Michael Jackson

By Zachary Swickey

The Jackson family has descended into an increasingly chaotic and public battle over everything from the late Michael Jackson's will and guardianship of his three children to allegations that family matriarch Katherine Jackson was kidnapped by her own children. But who would’ve ever thought that LaToya would emerge as the sane one?

La Toya, who is known for attention-seeking and sometimes bizarre public behavior, has remained uncharacteristically quiet during the ordeal, and now, she is reportedly encouraging her family to stop airing their dirty laundry in public because she feels the ongoing dispute is damaging the family name.

TMZ says that she feels the best way to resolve the family’s problems is in private behind closed doors and not in the public eye. (Seems pretty obvious, right? But this is the Jackson family we're talking about.)

While we don't know what is going on behind the scenes, it has been made public that Katherine Jackson has been stripped of guardianship of Michael's children and a Los Angeles judge has appointed TJ Jackson as the new temporary guardian. In addition, Janet, Randy, Jermaine and Rebbie Jackson fired off an angry letter to the executors of Michael's estate, accusing them of, among other things, fraud and threatening legal action.

If you’re wondering whose side La Toya is taking, she’s definitely not siding with siblings Janet, Randy, Jermaine and Rebbie. She reportedly wasn’t fond of them appearing on television all week.

We tip our hat to La Toya for wanting what is best for Michael’s kids and trying to end the public spectacle her family is going through.

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Michael Jackson

By Zachary Swickey

The Jackson family is accusing the executors of Michael Jackson’s estate, John Branca and John McClain, of forging his will and have fired off an irate five-page letter demanding their immediate resignation.

A copy of the letter was obtained by Celebuzz and outlines the complaints of MJ’s siblings, stating, ''At the time we couldn't possibly fathom what is so obvious to us now: that the Will, without question, it's Fake, Flawed and Fraudulent."

The letter continues and is rather blunt with the accusations: ''Since the passing of Michael, our beloved brother, you have failed to perform your duties as executors of his estate, but what you have not failed at is taking advantage of a grieving mother, father and a grieving family."

The Jackson write that they have proof that Michael never signed the alleged will. ''The Will that you presented did not have our brother's signature on it, nor did it have a signature page attached to it." When the family questioned Branca about the missing signature page, he supposedly replied, “It was on its way, and you were having just a little problem finding it.”

The Jacksons also state they have verifiable proof that Michael was not even in Los Angeles on July 7, 2002, the date the will was allegedly signed by Jackson.

''Our brother told us, in no uncertain terms and without hesitation in the months prior to his death, that he despised both of you and that he did not want either of you to have anything to do with his life or estate for that matter," the Jackson family boldly claims.

Branca and McClain have since responded to the letter, and seem to suggest the Jacksons are merely upset that they were excluded from the will, saying, “We are saddened that false and defamatory accusations grounded in stale Internet conspiracy theories are now being made by certain members of Michael's family whom he chose to leave out of his will.”

Interestingly, Branca and McClain’s attorney Howard Weitzman even suggests that the accusations have already failed in court. “Any doubts about the validity of Michael's will and his selection of executors were thoroughly and completely debunked two years ago when a challenge was rejected by the Los Angeles Superior Court, the California Court of Appeals, and finally, the California Supreme Court,” he told RadarOnline.

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Paris Jackson

By Zachary Swickey

Michael Jackson’s beautiful 14-year-old daughter, Paris, has admitted that she is bullied in school.

In a new interview with Oprah Winfrey on her OWN program "Oprah’s Next Chapter," Paris explained, "People try, but it doesn't always work. At school and some people try to cyber bully me. They try to get to me with words, but that doesn't really work."

Paris admits being the King of Pop's daughter has made it tough for her to make friends and she has to be weary of their possible ulterior motives. “If I feel someone is being fake to me, I will just push away," she told Oprah.

Paris even talked about the surgical masks her father would make her and her brothers wear whenever appearing in public. She admitted being as perplexed as we were at the time, but age has given her some perspective on what her father was trying to do and it makes sense now.

"I understand it now – why my dad would want our faces to be covered. When we went out without him we wouldn't be recognized," she explained.

Paris said such precautions are the reason she had a “normal childhood, including trips to the children's arcade and restaurant Chuck E. Cheese's."

"He told us that when he was younger he didn't really have a childhood," she revealed of her famous father. "He would always be stuck in the studio singing while the kids were out playing. He wanted us to have that.”

Paris Jackson on Hiding Her Face as a Child

Read on for more from the interview, including Paris' favorite memories of her dad! Read More...

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Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson and his estate have faced more than their share of strange lawsuits, but this latest one has got to be one of the most outrageous.

Kimberly Griggs filed handwritten paperwork in San Diego, California claiming she had an intimate relationship with Jackson in 1979 and that he went on to use personal details about her life in his music, TMZ reports. She says he wrote about their affair on his Thriller, Bad and Dangerous albums and, after exploiting her personal secrets, promised to give her the rights to the tracks.

He never did give her the rights to his music, of course, and now she is suing for $1 billion in damages.

TMZ sought comment from Jackson's estate, but the calls were curiously not returned.

This latest suit reminds us that Jackson isn't the only celeb to get slapped with a multi-million (sometimes multi-billion) dollar lawsuit that seems, well, a little off the wall (pun intended)! More than a few big names have found themselves embroiled in outrageous lawsuits, whether they're targeted by others (as is the case with Jackson today) or the ones doing the filing.

Below are three of the most outlandish celeb litigations to see the light of day. Check it out!

Miley Cyrus

In 2009, the recently engaged starlet found herself in some hot water after a racially-insensitive photo of her making "slant eyes" found its way online. She was widely criticized by Asian and Pacific Islander groups who said the photo reinforced racial stereotypes, and Cyrus issued a public apology on her website saying, "I've also been told there are some people upset about some pictures taken of me with friends making goofy faces! Well, I'm sorry if those people looked at those pics and took them wrong and out of context! … In NO way was I making fun of any ethnicity!"

But that wasn't enough for one Los Angeles woman, who filed a, ahem, $4 billion class action lawsuit against the former Hannah Montana – who was 16 at the time – on behalf of LA's Asian-American community, alleging the pic mocked Asians and that she (and presumably many others) was left emotionally distressed after seeing it. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed by the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Read on for more! Read More...

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The 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's landmark album Bad will be commemorated September 18 with the release of the Bad 25 deluxe package, which will include a unheard demos and newly discovered outtakes that didn’t make the original cut of the heralded album as well as live footage from Jackson’s massive 1988 concert at London’s Wembley Stadium – footage taken from Michael's personal VHS copy of his July 16, 1988 performance, which was attended by 72,000 rabid fans and even Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Jackson's VHS recording of the concert is reported to be the sole copy of the performance. The album itself, of course, already features some of his biggest hits – "Bad," "The Man in the Mirror," "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Smooth Criminal" to name a few.

The folks at Jackson's label have just released a teaser for the the anniversary reissue package to the set's official website that includes tons of previously unseen images from the King of Pop's famed London concert.

Check it out below:

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Michael Jackson

By Zachary Swickey

A treasure trove of unseen footage of King of Pop Michael Jackson has been surfacing for years since his untimely passing in 2009, and a reissue of his classic (8x platinum) album Bad will boast even more recently-found footage of the star.

As part of the album’s 25th anniversary re-release, the Bad 25 deluxe package will include a few unheard demos and songs that didn’t make the original version of the heralded album. Bad, of course, already features some of his biggest hits – "Bad," “The Man in the Mirror,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” and “Smooth Criminal” to name a few. The deluxe album drops September 18 and is the first official re-release of any of his albums since his passing.

The live footage to be included was taken at Jackson’s memorable performance at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1988 – a concert that was attended by 72,000 rabid fans and even Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Reuters reports that the rare tracks and footage were discovered in Jackson’s personal collection, and that the footage is the sole copy of the performance – recorded specifically, personally, for MJ himself.

In other King of Pop news, several of his belongings will go up for auction later this year – including his iconic crystal glove, which is estimated to fetch more than $400,000.

A collection of stage costumes will also hit the auction block at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills on December 2. The proceeds of the auction will go towards Guide Dogs of America and the Nathan Adelson Hospice located in Las Vegas.

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Adele

Adele's unstoppable 21, which is closing in on 9 million in sales in the U.S. (making our prediction that it will likely become the first diamond record in the states since Usher's 2004 Confessions set on the nose), just blasted past Michael Jackson's 1982 classic Thriller on the U.K. all-time bestseller list, according to NME.

21 is now the fifth best-selling album in the U.K. with staggering sales of 4,274,300 copies since its release in January 2011, besting Thriller's sales by about 500 units.

Her sales are not that far off the next two albums – Oasis's What's the Story Morning Glory and ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits – on the list either, though she's got a ways to go before she reaches the list's top two spots, which are owned by The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band at #2 (5.04 million) and Queen's Greatest Hits at #1 (5.83 million records sold).

In the 15 months since its release, 21 has spent 65 non-consecutive weeks at #1 in the U.K. and, having outsold Amy Winehouse's Back To Black, is the top selling album of the 21st Century in the country.

Check out some behind-the-scenes footage (set to the album's banner single "Rolling in the Deep," for added awesomeness) of the making of 21 after the jump! Read More...

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Michael Jackson

By Zachary Swickey

While the Internet is burning up with risqué leaked images allegedly of Olivia Munn and Christina Hendricks, it appears that some other computer hackers were after something much more lucrative – Michael Jackson’s entire back catalog.

Fox reports that more than 50,000 music were ripped from Sony Music in what is being called the "biggest ever cyberattack on a music company."

The hackers were able to steal a payload of MJ’s music, including unreleased material from his sessions for Bad, Off the Wall and Thriller, in addition to unreleased duets with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and late Queen late singer Freddie Mercury.

Nine months after Jackson’s passing, Sony Music paid the late singer’s estate a whopping $253 million for the back catalog – all of which was compromised by the hackers. Sony released some of the music they purchased with the posthumous Jackson effort Michael. Read More...

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Michael Jackson's Kids

The late Michael Jackson's children Prince, 14, Paris, 13, and Blanket, 9, celebrated their father today by helping stamp his famed sequined glove and a pair of his shoes in cement outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Justin Bieber and "Thriller" producer Quincy Jones hit the stage in front of the Hollywood landmark to speak about the King of Pop's influence. Tito, Marlon, Jackie and Katherine Jackson all attended the ceremony, which featured special performances by the cast of "Glee" and the Jackson-based Cirque Du Soleil show "Immortal." The ceremony was timed to coordinate with "Immortal's" first dates at Los Angeles' Staples Center. "Glee" will air its Michael Jackson tribute episode next week.

Jackson's children have been in the public eye far more in the years since his death, appearing at the Grammy Awards to accept an honor on behalf of their father and at the "Immortal" premiere in Canada. Paris Jackson appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in December to talk about her role in the film "Lundon's Bridge and the Three Keys." She told the host that her father helped her prepare for the role. "We would do improv together," Jackson told DeGeneres. "He would give us little scenarios. He would (say), 'OK, in this scene you're going to cry' and I'd cry on the spot."

Read More...

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By Jonathan Mussman

"Michael Jackson Immortal," the latest Cirque du Soleil collaboration, had its US premiere Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas. On hand to celebrate were a host of major celebs as well as Katherine, Tito and Jackie Jackson and Michael's kids, who got a full backstage tour prior to the performance. Katherine and the kids entered the arena to a standing ovation from the crowd. "Michael would definitely be proud," Jackie Jackson mentioned backstage following the performance. "He always loved Cirque performances, this show made the most sense for his fans," added Tito Jackson.

In questioning how much of the "This Is It" concert segments were included in "Immortal," Travis Payne, Michael's long time choreographer, added, "All of the iconic 'chunks' as we know them including 'Thriller,' 'Smooth Criminal' and some things from Dangerous were not changed and we took those moments and brought them to this show and surrounded them with new ideas." A few of the original "This Is It" videos and dance segments were included, helping make this arena-based show feel more like an actual MJ concert.

Unlike most highly innovative and creative Cirque shows, "Immortal" relies heavily on dancing and music elements in addition to the jaw-dropping aerial, trampoline and acrobatic acts we expect. Everything was set to an absolutely amazing MJ mash-up soundtrack mastered by musical designer Kevin Antunes, who felt like a kid in a candy shop when producing the score (album now available). "I was given full access to the MJ library with no restrictions," he told MTV News. Working with family members, the estate and Sony archivists, Antunes was able to include legendary songs such as "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" as well as rarely (if ever) heard tracks from ABC and a Spanish-sung version of "I Just Can’t Stop Loving You." All of Michael’s leads are from recordings while the back-up and instrumentals are performed live. Read More...

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