Recently, we have read the memoir that Elton John published in 2019 and we have been crazy about his statements about Michael Jackson. After more than half a century of musical superstardom, Sir Elton John has nothing to lose if he comes clean about his feelings for him. So it is not surprising that his autobiography, Yo: Elton John, is full of shocking revelations about his life in show business. Among them are her comments about the late Michael Jackson, whom qualifies of “mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around”.
“I knew Michael since he was 13 or 14 years old,” write John. “He was the most lovable kid you could imagine. But somewhere in the intervening years, he started to sequester himself away from the world and away from reality, like Elvis Presley did.”
John also speculates on Jackson’s tortured relationship with prescription drugs, alluding to his addiction to painkillers: “God knows what was going through his head, and God knows what prescription drugs were injected into him, but every time I saw him in his later years I thought the poor man had totally lost his mind. I don’t say it to the lightly. He was truly mentally ill, a disturbing person.”
A few years ago, Jackson was the subject of Leaving Neverland, a damning HBO documentary exploring his inappropriate relationships with children and accusing him of sexual abuse. Although John doesn’t go into detail, he does allude to Jackson’s particular obsession with children, writing: “For whatever reason, he didn’t seem to be able to stand up to adult company at all.”
Jackson isn’t the only star mentioned in these memoirs. John describes his special friendship with Princess Diana, as well as a dinner in which Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere came close to coming to blows as they competed for her affection. John also writes about his feud with Tina Turner, his relationship with Queen Elizabeth, and the time he criticism Bob Dylan’s fashion sense. Certainly, considering the success of Rocketmanthe biopic that raised $185 million At the box office, we’d say 2019 was the Year of Sir Elton.