Michael’s illness: lie or truth?

So far, many people have surely heard or read news about Michael Jackson’s illness and being unwell, which has been repeated in various media circles by the writer and journalist of the British news agency Sunday Express, Ian Halperian. About two weeks ago, Ian Halperian wrote rumors on his website about Michael’s physical condition. Those rumors only gained widespread attention when Halperian announced that he was writing a book about Michael Jackson. In just a few days, Ian Halperian’s story became so popular that even a reputable agency like the Associated Press reported it. But what has not been paid attention to is the truth of the matter. More than two weeks ago, Ian published strange claims about Michael Jackson on his website and also wrote an article on the same topic for the magazine In Touch Weekly. Ian Halperian claims that Michael, in addition to many other illnesses, suffers from an anti-trypsin—an illness that is a genetic disorder that involves the lungs and liver. He also claimed that Michael has lost 95% of the vision in his left eye. The text he wrote on his personal website is full of quotes with no names or addresses. The journalist cites one of Michael’s close friends, saying: "Michael wants to have a lung transplant, but because of the illnesses he has, his body is too weak to undergo surgery. He takes a lot of pain medication. I’ve known him for twenty years and I’ve never seen him as disabled as this. It’s very upsetting." In addition to all these controversial claims, Ian wrote something else yesterday, in which he exclusively quoted one of the female employees in Michael’s team, saying: "We are very worried about Michael’s physical condition. This is very heavy for his family and those around him." To make his claims seem justified and credible, Ian published pictures of Michael Jackson. These images were taken a few days after the first wave of his controversy began. These photos are related to Michael’s shopping at Zorro-like. Ian mistakenly claims that Michael needed help to walk in these photos. Then, quoting the same woman whose name we don’t know, and in explaining the photo, he says that "Michael was convinced by people on his team that he had to appear in public crowds to prove that he is still alive." Ian Halperian’s final step was quoting one of the members of the Jackson family—his brother, Jermaine. But what is the truth? The photo Ian posted on his website was taken while one of Michael’s guards was trying to support Michael with his own hands against the onslaught of fans. Ian has been satisfied with this single photo to give credibility to his claims, and he ignores many other photos taken of Michael on the same day. Photos that show Michael standing, greeting fans without any help, walking, receiving gifts, and going shopping; they show it. He even, as in recent years, carries his umbrella above his head by himself. A few days ago, new photos of Michael were also taken, and in none of them does it seem that he needs help to take a step. Elsewhere, he wrote: "When Fox News called Jermaine Jackson, Michael’s brother, to check the accuracy of these claims (Ian Halperian’s claims), Jermaine did not deny this story and told the Fox News reporter that his brother is not well and that now is not the right time for these questions." This claim is certainly baseless. First, the source of this quote is nothing other than Roger Friedman’s news column, a Fox News reporter. And more importantly, its date goes back to July 2007. Last year, Friedman, just like Ian Halperian, stirred up controversy about Michael’s physical condition. Therefore, Ian uses an unreliable and never-confirmed piece of information that was taken from a famous reporter’s rumor-making—18 months ago—and feeds it to the public and the media as if it were new information, just to give himself a field to become known. What’s more, Roger Friedman himself is one of Halperian’s harshest critics, and he accuses him of writing baseless nonsense. But in the world of writing questionable articles without any document or evidence, Ian Halperian is not an unknown figure. He chose this job back in the 1980s, when he was a journalism student. At that time, the sports supervisor of the school where Ian studied filed a $100,000 lawsuit against him and his accomplice in court because of the rumors Ian and another person had started about his misconduct at school. When three of the witnesses Ian claimed he had received information about the supervisor’s misconduct from did not accept Ian’s claims in court, the young journalist was legally found guilty of perjury and concealing the truth. Ian fled Canada to avoid legal pursuit. He lived in the UK for two and a half years and, in the end, was forced to return to Canada to face his charges. In 1990, the court judge considered the prosecution’s evidence not strong enough, but Ian was sent to prison because of his illegal escape from his country. Mr. Halperin made news again in 1994. He co-wrote a book about Kurt Cobain with someone else and claimed that Cobain did not commit suicide, but was murdered. This matter faced intense media controversy. But when the book was published a few years later, both authors admitted that they had been unable to find any evidence to prove what they said and wrote a book that was entirely based on assumptions and claims. Similarly, when Ian wrote a book in 2000 about singer and songwriter James Taylor, professional critics questioned many of its contents, and they did not hold back from pointing out that many of Ian’s claims lack credible sources. In 2007, many news agencies—including Fox News and National Enquirer—raised a lot of rumors about the worsening of Michael’s physical condition. In late 2005 and early 2006, tabloid news agencies claimed that Michael’s condition had been thrown off due to an overdose of drugs, and that his family had rushed to help him with his personal affairs. From 2004 to 2005, rumors about his drug use and suicide kept finding their way into the media. An internet virus was also created, infecting many computers and further fueling such rumors. If we look closely, we will see that controversial media have been telling stories like this about Michael since the 1980s, and even earlier. And none of them were very different from the story that came after. Rumors that were raised earlier were discredited by Michael’s family or their representatives. Besides that, Michael’s presence among the public in recent days is the most important reason to reject Ian Halperian’s claim that Michael is hospitalized. In this situation, we are dealing with a writer who, by clinging to the name Michael Jackson and taking advantage of such rumors, is trying to make his book about the King of Pop seem legitimate. But the market is saturated with many books that have always put Michael at the center, and they have never had anything new to say or have ever been taken seriously. We are dealing with a writer accused of perjury and making slanderous accusations. A writer who enjoys the extensive media advertising about himself. From 2003 to 2005, Diane Diamond worked secretly on a book about Michael Jackson. Finally, a major publisher released her book in late 2005—when only a few months had passed since Michael’s acquittal of his charges, and perhaps it was thought to be the best time to publish a book about him. That book sold only 5,000 copies worldwide in just one to two months after its release. In the same way, we can predict a similarly tragic fate for Ian Halperian’s book. Despite the media controversy surrounding Halperian’s baseless rumors, his book may even sell less than Diane Diamond’s. Source: eMJey / mjjr