Everybody who has ever seen the video for “Smooth Criminal” remembers the same moment. Michael Jackson and his dancers, all in white suits and fedoras, lean forward at an impossible angle and stay there. No wires visible. No support. Just a row of men tipped forward at nearly 45 degrees, hanging in space. It is … Read more
Michael Jackson was one of the most photographed and discussed entertainers on Earth, yet according to the men protecting him during his final years, his own children barely saw the public version of their father. Inside the family home, the constant headlines, television coverage and internet commentary that followed Michael everywhere else were largely kept … Read more
Michael Jackson spent his childhood performing beside his brothers in the Jackson 5, turning the family name into one of the most recognizable in music. But years later, former Neverland employees made a startling claim about what supposedly happened whenever Michael came across old photographs of the very people who had shared those early years … Read more
Michael Jackson took security around his family seriously during his final years in Las Vegas. Panic buttons had been installed throughout the rented house so Michael or his children could silently alert guards stationed outside. Then early one morning in April 2007, one of those alarms suddenly screamed inside the security trailer and bodyguard Bill … Read more
Michael Jackson had spent most of his life surrounded by fame, private homes and heavy security. That made one drive through Las Vegas in 2007 especially striking to his bodyguards. Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard recalled Jackson looking from the car at a homeless man and woman, then asking a question that showed just how … Read more
Michael Jackson was famous for surrounding himself with unusual animals, but one pet became particularly memorable to the people making music around him. His large snake named Muscles was allowed surprisingly close to recording sessions. Quincy Jones remembered it crawling across equipment and wrapping itself around his leg. Then one day, Muscles disappeared and turned … Read more
Michael Jackson built Neverland Ranch as a private fantasy world filled with rides, animals and sprawling grounds. But former employees later described moments behind those famous gates that were far less glamorous. One of their strangest claims involved Jackson returning from the animal areas with something on his shoes and apparently showing little concern about … Read more
Millions knew Michael Jackson for moves that seemed impossible on a concert stage, but dancing was not the only physical skill he practiced. During his later years in Las Vegas, former bodyguards Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard said Michael had another favorite way to unwind. He would head outside alone, pick up a basketball and … Read more
Michael Jackson’s former bodyguards spent more than two years seeing parts of his life almost nobody else witnessed. Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard drove him, protected his children and remained close during his secluded final years. Yet among all the unusual routines they later described, one discovery inside his home was almost comically ordinary: an … Read more
Michael Jackson spent decades creating some of the most recognizable pop music ever recorded, but the soundtrack to his private life could be surprisingly different. Former bodyguards Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard said that when Michael rode in the car, he almost always chose classical music instead of listening to the radio or filling the … Read more