Remembering Michael
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Karen Faye (L) and Michael Jackson |
He was the King of Pop. "Thriller," "Beat it," "Billie Jean," "Bad."
He was her boss and her friend.
For years, Karen Faye's hands had delicately and expertly applied makeup to the face of arguably the greatest entertainer the world's ever seen. She was there for the early years, as he evolved into the world's biggest star. And she was there as his career declined. She watched him suffer through health problems and a drug dependency; watched him languish through criminal accusations and bankruptcy.
And then he was gone. But one final time, she was there again, carefully placing makeup on his face while trying not to cry.
Did he look peaceful?
"How could he look peaceful?" Faye replied. "He had been through two autopsies – this is too difficult to talk about."
Faye paused, smiled slightly as she recalled traveling to China with him in the ‘80s. There was the King of Pop, known for his sparkling white glove and flamboyant wardrobe, wearing a bamboo hat and standing in a beautiful rice field. He was relaxed and at peace, but it didn't last long. "A water buffalo had somehow sneaked up on him, and Michael screamed and ran," Faye said.
That was during the Bad tour. They went to Hong Kong and secretly visited villages in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province in the mainland. Faye remembered the beauty of the villages and friendliness of the people.
Faye said they intended to visit Beijing but bad weather prevented them from going. She said Michael always wanted to go to China.
But the talk of sweet memories ended and moved to Jackson's final days. Faye mentioned how amazing Michael was while preparing for his London concerts, but things went wrong quickly.
She was waiting for Jackson to arrive at the Staples Center for rehearsal when she heard TV reports in the cafeteria – the King was dead.
It didn't become apparent until the week before he died that Jackson's condition might be dire. Faye said the energetic Michael Jackson seen in the documentary "This Is It," is the result of editing magic.
"They edited it to make Michael appear strong and healthy, but did you notice how many outfits he's wearing during one song? It took three different rehearsal days to get one song filmed," Faye said.
His condition so deteriorated that Faye began to doubt whether Jackson could physically perform an entire show.
She gave several reasons why Jackson agreed to the London shows.
"Michael told me he wanted his children to see, first hand, what their father did for a living," she said.
He also wanted to do it for his fans. He wanted to see their smiles, their excitement – one more time.
Faye said Jackson's message was "heal the world," and it was important for him. He felt we only had four years to correct things gone wrong in the world, Faye said.
And finally among his reasons – he needed the money.
Faye explained that Jackson didn't fully understand the legal contracts, and rarely read them completely. He relied on his lawyers, but she questioned their motives, doubted they worked in Jackson's best interests. She said they pushed him to go from 10 shows to 50, a grueling schedule even for a young man.
Faye also believes there are serious questions concerning Jackson's final will, which was signed on July 7, 2002.
"There are several things in the will that don't make sense to me. It states it was signed in Los Angeles, when in fact, I was in New York with Michael at the time. And all the children's names are incorrect," Faye said.
But she said she could not do anything unless Jackson's family decides to. And even if the family challenged the will it would be an expensive and arduously long battle involving powerful people who control the music industry.
Faye denies Jackson was a drug addict, but says he developed a dependency on prescription drugs approved by doctors, and he used them to sleep and escape from a painful life.
"Conrad Murray is the man who gave the last lethal dose to Michael; society and money-hungry people have been killing him slowly for many years," Faye said.
She also explained why the district attorney wouldn't upgrade the charge to second-degree murder or expand the list of suspects.
"The fewer suspects brought into the case, the better chance for a conviction, so they targeted Murray and charged him with what they knew could win a guilty verdict," she said.
Is there justice for Jackson?
"The injustices have been done. We've lost our hero, a genius – the world's greatest entertainer," Faye said.
What can society learn from all this?
"People will do anything for money."
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