France's First Lady, Carla Bruni, is also a singer, recording star, model, and actress. Her dating resume, prior to her marriage to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, includes rock stars Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger.
From the BBC:
Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has taken part in a New York concert to celebrate the 91st birthday of former South African President Nelson Mandela.
Hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, the event at Radio City Music Hall also featured performances by Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and Will.I.Am.
Romeo wears a mask to disguise himself so he may enter his father's enemy's ball. Romeo is played by Leonard Whiting in Franco Zeffirelli's masterpiece film, "Romeo and Juliet," made in 1968 with Olivia Hussey starring as Juliet.
Yesterday, I cut my finger with a knife. My daughter asked me, “Is it bad, Mom?” I thought of the street fight scene from “Romeo and Juliet” when Mercutio gets wounded. Romeo says to Mercutio, “Courage, man. The hurt cannot be much.”
Read today’s post to discover Mercutio’s famous response.
“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, 1595
Our story so far: Sixteen-year-old Romeo Montague and his friends – in disguise – boldly crash a masquerade party at the home of Romeo’s father’s enemies, the Capulets. There Romeo meets and falls in love with an enchanting young lady. We know that it is Juliet, the 13-year-old daughter of Lord Capulet.
Romeo, watching Juliet dance, asks a servant her name:
“Who is that lady who gives richness to the hand of that knight by simply holding it?”
Unbeknownst to Romeo, Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, hears Romeo’s voice and recognizes it as the son of his sworn enemy, Lord Montague. He swears revenge, although the ruler of the city has forbidden any more bloodshed between the two rival families.
Romeo approaches Juliet and they kiss. Romeo does not know that he was seen by Tybalt. Here is that scene from the 1968 Franco Zeffirelli version of “Romeo and Juliet.”
Several scenes later, the two lovers secretly wed.
Act III, Scene I. A public place…
Meanwhile, Romeo’s two best friends, Benvolio, a good-natured guy, and Mercutio, a sassy, hot-headed fellow, are bored, out walking the streets with nothing to do and missing their lovesick friend, Romeo.
Benvolio urges Mercutio to go inside. He senses that the Capulets also might be out, idly about, and up to no good. Neither Benvolio nor Mercutio know that Tybalt saw Romeo at the Capulet ball and has sworn to kill him but the street fighting between the two families has been a long-standing problem. Benvolio pleads with Mercutio:
“I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire. The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, and if we meet, we shall not [e]scape a brawl, for now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.”
An arrogant Mercutio laughs at Benvolio’s suggestion that he is a quarrelsome fellow and foolishly ignores his friend’s warning that trouble lies ahead….
Enter Tybalt and others.
Ben: By my head, here come the Capulets.
Mer: By my heel, I care not.
Tyb: [To his men] Follow me close, for I will speak to them. [To Mercutio and Benvolio] Gentlemen, good den. A word with one of you.
Mer: And but one word with one of us? Couple it with something; make it a word and a blow [a slash of your sword].
Tyb: You shall find me apt enough to that, sir, and you will give me occasion [good reason].
Mer: Could you not take some occasion without giving? [I’m sure you could find a reason without having it given to you].
Tyb: Mercutio, thou consortest [play around] with Romeo.
Mer: Consort? What, dost thou make us minstrels [silly musicians]? And thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords [angry sounds]. Here’s my fiddlestick [sword]; here’s that shall make you dance. Zounds, consort! [By God’s wounds, Benvolio, do you hear these insults?]
Ben: We talk here in the public haunt of men. Either withdraw unto some private place and reason coldly of your grievances, or else depart. Here all eyes gaze on us.
Mer: Men’s eyes were made to look, and let them gaze. I will not budge for no man’s pleasure, I.
Enter Romeo who has just married Juliet. No one knows yet. He is now married to a Capulet and thus, unknown to Tybalt, his cousin by marriage.
Tyb: Well, peace be with you, sir. Here comes my man [meaning Romeo].
Mer: But I’ll be hanged, sir, if he wear your livery [uniform]. Marry, [Indeed], go before to field [leave town to fight], he’ll be your follower! Your worship in that sense may call him man.
Tyb: Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford no better term than this: thou art a villain. [villain is the nicest name I can call you, I hate you so.]
Rom: [not wanting to fight] Tybalt,the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting. Villain am I none. Therefore farewell. I see thou knowst me not. [as your cousin; you haven’t heard the news.]
Tyb: Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me; therefore turn and draw.
Rom: I do protest I never injured thee, But love thee better than thou canst devise till thou shalt know the reason of my love; And so, good Capulet, which name I tender as dearly as mine own, be satisfied.
Mercutio is incensed that Romeo returns Tybalt’s insults with loving words, so draws his own sword to defend Romeo.
Mer: O calm, dishonorable, vile submission! Alla stoccata [At the thrust] carries it away. Tybalt, you ratcatcher, will you walk?
Tyb: What wouldst thou have with me?
Mer: Good King of Cats, nothing but one of your nine lives….
Tyb: I am for you. [Draws.]
Rom: Gentle Mercutio, put thy rapier up.
Mer: Come, sir, your passado! [a forward thrust of the sword as the foot steps forward]
They fight.
Rom: Draw, Benvolio; beat down their weapons. Gentleman, for shame! Forbear this outrage! Tybalt, Mercutio, the Prince expressly hath forbid this bandying in Verona streets. Hold, Tybalt! Good Mercutio!
Romeo steps between them. Tybalt, under Romeo’s arm, stabs Mercutio. Tybalt runs away.
Mer: I am hurt. A plague o’ both your houses! [Curse the Capulets and Montagues.] I am sped [done for]! Is he gone and hath nothing?
Ben: What, art thou hurt?
Mer: Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch. Marry, ’tis enough. Where is my page? Go, villain, fetch a surgeon.
The page exits.
Rom:Courage, man. The hurt cannot be much.
Mer:No, ’tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but ’tis enough, ’twill serve.Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered [mortally wounded], I warrant, for this world. A plague o’ both your houses! …Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm.
Rom: I thought all for the best.
Mer: Help me into some house, Benvolio, or I shall faint. A plague o’ both your houses! They have made worms’ meat of me. I have it, and soundly, too. Your houses!
Exit, supported by Benvolio. Mercutio dies.
Here is the fight scene from Zeffirelli’s 1968 film, “Romeo and Juliet.” The clip opens with a wet-haired Mercutio challenging Tybalt to a duel. Tybalt wears a red cap and orange vestments.
Readers: For more “Talk Like Shakespeare Today” posts, click here.
The Mole from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustration by E.H. Shepard
The following is an excerpt from the opening scene in the children’s literary classic, The Wind in the Willows. The Rat and the Mole are standing on opposite riverbanks, shouting across the river to one another in greeting. Rat is standing outside his snug riverside dwelling that includes a pier.)
“Hullo, Mole!” said the Water Rat.
“Hullo, Rat,” said the Mole.
“Would you like to come over?” enquired the Rat presently.
The Rat…stooped and unfastened a rope…then lightly stepped onto a little boat which the Mole had not observed. It was painted blue outside and white within, and was just the size for two animals; and the Mole’s whole heart went out to it at once, even though he did not yet fully understand its uses.
The Rat sculled smartly across and…the Mole stepped gingerly down…and …to his surprise and rapture found himself actually seated in the stern of a real boat.
[T]he Rat shoved off and took to the skulls again. “Do you know, I’ve never been in a boat before in my life.” [said the Mole]
“What?” cried the Rat, open-mouthed: “never been in a – you never – well I – what have you been doing, then?”
“Is it so nice as all that? asked the Mole shyly…[as he] felt the boat sway lightly under him.
“Nice? It’s the only thing,” said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke. “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,” he went on dreamily: “messing – about – in – boats; messing -“
“Look ahead, Rat!” cried the Mole suddenly.
It was too late.
Published in 1908, The Wind in the Willows, written by Kenneth Grahame, is a timeless tale of animal friends and their adventures along the Thames riverbank, in the Wild Wood, or on the Open Road. The main characters are the laid-back Ratty, the dim but positive Mole, stern yet kindly Badger, and the irrepressible Mr. Toad of Toad Hall. To see more of E.H. Shepard’s drawings for The Wind in the Willows, click here.
"Madame X" by American portrait painter John Singer Sargent, 1884
In the Metropolitan Museum of New York hangs a seven-foot tall portrait of a rather pale woman in a black velvet evening dress held up by sparkly straps. “Madame X” was painted by the American society painter John Singer Sargent. The subject of the painting is Madame Virginie Gautreau, a professional beauty, who moved in the top tiers of Paris society and was often mentioned in the scandal sheets for her numerous dangerous indiscretions and passion for self-display. It was 1884 and Madame Gautreau was the Talk of Paris.
It was only a year earlier that John Singer Sargent had met her at a party. Once he laid eyes on her, he knew at once he must paint a portrait of her as an homage to her beauty – and a boost to his lagging career. He felt that if he painted her, all Parisian society women would flock to his studio demanding that he paint their portraits. Sargent sent word to Madame Gautreau that she must sit for a portrait; she consented, realizing that a rising tide lifts all boats. She, too, needed the publicity to maintain her social superiority. Once they agreed, Sargent began to paint, devoting himself to capture the “strange, weird, fantastic, curious beauty of that peacock-woman, Mme. Gautreau,” noted one observer.
Madame Gautreau was rumored to take great pains to be beautiful:
Gautreau achieved her affected, highly artificial look with hennaed hair, heavily penciled brows, rouged ears and powdered skin. She was rumored to mix her powder with mauve tint and to ingest arsenic wafers to make her skin more translucent, giving it even more of a bluish-purple tint.
Not all thought she was lovely to look at. She had her detractors. Some said her white pallor and icy charm made her resemble a cadaver.
"Madame X" is shown as it must have originally appeared
The painting that hangs in the Met today, “Madame X,” however, is not the same Madame X as the one that Sargent painted in 1884 and exhibited in Paris. That image no longer exists. We can only speculate what it looked like. The painting shown to the right here is what it may have looked like. That original, the one exhibited in Paris in 1884, showed Madame Gautreau’s dress with the right strap suggestively falling off her shoulder. (Compare to the painting at the top, the one at the Met. Her right strap, you’ll notice, sits firmly in place.)
When exhibited in Paris, the painting “with the falling strap” created an instant sensation but not in the way Sargent and Gautreau had hoped:
No sooner had the doors of the Palais de l’Industrie in the Champs-Élysées opened on May 1, 1884, than a crowd gathered in front of ”Madame X.” People hooted and pointed the tips of their umbrellas and canes at the painting. ”Look! She forgot her chemise!*” was heard over and over again. The critics were no kinder. ”Of all the undressed women at the Salon this year, the most interesting is Madame Gautreau . . . because of the indecency of her dress that looks like it is about to fall off,” wrote a critic for L’Artist. (*A chemiseis a woman’s undergarment, a smock, that is worn under clothing and next to the skin. In that day, a French lady always wore a chemise under a dress.)
The painting was considered too provocative; sex pervaded it. Not even an actress, it was remarked, would wear a dress that shockingly low-cut and snug! And that strap! A little imagination conjured up a scene in which a slight struggle with a lover might knock Madame X’s right strap completely off her shoulder leading to… ! Paris was abuzz with the scandal. Madame Gautreau’s mother demanded that Sargent withdraw the painting from the exhibit. He refused.
John Singer Sargent in Paris studio 1885 with the revised painting of Madame X
The painting, considered a beloved masterpiece today but pornographic by 1884 Parisian standards of decency, was trashed by the Paris critics so badly that Sargent, having lived in Paris for a decade then, was eventually forced to move to London to continue his profession. Sargent revised the painting to show the gown’s right strap securely in place. It is this retouched painting that hangs in the New York Metropolitan today.
Zip ahead to 1938 and the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Dorothy Hale was wearing her Madame X dress when she jumped to her death from her penthouse apartment. To learn more, read “Frida Kahlo: The Suicide of Dorothy Hale.”
"The Suicide of Dorothy Hale" by Frida Kahlo, 1938/39
one of the neat Michael Jackson shirts available on Epic Love site at Cafe Press. The symbols say: Peace, Love, Michael.
Peace Love Michael
For you Michael Jackson fans, check out the following websites for cool stuff -shirts, buttons, & more in Michael’s memory. They are designed by a clever young lady in Austin, Texas. Check out her site at Epic Love on Cafe Press, here:
Quincy Jones blasts Michael Jackson’s excuses for turning white
by Lauren Crooks
MICHAEL JACKSON’S mentor has blasted the star’s “bull****” excuses for turning himself white.
Quincy Jones said he never believed Jacko’s claims he was suffering from rare skin condition vitiligo which caused bleaching to his skin.
Jones – who produced some of Jackson’s greatest hits, including Thriller – said the King of Pop had many chemical peels because he was not happy with the way he looked.
He compared the troubled star’s lies to those of a drug addict.
Jones said: “He was the most gorgeous guy but he obviously didn’t want to be black. You see his kids? It’s ridiculous. Chemical peels and all. I don’t understand it.
“He’d come up with, ‘Man, I promise you I have this disease’ and ‘I have a blister on my lungs’. I don’t believe any of that bull****.”
Jones, 76, said while he worked with Jackson they often rowed about his lies and they reminded him of stars who made up excuses about more traditional addictions like alcohol and drugs.
He said: “We talked about it all the time, the chemical peels and stuff. I couldn’t talk him out of it.
“I’ve been around junkies all my life. I’ve heard every excuse.”
The New York Post, quoting a new book, reports that Jackie Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy had a four-year love affair that began shortly after President Kennedy was killed.
Author C. David Heymann says Bobby was Jackie’s “true love” and that the affair was well known among family members. When Bobby was shot after winning the California presidential primary, Jackie — not Bobby’s wife Ethel Kennedy or his brother Ted Kennedy — ordered that he be removed from a respirator, the book says.
The book, Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story, arrives in stores this month. The Post says it “includes recollections of the steamy affair” from Kennedy family intimates, including Pierre Salinger, Arthur Schlesinger, Jack Newfield, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote and Morton Downey Jr. Heymann told the paper he spent nearly two decades researching the book and had access to FBI and Secret Service files. Tapes of his interviews are available at the SUNY Stony Brook library.
The Kennedy family at their home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts on the night after John F Kennedy won the 1960 presidential election. Front row from left: Eunice Shriver, Rose Kennedy , Joseph Kennedy , Jacqueline Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy. Back row, from left: Ethel Kennedy, Stephen Smith, Jean Smith, John F Kennedy, Robert F Kennedy, Pat Lawford , Sargent Shriver, Joan Kennedy, and Peter Lawford
Among the book’s revelations:
— Six months after JFK’s death, during a May 1964 dinner cruise on the presidential yacht the USS Sequoia, Bobby and Jackie “exchanged poignant glances” before disappearing below deck, leaving Ethel upstairs. “When they returned, they looked as chummy and relaxed as a pair of Cheshire cats,” according to Schlesinger.
— At one point, Ethel Kennedy implored family friend Frank Moore to “tell Bobby to stop sleeping with Jackie.” Instead, Moore told her to find a marriage counselor.
— Shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis — RFK’s rival for Jackie’s attention — once threatened to “bring down” Bobby by going public with details of the affair. “I could bury that sucker,” Onassis said, “although I’d lose Jackie in the process.”
The New York Daily News reports that the book already is generating criticism:
“It’s a new low, and you just wonder how far people are willing to go,” Laurence Learner, author of The Kennedy Men, The Kennedy Women and Sons of Camelot told the paper.
“[Heymann] is just trying to make a buck. Yes, Bobby and Jackie had a relationship as friends, but [the romance] is a total exaggeration. I feel sorry for Heymann,” he said.
Michael Jackson (front row, right) started his career as a member of the family musical group "The Jackson 5." He soon emerged as a star in his own right.
Here’s the joke that’s going around. America the Land of Opportunity. Only in America, can a young black man grow up to be a white woman. Michael Jackson.
Now that he’s passed on, we – who witnessed the bizarre morphing of Michael Jackson from the chubby-cheeked, open-faced little cherub into the mysterious boy man whose facial features became a mosaic of Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross, and Kirk Douglas – have a few questions.
Mainly, why did he do it? Why did he surgically alter his adorable face so radically until he looked like one of the ghoulishy-white monsters who danced with him in “Thriller”? Why did Michael Jackson destroy his natural good looks? Was he trying to rub out himself? Was it a form of self-hatred, self-mutilation? Some say he didn’t want to look anything like his savage father and that was his motivation.
Michael was black yet look at his 3 kids. They’re white. We now know he’s not the biological father. So Michael was homosexual. He didn’t want to consummate marriages and become the biological father in that way. Couldn’t he have donated sperm? Or, as some suggest, was Michael incapable of that process? Had he taken hormone treatments or prescription drugs to such a degree as to render him incapable of producing enough sperm? If he wanted children, why didn’t he choose surrogate parents who were black? Why didn’t he want black children? Michael Jackson married two white women. He dated only white girls – Tatum O’Neal, Brooke Shields. He rejected black noses and skin. It’s laughable that black celebrities Jamie Foxx and Spike Lee, activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are now, upon Michael’s death, claiming the King of Pop as one of their own, when Michael so long ago and so publicly rejected his Afro-American roots.
Have these very public figures – and alleged men of the cloth – forgotten the stain? Michael Jackson was twice investigated, in 1994 and 2005 for sexually assaulting young boys and was brought to trial. True, he was never found guilty but a settlement of $22 million can buy a lot of silence.
A lot of people who knew Michael Jackson know his secrets, but no one is talking negatively about him now that he’s gone. To hear them go on, he was St. Michael. From his bodybuilder to his best friend, all are mum about what was really going in Michael Jackson’s head and private life. We understand that he was not right, that he was a pedophile with warped ideas about how love is legally and morally expressed between adults and children. What we want to know is what caused this transformation from angel into devil? What changed Michael Jackson from the star we loved to the star many hated? Drug addiction plus mental illness? Childhood sexual trauma? Pressures only a superstar could feel? Perhaps all of the above?
We didn’t want Michael Jackson to become a mess; his music and dancing were so much fun. His energy on stage, in videos, on radio was electric, infectious.
We watched him grow into adulthood. We loved him from the first. Then we looked on in bewilderment as he began carving up his face and whitening his skin. Then he moved to Neverland as Peter Pan, set up an amusement park, and invited children to come and see him. Then we learned that he did unspeakable things with those children at Neverland, some of the little ones sick with cancer. Our beloved King of Pop had become somebody dark and revolting – a monster we couldn’t trust.
We are conflicted: we are sad Michael Jackson died. Is it okay we are mourning the death of a once-great entertainer who degenerated into a stranger who abused children and rejected his own race?
***
Us Weekly is running these photos today of Michael Jackson’s changing face. One must wonder if Michael’s father’s cruel remarks about his face caused Michael to want to completely alter his looks. Remember that Joe Jackson, besides beating the young Michael with belts and cords and knocking him and his brothers into walls because he wanted them to perform better, subjected Michael to verbal abuse, told his son repeatedly that he had a big nose and made fun of Michael’s skin condition as a teenager (adolescent acne). Michael said that sometimes, when his father walked into a room, he would be so afraid of him that he would vomit.
No doubt as a result of such belittling of his appearance, Michael Jackson, as he grew older, became obsessed with reducing the size of his nose. He further tinkered with his looks. He began making steady rounds to dermatologists to bleach out the black of his African-American skin until he became white. He annihilated his African skin and nose until no visible traces remained.
We were not allowed to see much of his skin so we don’t know how far he took the skin bleaching. As years went by, Michael took pains to keep us from seeing all of him, wearing long sleeves and pants, covering up almost every part of himself in the end, wearing masks, scarves, sunglasses, wigs, and hats, so that we couldn’t know how much plastic surgery and dermatology he had – or how dependent he had become on needle drugs and how badly his body looked beneath the flashy uniforms and spangled gloves.
While Michael Jackson changed his face, skin, and hair many times, his fixation on his nose was the most obvious – and the most disturbing. He kept having operations on it – operations that made it look worse. We watched in horror as it became smaller and more pinched, at times looking like it wasn’t even real anymore, just made of Silly Putty. He began to be followed by an umbrella man, whose sole job was to keep the sun off Michael’s face. Was Michael’s nose now so delicate as to melt off in the sun? Did he wear face masks to keep away the germs or to prevent us from seeing what late mutilation he’d subjected his poor nose to?
As the photos that follow will show, Michael Jackson was never satisfied with his nose, having more and more plastic surgery until the nose was whittled down to nothingness. Was it a greedy plastic surgeon who kept pushing Michael for yet one more nose surgery or was it Michael’s body dysmorphia that demanded more, more? After 20 years of surgeries, did Michael still look in the mirror and see a big nose? Was he suffering from a condition akin to anorexia like the 80 pound stick figure girl who looks in the mirror at her figure and still sees herself as a fat pig?
In an odd twist, Michael died with almost no nose left – Joe Jackson couldn’t call him “Big Nose” any longer – and 2 children parented by his skin doctor and nurse.
Michael Jackson 1975
Michael Jackson 1984
Michael Jackson 1984
Michael Jackson 1989
Michael Jackson 1990
Michael Jackson 1990
Michael Jackson face 1995
Michael Jackson 2000
Michael Jackson 2002
Michael Jackson 2003
Michael Jackson 2005
Michael Jackson 2005
Michael Jackson 2009
Michael Jackson 2009
Readers, for more on this blog on Michael Jackson, click here.
Neverland gate in Los Olivos, California, July 1, 2009
Yesterday, Jermaine Jackson lead Larry King and his television crew on a tour of Michael Jackson’s former fantasy home, Neverland Ranch, empty now. The front gates to Neverland sport a giant wreath of white roses in memorial to the now deceased King of Pop whose passing millions mourn.
The famous Neverland train station with its enormous floral clock
Michael Jackson in a bumper car in the amusement park at his Neverland Ranch, 1994
The singer and ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley welcomed youngsters for World Childrens’s Conference at Neverland in 1995
Michael Jackson with son Prince Michael and daughter Paris.
Michael Jackson’s children were banned from looking in mirrors and had their toys thrown away each night. So what kind of father was Jacko?
from the Daily Mail Online, July 2, 2009
by J Randy Taraborrelli
They met as children and for 40 years he was Michael Jackson’s confidant. Now, in an intimate account, J. Randy Taraborrelli writes about the Michael Jackson he knew. He reveals what sort of father Jackson was, and explains the great sadness of his mother, Katherine, who has been granted temporary custody of her grandchildren.
His first wife, Lisa Marie Presley, was firmly convinced that Michael Jackson should not be a father. He was too emotionally immature to raise a child, she concluded.
‘I think he needs a parent,’ she said. She refused point blank to have his babies. Undaunted, he hooked up with an old friend, Debbie Rowe, a nurse specialising in skin disorders, and she had his children instead, most probably after artificial insemination – although startling reports this week say that neither Debbie nor Michael are actually the biological parents of their two children.
When Debbie told her own father, he asked about this method of conception: ‘Isn’t he capable of fathering a child like anyone else?’ She laughed: ‘Michael doesn’t do anything like anyone else.’
On the insistence of Michael’s mother, Katherine, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, he and Debbie married after his divorce from Lisa. Six months’ pregnant and wearing black, she walked towards him at his suite in a Sydney hotel while he sat at the piano playing ‘Here comes the bride’.
Debbie Rowe and Michael Jackson wedding photo, 1996
He had on a creamy foundation that made his face almost stark white, and extra eyeliner. He wore a hat with one long curl framing each side of his face and fake sideburns. His ‘best man’ was a new friend named Anthony, whom Michael claimed was his nephew. He was eight years old.
It seemed that Lisa Marie might well have been right, then. Certainly, everything that happened over the next few years seemed to confirm her opinion.
Prince Michael Jackson, Michael’s son, was born in hospital in 1997, and together he and Debbie cut the umbilical cord. Then, while she stayed put, Michael rushed the baby off to Neverland, his Disney-style ranch home.
‘I have been blessed beyond comprehension,’ he announced to the world.
Michael Jackson with children, l to r: Prince Michael II (Blanket), Paris, and Prince Michael
Six weeks later, the parents posed proudly for photographs with Prince – but it was the first time Debbie had seen the baby since giving birth, and the whole thing was a set-up.
She was smuggled in for the occasion, given the infant to hold for the cameras – then sent on her way.
She was essentially a surrogate and had no part in bringing him up.
‘We never saw her,’ one of the Neverland staff reported. ‘The baby was cared for by a team of six nannies and six nurses, who worked in shifts so that there were always two nurses and two nannies by his side.
‘They were kept under constant video surveillance, which was monitored by members of Jackson’s security team. The nannies all had special training.
‘The day-team did exercise drills with the baby to build up his strength. The night-team read and sang to him. But it was as if he had no mother.’
One nanny said: ‘We had to measure the air quality in his room once an hour. When we fed him, all the utensils had to be boiled and were all thrown away after a single use.’
The same went for his toys, which were thrown away each night for sanitary reasons and replaced the next morning.
Michael Jackson is shown dangling his newborn baby, Prince Michael Jackson II (also known as Blanket) from a Berlin hotel balcony
Though rarely on the scene, Debbie announced nine months after the birth that she was pregnant with a second ‘gift’ for Michael.
The ‘gift’ he gave her in return – on top of the millions of dollars he was already paying her – was her own house in Los Angeles, which she moved into with her two pet dogs.
A daughter, Paris Katherine Michael Jackson, was born in April 1998. The following year, Debbie asked for a divorce, to which he consented, no questions asked, with a multi-million-dollar settlement.
Another surrogate was found – her identity was never disclosed – who, in 2002, gave Michael his third child, a boy he named Prince Michael II. He was nicknamed ‘Blanket’, as in blanketing someone with love and care, Jackson explained.
Readers, for more on this blog on Michael Jackson, click here.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN: There is huge news tonight about Michael Jackson. His three children, according to TMZ, are not biologically his and Jackson never adopted them. Plus, mother Debbie Rowe is not the biological mother of any of them. This complicates everything. Who will get custody of Michael, Jr., Paris and Prince Michael II?
TMZ news manager Mike Walters joins us from Los Angeles. Mike, whose children — I mean, did he ever — he never legally adopted these children, is that right?
MIKE WALTERS, TMZ.COM: Right. Exactly.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK. All right, now…
WALTERS: Basically, here’s what’s going on here, Greta…
VAN SUSTEREN: … tell me about the — OK, go ahead.
WALTERS: Well, here’s what’s going on. Michael is not the biological father of the children. Now, in Debbie Rowe’s situation, it’s slightly different. What we’re hearing and what we reported is that, basically, it was a — she was a surrogate mother. It was artificially inseminated, in vitro, from an egg and a sperm outside the womb, and she carried the children.
Michael Jackson’s 3 children shop
Now, the youngest child, this was a person who was inseminated, who didn’t know she was carrying Michael Jackson’s child at all. She delivered in San Diego, California. Three days after Michael Jackson’s attorney came, took the child and delivered it to Michael Jackson.
So of course, it brings up a host of different issues right then. Number one, Debbie Rowe — it’s presumed in the law at this point that they were married, and if the child — if the birth of the child comes within that time, that they are mother, father and parents. And that’s sort of how the law works. It’s never been, you know, litigated in this case, anything like that.
Now, in the third child, it could be totally different. Who exactly the parents are, Michael could have known, but we don’t know and we haven’t found out yet. But we might find out in this custody battle.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is Debbie Rowe going to fight for custody of the two older children?
WALTERS: You know, at this point, she’s been invited to. It’s — she’s been served — she’s going to be served with the documents from Katherine Jackson, who you already know has filed and gotten temporary guardianship. This will be heard Monday morning. Whether or not Debbie Rowe will show up, I don’t know.
Does she have authority? Could she come in and maybe ask for that? Yes, of course. Like I said, she presumably is the mother of the children by the law. It’s not a slam-dunk case, but she’ll have to go in and fight it.
Whether she will or not — we still haven’t talked to her or anybody in her camp whether or not they for sure will go. They’ve only said they’ll react and then do what’s appropriate with what’s on the table at this point, which is only that Grandma Jackson has custody at this point.
VAN SUSTEREN: To simplify matters, it would be easier if Michael Jackson’s name appears on any of the birth certificates. You know, are they on the birth certificates?
WALTERS: Yes. Michael Jackson is listed as the father on all three. Now, on the first two, Debbie Rowe is listed as the mother. On the third, the youngest, Prince, there is no mother. It’s literally blank. It’s got three lines across, and that’s it. And there’s signatures that are blacked out on that one. But Michael on all three is listed as the father.But remember, the law changed. And I don’t know the exact specifics, but basically, now you can do that. And back then, even if it was a surrogate mother, they were listed as the mother on the birth certificate.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. The youngest child, you said that Michael Jackson didn’t go to the hospital. A lawyer actually did all the transactions. Who is this lawyer? Because you’d think the lawyer would have enough sense to at least have worked through the legal trappings to make it a lot easier in the event of the situation we now have.
WALTERS: Well, that’s an interesting point, Greta. I think, at this point — this is Michael Jackson we’re talking about. This was several years ago. And I think whoever was involved, including Arnie Klein, who will come up, is going to probably be at this point talked to during all this stuff about his death and the prescription medication. You know, it’s reported today that he might be one of the sperm donors in this case. This is all going to have to come up, whether or not any of these people actually have any claim to the estate or custody. And I think that’s going to have to be sorted out before we can discuss any of those kind of situations.VAN SUSTEREN: All right, explain to the viewers who Arnie Klein is, Dr. Klein is, and how sort of he fits into this tale.
WALTERS: Well, you know, it’s interesting. That’s another doctor they want to speak with. And I can tell you from experience, you know, just at TMZ, we used to get Michael Jackson going and coming from that office almost twice a week for the last couple of months. So he’s a dermatologist that used to treat Michael Jackson and, like I said, recently, had been treating him again.
Now, any doctor that’s done anything medical to Michael Jackson — because of the fact that I can tell you for sure one of the things they’re investigating is hypodermic needles. So you know, knowing that, and all these drugs that are in combination, they’re going to look at all the doctors that have ever prescribed him, especially the ones he’s seen as of three weeks ago or two months ago on a regular basis, and specifically also the doctor who was there, obviously, the night — or the day that he passed away. So this is — they’re all going to get spoken to, and it’s all going to come through an investigation.
VAN SUSTEREN: And Debbie Rowe, the mother of the two older children, also worked at one time for Dr. Klein, to sort of add more intrigue to this.
WALTERS: Really, that’s what’s interesting. Exactly. Debbie Rowe worked for Arnie Klein for a number of years. And that’s what’s going to make it hard. You brought it up already. Why don’t they just come forward and this is all easily worked out? Well, it’s not. Think about back then, when this actually came about and all the documents were actually drawn up by an attorney. This is specific to people that all were in an office.
Michael Jackson is a superstar. His private life was very private and still is. So these documents, how many people have actually seen them — all I can tell you for sure is we reported it, he’s not the father, and that Debbie Rowe carried the children but was only a surrogate mother, just like the third child. So will those ever come out? Arnie Klein’s already not wanted to comment today. He hasn’t said anything, citing patient- client privilege. So will we ever know? I don’t know.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. The memorial service, what are the latest plans for that?
WALTERS: You know, we reported today that the plans have been put into motion that at 10:00 AM on Thursday morning, from Los Angeles to Neverland ranch, an upwards of 30-car motorcade will descend on Santa Barbara. Now, what’s interesting is this happened this morning, and as the day progressed, the officials up in Santa Barbara, which included CHP, sheriff, police — all of those people are now saying, Well, the plan was put in motion as an “if they were going to do it.” So it’s interesting that the family hasn’t come out officially and said, That’s what we are doing.
But the county and Neverland ranch are preparing because all these fans are coming anyways. And they guess — the guesstimate is that they will have 250,000 people go there this weekend, whether there’s an official viewing or not. But I am told that there is one. They’re planning it for Friday or Saturday, and that sometime between now and then, and I’m told Thursday morning, they will — this motorcade will go up there.
And think about that, Greta. I mean, the overpasses on the 101 north, I mean, people everywhere, choppers — I mean, it’s fitting for Michael Jackson, the king of pop. I mean, that’s what I think, if they do it, will be fitting and have a public forum up at Neverland for all these people.
Michael Jackson's children from left: Paris, Prince and Prince Michael II (also known as "Blanket") shopping with dad
What will become of Michael Jackson’s children: Prince Michael, 12; Paris, 11 and Prince Michael II, 7, also known as “Blanket”?
Beverly Hills dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, alleged sperm donor for Michael Jackson's two older children, Prince Michael and Paris. Nurse Debbie Rowe became the surrogate mother and was married to Jackson for three years, though she said the marriage was a complete sham.
As authorities begin to weed through the custody issues related to Michael Jackson’s three children, a number of reports are emerging that question the paternity of Prince Michael Jr., 12; Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and Prince Michael II, 7. Our colleagues at Us Weekly are reporting that Los Angeles dermatologist Arnold Klein — Michael’s former doctor and boss of Jackson’s onetime wife, Debbie Rowe — is the biological father of elder children Prince Michael Jr. and Paris. “He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth,” an insider tells the magazine. “I’m doing a favor for a good friend,” Rowe reportedly told a friend when she was pregnant with one of the children. She gave up custody of the two children after she and Jackson divorced in 1999; when Jackson was facing child-molestation charges in 2003 she briefly regained custody, but gave it up again in 2006. An unnamed surrogate gave birth to Prince Michael II.
All three children are currently in the care of Jackson’s 79-year-old mother, Katherine, per a court order for temporary custody granted yesterday. The court will examine the children’s permanent placement at a July 6th hearing. Rowe’s attorney Eric George tells the Los Angeles Times his client will decide in the next several days whether to petition for custody or visitation rights.
TMZ also reports that Michael Jackson was not the biological father of any of his three children — and that the superstar did not legally adopt them because there was no presumed third party who would try to take custody of them. As Rolling Stone previously reported, there is no mother named on youngest son Prince Michael II’s birth certificate, though Jackson is listed as the father. Rowe is named as the mother of Prince Michael and Paris, the AP reports.
Readers, for more on this blog on Michael Jackson, click here.
Michael Jackson’s ex-wife and baby mama speaks out: Michael was not his first 2 children’s biological dad.
A new confirmation has just been made by Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe who tells Britain’s News of the World that Prince Michael Jackson Jr. and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson actually aren’t the late singer’s biological children. Speaking exclusively from her home in California, she says she carried both kids after being artificially inseminated by an anonymous donor.
“Michael was divorced, lonely and wanted children. I was the one who said to him, ‘I will have your babies’,” she testifies. “I offered him my womb – it was a gift. It was something I did to keep him happy.” Debbie opens up further, “I was just the vessel. It wasn’t Michael’s sperm. I got paid for it, and I’ve moved on. I know I will never see my children again.”
“But after the second birth had so many problems, he knew I couldn’t have kids any more. He didn’t want anything to do with me. He took the kids,” she goes on revealing. “The settlement was written up, and he just wanted me to be quiet.”
In further interview with News of the World, Debbie also admits that though Michael has passed away, she doesn’t plan to seek custody of Prince Michael and Paris Michael. “I know I will never see them again. I was never cut out to be a mother – I was no good. I don’t want these children in my life. My children are my animals now,” she insists.
Debbie Rowe was working as a receptionist at a Beverly Hills dermatology clinic where Michael Jackson regularly went for skin treatments when they first met. As time went by, they became close to one another. They tied the knot in November 1996, just months after he had his divorce from first wife Lisa Marie Presley being finalized. Michael and Debbie split in October 1999.
Michael Jackson autopsy results reveal that Michael Jackson's nose had no bridge and one side had collapsed.
[UPDATE: TMZ is now reporting that this story is false. We will wait and see. Liza Minelli says we will be in for many surprises once we know the full horror of Michael’s problems.]
The horrifying state of pop superstar Michael Jackson in his final days can be revealed by The Sun today.
This just posted from The Sun (UK)
Harrowing leaked autopsy details show the singer was a virtual skeleton — barely eating and with only pills in his stomach at the time he died.
His hips, thighs and shoulders were riddled with needle wounds — believed to be the result of injections of narcotic painkillers, given three times a day for years.
And a mass of surgery scars were thought to be the legacy of at least 13 cosmetic operations.
The examination showed the 5ft 10in star — once famed for his on-stage athleticism — had:
PLUNGED to a “severely emaciated” 8 stones, 1 ounce (112 lbs). It is understood anorexic Jackson had been eating just one meagre meal a day.
Pathologists found his stomach empty aside from partially-dissolved pills he took before the painkiller injection which stopped his heart. Samples were sent for toxicology tests.
LOST virtually all his hair. The pop pin-up was wearing a wig when he died and pathologists said little more than “peach fuzz” covered his scalp.
A scarred section of skin above his left ear was entirely bald — apparently the result of a 1984 accident when his hair caught fire as he filmed an ad for Pepsi.
SUFFERED several broken ribs as frantic rescuers pumped his chest after he collapsed in cardiac arrest. Four injection sites were found above or near to Jacko’s heart.
All appeared to result from attempts to pump adrenaline directly into the organ in a failed bit to restart it.
Three of the injections had penetrated the heart wall — causing damage — but a fourth missed and hit one of the 50-year-old star’s ribs.
The autopsy also found unexplained BRUISING on Jackson’s knees and on the fronts of both shins. And there were CUTS on his back, indicating a recent fall.
The King of Pop’s once handsome face bore a network of plastic surgery scars, while the bridge to his nose had vanished and its right side had partially collapsed.
As inquiries into the tragedy last night focused on the star’s personal physician Dr Conrad Murray, a source close to the Jackson entourage said: “Michael’s family and fans will be horrified when they realise the appalling state he was in.
“He was skin and bone, his hair had fallen out and had been eating nothing but pills when he died. Injection marks all over his body and the disfigurement caused by years of plastic surgery show he’d been in terminal decline for years.
“His doctors and the hangers-on stood by as he self-destructed. Somebody is going to have to pay.”
Cardiologist Dr Murray was thought to have given Jackson the final injection of painkiller Demerol.
He is facing serious questions about his resuscitation attempts, which began when he started CPR as Jacko lay unconscious on a bed. Basic first aid guidance says patients must be face-up on a hard surface before compressions.
Experts yesterday expressed amazement that a trained cardiologist could have made such an error, potentially wasting vital minutes.
Additional damage was believed to have been caused by oxygen masks and tubing inserted during resuscitation attempts. But in an ironic twist, the probe found Jacko was recovering well from skin cancer — with an op to shave cells from his chest a total success.
A second autopsy demanded by the Jackson family was carried out at a secret location on Saturday after the first ruled out foul play.
Family friend Rev Jesse Jackson said the family were deeply suspicious about what caused his death.
Dr Murray was hired just 11 days ago by AEG Live — the firm masterminding Jacko’s 50-date residency at London’s O2 Arena, which was due to start next month.
Sources claimed the family were preparing a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the cardiologist.
Detectives were unable to find the doctor at Jackson’s home and his car was taken away for analysis as police sought him for questioning. He surfaced late on Friday and was quizzed over the weekend.
The Sun told on Saturday how Jacko had developed stage fright for the first time and was terrified of performing the comeback gigs.
Aides claimed the ailing star even believed he would be KILLED if he pulled out on health grounds. We also revealed he was taking a potentially toxic cocktail of drugs.
Sources last night said prescriptions for drugs for patients other than Jacko were found at his home. Those patients were due to be quizzed.”
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