Re:
Scritto da: TRUEFAN 26/09/2005 15.01
Jackson Speaks...Finally
Monday, September 26, 2005
By Roger Friedman
Jackson Speaks Up: Eight-hour London Deposition
Michael Jackson didn't want to, but he finally had to answer some questions on Friday. He reluctantly answered questions posed to him in a deposition by the attorney for his former business partner, Marc Schaffel. Schaffel has sued Jackson for $4 million, claiming he loaned Jackson money and bought him luxury items with the promise of reimbursement.
I'm told the session at a conference room in London's prestigious Dorchester Hotel lasted eight hours, with Jackson's representative, Thomas Mesereau, frequently objecting to questions asked by attorney Howard King. Nevertheless, Mesereau did not ask Jackson questions himself.
Mesereau, I'm told, was upset by the appearance of another deponent in the Schaffel case, Jackson's former manager, Dieter Wiesner.
The deposition was a unique one in that Jackson, sources say, refused to return to Los Angeles for it. His attorneys petitioned the California judge in the case, saying that the beleaguered pop star didn't want come back to America from Bahrain, where he's been staying since his child molestation trial ended in June. (There was no mention of Jackson having been in New York recently. More on that in a bit.)
The judge OK'd the London deposition but required that Jackson — who is quite cash poor and is depending on the kindness of his royal Bahraini friends — to pay the expenses involved. This meant flying Schaffel, King, Mesereau, Jackson's Houston attorney Michael Sydow, Wiesner, et al plus entourages to London business class and putting them up at hotels. Jackson, I'm told, cobbled together the cash from various sources at the last minute.
The actual questioning was said to be uniquely weird, with Jackson at first claiming not to know simple things like what his business relationships were or what he owned or how he'd gotten it. Schaffel, for example, bought Jackson a Lincoln Navigator and was supposed to be reimbursed. Jackson, in this testimony, seemed initially unaware of it or that he'd ridden in the car back and forth to court last spring.
The hedging, which may surface one day since the deposition was videotaped, was eventually addressed when King produced itemized bills and receipts kept by Schaffel throughout his association with Jackson.
Jackson, meantime, is still facing at least three other court issues: a $48 million lawsuit brought by Darien Dash, the cousin of hip hop entrepreneur Damon Dash; an ongoing custody/visitation fight with the sole biological parent of his two eldest children; and a civil action brought by a New Orleans man who claims to have a repressed memory of Jackson molesting him when he was underage.
Jackson also faces the continual public relations effort of his former p.r. man Bob Jones and co-author Stacy Brown. Their book about Jackson, "The Man Behind the Mask," remains a sticking point for the singer despite his recent acquittal. Jones's revelations and observations about Jackson — he worked for him for over 25 years — cannot be ignored. They are about as accurate a report on Michael Jackson as we will ever get.
To stem the tide of bad press, Jackson recently announced he would record an all-star charity single for hurricane survivors. Unfortunately, his efforts have so far produced little satisfaction. I'm told everyone he's asked, including Stevie Wonder, have politely declined. And as it turns out, Wonder has a new single called "Shelter in the Rain," from which he is donating the profits derived from its downloading (on iTunes, MSN Music, etc) to the American Red Cross beginning tomorrow. If anything, that's the song celebrities should get together and record in a group. It's a winner
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atavo leggendo un po' di news su fox ed e' saltata fuori sta notizia! ora non posso fare la traduzione sono a lavoro....
In due parole:
Shaffel dice che Mj gli deve 4 milioni di dollari. Jackson è stato costretto a deporre a Londra con spese a suo carico, ma non ha il becco di un quattrino e dipende interamente dal suo amico arabo. Nella deposizione è venuto fuori che non vuole tornare in America, e cose strane del tipo che MJ non sapesse neppure chi si occupasse dei suoi affari e a chi doveva soldi o meno, ecc.. Nel frattempo ci sono altre due cause a suo carico: una con Darien Dash per 48 milioni di dollari (per la custodia dei figli) e quella con il tipo che ha perso la memoria...
Inoltre c'è sempre la pessima pubblicità del libro di Jones a cui tutti credono e che è "la miglior e più accurata" fonte di come è MJ in realtà...inoltre tutti i cantati chiamati da MJ per il singolo di beneficienza hanno rifiutato l'invito di Jackson...
Come sempre molto carino il nostro Friedman!!