Brooke Sheild.s-book/ Excerpts in People-Magazine

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

What Michael said about Tatum on Moonwalk (if I'm not mistaken.) I don't think Michael was asexual either but when he was a JW, he was heavily repressed on that matter

"My first girlfriend, Tatum O´Neil, she´d won the Academy Award for Paper Moon... I was sixteen, she was thirteen. And I was naive. She wanted to do everything and I didn´t want to have sex at all, because there were a lot of values associated with being a Jehovah´s Witness. I said: ´Are you crazy?´ One of those was to be kind to everyone. When I held Tatum´s hand it was just magic, better than anything, kissing her, anything. Her, Ryan O´Neil, an myself went to this club and were watching a band and underneath the table she was holding my hand and I was melting. It was magical. There was fireworks going on. It was all I needed. But that means nothing to kids today. She grew up so fast. She wasn´t into innocence and I love that."

I know there's a difference between going out and dating

Oprah: Do you go out, do you date?


Michael: Yes.


Oprah: Who do you date?


Michael: Well, right now it’s Brooke *******. Well, we try not to be everywhere, go everywhere, it’s mostly at home, she’ll come over, I’ll go to her house, because I don’t like going out in public.


Oprah: Have you ever been in love?


Michael: Yeah.


Oprah: With Brooke *******?


Michael: Yes, and another girl.


Oprah: What kind of woman makes you…in the video we’re going to see later, we premier the world video, there’s a line where you talk about being quenched. So what kind of person does that for you?


Michael: [Sings] Quench my desire … Well Brooke, I’ve always liked her…

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

If Latoya didn't lie in her 1991 book:

Around the same time Michael was recuperating, the press was linking him romantically with Brooke *******, the actress and model. My brother had been as sheltered from the opposite sex as I was. He too believed that sex came after marriage, and marriage was the goal of dating. Up till then he’d had only one close friendship, with Tatum O’Neal in the late 1970s. Tatum, just fifteen then, was in some ways more sophisticated than Michael, running with an older, faster crowd. We always found it so strange that her father, actor Ryan O’Neal, regularly left her and her younger brother Griffin unsupervised for days at a time, but for them, and many kids in Hollywood, that was considered normal.


I recall so many times when I’ve seen famous children, sometimes not even in their teens, in the company of adults known to drink, use drugs, and who knows what else. Perhaps some of my siblings lost their childhoods, but it was to work, not drugs or alcohol. Very few Hollywood children ever really get to be kids.


Despite the press’s portrayal, Michael and Brooke’s relationship was a friendship, plain and simple – at least in Michael’s mind. It was obvious to Janet and me that she had other ideas. About to watch a movie with us at home, Brooke would declare, “I’m going to sit by Michael,” grabbing his hand. “Michael, where are we going to sit?”


Janet and I concurred that she was a bit forward, especially when she started making plans for them as a couple. Brooke longed to accompany Michael to the two upcoming American Music Awards and the Grammys, and pestered him about it every chance she got.


“Michael, I’m going to be your date, right?” For a supposed question, it sure had a ring of finality to it. “It’s going to be you and me.”


“Well…” Michael laughed nervously. Just like when it came to business, he could never say no. He turned to me and whispered urgently, “La Toya, say something.”


“It’s your problem,” I hissed out of the side of my mouth.


“… Uh, I don’t know if I’m going to take anybody or not,” he replied at last, though to no avail.


“Sure you are,” Brooke said happily. “The two of us are going.”


Later Michael cornered me and asked, “La Toya, how can I tell her no?”


“You just have to tell her, Mike.”


Janet, who really couldn’t stand Brooke, calling her “Giraffe Butt” behind her back, eagerly offered, “Let me tell her!”


Michael surrendered, “No,” he sighed. “I guess I’ll have to tell her. But you know” — he lowered his voice — “She tried to kiss me!”


“She did?”


“Yea, she’s more aggressive than she looks.”


This was a common scenario. Other women, probably attracted to Michael’s relative innocence, approached him even more directly. But other women were simply friends, and he receieved many gifts from them, which he took as thoughtful tokens of their affection. One famous actress gave him a set of beautiful gray silk sheets monogrammed with her initials, ET. We thought they were so sumptuous and pretty: we never thought there was anything untoward about the gesture.

 

[LindavG]

If Latoya didn't lie in her 1991 book:

That's a big IF I think LaToya was projecting her own feelings about Brooke onto Michael. As far as I know, Michael never said a bad word about Brooke. He did say that Brooke asked him out every time they were together but that was because Michael was too shy to ask her himself. Right after that, he says "I sincerely liked her too". So I doubt Michael did not want to take her to the American Music Awards.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

^I never said I believe her. That's why the IF was there.

 

[Petrarose]

What I don't get is, why does she make such emphasis Michael was terrified of romance if she wasn't interested in him as a boyfriend? I wouldn't surprise me if Brooke in fact used him in the 80's, 90's and even nowadays to keep herself relevant.

She attended Elizabeth's wedding indeed.

^^That is what many were saying at the time in different words. Now that she talks about the relationship as though it was not serious even though Michael spoke of how excited he was to go out with her, it seems those people were right.

 

[LindavG]

^^That is what many were saying at the time in different words. Now that she talks about the relationship as though it was not serious even though Michael spoke of how excited he was to go out with her, it seems those people were right.

Why? Brooke always maintained that the relationship was not romantic although she really loved Michael as a friend. Michael may have been in love with her but she didn't feel the same for him, it happens (as hard as it is for us to imagine). If she really wanted to take advantage of him, she would have made their friendship out to be something much bigger. She could have written a whole book about their "secret love story" and used Michael's own quotes to back it up.

 

[barbee0715]

Here's another thing that Brooke and Michael have in common. Brooke dressed up for Halloween.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

I never said their friendship wasn't real but it gives the impression she took advantage of his feelings towards her. I'm not the only one who thinks she was using him to have publicity and stay relevant. Even in the media, they mostly ask her about Michael when it comes to her relationships.

From the Right On magazine 1984. To clarify, I'm not assuming the article is true but clearly Brooke gave that impression to more than one individual.

Now,let’s talk about Brooke and her thing with Michael. She says they’re just friends and her mom is telling everybody the same thing. But their comments haven’t hushed up the gossips, who are still whispering that there’s some hot love affair going on.Don’t believe it. All you have to do is see those two together and you know, there’s nothing going on. Like Brooke says, they’re just friends.Its the most innocent-looking relationship you ever want to see. She’s more like a fancy decoration than a girlfriend.And why is Brooke doing this? She’s no dummy. Its great publicity for her. Hanging out with Michael has gotten her more publicity than she’s ever had. What’s funny is that she’s getting all this attention by playing second fiddle to Michael.When they’re out together, he’s the star. He’s the one everyone wants to talk to and photograph. Publically, she says she doesn’t mind taking a back seat to Michael, but privately, she’s telling her pals that she minds very much. After all Brooke has a big ego.But all the publicity she’s gotten through Michael hasn’t helped her film career. Her new film Sahara, doesn’t look like a box-office smash.The word around Hollywood is that this publicity is working against her. After all, she is white and Michael is black. They may be big stars but they’re still an interracial couple. A lot of people are turned off by interracial dating. Michael is such a superstar that very little could effect his popularity. But Brooke is in a different position. Its possible that people who don’t like interracial relationships are turning their back on Brooke.One thing for sure Brooke has made a lot of enemies among black females. She was with Michael at the New York party, at the Grammys and the American Music Awards. She was getting some nasty stares from black females at those three events. It was particularly bad at the New York party. Black ladies there were really giving her dirty looks. If dirty looks could kill, Brooke would be in the graveyard now.

 

[barbee0715]

I never said their friendship wasn't real but it gives the impression she took advantage of his feelings towards her. I'm not the only one who thinks she was using him to have publicity and stay relevant.

From the Right On magazine 1984. To clarify, I'm not assuming the article is true but clearly Brooke gave that impression to more than one individual.

I think this magazine article is a pretty good example of when all this craziness started-the year that Michael went from being a superstar to a global phenom and everybody wanted to know everything about him-especially about his sex life. And not just tabloid rags and gossip magazines. All the reputable magazines at the time were also writing about him. And Brooke was pretty much written about in the same way.
They were both young, beautiful and both in very sexualized professions.

I can see where Brooke's mother might have been using this friendship to further her career. And both Michael and Brooke were certainly show biz savvy by this time, to know how great it looked to the public to see them together. But personally, I think they also had a great friendship and she didn't want anything from him, like others did. He could be himself with her. He could commiserate about their parents with her. He could commiserate about being famous with her. If she had an agenda, he would have dropped her long before.
I also don't think that Brooke was just another calculating child star because she just dropped it all and studied and graduated from Princeton. Which I really admired at the time-

The ONLY thing that bothered me with the excerpt was the asexual and arrested development remarks-because she's not a psychiatrist and I don't think either is true. But then, I'm reading an excerpt and not the whole book, so I could be wrong with thinking that.

 

[AliCat]

Michael attended the 53rd Annual Academy Awards with Diana Ross. Michael met Jane Fonda and Brooke ******* at this same event.

Brooke's popularity had soared by this time, especially with her Calvin Klein ads. She was really pretty.
But looking at these three women, their stature in Hollywood, making their mark, had an affect on Michael. He was surrounding himself with successful women.

1981 was when Jane Fonda worked with her father, Henry Fonda. It was to be a family film. A whole lot of nurturing going on on the set. Diana Ross had always nurtured Michael or at least since he was ten.

I remember when Emanuel Lewis also was Michael's date, along with Brooke *******. Michael brought along a chaperoned with Emanuel on Brooke's and Michael's very public first date, an awards show.

It was like the seeds were sown for Michael's future. Going on the set of "On Golden Pond," Michael understood film even better. Michael would forever be interested in Hollywood families, a generational thing for him. Hanging out with Emmanuel Lewis, the seed was sown for Michael of hanging out with young men, famous or not. Michael even said that Brooke had it a lot easier than he did with her career. Brooke had a very public relationship with her Mom as her manager. I hope you enjoyed the similarities. It is the core of Michael. Thanks Brooke!

 

[LindavG]

The ONLY thing that bothered me with the excerpt was the asexual and arrested development remarks-because she's not a psychiatrist a nd I don't think either is true. But then, I'm reading an excerpt and not the whole book, so I could be wrong with thinking that.

Brooke didn't say Michael was asexual. She said that he was interested in romance and relationships but at the same time terrified of it. I can totally see that, especially in the 80s.

 

[barbee0715]

Brooke didn't say Michael was asexual. She said that he was interested in romance and relationships but at the same time terrified of it. I can totally see that, especially in the 80s.

Thank you. Yes, that is so right. If you weren't shy/scared of it before, you certainly became so in the 80's.
I went back and looked and yes, you were right about the asexual comment-I must have picked that up from the comment section.
I really like your post where you said that if Brooke really wanted to take advantage of Michael, she could have written about "their secret love story." True, true, true. She NEVER did anything remotely like that. I still think she is a great friend.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

No, she wasn't. Those disgusting allegations proved who were really standing for Michael and who didn't abandon him. The truth is the majority turned their backs on him, including Brooke Shield.s.

 

[Petrarose]

No, she wasn't. Those disgusting allegations proved who were really standing for Michael and who didn't abandon him. The truth is the majority turned their backs on him, including Brooke Shield.s.

Snow I am with you on this one because I lived throughout the excitement of the 80's. I like Brooke. I was around during the "do you know what is between me and my Calvin nothing" drama when people like my mom were outraged by it. I felt sorry for her going to court crying everyday. However, I am not going to let the fact that she is a nice person cloud my judgement and then say she did not use Michel. The statements from both Michael and Brooke prove she used him. In the 80s Brooke was known as this beautiful print model due to the Calvin ads with a controversy. She had her movie moments. She was not going to big awards. That story from crazy Latoya rings true. It reminds me of me and my sisters who have younger brothers and we paid attention to the girls they bring home. They would tell us things and we would tell them what to do, even though they did not listen to us. I sense some truth in Latoya's statement about Brooke pushing the issue about the invitation. I don't know if it was her mom or her, but it was good to be seen with Michael a big global star. From an interview Michael did in the 70s it seems he did not like pushy women. Yes he was shy and wanted them to make the first move, but he did not want them ruling him which is a difference.

That comment from Brookes about him being terrified shows a lot about her at that tender age. Michael was brought up strict and he wanted to leave sex for marriage and she should have known that about him. I met people in the 80s like that. They try to not go too far so that it leads to sex. Back then men called women like that "frigid." I guess it seems women call men like that "terrified!" Her saying he was juvenile when he said we can't ever be without each other or something like that, shows she was seeing the relationship as a platonic one which she does admit now, and I give her credit for that. Even me when I was dating had guys saying these crazy things like that, such as we could never go to bed without calling each other to say good night and sweet foolish things like that. Yet, years later I will not look at those moments in such a careless way because they were sweet and what you call "young love." So all that tells me a lot about this young Brooke. You can't escape the fact that for Michael at some point he thought she was an innocent girl and had romantic feelings about her.

Then, some comment above about if she wanted to exploit the relationship she would say XYZ. Well Brooke is smart. She never went all out at the time and say it was not a romantic relationship; therefore, she exploited the relationship when it was profitable for her to do so. She wanted her cake and to eat it too--Not say Yes this is my boyfriend so she would not have to get the disapproval of those of her race, but not say he is not because she wanted to be attached to current global fame. So what she went to Princeton. Several show business people go to college or leave it to go into other careers. I am not impressed by that.

I just feel sorry for this man that he was attracted to women who did not understand him and where he was coming from "psychically." Sure she understood about his life as a child star and what he had to go through socially/professionally, but she did not try to understand him in terms of the way he thinks & acts and what made him think and act the way he did. I hope he found such women who liked him for himself, not that he was a global machine to be used.

 

[LindavG]

No, she wasn't. Those disgusting allegations proved who were really standing for Michael and who didn't abandon him. The truth is the majority turned their backs on him, including Brooke Shield.s.

How do you know Brooke "abandoned" him? Maybe their friendship just faded out. It happens. Michael still spoke very fondly of her years after the allegations so I guess he wasn't too bothered by her "abandonment".

I also don't think the majority of his friends and associates turned their backs on him. I remember seeing this note by Michael's assistant with all these people who offered their support to Michael. The real truth is that we don't know everything that went on in Michael's private life and who was or was not there for him privately.

 

[Petrarose]

^^The evidence shows that the majority of his "friends" abandoned him. He said so in different words and others spoke of it. Yes it is true their relationship just faded out, but when you have close relationships when the other party is going through something that you know about, it is normal for you to reach out to them. Michael said who supported him, and Brooke's name was not on the list. Just because a list shows people offering support it does not mean the majority of his "friends" did not abandon him. If one thinks about the number of people that he entertained and who was around him, that list does not even represent 1/3. A man who knows all his friends are with him, does not beg his fans to please come to the trial, please tell everyone the truth...it breaks my heart just thinking about it. I mean there is enough documentation to show about the abandonment of Michael Jackson.

 

[AliCat]

LaToya probably didn't want Brooke Shield.s to be Michael's date to any awards show. Which is why she included the story of Janet and LaToya informing Michael that he needs to turn Brooke Shield.s down as his date to the awards show.

It looks like Michael tried to compensate for his sister's not wanting Brooke to be beside Michael, Michael invited only his sister's up on stage. This is probably more what the argument was about, of who should be his date. I still like the idea of Emanuel being Michael and Brooke's chaperone. Ah! the innocence of a child.

 

[LindavG]

Snow I am with you on this one because I lived throughout the excitement of the 80's. I like Brooke. I was around during the "do you know what is between me and my Calvin nothing" drama when people like my mom were outraged by it. I felt sorry for her going to court crying everyday. However, I am not going to let the fact that she is a nice person cloud my judgement and then say she did not use Michel. The statements from both Michael and Brooke prove she used him. In the 80s Brooke was known as this beautiful print model due to the Calvin ads with a controversy. She had her movie moments. She was not going to big awards. That story from crazy Latoya rings true. It reminds me of me and my sisters who have younger brothers and we paid attention to the girls they bring home. They would tell us things and we would tell them what to do, even though they did not listen to us. I sense some truth in Latoya's statement about Brooke pushing the issue about the invitation. I don't know if it was her mom or her, but it was good to be seen with Michael a big global star.

Why so cynical? You might as well say Michael used Brooke because there were a lot of rumours about him being gay at the time so it was good for him to be seen with a beautiful woman. Or could it be that Michael and Brooke simply liked each other and enjoyed going to events together?

From an interview Michael did in the 70s it seems he did not like pushy women. Yes he was shy and wanted them to make the first move, but he did not want them ruling him which is a difference.

Michael's own words:

MJ: I have never asked a girl out in my life. They have to ask me.
SB: Really?
MJ: I can't ask a girl out. [...] Brooke ******* asked me out every time you saw us out together. It was her idea to go out and do it every time. I sincerely liked Brooke ******* too. I liked her a lot.

Source: The Michael Jackson Tapes, p. 242

That comment from Brookes about him being terrified shows a lot about her at that tender age. Michael was brought up strict and he wanted to leave sex for marriage and she should have known that about him. I met people in the 80s like that. They try to not go too far so that it leads to sex. Back then men called women like that "frigid." I guess it seems women call men like that "terrified!" Her saying he was juvenile when he said we can't ever be without each other or something like that, shows she was seeing the relationship as a platonic one which she does admit now, and I give her credit for that. Even me when I was dating had guys saying these crazy things like that, such as we could never go to bed without calling each other to say good night and sweet foolish things like that. Yet, years later I will not look at those moments in such a careless way because they were sweet and what you call "young love." So all that tells me a lot about this young Brooke. You can't escape the fact that for Michael at some point he thought she was an innocent girl and had romantic feelings about her.

I think there was far more to it than Michael just wanting to remain celibate until marriage for religious reasons. I think he was genuinely scared of intimacy and did not really understand it, that's why he preferred to keep it "juvenile". That's not to say he wasn't curious about it. He did lose some of his fear as he got older, to the point that he even sang songs that were overtly sexual (like Break of Dawn). Can you imagine him singing Break Of Dawn in the 80s? It was a struggle to get him to record the far more innocent Lady In My Life back then.

Then, some comment above about if she wanted to exploit the relationship she would say XYZ. Well Brooke is smart. She never went all out at the time and say it was not a romantic relationship; therefore, she exploited the relationship when it was profitable for her to do so. She wanted her cake and to eat it too--Not say Yes this is my boyfriend so she would not have to get the disapproval of those of her race, but not say he is not because she wanted to be attached to current global fame. So what she went to Princeton. Several show business people go to college or leave it to go into other careers. I am not impressed by that.

Afaik, Brooke has always been clear about the fact that she had no romantic feelings for Michael.

 

[LindavG]

^^The evidence shows that the majority of his "friends" abandoned him. He said so in different words and others spoke of it. Yes it is true their relationship just faded out, but when you have close relationships when the other party is going through something that you know about, it is normal for you to reach out to them. Michael said who supported him, and Brooke's name was not on the list. Just because a list shows people offering support it does not mean the majority of his "friends" did not abandon him. If one thinks about the number of people that he entertained and who was around him, that list does not even represent 1/3. A man who knows all his friends are with him, does not beg his fans to please come to the trial, please tell everyone the truth...it breaks my heart just thinking about it. I mean there is enough documentation to show about the abandonment of Michael Jackson.

What evidence? We don't know who supported him in private. Did it ever occur to you that Michael maybe did not want his friends and family to speak out publicly about the allegations, whether they supported him or not? Katherine said that when she wanted to go on TV to defend Michael against the allegations, Michael's office called her and urged her not to do it because she would only make things worse.

Michael always had a close relationship with his fans so of course he would ask us for our support during this difficult time.

I'm not denying that there were people who turned their backs on him, I just don't think it was the majority. And if Brooke was one of those people, Michael clearly didn't hold a grudge against her all those years later so why should we?

 

[krikzil]

How do you know Brooke "abandoned" him? Maybe their friendship just faded out. It happens. Michael still spoke very fondly of her years after the allegations so I guess he wasn't too bothered by her "abandonment".

I also don't think the majority of his friends and associates turned their backs on him. I remember seeing this note by Michael's assistant with all these people who offered their support to Michael. The real truth is that we don't know everything that went on in Michael's private life and who was or was not there for him privately.

True, we don't. People drift and have their own problems to deal with too. Brooke certainly had a lot in her adult life -- the Agassi mess, Strickland's suicide, a cancer scare, infertility, her dad's long struggle and death from cancer, a miscarriage, her mom's alcoholism and the rift in their relationship, the extreme post-partum depression after her daughter's birth and her mom' descent into dementia.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

The bodyguards, Grace, Raymone said people Michael wanted to contact never returned the calls. Even Tom Mesereau said when they were doing the witness list Michael thought they'd help him but they turned their backs. I'm not saying Brooke's issues weren't serious, they were but nothing else compares to be accused of the most heinous crime and having most of the world against you hoping you go down.

 

[krikzil]

The bodyguards, Grace, Raymone said people Michael wanted to contact never returned the calls. Even Tom Mesereau said when they were doing the witness list Michael thought they'd help him but they turned their backs. I'm not saying Brooke's issues weren't serious, they were but nothing else compares to be accused of the most heinous crime and having most of the world against you hoping you go down.

We don't know if Brooke was on the list for one or what transpired privately between them so I'm not going to blame her without proof. In my opinion, Brooke's struggles were pretty intense --literally life and death so I don't fault her for not being focused on MJ.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

Who the hell is saying she had to be focused on him? There were no signs she showed support or that they continued their friendship after the first allegation broke down.

 

[Petrarose]

Lindav I know all about Michael comments and him being shy and what he said about the first move. I don't know what you are talking about with your gayness reference^^. I think you said we could say Michael used Brooke because there were rumors of him being gay. I don't know how old you are but I grew up with the Michael experience and the gayness was big in the late 70s especially after Tatem's comment, so Michael could have found a woman in the 70s to use to cover, not wait until the 80s to use Brooke. He had thousands of women running after him so he could have used them to cover a gayness, so I don't get your argument. The fact remains that he disclosed he liked her and surely his reasons for not wanting to have sex with her could have a number of causes--I am not disagreeing with you there, but I will always stress the religious cause, because back in the day that was a key factor governing his behavior. (We all know about the JW shadows following him and being in the house.) However, I do not think Michael was scared of intimacy and I see you are on the same page with a lot of our tabloid ideas there. The idea of a Michael who was scared of sex was the next step after the gay Michael persona was created. Based on his comments it seems because he saw the behavior of certain key people in his familial circle, his experiences on the road, and yes his strong religious beliefs at that time, he was cautious of having intimate relationship that did not have much structure to remain lasting. He did not want to be a man who took such relationships easily, and I could understand that because there are people like that out there and I have encountered them. Cautiousness & shyness does not equate to being scared of intimacy or terrified of it,and that is something several people do not understand.

Then, your comment about "juvenile" shows a lack of human development understanding. You need to again look back at who Michael Jackson was and his experience. This is a man who did not experience the usual childhood play and dating relationships that young teens, older teens go through. He obviously missed it in the same way he missed childhood play and tried to recover it. Whenever you miss something developmentally, you go back to the earlier stage and then move forward. For eg., in speech therapy whatever the age, in teaching the person to talk, you go back to the baby sounds and move up. Michael in his relationships goes back to the playful mode and recaptures those experiences that he lost. Obviously, Brooke was more developed sexually than Michael so she finds it juvenile at that age. Notice too he asks a lot of questions, which she sounds impatient with. I remember I was telling Shelia that the photo of Michael with the big Afro at Studio 54 where he is hugging Liza always make me sad because at that age he should be out there hanging with teens and fooling around and here he is with people much older than himself. So how does someone like that recapture that loss? If you don't have the experiences of such discussions during your younger dating period, then you won't understand it, unless you are willing to understand him from his point of view.

 

[LindavG]

Lindav I know all about Michael comments and him being shy and what he said about the first move. I don't know what you are talking about with your gayness reference^^. I think you said we could say Michael used Brooke because there were rumors of him being gay. I don't know how old you are but I grew up with the Michael experience and the gayness was big in the late 70s especially after Tatem's comment, so Michael could have found a woman in the 70s to use to cover, not wait until the 80s to use Brooke. He had thousands of women running after him so he could have used them to cover a gayness, so I don't get your argument.

For the record, I do not think Michael took Brooke with him to awards shows to counter those gay rumours. I'm just saying that a cynical person could make that argument, just like a cynical person could say Brooke only went with Michael for the publicity.

The fact remains that he disclosed he liked her and surely his reasons for not wanting to have sex with her could have a number of causes--I am not disagreeing with you there, but I will always stress the religious cause, because back in the day that was a key factor governing his behavior. (We all know about the JW shadows following him and being in the house.) However, I do not think Michael was scared of intimacy and I see you are on the same page with a lot of our tabloid ideas there. The idea of a Michael who was scared of sex was the next step after the gay Michael persona was created. Based on his comments it seems because he saw the behavior of certain key people in his familial circle, his experiences on the road, and yes his strong religious beliefs at that time, he was cautious of having intimate relationship that did not have much structure to remain lasting. He did not want to be a man who took such relationships easily, and I could understand that because there are people like that out there and I have encountered them. Cautiousness & shyness does not equate to being scared of intimacy or terrified of it,and that is something several people do not understand.

We'll agree to disagree then. My impression of Michael is that he was more than just "cautious" when it came to romance and intimacy. I don't get this from tabloids (I don't even read them) but from Michael's own comments and behaviour. And intimacy means more than just sex. By intimacy I also mean being completely open to a person and revealing your innermost thoughts and feelings. When I look at Michael in the 1980s, he just did not seem ready to connect with someone on that level. Like I said, this is my impression of him. If you have a different perspective, that's fine. There is no right or wrong here because neither of us know what he was feeling at the time.

Then, your comment about "juvenile" shows a lack of human development understanding. You need to again look back at who Michael Jackson was and his experience. This is a man who did not experience the usual childhood play and dating relationships that young teens, older teens go through. He obviously missed it in the same way he missed childhood play and tried to recover it. Whenever you miss something developmentally, you go back to the earlier stage and then move forward. For eg., in speech therapy whatever the age, in teaching the person to talk, you go back to the baby sounds and move up. Michael in his relationships goes back to the playful mode and recaptures those experiences that he lost. Obviously, Brooke was more developed sexually than Michael so she finds it juvenile at that age. Notice too he asks a lot of questions, which she sounds impatient with. I remember I was telling Shelia that the photo of Michael with the big Afro at Studio 54 where he is hugging Liza always make me sad because at that age he should be out there hanging with teens and fooling around and here he is with people much older than himself. So how does someone like that recapture that loss? If you don't have the experiences of such discussions during your younger dating period, then you won't understand it, unless you are willing to understand him from his point of view.

He could have experienced dating and relationships if he wanted to, as his brothers did and as plenty of other child stars did. He just did not feel the need to and there is nothing wrong with that. I believe it was just in Michael's nature to be shy and reserved and innocent. His religious upbringing only reinforced those traits.

I am willing to understand him from his point of view, but more importantly than that, I accept him the way he was without being apologetic about his personality or turning him into something he was not.

 

[Petrarose]

^^That comment about you not turning him into something he was not, and reading it within the context of your posts, I find very interesting.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

From the bodyguards' book, if this story is true and if this is not abandonment from the majority, I don't know what that is...

Bill Whitfield: ..there was one memory that kept running through my mind, a conversation I’d had with Grace back at the Monte Cristo house when I first started working there. She and I were in the garage. I was putting together some of the security equipment, and Grace was at the little workstation she’d set up. Mr Jackson had told her to try and get in touch with somebody.


She was getting frustrated and she said, ”The boss wants me to get in touch with this person, and I keep leaving messages, but nobody’s calling me back. It’s like he forgets sometimes that people don’t want anything to do with him after all this mess." I said, “What mess? What are you talking about?"


“The trial,” she said. ” Since the trial, a lot of people just don’t call back anymore.”


She was giving me the heads up, filling me in on how things worked, like she often did. She started telling me about the days right after the trial was over. “After he was acquitted," she said, "we had a party at Neverland for him to celebrate, and nobody came.”


”Nobody?”


”A few people," she said, "but not many”.


She said they’d put together a guest list of all these friends and people Mr. Jackson had worked with over the years. They invited close to three hundred people. Maybe fifty showed up. And a lot of people who did come were people that worked for him. People that worked the grounds at Neverland. People from his lawyer’s office. People who were paid to be there. Everyone else called and said they couldn’t make it or they had other things planned.


”And he knew," Grace said, "He knew why they didn’t come. People called him and told that they loved him and that they were praying for him, but very few people would go public and say that they believed him. A lot of people act like his friends but not they’re not really his friends. If he’s not making money, they’re not really around.”

 

[ivy]

There were no signs she showed support or that they continued their friendship after the first allegation broke down.

Not true.

Anchorage Daily News – 28 Aug 1993

Brooke Shield.s issued a statement Friday supporting Jackson, a longtime friend.

“I know Michael extremely well,” Shield.s said. “He is a person for whom I have the highest respect and whose decency is unquestionable… I cannot believe the allegations that have inflicted pain and heartache on one of the kindest people I know."

How do you know Brooke "abandoned" him? Maybe their friendship just faded out. It happens. Michael still spoke very fondly of her years after the allegations so I guess he wasn't too bothered by her "abandonment".

Michael Jackson Remembered, Rolling Stone, July 13th 2009

I saw him less and less as our lives became different. At every major event in my life, he reached out to me, whether if it was when my dad died, when I had my first daughter, and had severe post-partum, we’d speak, and then it got more and more difficult to reach him, and some of the people in his life that I could call to get him, they were fired or they left or they went away, and in the last few years, it was harder to get the right number to get through to him.

^^

So it seems they talked in private. The events she mentions (first child, postpartum) were all between 2003 - 2005. So it doesn't look like either one abandoned each other due to the allegations.

I'm not saying Brooke's issues weren't serious, they were but nothing else compares to be accused of the most heinous crime

This is not an issue of a comparison. She mentioned very openly she was suicidal and she even considered killing herself when her kid was at the back seat. When someone is such dark place, they can't really think about others - including their own flesh and blood as it could be seen from this example. So please no.

 

[HIStory]

From the bodyguards' book, if this story is true and if this is not abandonment from the majority, I don't know what that is...

Bill Whitfield: ..there was one memory that kept running through my mind, a conversation I’d had with Grace back at the Monte Cristo house when I first started working there. She and I were in the garage. I was putting together some of the security equipment, and Grace was at the little workstation she’d set up. Mr Jackson had told her to try and get in touch with somebody.


She was getting frustrated and she said, ”The boss wants me to get in touch with this person, and I keep leaving messages, but nobody’s calling me back. It’s like he forgets sometimes that people don’t want anything to do with him after all this mess." I said, “What mess? What are you talking about?"


“The trial,” she said. ” Since the trial, a lot of people just don’t call back anymore.”


She was giving me the heads up, filling me in on how things worked, like she often did. She started telling me about the days right after the trial was over. “After he was acquitted," she said, "we had a party at Neverland for him to celebrate, and nobody came.”


”Nobody?”


”A few people," she said, "but not many”.


She said they’d put together a guest list of all these friends and people Mr. Jackson had worked with over the years. They invited close to three hundred people. Maybe fifty showed up. And a lot of people who did come were people that worked for him. People that worked the grounds at Neverland. People from his lawyer’s office. People who were paid to be there. Everyone else called and said they couldn’t make it or they had other things planned.


”And he knew," Grace said, "He knew why they didn’t come. People called him and told that they loved him and that they were praying for him, but very few people would go public and say that they believed him. A lot of people act like his friends but not they’re not really his friends. If he’s not making money, they’re not really around.”

What does this have to do with Brooke? Yes, there were people who abandoned him. But we don't know if Brooke was among them. Like Linda said in court docs in 2005 there was a list from Michael's secretary with calls from people who called and offered their support and help. It was not a full list of such support, just calls from one particular weekend, but the point is there WERE people who called and wished him well and offered their help and the public never knew about it because they did not go around advertising it. Point is, we are fans and we do not know everything that was going on in his life and we do not know the behaviour of each and every person around him. People should not mistake their own assumptions for facts and should not judge people based on those assumptions.

 

[krikzil]

Not true.

Anchorage Daily News – 28 Aug 1993

Brooke Shield.s issued a statement Friday supporting Jackson, a longtime friend.

“I know Michael extremely well,” Shield.s said. “He is a person for whom I have the highest respect and whose decency is unquestionable… I cannot believe the allegations that have inflicted pain and heartache on one of the kindest people I know."



Michael Jackson Remembered, Rolling Stone, July 13th 2009

I saw him less and less as our lives became different. At every major event in my life, he reached out to me, whether if it was when my dad died, when I had my first daughter, and had severe post-partum, we’d speak, and then it got more and more difficult to reach him, and some of the people in his life that I could call to get him, they were fired or they left or they went away, and in the last few years, it was harder to get the right number to get through to him.

^^

So it seems they talked in private. The events she mentions (first child, postpartum) were all between 2003 - 2005. So it doesn't look like either one abandoned each other due to the allegations.

3/5/04

Actress Brooke Shi.elds has rushed to her supportive pal Michael Jackson's defense as he fights child sex abuse charges:

"My heart goes out to him. I haven’t seen him in a couple of years, but the last time I spoke to him was in April 2003. He called me because my father died. He’ll always get in touch when something major goes in my life."

This is not an issue of a comparison. She mentioned very openly she was suicidal and she even considered killing herself when her kid was at the back seat. When someone is such dark place, they can't really think about others - including their own flesh and blood as it could be seen from this example. So please no.

This.