Former porn producer says star is dogged by drug, money problems
NOVEMBER 17--Claiming that Michael Jackson is a drug- and booze-impaired deadbeat, a former business associate yesterday sued the singer for more than $3 million in unpaid loans and producing fees. In a blistering Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, a copy of which you'll find below, Marc Schaffel claims that the star's need to hit him up for cash "accelerated when Jackson's increasingly more frequent excessive use of drugs and alcohol impelled him into irrational demands for large amounts of money and extravagant possessions." Those bizarre purchases included luxury cars (a Bentley and a Rolls), a $600,000 bauble for Elizabeth Taylor, and a $1 million appearance fee for Marlon Brando. Schaffel also claims that, following the September 11 attacks, he gave Jackson $500,000 in "emergency cash," because the performer thought he might need to "take shelter underground somewhere with his family." Before entering Jackson's inner circle a few years ago, Schaffel was best known as a producer of gay porno films like "Cocktales" and "Man With The Golden Rod." According to Santa Barbara prosecutors, Schaffel plotted with Jackson to silence the boy who last year accused the singer of sexual molestation. While not charged, Schaffel has been named as an "unindicted coconspirator" in the indictment.
A former associate of Michael Jackson says "The King of Pop" sometimes called him in the middle of the night while high on drugs to ask for money and that the beleaguered singer is a "ticking financial bomb."
aye is it the jesus juice talkin' the reason he is making phone calls in the middle of the night?
I don't think he is a raging drug addict that would be feinding for a hit. But he might owe him some money though to help pay for his crazy spending habits, afterall, he ain't selling records like he used to.
It seems Michael Jackson wants to be starting something with a former business crony.
The entertainer has filed a counter-complaint against gay-porn producer Marc Schaffel, who last year sued Jackson for more than $3 million in allegedly unpaid loans and fees.
Jackson counter-sued Schaffel in Los Angeles Superior Court on Oct. 18, accusing him of misappropriating and hiding funds, the singer's lawyer said Wednesday.
In his court filing, the Moonwalker alleges that Schaffel failed to pay costs related to the production of his post-9/11 single, "What More Can I Give?" He also claims that Schaffel continued to represent himself as an associate of Jackson's long after their business agreement had ended.
Jackson further alleges that Schaffel nabbed $250,000 in sculptures and paintings belonging to the "Thriller" singer. (And, given all the items Jackson was recently forced to return to an antiques dealer, we're guessing he's feeling extra-protective of his things.)
The Gloved One's legal eagle, Brent Ayscough, said that Schaffel had also tried to have a lien placed on Neverland Ranch.
Meanwhile, Schaffel's lawyer, Howard King, dismissed Jackson's accusations, calling the complaint "another ridiculous claim."
Schaffel's original complaint, filed in November 2004, claimed that Jackson owed him $800,000 in unpaid production costs for two specials on the singer that were meant to counter the devastating portrayal put forward by Martin Bashir's documentary, Living with Michael Jackson.
Schaffel also alleged that Jackson owed him $2.3 million for loans and payments he made for the singer over several years.
Among those costs was $100,000 Schaffel allegedly loaned the singer for a shopping spree and $500,000 he gave the singer at his request after Sept. 11, 2001 "in case he needed to take shelter underground somewhere with his family," per Schaffel's court documents.
At the time he filed his suit, Schaffel referred to Jackson as a "ticking financial time bomb" and claimed that the singer struggled with an addiction to painkillers and alcohol abuse.
"When Michael would be on drugs, he would call two, three, four in the morning, very distorted," Schaffel said in an interview with Good Morning America. "And he would say, 'Oh, can you give me $70,000 tomorrow? There's this table I saw. I gotta have it for my living room.' "
Jackson's spokeswoman, Raymone Bain, denied Schaffel's allegations, calling them "slanderous," and said he could not be trusted because of his ties to the porn industry.
Though Jackson has reportedly pulled up stakes and moved outside of the United States for good, he's still managing to maintain a hefty legal docket stateside.
Earlier this month, Jackson dispatched his attorneys to file suit against concert promoter Marcel Avram in Los Angeles Superior Court in an effort to block him from seeking arbitration in an earlier lawsuit Avram brought against Jackson for bailing on several concerts.
The new suit, filed on behalf of Jackson and his MJ Company, claims that Avram and his Munich-based Mama Concerts & Rau are violating the terms of an initial 2003 settlement agreement in that previous dispute.
In addition to that suit, Jackson is facing two more civil trials: a $48 million lawsuit brought against him by Darien Dash, cousin of Damon, for unpaid bills and loans; and a civil case filed in New Orleans by a man who claims he was molested as a child by Jackson.
On top of all that, the popster received a summons at his Neverland Ranch last week to report for jury duty--a civic obligation that his attorneys say Jackson will likely not fulfill, owing to his move to Bahrain.
Jackson has reportedly been in London recently to begin work on his charity single to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
11-17-2004 09:54 PM
