Closing in on the first anniversary of the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson’s long-time friend and concert promoter, Leonard Rowe is publishing a book with explosive accusations of fraud, corruption, manipulation and even murder.
Rowe says that Michael Jackson lived in constant fear of the “evil that surrounded him,” right up to the time of his death. It was no secret that certain powers wanted controlling interests or complete control of Jackson’s extremely lucrative catalogue.
“Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, in my opinion was murdered, and his words still haunt me today: ‘They want my catalogue (music publishing rights) Rowe, and they will kill me for it,’” Rowe writes. “Few know this, but Michael owned fifty percent of Sony’s entire catalogue. He never wanted to sell it — he wanted to keep it for his children. The powers that be, knew that Michael and the Michael Jackson name [were] worth billions and billions of dollars, and he was worth more to them dead than alive. With him dead they would be able to move in and control the wealth that his name and his brand would bring for years and years to come.”
This would not be the first time someone intimately connected with Jackson would speak about MJ‘s morbid fear of the industry he seemingly dominated for decades. Diana Ross said 30 years ago, prior to Jackson’s explosive fame, that “Michael has a lot of people around him, but he’s very afraid. I don’t know why. It must be from the early days.”
Rowe also speaks about the record-breaking concert tour in London that Jackson was scheduled to do. He said the deal with AEG that led to Jackson agreeing to do the physically grueling show at age 50, was akin to holding a “cocked financial gun pointed at his head”.
“I received a call from Randy Jackson [Michael’s youngest brother] around 3:30 p.m. [EST]. As soon as I answered, Randy said, ‘The paramedics have just taken Michael to UCLA Hospital.’ … By this point my mind was racing, wondering what was really happening. My initial thought was that Michael was playing a prank or faking it. I knew that he did not want to do the London dates, nor was he in any physical condition to do them. I thought this was his way of getting out of it. A few minutes later Randy called again and informed me that the media had announced that Michael was dead. I kept driving, but my heart and my mind were both racing. ‘What is going on?’ I kept asking myself.”
Many theories have been unearthed since Jackson’s demise, but this account comes from one who claims close affiliation with the all-time performer. Or is this book merely another attempt to cash in on Jackson‘s death as many others have done? –terry shropshire
