Michael Jackson secret tapes emerge

Sep 25, 2009 1:28 PM by Deanna Barnert

Posted in Entertainment / Celebrity Gossip

Jackson's Telling Tapes Tell All

Michael Jackson left the proverbial building over two months ago, yet we still seem to be hearing more about him than we have in years. With his death at 50 officially ruled a homicide, the newest talk of the town is The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation," a tell-all based on 30 hours of interviews with the star.

Michael Jackson: This is It Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, known for writing self-help books like Kosher Sex and Shalom in the Home, was a confidante to Jackson from 1999 until the star's second arrest on charges of sexually abusing a child.

The pair decided to tape their interviews or "sessions" in order to give the world insight into Jackson's unique life, but Boteach pushed the project aside after the two parted ways.

Now, he's decided to share his old friend's story in The Michael Jackson Tapes. Using the transcripts, the first hand account shines light on topics that already have us talking, including Jackson's fixation on plastic surgery and fighting the aging process, his drug addiction and his tendency to surround himself with Yes-men and children.

Jackson often speaks from the standpoint of victim as he opens up about his family, his father's abuse, a sexy phone call with Madonna and the Material Girl's perceived jealousy over his success, not to mention the price he paid for that success.

Jackson reveals all

"It's like being on a ride you can't get off and you think, 'Oh my God. What did I do?' and you are committed and you can't get off," Jackson says in the tapes.

"It hit me before I was a teenager. I wanted so badly to play in the park across the street, because the kids were playing baseball and football, but I had to record. I could see the park, right across the street. But I had to go in the other building and work until late at night making the albums. I sat there looking at the kids with tears running down my face and I would say, 'I am trapped and I have to do this for the rest of my life. I am under contract.' But I wanted to go over there so bad it was killing me, just to make a friend to say, 'Hi.' I used to walk the streets looking for someone to talk to."

This is It movie news

The book is the hot item these days, while just about everyone is anxious for the October release of This is It, a concert feature film created from rehearsal footage for Jackson's aborted tour of the same name.

Jackson's 50-show, sold out run in London would have been his first tour in over a decade and while he called it his "final curtain call," many in the business expected the multimillion dollar extravaganza to be his come back. The King of Pop was known for fantastic showmanship and the newest tour promised wild, Swarovski crystal-encrusted designs by Christian Audigier and a 3-D video. Collaborator Kenny Ortega called it a "theatrical musical experience"

This is It hit's theaters October 29, but fans are already lining up in Los Angeles to get tickets for an advanced October 27 screening at LA LIVE, which go on sale Sunday, September 27.

It seems we just can't get enough of the King of Pop.