Michael Jackson kidnap plot revealed
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Michael Jackson kidnap plot revealed
Cameron Atfield
October 29, 2010 - 2:46PM
Michael Jackson's concerned family discussed kidnapping the ailing star a year before he died so they could host an intervention, his former bodyguard revealed today.
Celebrity martial arts trainer Matt Fiddes, who was befriended by Michael Jackson in the late 1990s, told brisbanetimes.com.au he had met the pop star's brother, Jermaine, in the English city of Birmingham where they discussed the plan.
"We talked literally about kidnapping Michael and getting him away from the doctors and the people who were around him who were supplying this stuff [prescription drugs]," he said.
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Matt Fiddes with his former client Michael Jackson.
"We met in secret and we were planning it because we were both concerned. We would look at Sky News sometimes and thought one day we're going to see a newsflash saying, 'Michael Jackson's dead'.
"So Jermaine said it's really serious so let's go for it, let's find where Michael is, we're going to intervene, we're going to kidnap him, take him back to the family home and let's get him sorted out.
"We tried everything, but we just could not get past the enablers. We'd get rid of one and another one would turn up."
Mr Fiddes, in Brisbane to promote his martial arts academies, said he had long been concerned by Jackson's drug use, which started with painkillers after his hair caught fire during filming of a Pepsi commercial in 1984.
"I was getting calls from the family saying 'we've got to do something, he's wafer thin, he's not eating, he can't do these [comeback] shows - it'll kill him'," he said.
"His brother Randy tried to get into the mansion and the new bodyguards threatened to shoot him if he didn't leave 'on order of Mr Jackson' ... so we knew things were wrong."
But Mr Fiddes said although a team of doctors and "enablers" had provided the drugs whenever the star wanted them, it was ultimately Jackson's responsibility.
"Michael put his arm out, that's the thing, and it baffles me to this day why he didn't scream out for help," he said.
"He just didn't want to communicate with anyone about it."
Mr Fiddes said he could not say whether reports he was the biological father of Jackson's son, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket"), were accurate.
"I donated [sperm] to Michael, and people do that for people around the world every day, but because it was Michael Jackson it was blown out of proportion," he said.
"I don't know for sure if I'm Blanket's dad, I'm not making any claims on it and I've not asked for any DNA tests at this stage."
Mr Fiddes said he would only pursue tests if "something went wrong" and he feared for the children's welfare.
"We're monitoring the situation, we know what's going on. Michael's got a big family ... I'm hoping that Mrs [Katherine] Jackson, who is a lovely person, is doing a good job."
Life with the star, whose erratic public behaviour had earned him the moniker 'Whacko Jacko', was very different to what appeared in the tabloids, Mr Fiddes said.
"All these stories that came out about him, he was behind most of them," he said.
"He used to say to us that he wanted his life to be the greatest show on earth. He became Michael Jackson, with the high-pitched voice and everything else. He used to put it on and every now and then he'd forget and we'd have to remind him.
"His voice was just normal and the make-up was just for show."
Mr Fiddes said Jackson would disappear into his room to "become Michael Jackson".
"He'd come out with the make-up on, look totally different, the mask used to go on," he said.
"I asked him why he was wearing the mask and he said to satisfy the whole 'fuzzle duzzle' and what he meant by that was that mask would make him millions of pounds in publicity. It would be on the front page of the newspapers the next day and he was right every time.
"But towards the end, it got out of hand."
Mr Fiddes said Jackson's habit of playing the media led him to believe initial reports of his death was another publicity stunt to raise his profile before a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena.
"We didn't believe it at first because all these stories were quite normal for Michael, but I thought this was taking it a little too far," he said.
"We just shrugged it off ... but I called his best friend Mark [Lester - the star of the Oliver! movie] because he had easy access to Michael compared to us, and Mark was in tears because he'd just spoken to one of Michael's assistants."
Since Jackson's death, Mr Fiddes has been concentrating on his franchised martial arts studios in the United Kingdom.
Six had already been opened in Queensland, but Mr Fiddes said he was keen to expand them across Australia.
"We opened in Australia as a test two years ago," he said.
"We wanted to make sure it works before going further and it was a huge success right away. Basically, we want to expand nation-wide like we have in England."
Michael Jackson kidnap plot revealed
Cameron Atfield
October 29, 2010 - 2:46PM
Michael Jackson's concerned family discussed kidnapping the ailing star a year before he died so they could host an intervention, his former bodyguard revealed today.
Celebrity martial arts trainer Matt Fiddes, who was befriended by Michael Jackson in the late 1990s, told brisbanetimes.com.au he had met the pop star's brother, Jermaine, in the English city of Birmingham where they discussed the plan.
"We talked literally about kidnapping Michael and getting him away from the doctors and the people who were around him who were supplying this stuff [prescription drugs]," he said.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Matt Fiddes with his former client Michael Jackson.
"We met in secret and we were planning it because we were both concerned. We would look at Sky News sometimes and thought one day we're going to see a newsflash saying, 'Michael Jackson's dead'.
"So Jermaine said it's really serious so let's go for it, let's find where Michael is, we're going to intervene, we're going to kidnap him, take him back to the family home and let's get him sorted out.
"We tried everything, but we just could not get past the enablers. We'd get rid of one and another one would turn up."
Mr Fiddes, in Brisbane to promote his martial arts academies, said he had long been concerned by Jackson's drug use, which started with painkillers after his hair caught fire during filming of a Pepsi commercial in 1984.
"I was getting calls from the family saying 'we've got to do something, he's wafer thin, he's not eating, he can't do these [comeback] shows - it'll kill him'," he said.
"His brother Randy tried to get into the mansion and the new bodyguards threatened to shoot him if he didn't leave 'on order of Mr Jackson' ... so we knew things were wrong."
But Mr Fiddes said although a team of doctors and "enablers" had provided the drugs whenever the star wanted them, it was ultimately Jackson's responsibility.
"Michael put his arm out, that's the thing, and it baffles me to this day why he didn't scream out for help," he said.
"He just didn't want to communicate with anyone about it."
Mr Fiddes said he could not say whether reports he was the biological father of Jackson's son, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket"), were accurate.
"I donated [sperm] to Michael, and people do that for people around the world every day, but because it was Michael Jackson it was blown out of proportion," he said.
"I don't know for sure if I'm Blanket's dad, I'm not making any claims on it and I've not asked for any DNA tests at this stage."
Mr Fiddes said he would only pursue tests if "something went wrong" and he feared for the children's welfare.
"We're monitoring the situation, we know what's going on. Michael's got a big family ... I'm hoping that Mrs [Katherine] Jackson, who is a lovely person, is doing a good job."
Life with the star, whose erratic public behaviour had earned him the moniker 'Whacko Jacko', was very different to what appeared in the tabloids, Mr Fiddes said.
"All these stories that came out about him, he was behind most of them," he said.
"He used to say to us that he wanted his life to be the greatest show on earth. He became Michael Jackson, with the high-pitched voice and everything else. He used to put it on and every now and then he'd forget and we'd have to remind him.
"His voice was just normal and the make-up was just for show."
Mr Fiddes said Jackson would disappear into his room to "become Michael Jackson".
"He'd come out with the make-up on, look totally different, the mask used to go on," he said.
"I asked him why he was wearing the mask and he said to satisfy the whole 'fuzzle duzzle' and what he meant by that was that mask would make him millions of pounds in publicity. It would be on the front page of the newspapers the next day and he was right every time.
"But towards the end, it got out of hand."
Mr Fiddes said Jackson's habit of playing the media led him to believe initial reports of his death was another publicity stunt to raise his profile before a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena.
"We didn't believe it at first because all these stories were quite normal for Michael, but I thought this was taking it a little too far," he said.
"We just shrugged it off ... but I called his best friend Mark [Lester - the star of the Oliver! movie] because he had easy access to Michael compared to us, and Mark was in tears because he'd just spoken to one of Michael's assistants."
Since Jackson's death, Mr Fiddes has been concentrating on his franchised martial arts studios in the United Kingdom.
Six had already been opened in Queensland, but Mr Fiddes said he was keen to expand them across Australia.
"We opened in Australia as a test two years ago," he said.
"We wanted to make sure it works before going further and it was a huge success right away. Basically, we want to expand nation-wide like we have in England."
Comments
It is good to remind us to the accident. We haven't talked about it in a while and it is so important. When you start to doubt the hoax every now and then, think about the accident - it works for me.
I think it's hard to tell when exactly things got out of control with the media... The fact that he knew that everything he did was reported (in various ways) could simply mean that he understood the media and the effect he had on people, and knew his every move was watched - which is unsurprising, given that he always had paparazzi and people following him. Michael didn't really NEED to do anything special to be followed around and appear in papers! And I'm not sure he liked the idea of his kids seeing their father discussed as "Wacko Jacko" or a freak...
But in the end it could be that MJ became conflicted - over the years - about the attention, because he grew up with it and as an artist (THE artist <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) --> ) he fed on it... It's what told him he was loved/relevant, in a way... And he didn't really have the other kind of love in his life for long. I think MJ may have been quite dependent on the love of his fans/the world. He's said over the years that he was married to his work, that he was more comfortable on stage than off... And maybe he really didn't know how to NOT be on stage, how to be completely anonymous. He craved the lack of attention AND the attention... I suspect he needed to alternate between the two. The fact that Michael talked so often about living abroad but never really did, until after the 2005 trial, tells me that ultimately he could not or did not want to live in a place where no one paid him much attention, and he was rarely in the news. He COULD have escaped the unhealthy environment of LA/Vegas more often than he did, but I'm not sure he truly wanted that.
In any case, I think we can forgive THE ULTIMATE SHOWMAN (and a man who was "on stage" from age 5 till age 50) for being conflicted or troubled...
It could also be that there was a CORE that Michael wanted to protect, that there were things he clung to because they were him, and he refused to be without them. For instance, his brothers used to mock his white socks back in the day (something that Michael said in "Moonwalk"), and Madonna also tried to make Michael get rid of the white socks & the loafers, and to cut his hair, but Michael kept his socks and loafers to the end... He refused to change! I feel that he was equally stubborn about his love for kids, and he refused to be cowed by people's accusations and questioning - precisely because he knew himself and his innocence, and he wasn't the kinda guy to be intimidated or bullied. It actually takes a lot of courage to do that! Michael stayed true to himself... And in the end that's the only person we have to stay true to. Maybe there were times when MJ gave the media/people what they wanted just for the hell of it... He knew that those who knew and loved him would understand, and those who didn't didn't matter.
The story Matt Fiddes tells contradicts other things we heard. I don't know what to make of that. It is a story not more and not less, I think. Probably we should not pay to much attention to it.
[youtube:3nhtqrq9]
Thank you Bee Bee for the video. I haven't seen it before. Another psychopath.
Though, the kidnapping idea one we never discussed. Possible yet funny. kidnap MJ to save him from addiction.They tried to kdinap la Toya ? <!-- s