When the National Enquirer ran a photo of Michael Jackson napping in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, back in 1986, the tabloid described Jacko with the word "Bizarre."
But the Enquirer didn't write that description. Michael Jackson did.
That's according to a former Enquirer editor, who said Jackson's camp staged the photo and gave it to the Enquirer to publish -- with the stipulation that the word "bizarre" be used in the story.
Then consider the book "Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness" by J. Randy Taraborrelli, a confidante of Jackson's for over 40 years. (A revised edition is due Aug. 5).
But the Enquirer didn't write that description. Michael Jackson did.
That's according to a former Enquirer editor, who said Jackson's camp staged the photo and gave it to the Enquirer to publish -- with the stipulation that the word "bizarre" be used in the story.
Then consider the book "Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness" by J. Randy Taraborrelli, a confidante of Jackson's for over 40 years. (A revised edition is due Aug. 5).
Remember Michael's cute pet chimpanzee, Bubbles, whom Jacko claimed was
toilet trained and cleaned his own room? Remember those reports that
Jackson offered $1 million for the bones of Joseph Merrick, the
"Elephant Man"?
Those were rumors leaked to the press by Jackson's publicists, Taraborrelli said.
And so, it seems, the King of Pop was also the King of Media Manipulation. (Even that "King of Pop" tag was a self-created title that Jackson successfully planted in the media-sphere until it stuck).
Jackson wasn't content to let his clever pop music, his mini-epic videos and his devilish dance moves establish his public image. Nope.
Even as we watched his face morph into a fairy sprite and his skin change from chocolate to Casper white, Jacko felt the need to up the weird factor -- knowing that "Entertainment Tonight" and the Larry Kings would move him to the front of the 24-hour news cycle with each "bombshell" revelation.
The Law of Declining Stardom applies: As a celebrity's fame and fortune dwindle, that celebrity will become more and more desperate to claw his-her way back to the top.
For some stars, that means taking that plum role in "Police Academy VII."
For Jackson, it meant adopting a chimp and dangling his baby over a balcony railing.
In Jackson's case, the statistics of fame were far beyond those of mere mortal celebrities. "Thriller," his 1982 classic, is estimated to have sold between 47 and 109 million copies worldwide. "Invincible," his 2001 album -- "only" 10 million.
Even if Jackson's shenanigans were borne of a desperate, megalomanic need for the limelight, it says something that he was willing to monkey with his image by cavorting with a chimp and endangering his child. If you pretend to be weird, even for the sake of publicity, then maybe you are genuinely weird.
And who can argue with Jackson's success, whether on the music charts or on the pages of the Enquirer?
Two weeks after his death, he's still dominating the news cycle -- far longer than Elvis or John Lennon. And the tabloid stuff is only beginning.
Already fans claim they spotted Jacko's ghost -- during a CNN segment filmed in his mansion (turns out it was the shadow of a TV crew member).
And Weekly World News, on its Web site, has posted what it says was a story they originally published in 1994, in which a psychic claims Michael would one day fake his own death to escape the choking noose of fame -- just like that Elvis guy.
That noose is one Jackson helped slip around his own neck.
Those were rumors leaked to the press by Jackson's publicists, Taraborrelli said.
And so, it seems, the King of Pop was also the King of Media Manipulation. (Even that "King of Pop" tag was a self-created title that Jackson successfully planted in the media-sphere until it stuck).
Jackson wasn't content to let his clever pop music, his mini-epic videos and his devilish dance moves establish his public image. Nope.
Even as we watched his face morph into a fairy sprite and his skin change from chocolate to Casper white, Jacko felt the need to up the weird factor -- knowing that "Entertainment Tonight" and the Larry Kings would move him to the front of the 24-hour news cycle with each "bombshell" revelation.
The Law of Declining Stardom applies: As a celebrity's fame and fortune dwindle, that celebrity will become more and more desperate to claw his-her way back to the top.
For some stars, that means taking that plum role in "Police Academy VII."
For Jackson, it meant adopting a chimp and dangling his baby over a balcony railing.
In Jackson's case, the statistics of fame were far beyond those of mere mortal celebrities. "Thriller," his 1982 classic, is estimated to have sold between 47 and 109 million copies worldwide. "Invincible," his 2001 album -- "only" 10 million.
Even if Jackson's shenanigans were borne of a desperate, megalomanic need for the limelight, it says something that he was willing to monkey with his image by cavorting with a chimp and endangering his child. If you pretend to be weird, even for the sake of publicity, then maybe you are genuinely weird.
And who can argue with Jackson's success, whether on the music charts or on the pages of the Enquirer?
Two weeks after his death, he's still dominating the news cycle -- far longer than Elvis or John Lennon. And the tabloid stuff is only beginning.
Already fans claim they spotted Jacko's ghost -- during a CNN segment filmed in his mansion (turns out it was the shadow of a TV crew member).
And Weekly World News, on its Web site, has posted what it says was a story they originally published in 1994, in which a psychic claims Michael would one day fake his own death to escape the choking noose of fame -- just like that Elvis guy.
That noose is one Jackson helped slip around his own neck.
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