is an issue that hasn’t been addressed yet. Still, they do shed some light on how lonely and, some say, ultimately disturbed Michael was.
“If it weren’t for children, I would choose death. I mean it with all my heart. Anybody else would probably be dead by now, or a junkie, with what I’ve been through, Shmuley. When the body breaks down and you start to wrinkle, I think it’s so bad... I don’t want to grow old. I would like some kind of way to disappear where people don’t see me anymore at some – at some point, and just do my things for children but not be visual. To disappear is very important.” Michael said in several talks on the subject of death and anonymity.
Other topics the late singer was very open about included the date he had with Madonna and what he really made of the Queen of Pop. Madonna, Michael believed, was an iron-fisted woman, who was extremely jealous of his success, a “witch” who refused to go to Disneyland with him and would have forced him instead to go to a dance club. She was the perfect example of the envy that drove the music industry at that time, Michael can be heard saying on the tapes.
“It’s unclear whether the Jackson family approves of the book’s release, though if not it’s only a matter of time before they’re likely to set the record straight. While anyone even loosely familiar with the King of Pop will be hard-pressed to find any new information in the tome – the rabbi says Jackson didn’t want to age, basked in the spotlight and seemed to be abusing both prescription drugs and cosmetic surgery – it doesn’t exactly appear to paint the superstar in a glowing light.” E! says of the recently uncovered tapes.