POP WARBLER Michael Jackson kept an astonishing “death-hoax diary” explaining how he would fake his death of a heart attack and telling when he would come out of hiding, a family friend who claims to have found the journal “among Michael’s personal effects” tells.
ALIVE - OR NOT? You be the judge.
“There’s too much pressure, pressure, pressure … pressure everywhere I turn …” a diary entry dated Nov. 17, 2008 is alleged to say in part.
“I don’t know who I am, not anmore (sp). Maybe I’m just a father to my children.
Maybe I’m washed up.
“The drugs are (illegible) a toll … (illegible) … I’m not addict. But I can’t stop …
“If Elvis … (illegible) … so can I.
“I’ll have a ‘heart attack’ from drugs like he did (yeah, right!)
“I’ll come back, but only when I’m ready. Bigger than Elvis in ‘69.
“Maybe 2009 at Christmas. Or maybe the New Year is better.
“A back-from-dead tour, a real
Thriller. But I have to rest. I’m tired. I’m not (thinking) clearly.
“It’s the drugs.
“A lot of fans still love me. (Some) people hate me. Thing (sp) will be different (after this) …”
Jackson insiders declined to comment – officially – on the report. But as one privately put it, “We love Michael no matter what.”
The friend who leaked portions of the diary also was tight lipped, saying only, “There are over 60 pages (of it) that I will release to the family through my lawyer and they can do what they want with it. It doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to Michael and his loved ones.”
Other sources confirm that Jackson, 50, had spoken of a death hoax “on several occasions” in 2008 and also in 2009, although the reported discovery of the diary that outlines his plans seemed to come as a surprise to everyone.
A paint-by-numbers account of a death hoax, in the superstar’s own handwriting, could lead to serious legal problems, say legal observers, especially if the journal is perceived by insurance companies and the authorities to be a blueprint for fraud.
“I hope to God the diary is legit,” said a Jackson confidante who requested anonymity. “If Michael really is alive, if he orchestrated all this, if he faked his own death, then nobody will be happier than me. As for fraud – nope, no way.
“Michael wouldn’t commit fraud. He’s not trying to collect insurance. He’s protecting himself. He’s doing this for his children. I’ll guarantee it.”
News of Jackson’s “death” on June 25 stunned the world. In fact, within hours of the ann0uncement by authorities, fans had already begun to speculate that he was still alive and had gone into hiding. Subsequent reports suggested that he was, indeed, perpetrating a hoax to escape the pressures of life in the public eye.
It was reported Jackson had been spirited to Asheville, North Carolina and then to Eastern Europe, where it is thought that he might be holed up in Hungary, or even in Russia, where hundreds of people claim to have spotted him in Moscow.
