Persistent rumors of Michael Jackson suffering some life-threatening illness requiring a lung transplant or having Lupus are greatly exaggerated, according to one of Jacko’s publicists.
“If Jackson has any health issues, it would only be the exhaustion that results from all the people who have been hounding him around the globe the last several years,” said the unnamed Jackson insider. “It’s true, he’s got a lot of people on his tail, and staying one step ahead of them can be draining, both physically and emotionally. It’s not easy for someone as well-known as Jackson to just pull up stakes and move to another safe house. Being constantly on the lam is his lot in life, I’m afraid. But to suggest that he’s circling the drain is absurd.”
After being acquitted of child-molestation charges in 2005, Jackson fled to Bahrain to live as a house guest of Sheikh Abdullah. He enjoyed the short stint in the mid-east, where he incurred millions in debt to the Bahrain prince, then skipped to London. Following that ordeal, it was back to the U.S., where to this day he has been couch-surfing at the homes of various friends and media people. With several creditors and
private detectives hunting him constantly, Jackson is forced to stay on the move, packing up and hitting the road every few weeks or so.
“It’s incredibly traumatic for him, as he is hyper-paranoid,” said the publicist. “Everywhere he goes, he has to be in some clever disguise. Michael has dressed up as The Joker, Zorro, even passing as Ozzy Osbourne once. Still, the constant running and having to look over his shoulder is sapping the energy from poor Michael. He can’t even stand in front of a window out of fear that someone may be watching or taking photos.”
Jackson only travels under cover of the night, sometimes wearing night vision goggles and driving deserted back roads in old junker cars with the headlights turned off. A master of stealth, Jackson passes from town to town virtually unnoticed, often hiring stunt-doubles to act as decoys while he slips away. He keeps in contact with his publicists from time to time using cellphones, which he tosses immediately after each use. He has an extensive network of cronies who are extremely loyal and protective.
“The guy is freakin’ Houdini,” declared Matt Schloss, a private detective hired by Prince Abdullah to put a tail on Jackson. “I don’t think Dog the Bounty Hunter can catch this guy, and frankly, I’ve thought about giving up as well. But maybe I’ll get lucky and catch him off-guard. This fugitive life has to be wearing him down and he’ll slip up eventually.”
Although Jackson’s exact whereabouts are not known at this time, it is believed he is back in southern California, with reports of him crashing at the trailer house of an old high-school buddy in El Segundo. Others have claimed to have spotted him recently at malls in the Santa Monica area.
