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Sunday 27 May 2012

What Jacko needed was someone to say ‘No’

01 July 2009

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My defining memory of Michael Jackson — vulnerable, brilliant, otherworldly — is of watching him dance to the soundtrack of a movie.

Michael gestured for the car to slow down, and he edged his door open, leaning out of the car to touch the hands of his fans.

‘We love you, Michael!’

‘I love you more,’ he said.

But too often he seemed not to love himself. With no one to say ‘No’ to him, his behaviour could become self-destructive — and when I tried to be the one who stood up to Michael and his ever-changing squad of advisers, our rollercoaster friendship dived into a trough. I lost my patience and shouted at him: ‘Stop doing this! Before it kills you!’ Michael did not want to listen. That was the beginning of a rift between us, although on his most recent visit to London he did ask me to visit him.

On my wedding day in 2001, Michael had been our best man. He was hours late, and afterwards he seemed jetlagged and exhausted, so I led him into the family room of our home. Crystal pyramids and globes are clustered on the table, and beside the sofa stands a lifesize wooden effigy of Elvis, in his rhinestone period.

I sat Michael down, gave him a drink of juice and left him to relax. At the doorway I turned round. Michael was sitting quite still, with his eyes closed, and he had reached up to hold Elvis’s hand. The King of Rock and Roll stood over the King of Pop, like a guardian angel with a guitar.

www.urigeller.com

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Chip Sviokla

July 2nd, 2009 6:42pm Report this comment

The Spectator will never be the same in my eyes. I'm dumbfounded that you printed this garbage.

Alan

July 3rd, 2009 11:54am Report this comment

Insightful! No, wait, the other thing. Clingy, creepy, hollow and entirely without merit. That's it.

cripesonfriday

July 3rd, 2009 12:00pm Report this comment

I am amazed that you could print something as trite, something as poor as this on your website, Uri Geller has said all this in TV interviews since an hour after Jackson's death.
Uri Geller is a charlatan, a publicity seeking sham artist who is so false that MICHAEL JACKSON saw through him.
All the anecdotes are 8 years or more old and have no relevance to the shell of a person Jackson became.
It is an absolute disgrace that Geller is getting yet another bite of the fame cherry because of the death of someone who once considered him a friend.
This isn't news, this is an ad for Uri Gellar's no doubt forthcoming book about him and his "friend"
Shame on you for publishing this.I say this, not as a Michael Jackson fan, but as a fan of good journalism.

Adam

July 3rd, 2009 12:10pm Report this comment

What utter tripe. Uri Geller clearly holds friendship in the same vein as Paul Burrell. Someone should certainly have said 'No' - the editor.

Alan

July 3rd, 2009 12:25pm Report this comment

Self-serving! That's the adjective I was looking for!

Ron White

July 3rd, 2009 5:21pm Report this comment

Hmm, well if Geller's treatment was so effective, how come he never used it to prevent Jackson's self destruction? As tacky as the crystal pyramids and globes chez Geller.

Daryll

July 5th, 2009 5:41am Report this comment

He only pretended to bend spoons, but this freak (clearly it's not only opposites who attract) really does bend the truth.

When Jacko left his seat in the cinema, Geller thought he'd left the theatre - "but after a few minutes I looked around and saw him silhouetted [dancing] in the projectionist's beam."

For this fable to be true, wouldn't you have first noticed it on the screen, fraud?

What Geller (and readers) needed was for the Spectator to say 'No' to such rubbish.

Man in the mirror

July 5th, 2009 2:06pm Report this comment

Geller personally arranged the ultimate betrayal of his 'friend', the Bashir documentary.

This was a finely-crafted and thorough, crude, manipulative hatchet job that led directly to the final, fatal persecution and destruction of the supremely gifted and sensitive human being, Michael Jackson.

Lest we forget.

Teledu (Future Poet Laureate surely)

July 5th, 2009 5:05pm Report this comment

Say what you like about Michael Jackson
But he's no Anglo-Saxon!

Tabi

July 6th, 2009 2:26pm Report this comment

Aye you are so right Uri Geller...but
No Never not ever .. maybe in another aeon

Kay P Hankinson

July 6th, 2009 3:35pm Report this comment

I sincerely suggest that critics should investigate Mr Geller with a more open mind .. generally one finds what one is looking for - if it is to prove that he is a fraud you will find that and if it is to prove that he is quite incredible you will prove that too.

Kay P Hankinson

July 6th, 2009 4:28pm Report this comment

Apropos my last statement about Mr Geller ( and although I am not of any particular religious leaning ) I would say that " As ye seek, so shall ye find' which means you see what you want to see and find what you want to find in all areas of your life.

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