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  • From: Carrie McLaren <carrie AT stayfreemagazine.org>
  • To: monkeywire AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [monkeywire] Michael Jackson visits primates, shuns humans
  • Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 15:54:07 -0500

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
November 21, 2002, Thursday 11:08 Central European Time

SECTION: Culture, Entertainment

LENGTH: 744 words

HEADLINE: FEATURE: Michael Jackson peers at primates, shuns human peers

DATELINE: Berlin

BODY:
It could hardly be more ironic: Throngs braved freezing temperatures outside Michael Jackson's hotel in Berlin in the hope of glimpsing him through his window as meanwhile the star himself slipped off to the zoo to peer into the primate paddock.

Bundled against the cold, the 44-year-old King of Pop and two of this three children were whisked out the rear of the posh Adlon Hotel at Brandenburg Gate to visit the monkeys at the world-famed Berlin Zoo on the other side of the Tiergarten park.

Accompanied by a relative dearth of photographers, Jackson doffed his surgical mask to smile and laugh at the antics of gorillas, one of whom pounded on the compound wall as the star approached with his two toddlers in tow.

While he pointed and smiled, it was impossible to gauge the small children's reactions since their faces were covered in rose-tinted veils which trailed down to their shoulders. In the wake of embarrassment earlier this week, Jackson did not bring along his infant third child - the one he dangled out of a fourth-floor window upon his arrival at the Adlon to the stunned shock of fans below. The star later issued an apology, saying, "I made a terrible mistake."

The 44-year-old star has two children by former wife Debbie Rowe. They are a boy Prince Michael, 5, and a girl Paris Michael Katherine, 4. In addition, he has another child, the mother of whom has never been revealed. That infant is a 9-month-old boy called Prince Michael II - dubbed "No. 3" by the tabloid press.

Jackson has been sighted all over Berlin meanwhile, as lookalike Jackos have converged on the German capital to capitalise on his presence. A person or persons resembling Jackson - complete with surgeon's mask - was variously seen at a major record shop, a big department store, several restaurants, a cafe and a popular night spot.

A lookalike Jacko also periodically strides through the lobby of the Adlon Hotel, though Jacksonologists say they are not fooled - the skin colour and body build are all wrong.

Jackson, who made front-page news last week with photographs of his unmasked face, is being sued for 20 million dollars by Marcel Avram, a Belgian-based promoter who alleges that Jackson backed out of four planned millennium concerts.
The star denies the claim and maintains that Avram cancelled the show because of poor ticket sales.

Jackson reportedly is upset at pictures released last week by a court photographer which showed him with a plaster over his nose, several scars, swollen lips and heavy make-up around his eyes.

The picture attracted widespread attention in the media, prompting speculation about the negative effects of years of plastic surgery.

But one German family that got an up-close view of Jackson said the photographs did not do justice to the King of Pop.

"He looks just like a regular guy and certainly did not have a plaster on his nose," said Susann Wolf, who along with her husband and two children were invited up to Jackson's digs in the Adlon's Presidential Suite for a friendly chat over soft drinks and snacks.

--
Carrie McLaren
Editor, Stay Free!
718.398.9324
www.stayfreemagazine.org
www.illegal-art.org



  • [monkeywire] Michael Jackson visits primates, shuns humans, Carrie McLaren, 11/21/2002

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