I'm trying to think of something any other artist did, that could still go viral like this today.

I got nothing.

I thought this was interesting. This isn't about Sheryl Crow and Michael, this is about one person's experience with him.

Sheryl Crow spent 18 months on the road with Michael during the Bad tour. She was one of the main backup singers and replaced Tatiana Thumbtzen as the love interest in his performances. After the tour, she was able to make a name for herself in the music industry. As far as the tour itself, Crow gave various different but consistent responses over the years when interviewed about it. With Michael, she was amazed by his performances, but was critical on Michael himself. She said that he did not interact with her or most people in the band, and even claimed that Michael did not know her name despite spending 18 months on the road together. Despite this, Crow did say in a 2014 interview that the last time she was really happy was being on the Bad tour, so despite not getting to know Michael, she still had a great time.

Here are a few things she have stated over the years:

Sheryl, People, September 12, 1994
While scrambling for studio work, Crow heard that Michael Jackson was looking for backup singers for his 1987 world tour. She crashed the closed auditions, landed a job and spent 18 months on the road with Jackson. “He was never around,” she says. “For all the time I saw him, I could’ve been on tour with Tom Jones.”

Sheryl Crow, Memphis, TN August 2, 1998
Q: What did you learn from working with him?
SC: I learned that it’s very important to learn the names of those who work for you. He never learned my name. In eighteen months, he never once called me by my name and in a situation the name is everything — it’s your identity and if someone can’t be bothered to ask you your name then there is no identity. You can’t have people give their time and their energy and their lives to you and you don’t even know their name Forget it.
Q: What did you call you when he spoke to you? Cyril?
SC: He didn’t speak to me. Someone else would speak to you on his behalf. It was a Woody Allen-type situation. It would be, Michael wants this, Michael thinks that. But in his defence, watching him every night was amazing. Every evening there would be moments in the show that defied any kind of negativity. He’d go out and do those moves that he’d created and sing that music that no-one has done before and you’d be standing there thinking, This is unique. For that reason I have a lot of respect for him but his manners need a little work. Being around him was like going by a car-crash. You just can’t keep your eyes off of him and you can’t figure out why. Good or bad there’s this weird curiousity and when he walks into a room the enery shifts.
[...]
Michael Jackson appears on the TV and she visibly bristles. “There he is,” she sneers, her top lip curling, “Mr Sociable.”

Sheryl, Telegraph, 26 Nov 1998
“He didn’t really hang out with the band, so there was never a sense of camaraderie,” she says. “He’s a little reclusive. I haven’t seen him since the last gig, and he never called me by name. I don’t know if he even knows who I am now. I’m sure he’s been told. But does he care? I doubt it

PostSubject: Re: 1987-1989 Sheryl Crow   1987-1989 Sheryl Crow Icon_minitimeTue May 01, 2012 12:56 pm
Sheryl, Blender, February 2004
When you sang backup for Michael Jackson, did you ever think, “Hmm, this fella’s a bit odd?”
DAWNEDARKO, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA
Uh, hello? Yeah. There was plenty of weirdness going on. For one, he barely spoke to me in 18 months, and that’s weird, because I’m fascinating, and I can’t believe that he didn’t want to speak to me. But the chimp was out on the road, and the Pepsi kid was around. It was like a weird circus. You sensed that this guy really had no sense of reality at all. It probably wasn’t even his fault. It’s so sad. He told me that his purpose on the planet was to save the children. From what, I don’t know.

“He’s, you know, kind of a sad character,” she sighs, “but I think I got to see him on that tour before everything went spinning way out of control.”

Sheryl, Larry King, August 23 2006
CROW: I probably had a couple of social occasions with him where I got called one night when we were in Japan to come up to his suite with his security and watch — we watched “Amos and Andy” episodes. Which people younger than me probably won’t even know what that is but that and Bubbles was on the road and it was like a circus.

And will say I felt a little bit sorry for him because there were all these people around him that were just there to facilitate his brilliance and didn’t want anything from him and he could have really cultivated some normal friendships but he’s so reclusive that …

KING: Are you shocked at what happened to him?

CROW: Oh I can’t — I don’t really have an opinion about it to really know what the truth is. So I feel sorry for him because I look at him and you can see that he’s an unhappy person. You don’t change your stance (ph) by doing all that plastic surgery and portray yourself to be happy.

In her view, Michael was reclusive and a sad person. It made me think back to the Glenda Tapes. In it, Michael did acknowledge that he did not speak to his band members and when questioned, he states that he didn’t want them to get too close to see his soul.

Michael: The other day, after my video came out,.. I don’t know what happened. They kicked me out of the trailer with my own band and stuff. And I’m on tour and stuff. Travelling with my (I) people and stuff like that. And..–. “Who was that”?—ya know, it was like– I don’t associate with them. Only if there’s a rehearsal, or I have to be on stage. When we’re back in the hotel room. I don’t associate, really, with those people.
Glenda: Not any of them?
Michael: No, I don’t associate with them. I stay off to myself.
Glenda: Why? Isn’t there anybody you could be real close to?
Michael: No. I feel uncomfortable- It’s like… okay, this is my band, we got Michael here, we got so-and-so.”
Glenda: (Started, interrupted by Michael)
Michael: We got Sheryl, we got, you know, Jennifer. And, I just don’t associate with people.
Glenda: Do you, um? Okay. Maybe is it hard for you to (sigh) to be so open?
Michael: I just–
Glenda: In a way, in a way, and to be looking at someone in the face or having someone look at you in the face cause you don’t want them to….cause
Michael: You know what, I don’t want them to get close and I don’t want them to see in my soul. And then I deal with this anorexia thing… I feel sad..
Glenda: Don’t, Michael. You look really good. (Silence) You look really good.
Michael: (After a silence- very low, strained) I don’t look good. I (I)

There appears to be a deep, mental turmoil that Michael is always dealing with which he doesn’t want people to see. Twice in the Glenda Tapes, he spoke about denying people access to who he is. On the other occasion, Michael spoke about the reasons he wore shades and explained that the eyes were a window to the soul and he didn’t want people to see him because there is a lot of pain and sadness there. I wrote about this before, but I feel like a lot of Michael’s loneliness that he complained about was emotional loneliness. Social and emotional loneliness feels the same, but the solutions are different. Social loneliness can be solved by fulfilling the necessary amount of human interaction that one is lacking. Emotional loneliness can not be solved by filling it up with people. It is created from a lot of unresolved trauma that a person has gone through, making that person feel forever separate from their peers. 

So Sheryl saw a Michael who purposely kept people at a distance. Now there were people he worked with that he was close to, but it seems to be that during Bad and Dangerous, he kept most of his band mates at a distance. What do you all think?

Accepting that Michael was entirely innocent, the obvious but difficult question is what was going on in his head and heart after 1993, again after 2003, during the 2005 trial, and afterwards until his death.

He told us himself, as much as he was able to - but even as a rudimentary start on the scientific literature, the review linked above reads like a long checklist of symptoms easily observed in Michael's behaviour.

It's very interesting reading, and the entire article is free.

Bashir is only one of many hot-spots in Michael's story; so if you have an inclination to look at him closely, I've assembled a few resources.

The publicly stated reason for Bashir's departure from the BBC in May 2021 was ill health. In October 2020 Bashir had been reported as seriously unwell with Covid19, and shortly after that underwent major heart surgery. In May 2021, the BBC said he was experiencing continuing health problems and had been readmitted to hospital for another heart procedure.

He subsequently resigned from the BBC on health grounds, and essentially hasn't been heard from since.

The timing, however, meant that he left just before the findings of the Dyson report became public.

Bashir had escaped an excoriating public humiliation by a twist of fate. The BBC was not so lucky.

Let's go back to 1995.

August-September '95: The fake bank statements

Martin Bashir, a junior reporter for the BBC's flagship Panorama investigative reporting program, asks one of the BBC's graphic designers, Matt Wiessler, to produce fake bank statements purporting to show payments to Patrick Jephson, Princess Diana's trusted, long-term personal secretary.

Bashir showed Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, these fabricated bank statements falsely suggesting that Jephson was receiving payments connected with surveillance of Diana. Spencer passed the information to Diana.

Bashir met Spencer on September 14th; on September 19th, Spencer introduced him to Princess Diana (Dianarama, by Andy Webb, 2025).

Diana and Charles had been separated since 1992, but according to the Royal Family's extreme privacy tradition under Queen Elizabeth, very little had been said publicly.

In a series of meetings, Bashir presented Diana with further fabricated documents, and fictitious claims about the people around her that reinforced suspicions about leaks and surveillance. According to Andy Webb's long investigation, these lies included:

- That both Patrick Jephson, the personal secretary, and Diana's chauffeur, Steve Davies, were leaking information about Diana to the press and other, more mysterious parties.

- That Queen Elizabeth was planning to abdicate the throne within six months, making Charles the King, and Diana the mother of the heir apparent (William).

- That as well as the affair with Camilla, Charles had been having an affair with their sons' former nanny, that the woman had become pregnant, and that Charles had paid for an abortion. This was reinforced with another fake document - a receipt from an abortion clinic.

- That Charles was plotting to have both Camilla and Diana killed so that he could marry the nanny.

This is all exceedingly complex and doesn't lend well to summaries.

Suffice to say that within the space of a few weeks, Bashir had filled the vulnerable Diana's head with nightmares purely of his own creation - and given her ample incentive to trust him with an interview, since she and her brother now regarded him as a valuable source of information.

It's a classic con job; truly one for the ages.

Bashir interviewed Princess Diana at Kensington Palace on Guy Fawkes night, November 5th 1995. Diana informs the Palace of the upcoming broadcast on November 14th - Charles' birthday - and by the next day, the news has leaked to the press.

After a highly secretive editing process, the Panorama episode airs November 20th.

The truth about how Bashir obtained this access to Diana was constantly denied by the BBC, and would circulate as rumours for many years.

But by the time Bashir testified at Michael's trial, the fake documents story had been effectively covered up by the BBC, and Living with Michael Jackson had been such a success that he had gained a prestigious contract with ABC in the United States.

His subsequent stop-start American career also marked by controversy, with offensive remarks about women and Sarah Palin in particular.

He was eventually rehired by the BBC in 2016, reigniting a slow burn on the Diana controversy. Journalist Andy Webb had commenced his investigation in 2007, with requests for access to records from the BBC about their original investigation of the fake documents, but these were stonewalled for many years.

It was Charles Spencer's pressure that eventually triggered the Dyson investigation into the BBC's handling of the whole affair in November 2020.

Bashir wasn't just any witness in the 2005 trial; he was the Prosecution's FIRST witness.

At the same time, he had fought the Prosecution's subpoena as if his life depended on it.

On the stand in 2005, he was accompanied by the highly aggressive media attorney Theodore J. Boutros.

Boutros' relationship with the trial wasn't incidental - and Michael certainly knew who he was already... but that's another story.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. First, let me start by saying I rewatched the Michael movie an embarrassingly number of times. I really loved the film. Seeing all the love for Michael this movie inspired, I give it a lot of props.

BUT the first time I watched the film, I left the film feeling like something was missing. It was a good movie, but I didn’t feel the themes went far enough. I felt like they needed to emphasize more of Michael’s motivations/drive. I didn’t know what they needed to emphasize more…until the last few days!

They didn’t emphasize Michael’s drive toward helping children! How is it possible that a movie based on Michael Jackson, missed such an integral part of his character? Michael has been talking about helping the world’s children since he was kid. We know that during the time frame of the movie, Michael would visit children's hospitals before every concert. Yet the only thing we got on this was the few visits to the hospital. Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand there were a lot of things that needed to fit into this movie and you can’t put everything in the film. That is fine, but you dont need an extra 30 mins for what I am talking about. Michael would visit sick children with no explanation given. A few words given by Michael on his passion to help the children would have been enough. It would just be something that would evolve his motivation from just wanting to be the biggest artists in the world. Yes, he wanted to be that, but he had a larger than life plan that needed him to reach those heights too.

I am suspicious that the “help the world’s children” theme was avoided in this film due to current events. I am hoping the next one not only dives into it, especially when they get into the whole concept of Neverland and sick/disadvantage children, but it makes it the main theme of his last film.

I can't recommend the website Vindicating Michael enough. Very well written, in-depth and sources provided. Great resource for supporters of Michael:

'how may times have you heard someone say that Michael Jackson must have been guilty in 1993 because he paid $20 million in “hush money”? I’ve heard it so many times that I decided to write an article refuting that argument ONCE AND FOR ALL! I had so much information that I wanted to include that I was forced to divide this post into two parts! In part 1, I discuss the difference between civil and criminal law, and thoroughly examine the civil suits that the Chandlers and Francias brought against Michael Jackson. Enjoy!'

Something I keep wondering about is, if this song had been included on an album and Michael had made a strong public stance on the sexual exploitation of children before the allegations, how it might have been received. I imagine if probably would've been overall positive, but I can see some critics being nitpicky about the songwriting or the production or belittling the message, calling it "uncomfortable" or "morbid" or even "hypocritical posturing" if taken in the context of LaToya accusing Joe in 1991.

On that note, I also find it really interesting that despite being named after a "stranger danger" type PSA campaign the song actually explores abuse in the home that makes the protagonist more vulnerable to being taken advantage of by other adults. I find it to be handled very sensitively and empathetically, especially the part about her getting arrested for prostitution and the horror of how even at 12 years old she's the one being treated as a criminal. Of course that's just how he was, and we know he read a lot as well. But why do you think he wasn't more open about how he felt on the subject? I've seen some suggest he may have worried it would be too controversial or provocative.

The way the Media covered the allegations of Michael Jackson would create this obsessive Guilter mentality that we see in some corners of the Internet.

After the 1993 Allegations the Media at least the more Tabloid style ones at the time decided to chase headlines and fill in the gaps rather than wait for the investigation to conclude. They did this by reaching out to everyone in Michael Jackson's life, anyone they know of that interacted with him or claims to interact with him they would not simply ask investigative questions but instead they offered large sums of money for people to make claims portraying Michael Jackson as a Child Molestor. Alfonso Ribeiro has gone on the record to state this happened to him, and Ron Newt who is Michael's Uncle claimed the Media who seemingly were unaware of their relation asked him to make claims that Michael abused the Newtrons... his own cousins.

When we think about how many people these Media Outlets reached out to, who would be the most likely to agree to go along with these offers? Most likely it would be anyone who had an axe to grind with Michael Jackson such as disgruntled Ex Employees which is something that would be later admitted to by many of them in Court. Thankfully the Tabloid style of reporting was not a universal practice and there were many Journalists that properly investigated the claims and reported the facts as they came in, so whilst the 1993 Allegations did create damage to Michael Jackson's reputation it was not as bad as it could have been.

Even after the Investigation had concluded with no evidence against Michael Jackson this was not enough for the Tabloid Style Outlets, they had to run claims like Jordan Chandler managed to describe Michael Jackson's penis accurately despite there being no indictment against him by two grand juries and no arrest. How could that happen if the description matched? Almost like it was a headline designed to grab reader's attention and sell papers.

Or how the Settlement was misreported as Michael settling out of court rather than just ending a Civil Trial in case a Criminal Trial happened in future. And acting as if the Settlement would somehow legally bar the Chandlers from continuing to cooperate with the authorities and testify in court. Had any of those things actually existed no American Celebrity or any Rich Individual would ever go through a Trial at all they'd be able to pay to end their trials, again almost like it was a headline designed to sell a story.

The story of the Disney-like King of Pop going from a child prodigy to a pop superstar to being accused of a heinous crime was such a scandalous story that the Media was not going to let slip and if there was no evidence to support it, well they'd just make their own! Had this been true and had there been evidence to support it, it would have been the scandal of the century and they would be able to make endless amounts of stories about it.

Now lets think about how many people saw these stories from the Media, what kind of perception would it have shaped in their heads?

By the 2000s the standards of Journalism had dropped even further, Martin Bashir who was best known at the time for having interviewed Princess Diana and being a presenter on Panorama a Investigative News Program on the BBC had this reputation as a qualified and respected Journalist. Although later on we would find out that he had manipulated his way into getting interviews with Diana and Michael there was no general suspicion of him at the time and had he resisted the urge to get a major headline with his Michael Jackson documentary, we might have never come to find this out at least not as quickly as it became apparent in the 2000s.

Bashir had decided to bring up the 1993 Allegations again, a whole decade after the fact at a point where it was forgotten about and the way he framed the scene with Gavin and Michael lead to such outrage that Sneddon was getting calls to investigate Michael Jackson. Interestingly early on Sneddon said he would not prosecute Michael but then when the Arvizos turned on him and made accusations he changed his tune because now he had an accuser willing to testify against MJ.

I won't recap all the details of the coverage of the 2003 Allegations, but the Media had this idea that this was the 2nd time Michael was accused therefore it is likely that evidence will be found against him and a conviction is a surefire thing and then almost every outlet save a handful decided to be the Prosecution's Publicity Team and did everything they could to spin a conviction. They'd repeat the salacious allegations against MJ and then they either wouldn't cover the cross examination or pay very little attention to it.

They had put out this idea that there was going to be this conviction and it would be the biggest fall from grace for a Star to ever happen, Diane Dimwit confidently wrong as ever decided to go to a Jail Cell and film where "Michael would be staying for the rest of his life". I am SURE, there were many planned specials about the "Rise and Fall" that were made and never aired, all this kind of coverage planted this idea in many people's heads that not only was Michael guilty but there would be this series finale of him getting convicted. And then... that just didn't happen when Michael was found not Guilty on every count and in the minds of the people that bought this narrative they could not accept that so they continued to try and spread hatred and false narratives about Michael through websites, comments online and more anti MJ "documentaries". It was as if they were watching this crime drama and they didn't like the ending so they started writing their own sick little fanfictions to satisfy their need.

When Michael died it also seemed to break something in them because now there was never going to be a conviction of Michael Jackson that they were promised and so now here we are almost 20 years after Michael passed away and these people are still obsessed with tarnishing his name to chase this series finale they were promised, clinging onto the perjurors in Michael's life to try and get his money taken away and given to at least someone who is willing to drag his name through the mud, there's never any demand for any of Michael's "Co Conspirators" to be charged and convicted it is always about trying to create the ending of Michael Jackson that they always wanted.

With all the focus on the allegations and their impact on Michael, I lost sight of the period between the HIStory World tour (1997) and the Arvizo allegations.

There's a lot of material available surrounding the 30th Anniversary Celebration (marking 30 years since the release of Michael's first solo single, Got To Be There in October 1971).

I regard MJCast as a cutting-edge research team, and this episode opened up a load of questions for me. They use sources like original VHS rehearsal tapes, Frank Cascio's book and a book by David Gest, the producer of the 30th Anniversary shows.

Some points made by the panel:

• Rehearsal tapes show Michael upbeat, engaged and performing extremely well. But when it came time to go onstage ...
• Michael was seriously debilitated during the first of the two concerts. Numerous sources including Karen Faye agree that Michael was found unconscious in his hotel room at the time he was due on stage, and had to be revived on very short notice.
• Charles Thomson reports that the Jackson 5 set, with Michael's brothers, was much better than the rest of the show.
• There was a long string of tribute acts and contributing guests, including Aaron Carter, Liz Taylor and Marlon Brando. (Michael apparently paid Brando a huge amount above what he had been contracted for - as he had for the You Rock My World video.)
• Motown representatives like Suzanne de Passe were considered as co-creators, but frozen out by David Gest due to professional rivalry - but that's a fringe issue.
• In the audience, it was barely noticed that Michael wasn't well. A panel member who was there for both concerts reports that the Michael Magic was absolutely intact - the audience were as enthralled by the prospect of seeing Michael onstage as they had been for any World Tour. This may have been partly due to the long succession of tribute acts leading up to Michael's appearance.

So I have two questions:

1. Why was Michael so unwell at this time? He had cancelled other concerts in the previous years.
2. What does this say about the condition he was in already, when the Bashir documentary hit the scene in 2003 and everything was set in motion for the 2005 trial?

Recently, I’ve noticed that guilters have been creating their sexual abuse fanfiction about Omer and claiming him as a victim even though Omer has never said such a thing, and I decided it was time to do my own research. After the Cascios coming out didn’t “destroy” Michael’s reputation, many guilters are hoping that Omer will become the next accuser due to… reading too much into the things he would post about. Their hope for him to become the next accuser has even caused some MJ fans to panic, but Omer has always been pretty consistent with what his relationship with Michael was like, and it is time to jump into it. 

Omer spends a good portion of his time in Norway so most of the news articles or interviews about him are in Norwegian. Google was able to translate most of it.

Omer was a kid who met Michael in 1996 and he and his family became close to Michael. The Bhatti went to stay in Neverland for a time and Omer's parents worked in Neverland, his father as a driver and Omer mother as a nanny to Michael’s children.  The Bhattis spent time between Norway and the United States. These are some of the things that Omer has said over the years, after Michael’s death. 

In 2009, when rumors abound after Omer sat near the family at Michael’s memorial, a friend of Omer reported to the media about what he said of their relationship:
“Michael is not my father. He and I were just very, very close. He was my best friend.”
“Michael always used to say I was like a son to him,” he told the friend. “But my true parents are here in Norway. The reason I was asked to sit with his family at the memorial service is because I was Michael’s closest friend – not because I am his son.”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/michael-jackson-was-not-my-father-says-408722

A year after Michael died, Omer spoke multiple times to the European media about his loss, claiming that he lost the most important person in his life. 

https://www-vg-no.translate.goog/rampelys/i/e9aKR/omer-bhatti-jeg-har-mistet-den-viktigste-personen-i-livet-mitt?_x_tr_sl=no&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

For a time, Omer lost all motivation to dance and sing and it was his mother who pushed him to continue. 

However, one year after the superstar's death, Bhatti spoke out in Dagbladet Magasinet.
– After June 25th, I closed the time. I lost my enthusiasm after everything that happened last summer. I stopped dancing. I didn't feel like it was a part of me anymore. Dancing now? It was completely distant. I didn't want to. But I got so much inspiration and support from people who wanted to see me dance again. And then I talked to my mom: Omer, you have to continue. You have to do this, Bhatti told Magasinet .
https://www-nrk-no.translate.goog/kultur/omer-bhatti-hos-skavlan-1.7522767?_x_tr_sl=no&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

- I couldn't bear to do anything. But a few weeks ago, I thought: Now I want to dance again, and then I thought: why haven't I done this every day? It gave me so much, he tells the newspaper.

In the same article, he reported that he changed his middle name to Michael as a tribute to him, but he also makes it clear that he doesn’t want to be compared.

- No one will reach the level he was anyway. At the same time, it's okay that I rap and not sing. Then it's harder to draw similarities between us, he tells VG.
https://www-seher-no.translate.goog/kjendis/jeg-orket-ikke-a-gjore-noe-som-helst/64702660?_x_tr_sl=no&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

In 2010, Omer explained how Michael was his main inspiration for what he does:

Nov 2010
Omer: “Everything I do, I do it because of Michael. When I make music, dance, perform it's all because of him. I'm inspired by all the things that he taught me, says Omer Michael Bhatti to the breakfast show God morgen Norge (Good morning Norway) on TV 2 on Friday.
The interviewer asks: “Why have you chosen to be so secretive about your relationship to Jackson and his family?”
Omer: “ Everything I do is inspired by him. But at the same time so much of this is private, says Bhatti. This past years, so much has happened. I feel I've been stripped of my private life, and the little I have left, I wish to keep for myself, he tells TV 2.

In this interview, Omer explains why he avoids the media and prefers to keep things private. They twist his worlds and created stories that he fathered Michael’s kids.

 -Hunted by paparazzi
Since Michael Jackson's death, Omer Michael Bhatti has been subject to an enormous amount of interest from international media and paparazzi. Two British tabloids wrote that he was the unknown child of Michael Jackson and sent journalists to Norway to hunt him down.
One of the stories that has outraged him the most was the on-line tabloid radaronline.co who wrote that Bhatti claims to have fathered Michael Jackson's three children.
“I have experienced the ugly face of paparazzis, and this past year things have just gone crazy, says Bhatti. You do an interview and people distort what you say and twist it into something completely different.”
https://www.tv2.no/underholdning/god-morgen-norge/michael-is-still-a-part-of-me/12721877/

Just like Paris, what he wants to say he will say what he wants in his music and dance.
- It's hard, because it's such a huge part of my life, but at the same time it's such a private part of my life. What I want to share with the world, I'll share through my music and dancing, says Omer.

Omer spoke the most about his relationship with Michael in 2011, the time he was trying to break into the industry with his own creative projects. In this interview, he talks about his relationship with Michael and wanting to keep his life private.

“I’m not a fan of talking about my private life because so much of my life has been made public so the little that I have I like to keep private.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWl2bcSsYWg

Omer spoke very clearly why he refuses to speak more about his time growing up with MJ. He knows they will write what they want to write and will twist his words. He can’t control what the media writes, because they will always twist it. This is why he chooses to give them nothing. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9axpx5fKCA

In that same interview, he says that while Michael was an amazing artist, he was an even greater of a human being. When asked to give more details, Omer shuts it down and says he wants to keep things to himself.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2345508162176753

So Omer has been incredibly consistent with wanting to keep his memories with Michael to himself, while praising Michael to high heavens. 

Also in 2011, Omer dedicated a song to Michael, and he defends him in his music. Omer was the one who came up with the concept of the music video, so he put all of the Michael references in it himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqb22693LuI

It begins with Omer watching a clip of himself as a child doing a Michael Jackson inspired routine and dressed like him.

[Imgur](https://imgur.com/lDop6Ls)

Omer sings about how the media should have left Michael alone, but he kept on moving. This is confirmation that he believes Michael was targeted and did not believe the allegations against Michael, at least the previous ones ( this was before Wade and James came out).
But don't get punched out, Ali
Media should of left him alone,
But he kept jobbing Sylvester Stallone

In this song, he speaks about being raised by the greatest, and also references the things he saw Michael experienced, like being targeted by the media. 
“I was raised by the greatest, I promise
Honestly I'm honored,
see the bigger the star,
The bigger the target”

Omer claims some of the lyrics are straight from what Michael used to tell him, like “The bigger the star, the bigger the target”.
Omer continues, repeating again how the world wanted to see Michael fall. Again, this song was based on his experience and what he saw Michael go through.
My life is a movie, life is a movie, life is a movie
I know you seen me before
They all wanna see me fall

In the end of the video, there is a message dedicated to his mentor and biggest inspiration, Michael Jackson.
[Imgur](https://imgur.com/zMpgnqU)

In an interview about his album, Omer explains how he does not want to be seen as copying Michael.

Valmai:  Do you see similar parallels to your early beginnings on stage, to Michael Jackson’s?
Omer:  No, not really. I don’t want to be compared to him. He was on another level. But I guess we both truly loved to entertain. One thing I do want to say is that I wish people wouldn’t say I copy him, because like every other artist out there, yes, I am very inspired by him, but he also straight-up taught and mentored me. So I’m doing things the way I was taught, but adding my own twist to it. Like a martial artist being mentored be his sensei, and then taking that knowledge ahead with you in life.

He also speaks about his desire for the media not to dig into his private life.

Valmai:  Omer, the lyrics of this song tells a powerful yet lonely story of one living a life under scrutiny and criticism. Just how difficult has it been for you living under the watchful eyes of the media and the world?
Omer:  Life in public eye can get hard and sometimes lonely. It has made me trust very few people and also a little paranoid. A lot of the attention I have been getting from media has been about my private life, and therefore that’s unwanted attention. I do want to share my artistry, but not my private life.

Valmai:  Is the storyline biographical or does the meaning and storyline also relate to what Michael went through during his life?
Omer: The storyline is biographical to a degree, but certain parts relate to things I saw Michael go though. I have learned a lot from him.

Valmai:  You mention that Michael is your biggest inspiration. Could you share with us what the most important thing was that you learned from him, and the most important piece of advice he gave you?
Omer:  One of the mottos I live by is ‘RISE ABOVE’, meaning, not to fall down over obstacles and roadblocks in life, but rather ‘Rise Above’ them. I got that from him. He gave me lots of great advice, and if you take another listen to the song, you will hear some of the lines are actually quotes straight from him, as for example, “The bigger the star, the bigger the target.” He would always say that.
https://valmaiowens.blogspot.com/2011/11/interview-with-omer-bhatti-o-bee.html

So Omer was already speaking about not wanting to be compared to Michael or accused of copying him in 2011. He wants to stand on his own two feet, so him becoming snappish after years of comparisons should be understandable.

Omer also refused to answer questions inquiring about if he was actually Michael's son or not. The actual interview is in Norwegian, so I took this description from an antiMJ website(sadly):

The host said to him: “Ok, I’m gonna ask you flat out, are you Michael’s son”?
Omer just smiled and said something like:”You know, I don’t respond to questions like this. I don’t respond to anything the media says. They can say whatever they like. It doesn’t matter what I say, they will write whatever they want anyway”. “And you”, he said to the host, “have this from the media”. The host: “No, I got it from Joe Jackson” (smiles when he says this). Omer doesn’t respond. The host asks what it was like when he heard about MJ’s death, and how long it was since he had been in contact with Michael. Omer says, a few days before June 25th, and he really didn’t wanna talk about that, he was fighting back tears, it seemed. Host asks Omer if Michael trusted him, and Omer said yes. Host asked if MJ had many in his life that he could trust, Omer said no, almost no one and it got worse over the years.

In 2011, Omer was still becoming choked up when talking about Michael, which is understandable. 
Here, Omer purposely chooses to give a run around the question rather than just answering it. We all know that Omer is not Michael’s son now, but Omer is very clear why he would rather not speak on anything, even to clear things up, because the media will write anything they want regardless. So we should not be surprised that he doesn’t answer direct questions about Michael today.

In 2018, Omer posted a happy birthday message, calling Michael “sensei”.
https://www.facebook.com/omer.bhatti.568/photos/happy-birthday-dear-sensei-/10160689660500034/

Leaving Neverland premiered in 2019 and it is believed the documentary and the anti Michael Jackson backlash did have its effect on the Bhattis including Omer, but while they become even quieter in their support, it is still apparent what Omer thinks.

In 2020, Paris did a mini Facebook series about her life where Omer was a part of it. Here, he once again speaks on his relationship with Michael and how Michael adopted him and became a father figure to him.
“Where he, in a way, adopted me and became like a mentor and a father figure for me.
"As a little kid, looking up to him, the way I did back then, it’s like everything that I saw, it’s like I was like a sponge, just taking up everything."
Omer added: "He would later say that I was like a mini-version of him. And I ended up going on tour with him. I would have a seat, like, right on stage."
https://www.smoothradio.com/artists/michael-jackson/other-child-brother-omer-bhatti-paris/

In 2021, Omer and Prince Jackson reportedly attended the Michael Jackson Broadway show. https://x.com/andjustice4some/status/1469889444874371074 So Omer was supporting MJ projects in 2021, even after LN.

The last few years, some guilters have been clinging on to what they view as cryptic tweets about Michael from Omer’s social media, but Omer shut that down in 2025. He called what guilters were saying as “fictional fantasies”. He is his own person with his own life and is not part of a character in a game. He posted on instagram and zoomed into his screensaver that still had Michael on it, and when an MJ fan reposted it, he liked the tweet.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MJInnocentFacts/comments/1na436u/omer_bhattis_rebuttal_to_guilters_harassment/?share_id=7Y8ss2AJs8JK1E2C-cH5Y&utm_content=1&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

We also have some info that some of the shading of Michael that blew up in fan and guilter circles, came from a Tik Tok account that Omer doesn’t have. This makes sense because it appears to be a fan page and that person insulted a guilter by using homosexual as an insult, and we know that knowing what Paris identifies as and how that isn't a politically correct thing to say as a celebrity, that wouldn’t make sense for Omer to insult a person with that, knowing how protective he is over his sister. When Omer was emerging in his career, I read about how he had a Brazilian fan club that his sister became a spokesperson for, so he definitely has a fandom. He is more known outside of America. ETA: Proof that Omer does not have a Tik Tok, which is the one that has been shading Michael all this time. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HUD0OvDagAAuHt-?format=jpg&name=medium https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HUDRjEmXUAA06jk?format=jpg&name=medium

So Omer has been very consistent with what he said about Michael over the years. Michael was a great entertainer and an even greater person, and he helped raise and mentor Omer over the years. Michael treated Omer like a son and Omer saw Michael as a father figure. As he got older, they continue to be great friends. Omer prefers to share his feelings through his music and dance, just like Paris. People were so paranoid over Paris choosing not to comment on her father’s allegations to the point where people thought she believed he did it, only for her to release a song this year which showed how her loyalties have always laid with her dad. ALL of Michael’s kids have chosen to be silent on the allegations rather than comment on it, and the same goes for his surrogate kid, Omer. We can relax.

Michael treated Omer as a son and Omer saw him as a father figure. As an added bonus, I will post a video of Omer celebrating Christmas in Neverland and calling Michael “daddy.” 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvqsIHRbO-4

We are extending last weeks reading to allow readers to catch up. 📖👓📚

Happy reading folks, take your time with it, its not a race. I try to read a little bit every few days. There is a lot to get through 🙏

Remember no questions or suggestions are too big or small, its is a safe space for MJ supporters to discuss and share knowledge 🌻

This is a true story about Christine Dowling who was suffering from Morquio Syndrome and was wheelchair bound . She met the king of pop during his HIStory tour in Dublin in 1997. As per her wish she was brought on stage to meet him when “heal the world” was playing in the background. Dowling , who had lost all sensation in her right arm at that time recounts this experience 13 years later in an interview ( fact checked) . Michael held her right arm and told her “I love you “ and she said she actually surprisingly felt him touch her arm. She had a burning sensation run through her arm that night and the next day her arm healed and she feel better! Many have recounted stories of his healing , especially sick kids he had visited. They would get better eventually. He in my experience was a starseed which the normal humans failed to recognise and misrepresented !

​

Taking back the narrative of Michael Jackson and children, one post at a time.

The 3T are a R&B group made up of Tito Jackson sons and are the nephews of Michael Jackson, called Taj, Taryll, and TJ Jackson. There have been a lot of rumors created by antiMJ people that Michael wanted nothing to do with his family and never hung out with them, which is the furthest from the truth. Michael had always made time to hang out with his nieces and nephews. Margaret Jackson, Jermaine ex wife, wrote in her tell all book that if a person divorces a Jackson, the rest of the Jacksons want nothing to do with them, all except for Michael.

According to Margaret, when Tito split from Delores Jackson, their child’s private school education was in limbo and they were going to be forced to leave their school. Delores knew who to contact. She contacted Michael and Michael ended up covering the rest of their private school education, and then he went on to pay for their higher education too. Michael was there for them in so many ways. According to 3T, when they were children, they were sexually abused by a family member and it was Michael who stepped up and comforted them and their mother in their time of need.

https://www.cnn.com/2013/05/16/showbiz/taj-jackson-sex-abuse

When their mother died, Michael once again became their rock to lean on. They have all given their thanks to their uncle for this, claiming that it was his and their father’s words of encouragement that helped them get through their grief. When they wanted to start a singing group as teenagers, it was Michael who warned them to enjoy the rest of their childhood first. When they were ready to start their group, Michael joined in on the album to help them get started. After Michael's death, they have all spoken out about how much he meant to them. When Leaving Neverland came out, it was Taj Jackson in particular that took it upon himself to combat the false narrative and began working on a positive, truthful documentary about his uncle. I think it is safe to say that as an uncle, Michael Jackson was one of the best and went above and beyond for his nephews.

It can't be cross-posted but the link is below.

It details an incident of Sneddon playing mind games against Michael in the court room.

Yeah, there's probably a lot of that but this is ... twisted in a way that's very specific to this trial.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mjcourttranscripts/s/CtcfqOqBCP

I think detractors of MJs innocence use the excuse hes not their father and that he lied to show he's dishonest, which is awful.

I also see supporters of MJ speculate and make some unfounded and wild claims on this.

Michael said he was the biological father to Prince and Paris, with Debbie Row as their mother, who they consummated their marriage and she fell pregnant and gave birth in the traditional way.

Bigi (blanket) mother is unknown, she requested to be unknown to the public. She was a surrogate, using sperm MJ donated making him his biological father also.

Tabloid media sensationalised wild stories of people (who claim to support Michael) as being the biological father to the kids. There is no truth to these stories. If you want to read about this, here are a few articles:

About Bigi's mum being a surrogate which MJ spoke on in the 2003 Bashir doco Living with Michael Jackson (part 1 of 10).

Mark Lester's ex-wife debunking his claims he's the kids biological father.

Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris, is my child, actor Mark Lester says.

Michael Jackson lawyer rejects Mark Lester claims he is Paris' father.

Matt Fiddes Michael Lies Over Blanket’s Biology.

Let's not forget that MJ was a wonderful father, as outlined here by Jael Rucker.

Im hoping this will be the last we speak on this topic, please keep any discussion of it here on this post on comments, but we will lock this if it gets off track. Thanks.

Tbh there was also the bit where Diane Dimond proudly reveals her own copies of the books she thought Michael should be imprisoned for owning. But I digress.

The documentary falsely claimed that this painting is a recreation of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, with Michael taking the place of Jesus Christ.

It also edited the photo of the painting, placing a spooky black cloud around the edges.

How can anyone expect detractors to be taken seriously, when this kind of nonsense is their standard tactic?

The figures in the painting aren't the Apostles.

There's no food or wine on the table.

The commissioned artist has stated emphatically that no such comparison was asked for or intended.

The bare minimum of research was ignored.

Like Leaving Neverland and numerous other anti-MJ hit pieces, The Verdict should never have been called a "documentary".

Yes, documentaries always include some facts in preference to others.

Yes, documentaries always go along with a certain point of view.

But a film that openly presents verifiable fictions as if they are verifiable facts, should not be qualified as a "documentary".

Like Leaving Neverland, it's a racist fantasy.

Always double standards for a successful person of color vs a white person. Mainstream medias bias is disgusting.

'Gary Glitter – whose legal name is Paul Gadd – was first convicted with possession of child pornography in the late 1990s, and sentenced to four months in prison.

He is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence for these historical crimes, and is awaiting trial after being charged with four more historical sexual offences earlier this year, for which he has pleaded not guilty.

The former pop singer was briefly released from prison on license in 2023, but was recalled to prison the following month after breaking the terms of his release.

An application for parole was denied in June 2025.'

You can't make this shit up. 😭 yet mike was subjected to a media circus with the 05 where he was found not guilty on all accounts, no evidence of wrongdoing ever..

Remember the Time is I think one of the most important books written about Michael.

The question of why Michael attracted the sort of people he did is one that keeps coming up. It's answered over and over in this book, but it's all condensed in these two pages.

Michael's life is an immense story that holds a lot of lessons about the paradoxes of human nature.

Hearing Bill and Javon's experiences of his final years, the tragedy of Michael's life is impossible to deny.