-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002
Michael Jackson--what IS his problem??? (Added: pic of his child in burka)greenspun.com : LUSENET : Current News - Homefront Preparations : One Thread |
Saw this on Fox, the baby is kicking his feet, trying to find something to stand on, and Jackson is dangling the child several stories above the ground.
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002
Jackson dangles baby off balcony19.06PM GMT, 19 Nov 2002
Michael Jackson's shocked fans in Berlin after appearing to dangle a baby from a fifth floor hotel balcony.
The eccentric US pop star had been waving to his German fans when he disappeared back into his room and a few seconds later brought the baby - with a towel covering its head - out onto the veranda.
Holding the baby with one arm he then briefly dangled the infant over the balcony railing of the Adlon Hotel, before hurrying back into his room with the child.
It is not clear if the youngster was one of his own children, Prince or Paris.
There were gasps from the crowd of around 200 fans as it seemed at one stage as if the struggling baby was in danger of falling to the ground.
Jackson was holding the baby with only one hand because he seemed intent on keeping the towel covering its head.
Just inside the hotel room a woman wearing a nanny's uniform smiled and laughed as Jackson rushed the baby back inside.
His close friend Uri Geller didn't seem to believe what had happened. He told ITV News Channel "I was not there to see exactly what he had done, but I can tell you this - Michael is a very responsible father and it's just hard for me to believe that he dangled his son over the railing of his balcony."
"Michael loves his kids and he would never, ever do anything that could put them in danger."
He confirmed that Michael Jackson does have his children with him in Berlin, but said: "Maybe he was dangling come kind of a doll over the railing."
There was also trouble when the star arrived at the Adlon Hotel, which is near Berlin's famous Brandenburg Gate.
He had to fight his way through the crowd of fans to get from his car into the hotel. In the scrum at least one person was injured and a flower pot broken.
Jackson is said to be in Germany on a personal trip although it is thought he will attend the German premiere of the new James Bond Film 'Die Another Day'.
It is also rumoured that he may be given a Bambi lifetime achievement award from the German Burda Publishing house.
The company honours celebrities from the world of entertainment, literature, sports and politics.
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002
I've known several nine-year-olds who've dangled their baby brothers or sisters over a porch rail like that. Someone, they've grown up to become responsible adults.I suspect Michael will never grow up.
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002
someone = somehow . . . I'm talking on the phone . . .
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002
More perspective:
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002
JACKO'S CHILLER By ALLAN HALL and BILL HOFFMANNNovember 20, 2002 --
Jacko went wacko yesterday as he flashed a maniacal grin and dangled his 8-month-old son by one arm over the railing of a fifth-floor balcony in Berlin.
For several terrifying seconds - as a big crowd of fans looked on - the Gloved One appeared to be in danger of letting the infant plunge 70 feet.
German authorities have launched a probe into the sickening act, while Jacko's pal, the spoon-bending psychic Uri Geller, said he'll confront the entertainer to ask: "Michael, what have you done?"
Last night, Jackson issued a written statement saying he'd made "a terrible mistake."
"I got caught up in the excitement of the moment," he said. "I would never intentionally endanger the lives of my children."
The sickening stunt occurred as Jacko, in Berlin with his three kids to accept a lifetime-achievement award, walked onto the balcony of the posh presidential suite at the Aldon Hotel to wave to fans.
In his right arm was his youngest child, Prince Michael II, who wore a baby-blue jumper with a white towel around his head to hide his face from photographers.
As fans watched in horror, the weirdo pop star broke into a huge smile and inexplicably dangled the youngster over the iron rail and swayed him back and forth like a prize.
The freaked-out tot began to squirm and kick his feet, and it appeared as though Jackson was losing his grip.
Onlookers gasped as Jacko's grin turned to a look of terror as he realized what might happen.
But instead of taking his free left hand to help secure the baby, he used it instead to make sure the towel didn't slip off the boy's face.
Jacko finally managed to yank the kicking baby back to safety, then scurried inside and passed him to a nanny.
"I can only think it's his brains, not his nose, that needs the most treatment," said Jutta Schmidt, a cleaning lady who witnessed the tot horror as she walked home from work.
Jackson also brought one of his older children to the window - with the child's face also covered by a white cloth.
-- Anonymous, November 20, 2002
>Jackson also brought one of his older children to the window - with the child's face also covered by a white cloth.Lock up this guy. Now.
-- Anonymous, November 20, 2002
WACKY DADDY JACKO UNVEILS ‘BURQA' KIDS By BILL HOFFMANN and DAVID K. LI
PHOTO COVERUP: Michael keeps his kids covered on a trip to the zoo. - Reuters
November 21, 2002 -- A day after Wacko Jacko shocked the world by dangling his 8-month-old son from a 70-foot-high balcony, the King of Freaks tried to show the world he's a normal dad by taking his kids to the zoo.
But yesterday's outing turned into a bizarre spectacle, as the fading pop star hid his kids' faces from the public under dark purple hoods and burqa-like veils.
Jacko's 3-year-old daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, had the look of a mourner at a funeral as she strained to view an exhibit of monkeys through her thick gauze.
Jacko himself seemed delighted with the monkeys - perhaps because they brought back memories of his beloved pet chimp, Bubbles.
The day before, Jacko horrified fans waiting outside his Berlin hotel by nearly dropping his son, 8-month-old Prince Michael Joseph II, from a fifth-floor balcony.
Then, that night, he waltzed out to a video shop and bought a copy of "E.T." - a movie he claims to have seen at least 500 times - and watched it with his family.
Yesterday, in a weird reprise of his baby-dangling horror, Jacko appeared on the balcony alone and waved a pillow over the railing.
German police said they don't plan on whacking Jacko with child-endangerment charges. But officials in California, where Jackson lives, said that if Germany did file a formal complaint, they would consider aiding in the prosecution.
Jacko's pals were clearly worried - and disgusted - by his actions.
"I can't believe what I saw. Obviously, Michael is somehow out of control," said Donald Trump, who has had Jacko as his guest at the Trump Tower and at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach.
"I hope he is going to be OK," the Donald added.
Even the usually forgiving Dr. Joyce Brothers said Jacko's hasty "I'm sorry," which he issued in a carefully worded statement, was empty.
"It helps him to try to apologize, but that's not an apology. I really don't think he's capable of putting himself in someone else's shoes, to have empathy to feel how others feel," she said.
Rabbi Shumuley Boteach, author of "Kosher Sex" and one of Jackson's most trusted spiritual advisers, added, "Why he would do this? I don't know . . . It's so out of character for him."
Curiously, many celebs whom Jacko claims are among his closest friends refused to come to his defense yesterday.
Among those who clammed up were Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Martin Scorsese, Marlon Brando and Michael's first wife, Lisa Marie Presley.
Top shrinks last night said Jacko was a disturbed, out-of-control freak and urged authorities to step in.
"That kid could have been killed. Something needs to be done - he should be charged with child endangerment," said Dr. Patricia Farrell, a New Jersey psychologist.
She added that Jacko's kids could be scarred for life by the masks and veils they're continually forced to wear.
"Throwing a towel over a young child's head is wrong. It can lead to a lot of problems," Farrell said.
Jacko publicist Marleah Leslie said she had "no comment at this time" as to whether her client feared the masks could psychologically damage the kids.
Jackson's two oldest children -Prince Michael Joseph, 5, and Paris Michael Katherine - were born to his second wife, Debbie Rowe.
Jackson hasn't identified the mother of Prince Michael Joseph II.
-- Anonymous, November 21, 2002
saw his brother on tv.
-- Anonymous, November 21, 2002