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Hyperbaric Chamber & Elephant Man Bones

This thread is going well so far, thanks for all the useful contributions. :)

I’d like to quickly explain where my initial doubts about the stories come from, which is why I started this thread.

If it had only been the Elephant Man Bones, ok, that I could accept as a publicity stunt. But the Hyperbaric Chamber story has a serious problem, in my opinion:

In 1984, MJ not only went through a very painful experience with the Pepsi accident, he also befriended Dave Dave, the young burn victim. MJ empathized with burn victims and tried to help in any way he could, be it financially or with emotional support. It was a topic that was very close to his heart, and his humanitarian efforts were a very important part of his life.

With this background, I find it highly unlikely that MJ would use medical equipment from the burn center that bears his name for a publicity stunt, for his own gain, implicitly mocking burn victims, and risking bad publicity for the burn center.

All of this to promote Captain EO – a Disney project – as if Disney projects didn’t get enough attention anyway. If you look at it rationally, the story did exactly the opposite: it distracted from MJ’s creative work and moved the focus to his “bizarre” life.

This does not sound like something Michael would do, or approve of.

Add to this the multiple versions of the story, and I have serious doubts that MJ was involved in any of this. The truth always only has one story.
 
NatureCriminal7896;4300323 said:
So could the captain eo and elephant man stories fake and not from michael? :scratch:
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That’s what we’re trying to find out. We’re looking for clues in newspapers, interviews etc. We haven’t come to a conclusion yet.
 
ScreenOrigami;4300294 said:
Thanks for posting an actual book excerpt. Who is Taraborrelli’s source? And why is this version different from the one the National Enquirer editor tells on Gerlado’s show while Taraborrelli is sitting next to him? Where’s that first polaroid, for instance?
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The information in his book about those publicity stunts come also from:

Frank Dileo’s meeting with John Randy Taraborrelli’s private investigator and researcher Cathy Griffin in 1990 (October).

John Randy Taraborrelli’s interview with Jack Richardson in 1990 (October).

John Randy Taraborrelli’s interview with Charles Montgomery in 1991 (January).

John Randy Taraborrelli’s interview with Frank Dileo in 1995 (August).

The author also utilized four articles that were published at that time (when those publicity stunts took place): two from the ‘Los Angeles Herald Examiner’, one from the ‘National Enquirer’ and one from ‘Time’.

But the author did clarify (in his source notes of the book) that he cannot reveal the identity of most of his sources about those publicity stunts.

“Most of my sources regarding Michael Jackson’s publicity stunts - the sprained wrist during the filming of Captain EO, the hyperbaric chamber and the Elephant Man’s bones - must remain confidential due to the nature of these sources’ employment in the record industry” (John Randy Taraborrelli)

Electro;4300299 said:
Because...?
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Because that book’s section is better sourced, while the rest of it (from Jordy Chandler onwards) tends to include a lot of speculations, a lot of secondary material (news reports, etc,) and sensationalism.

And certain things that the author writes about Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley (when they were married) do not make sense at all.
 
mj_frenzy;4300376 said:
Because that book’s section is better sourced, while the rest of it (from Jordy Chandler onwards) tends to include a lot of speculations, a lot of secondary material (news reports, etc,) and sensationalism.

And certain things that the author writes about Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley (when they were married) do not make sense at all.
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Strange logic. So even though you agree that later sections of the book are full of sensationalized speculations, you think the early part - written by the same person - is fully "trustworthy and reliable" just because he says X and Y told him this and that?

What if he actually talked to those people, did one interview with Michael in the 70s and STILL spiced it all up with sensationalized speculations, just like he did in the rest of the book and just like any gossip tabloid junk writer of his type does? How do you want to tell the difference?

Someone should finally make a detailed debunking of this guys "friendship" with Michael and his trash book.



mj_frenzy;4300376 said:
“Most of my sources regarding Michael Jackson’s publicity stunts - the sprained wrist during the filming of Captain EO, the hyperbaric chamber and the Elephant Man’s bones - must remain confidential due to the nature of these sources’ employment in the record industry” (John Randy Taraborrelli)
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Of course..................... *whistles The X Files melody* :D



ScreenOrigami;4300324 said:
... We haven’t come to a conclusion yet.
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Unfortunately I don't think we'll get much further than realizing that no source can be fully trusted. (Well some of us may realize. :D )
 
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Electro;4300439 said:
Strange logic. So even though you agree that later sections of the book are full of sensationalised speculations, you think the early part - written by the same person - is fully "trustworthy and reliable" just because he says X and Y said this and that?

What if he actually talked to those people, did one interview with Michael in the 70s and STILL spiced it all up with sensationalised speculations, just like he did in the rest of the book and just like any gossip tabloid junk writer of his type does? How do you want to tell the difference?

Someone should finally make a detailed debunking of this guys "friendship" with Michael and his trash book.

Of course..................... *whistles The X Files melody* :D

Unfortunately I don't think we'll get much further than realizing that no source can be fully trusted. (Well some of us may. :D )
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I agree with all of this. And I think, the only way to determine if something could possibly be true is to find corroborating sources that are as close to the event on the actual point on the timeline as possible. This is particularly hard to do for those times that MJ spent more or less exclusively in the studio working on his albums, and opportunistic writers know and exploit this. The terrible Spin article that came out while MJ was working on “Bad” is one example.

I have outlined why I doubt this particular story. It simply doesn’t add up with Michael’s humanitarian ideals. And it would take a lot more than a book by someone who publicly schmoozes the tabloid folks to convince me that there’s any truth to it. :)

Besides, no one has yet explained conclusively why there are multiple versions. What about that polaroid and the reshoot?
 
Personally, I believe he leaked the chamber story. Not a bad thing at all, I find it quite funny but, I'm not buying his explanation. Biggest pop star ever, someone is in the room taking pictures of you, who I assume you hired to do so and you and your entire management somehow didn't know they leaked it? :D

The Elephant Man bones...Meh, maybe he did try to buy them. Wouldn't be surprised.

Either way, hardly the worst things to do. Although, if he did leak the first one, with hindsight and the floodgates that it opened, it was a very silly thing to do
 
MOR316;4300486 said:
Personally, I believe he leaked the chamber story.
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This thread is meant to collect and discuss evidence, not to speculate. Do you have evidence to back up your belief? I’d very much like to take a look at it. :)
 
NatureCriminal7896 said:
Who is Taraborrelli?
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A gossip writer of lots of unauthorized celebrity "biography" books.

He had a Diana Ross fanclub in the 70s and through her somehow got in contact with Michael.

Although he likely only ever interviewed Michael a couple of times in the 70s and maybe early 80s, he likes to describe himself as a "life-long confidante" and "friend" of Michael, who witnessed it all first hand, which is obvious bullcrap.


An article about Taraborrelli:
The king of scandal

If you ever become a big star, pray that J. Randy Taraborrelli is not commissioned to write your biography. Taraborrelli, the leading purveyor of the sexed-up celebrity biography, has dished the dirt on Madonna, Frank Sinatra, and Princess Grace Of Monaco, and has just written a controversial new book about Michael Jackson.

According to Taraborrelli - who, not surprisingly, never gets the cooperation of the stars for his books ('that would be the kiss of death,' he says) - the young Madonna was a self-destructive, sexual aggressor with a need for multiple orgasms; Sinatra had many affairs, including a fling with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; while Grace Kelly had to submit to a gynaecological examination to test her (non-existent) virginity before marrying Prince Rainier. ...

https://www.standard.co.uk/home/the-king-of-scandal-7436390.html
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Electro;4300561 said:
Although he likely only ever interviewed Michael a couple of times in the 70s and maybe early 80s, he likes to describe himself as a "life-long confidante" and "friend" of Michael, who witnessed it all first hand, which is obvious bullcrap.
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His book first came out in 1990, right? Did anyone before the release of his book ever claim that MJ planted the stories? Or did Taraborrelli bring it up first?

Also, if someone here has all revisions of the book, are there any differences regarding this story? Did he add or remove details in the later revisions? And the excerpt that was posted earlier in this thread, which version of the book is this from?

Another thought: By his own account, Taraborrelli paid people to research his subjects. So, shouldn’t we at least consider the possibility that those people might have made some stories up to not return to him empty-handed?
 
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ScreenOrigami;4300581 said:
Another thought: By his own account, Taraborrelli paid people to research his subjects. So, shouldn’t we at least consider the possibility that those people might have made some stories up to not return to him empty-handed?
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Even if there is incontrovertible proof that he didn't leak them or didn't know his pr leaked them, people (and fans) will continue to "believe" that he did. That's the way things roll for Michael. Because how else can they do commentary on how Michael lost the plot? Even if he did plant those stories (or his pr did), how does it equate to him creating the monster that destroyed him? PR plants stories - that's what they do. I can hardly think of 2 more harmless stories - rock and roll ppl do so much worse! oh he sleeps in an oxygenated chamber!!! Clutch all the pearls!!! It's just an excuse to for people to diminish a person that they already wanted diminished. Appreciate your effort, though.

Michael was hardly perfect but he has gotta be the most nit picked person on the planet.
 
mjfan05;4300791 said:
Even if there is incontrovertible proof that he didn't leak them or didn't know his pr leaked them, people (and fans) will continue to "believe" that he did. That's the way things roll for Michael. Because how else can they do commentary on how Michael lost the plot? Even if he did plant those stories (or his pr did), how does it equate to him creating the monster that destroyed him? PR plants stories - that's what they do. I can hardly think of 2 more harmless stories - rock and roll ppl do so much worse! oh he sleeps in an oxygenated chamber!!! Clutch all the pearls!!! It's just an excuse to for people to diminish a person that they already wanted diminished. Appreciate your effort, though.

Michael was hardly perfect but he has gotta be the most nit picked person on the planet.
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I really don't see many fans dismissing "incontrovertible proof".

My problem with this whole thing is that if it's true that he planted these stories—and the Liz Taylor one, the alien one, etc.—stories that he later used to complain about his treatment from the media, then he manipulated the fans.
 
I appreciate your thoughts. But let’s focus on collecting more evidence in this particular thread. I’ve raised a couple of questions. Let’s try to find answers to those. For example, look through your books and magazines for clues and post them here. Let’s play detective and see what we can find. :)

If you’re not interested in this kind of investigation, please don’t dilute the thread.

Some of the questions so far:

  • When did the claim that MJ planted the stories first come up?
  • Who claimed it first? Did anyone claim it before Taraborrelli?
  • What was the exact wording of the claim?
  • Why does the Enquirer in 1993 suddenly claim there was a polaroid and a reshoot involved?
  • Why didn’t Taraborrelli comment on the polaroid story, even though it wasn’t in his book from 1990?
  • Is there any evidence that the polaroid existed?
  • If it existed, why didn’t the Enquirer guy show it as proof?
  • Who were the people that Taraborrelli paid to research his subjects?
  • Who were Taraborrelli’s direct sources?
  • Did any of those sources ever comment on the story?

Post newspaper clippings, quotes from books, interviews – anything. :)
 
If it's true michael did plant those stories then he kind of did this to himself. also if he kept those stories to manipulate the fans then he also did it to himself. that's kind of rude to manipulate your fans but if it's is true then i really don't feel sorry for him. i'm sorry he had to go though the fake lies etc after though. :(
 
ScreenOrigami;4300247 said:
OK, so the photo was definitely taken in that room at Brotman Burn Center. Same era, different shirt, though.

jackson_1459990c.jpg


Is it possible that MJ donated the device?
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It's definitely possible.

ScreenOrigami;4300320 said:
This thread is going well so far, thanks for all the useful contributions. :)

I’d like to quickly explain where my initial doubts about the stories come from, which is why I started this thread.

If it had only been the Elephant Man Bones, ok, that I could accept as a publicity stunt. But the Hyperbaric Chamber story has a serious problem, in my opinion:

In 1984, MJ not only went through a very painful experience with the Pepsi accident, he also befriended Dave Dave, the young burn victim. MJ empathized with burn victims and tried to help in any way he could, be it financially or with emotional support. It was a topic that was very close to his heart, and his humanitarian efforts were a very important part of his life.

With this background, I find it highly unlikely that MJ would use medical equipment from the burn center that bears his name for a publicity stunt, for his own gain, implicitly mocking burn victims, and risking bad publicity for the burn center.

All of this to promote Captain EO – a Disney project – as if Disney projects didn’t get enough attention anyway. If you look at it rationally, the story did exactly the opposite: it distracted from MJ’s creative work and moved the focus to his “bizarre” life.

This does not sound like something Michael would do, or approve of.

Add to this the multiple versions of the story, and I have serious doubts that MJ was involved in any of this. The truth always only has one story.
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I have never believed that the hyperbaric chamber photos were released to the tabloids by Michael and that they were a publicity stunt. Never. I don't consider Taraborrelli's book to be a reliable source for that tale. There is much hearsay and third hand information in it, in my opinion and the versions change from one edition to the next, whenever a new re-write is released.
 
I've been thinking about this for a while, but I remembered that this actually wasn't the first rumour that was in the press.
In 1977, when Michael was 17 (and was viewed as a heartthrob for his female fans), the tabloids began spreading that he was gay, because he had never been in a relationship and his brothers all married young, which he later thoroughly denied and debunked, but the press were still trying to spread what his sexuality was. I thought this was interesting as the press were the ones who made up that rumour, without Michael having to do anything

Now, the oxygen chamber.
We all by now know that Michael's pepsi incident in 1984 left him with second and third degree burns on his scalp, which is why he used the chamber as part of his treatment.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/184155072256512616/
The picture with him laying in the chamber was taken in 1985 or 86 (when, let's face it, he was at his highest point of fame with 'Thriller')
According to Wikipedia, the article 'Cultural Impact of Michael Jackson' said this under the section 'Tabloid Media':
At the height of his fame, during the 1980s, Jackson began to embrace and perpetuate the public perception of his strangeness. Jackson (and his publicity team) and the media worked in tandem to cultivate this image. Early tabloid stories of his being obsessed with the Elephant Man's bones and sleeping in an "oxygen chamber" were possibly publicity stunts.
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Even Wiki has said it was only a possibility it was Michael's fault
So, if Michael had instructed his PR team (which I know that pretty much every celebrity has) to publish those pictures, he is the one who started his media frenzy.
On the other hand, certain people could have published it in an attempt to tarnish his image or to help the press find more rumours after spreading he was gay.
But, also given the fact that he was rising (or had risen) to the most famous person in the world, would he have needed that stunt to be pulled?

News articles (like those from 'The Sun') have always 'reported' Jackson saying this about the oxygen tank:
"I've taken several long naps in a hyperac oxygen chamber and when awoke felt like a new person-y nor det better.

"I definitely want one for my home so can sleep in it at night.

"I plan to get one immediately.

"I want to live to see world peace, a world without hunger, a world where children and all mankind know no suffering.

"I believe if I treat my body properly I'll live to be at least 150"
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We don't actually know what context this was said in (if he said it jokingly or if he was being serious) or if he even said it at all. It could be the press making all this up.

A book that biographer John Randy Taraborrelli had published, entitled: 'Michael Jackson: the Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story', has stated that he decided to run the story to promote his appearance in the Disney short, 'Captain EO':
Michael felt that he needed some kind of dazzling gimmick to promote the film The publicity designed to create a buzz about Michael and his Captain EO is an excellent example of how he could manipulate the press to do his bidding. Michael's idea was to promote the story that he was sleeping in the hyperbaric chamber in order to prolong his life to the age of 150.
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It has been said that Taraborrelli was a close confidant to Michael Jackson and was trying to paint the situation in more light or that he was simply trying spread even more false accusations.

When Jackson had them addressed the rumours in his interview with Oprah, he debunked it and what actually happened saying:
That's...I did a commercial for Pepsi and was burned very badly and we settled for one million dollars and gave all the money... like we built this place called the Michael Jackson Burn Center and that's a piece of technology used for bum victims, right, so I'm looking at the piece of technology and decide to just go inside it and just to hammer around, somebody takes the picture, when they process the picture the person who processes the picture says, "Oh, Michael Jackson", he made a copy and these pictures went all over the world with this lie attached to it. It's a complete lie, why do people buy these papers. It's not the truth and I'm here to say. You know, do not judge a person, do not pass judgment, unless you have talked to them one on one, 1 don't care what the story is, do not judge them because it's a lie [...]

Michael: It's s crazy! Why would want to sleep in a chamber?
Oprah: Well, the rumor was that you were sleeping in the chamber because you didn't want to grow old. Michael: That's stupid, That's stupid. It's completely made up and I'm embarrassed.
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On that same evening, he also was truthful about why his skin was changing, confirming the fact that he had vitiligo and wasn't bleaching his skin.
Whether or not he was telling the truth about this may be debatable

One theory of mine is that he put that story in there to show how he recovered from the burns and how his fans he was doing fine, but then the press had decided to twist that story around. But that's beside the evidence that has to be shown

So, you can all draw your own conclusions. But either way, it was how the doors opened to a media frenzy
 
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DangerousGal91 said:
I have no useful information to post, but all I'll say for now is that I'm not a fan of all the victim blaming I'm encountering in this thread, if it's even true at all (which I don't know).
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Sorry about that, I was just trying to give a balanced view/argument
 
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