Michael Jackson spent much of his final years surrounded by security, yet according to the two men guarding him, there was one part of his life he kept remarkably private. Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard said two women quietly visited Jackson while he was staying in Virginia. They never learned their real names. Michael referred to them only as “Friend” and “Flower.”
The visits reportedly happened during Jackson’s extended stay on the East Coast in 2007. “Friend” stayed at a hotel in Chantilly while “Flower” stayed at the Red Fox Inn in Middleburg. Whitfield and Beard later said the women visited separately and that Jackson personally gave them instructions concerning the arrangements.
Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days
For two men who had become much more than ordinary security guards, the secrecy stood out. Whitfield and Beard were with Jackson through his years in Las Vegas and Virginia, often acting as gatekeepers and personal assistants as well as protection. Yet even they were given only nicknames for the women entering this closely guarded part of his life.
Their account becomes even more intriguing with “Friend.” The bodyguards recalled driving Jackson and the woman into Washington late at night to see landmarks. With the privacy curtain closed behind them, Whitfield and Beard said they could hear the pair kissing. Whatever the precise nature of the relationships, Jackson clearly wanted the encounters kept away from public attention.
Michael Jackson’s Security Opens Up | Bill Whitfield
Whitfield’s later interviews make a useful second chapter because he explains what protecting Jackson during those final years was actually like. He worked for the singer from Jackson’s return to the United States in 2006 through 2009 and has described a life in which privacy required disguises, decoy vehicles and extreme discretion. Against that background, “Friend” and “Flower” make far more sense.
The real identities of the two women have never been publicly established through the bodyguards’ account. Years later, Whitfield and Beard said both women had visited only while the team was in Virginia and separately. That leaves one unusually private chapter attached to the man whose Thriller, Bad and Dangerous eras made him one of music’s most recognizable stars. Watch the videos above and discover the private Michael Jackson his own bodyguards said the public rarely got to see.