Justin and Britney
Michael Jackson does try to stay current with musical trends, as evidenced by some of the hip-hop production work on
Invincible
. One way he attempts to do that is to keep the lines of communication open with popular young entertainers, such as pop heart-throb Justin Timberlake. Michael is a big admirer of Justin’s and was determined to meet him. A couple of years ago, when Justin was about twenty, Michael asked Wade Robson (who, when he was a youngster, was brought forward by Anthony Pellicano to say that he slept innocently in bed with Michael), to arrange a meeting. Robson was a friend of Timberlake’s and worked with him and ’N Sync as a choreographer.
‘Are you kidding?’ Justin said when asked by Wade if he’d be interested in meeting Michael. ‘Hell, yeah. Who wouldn’t want to meet Michael Jackson? He’s my idol.’ The meeting would take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York.
At the appointed hour, Wade, his girlfriend Mayte Garcia (ex wife of Prince), and Justin showed up in the hotel lobby… with Justin’s then-girlfriend, Britney Spears. Britney, who is a big admirer of Michael’s, simply couldn’t resist tagging along.
‘Oh no,’ Michael said when told that Justin had brought Britney. ‘I didn’t invite her. Why’d he have to bring
her?
‘
‘Well, she’s his girlfriend, Mike,’ said one of his advisers.
‘Oh man, you gotta be kidding me?’ Michael remarked. ‘He brought his
girlfriend?
Damn. I just wanted to see Justin. Maybe she should wait downstairs, or something?’
The notion that Britney Spears might wait in the lobby while Michael entertained Justin, Wade and Mayte was not an idea his associates felt they could suggest. ‘Mike, look. You can’t keep her waiting in the lobby,’ said one of them. ‘How’s that gonna look? She’s one of the biggest stars in show business, Mike. Come on!’
‘Oh, man,’ Michael protested again, chagrined by the turn of events. ‘Damn. She’s just gonna be in the way.’
On and on went the discussions. Finally, Michael agreed to allow them both up to his suite.
Once they got up there, however, Michael was enchanted by both Justin and Britney. They were so thrilled to meet him, the two lavished more praise upon him than he’d probably gotten in about a week.
‘How about when you did the moonwalk on that Motown show?’ Justin said, according to one recollection. ‘Man, that was so fucking cool. You are the coolest, Michael. I can’t believeI am standing here with
Michael Fucking Jackson
.’
‘And how about that “Thriller” video?’ Britney enthused. ‘That was the best. You revolutionized videos, dude. You are the fucking
best
.’
His indelible influence on modern pop is so far-reaching and entrenched, it’s probably not surprising that Justin and Britney were dazzled to be in his presence. Michael beamed; as far as the top teen stars of the day were concerned, he was still the man.
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