Unmarked audio recordings of an interview with Michael Jackson have been found at Neverland Ranch following his death. Though it is unclear who the interviewee is, the tapes feature MJ speaking quite candidly about his father, child abuse, and his siblings. Hear the audio and read the transcript here.
Here are a few excerpts:
ON FATHER JOE:
“We’d come from school and rehearse and he’d sit in a chair usually with a belt in his hand or a switch. And we’d do our performance, and if you messed up you’d get hit. The person who got it all the time was Marlon. You see, I got it outside from the show business; I was beat more than any of the children. I mean to the point where I would be abused. Please don’t write that.”
ON WORKING WITH HIS BROTHERS:
“The brothers didn’t give me help or support. I always said ‘We gotta think of this’ and they don’t like to come up with ideas and stuff, so all the pressure gets left on me. I am the captain of my own ship. I’m not saying, ‘I don’t wanna hear what you have to say because I know I’m right.’ I don’t do it like that, I take suggestions, but the final decision is mine.
ON HIS CHILDHOOD:
‘If your father won’t give you love or your mother, you find love in someone else. As a substitute, you cling to that person. You find it elsewhere. You can tell what type of a relationship a child has with their parents by when the parents come around the child, like when the father walks in the door, how does the child react?’
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