On 15 October, legendary singer-songwriter Elton John released his autobiography Me. Apart from shedding light on his extraordinary life, John has also referred to the late pop icon Michael Jackson as “mentally ill”.
Elton John found a friendship in Michael Jackson in the early part of his career. In the book, he admits that over time he became concerned about the way in which MJ began to "sequester himself away from the world".
"I'd known Michael since he was 13 or 14... He was just the most adorable kid you could imagine. But at some point in the intervening years, he started sequestering himself away from the world, and away from reality the way Elvis Presley did," writes John in the book.
The singer further added that whenever he met Michael Jackson, he felt concerned about the man’s mental health. John also calls him “a disturbing person to be around in the book”.
Elton John writes,
“God knows what was going on in his head, and God knows what prescription drugs he was being pumped full of, but every time I saw him in his later years I came away thinking the poor guy had totally lost his marbles. I don’t mean that in the light-hearted way. He was genuinely mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around.”Elton John
Elton also recalled a particular incident when he invited Michael Jackson to his party but he claims, MJ wandered off and was later found playing with his housekeeper's son. According to Elton, MJ “couldn’t seem to cope with adult company at all.”
Michael Jackson died in 2009 due to overdose of sedatives administered by his personal physician, Conard Murray. Earlier this year, the star was posthumously accused of child sexual abuse by two men who were friends with him as youngsters in the documentary Finding Neverland.
(With inputs from IANS)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)