Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is on a publicity tour to promote his new book, The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Private Conversation. (A curious definition of “private,” don’t you think?)
As he hyped in his guest post on HuffingtonPost.com:
[The book] contains the most of insightful, raw, painful, and authentic conversations for public distribution that Michael ever had. It was Michael’s desperate wish that our conversations be produced and the book be published so that his heart might be known to a public he understood was greatly suspicious of him. He wanted to share a deeper side of himself that our friendship had begun to uncover. The depth and searing honesty of the conversations contained in the book are sure to change the public’s perception of Michael forever.
Interesting, then, that the conversations were reportedly taped in 2000 and 2001 and only now released when the publicity wave surrounding MJ’s death is still cresting (and will surely continue to grow with the release of the This Is It movie next month).
And ever wonder who, praytell, is responsible for contributing to the public’s perception of Michael Jackson as a pedophile? Why, Rabbi Boteach, of course! From an editorial he published in 2005 during MJ’s last child-molestation trial:
One of the reasons that this is the ugliest trial in memory is that everyone is guilty. Michael Jackson may be the one on trial for molestation, but equally culpable are the mothers who are testifying that Michael molested their children. Why did they allow their kids to be alone with an adult at night in his bedroom? Even if Michael is not a molester — and I pray that he is not — isn’t the proper place for a child with his or her parents? Isn’t the foremost role of a parent to be a guardian?
America has to wake up to the crisis of its own soullessness. The pursuit of money and celebrity has driven some Americans to use their own children as the means by which to obtain these rewards.
Arguably, the pursuit of money and celebrity may have also led a religious leader to break the trust of a dead man and publish some conversations that were never meant for public consumption. Judaism isn’t as big on confession as Christianity is, but that doesn’t make what this charlatan is doing right.
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Ask not who is the most “soulless,” Rabii. It is thee.
I don’t know what to think about this yet. I’ve been a fan of Rabbi Shmuley for a while. After MJ’s death he wrote a very sensitive brief piece about his experience with MJ and why he eventually declined to be one of his counselors (i.e., because MJ wanted advice from everyone but refused to try or follow any of it, if it meant giving up living his destructive self-indulgent lifestyle). I posted it here after MJ’s death, I’ll have to look for it. Anyway, it didn’t sound then as if he was looking to cash in on MJ’s posthumous profit. Up to then, many in the media had wondered why Shmuley had quit being MJ’s advisor.
Perhaps MJ didn’t really want his innermost self to be known until after he died? He’d had plenty of time to open up and not act like a phreak before he finally lost his chance to do so by virtually killing himself, and he always seemed to me to be torn between embracing the public and repelling it at the same time. I’m keeping open on this until I get more info, as up to now Shmuley’s been a straight-up guy. No one could deny that many self-absorbed celebs need a wake-up call or two or three hundred, and if Shmuley’s experiences with MJ can help in that respect, it could be a positive thing. Ahem, as long as it doesn’t get as graphic as MacKenzie’s newest tabloid tome, yuk.
As a “Soulless”, Atheist bastard that I am, I am glad to see this guy ponying up the money. How interesting to see a mystic who believe in an eternal afterlife cashing-up over confession given by a man now dead. Dint he believe that they will meet together in paradise?
Yerrggghhh. Michael Jackson’s horrendous freakishness is only highlighted–no pun intended–when he’s pictured standing next to a normal person. And I never knew he was Jewish; I thought he was still a Jehovah’s Witness.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach should be deeply ashamed of himself – what a cad!
Oy! His mother wanted him to be a lawyer.
That’s a classic blame the victim defense strategy.
Were McCauley Culkin and Corey Feldman responsible for being raped also?
(c’mon, you know for a fact that happened.)
FS, I’m pretty sure the Culkin kids were all in the same boat as the less-famous victims of MJ, except that their parents might have been slightly less desperate for money. I’m sorry, but I think Boteach is actually right on that one. Any parent’s first responsibility is to protect their kids from harm, even if the harm comes with perks like riding zebras or petting chimps at a bleached freak’s multimillion dollar ranch. Maybe the first batch of adults didn’t realize what they were dealing with, but it’s not like MJ only bothered one kid and stopped there. I’d keep my kids from ever seeing their own grandparents again if something showed awry, let alone a sexually ambiguous, isolated pop star.
I’m much less familiar w/the Corey situation, largely b/c just seeing the name of either Corey in print makes me want to wash my hands repeatedly. Nobody deserves to get raped or molested, though.
Michael Jackson, and a Rabbi walk into a bar…
I’m with you on the parents and the Rabbi’s comment, Beige. During the first round of accusations of MJ’s weird behavior with kids it was revealed that allegedly most, if not all, of the kids’ parents got lavished with gifts themselves as well, to let the kids stay with MJ. And much media (read: night-time cable news pundit) discussion was had about why the heck the parents left their kids with MJ, allegedly with no questions asked. Pretty yucky if true. Like Gertrude Stein might have said, a stranger is a stranger is a stranger…even if that stranger is a bazillionaire. :-p
LOL Pasta. X-D
The rabbi looks like an eerie Elijah Wood.
Michael knew he was being taped yes? Then he was bullshitting us. He was manipulative. You saw him being walked to the trial in 2005 like he couldn’t do it himself…it was a show. This tape is a sham.
The kids certainly aren’t at fault, but the parents are responsible for the wellbeing of their child. Even if they didn’t believe the allegations, the parents should not have allowed the kids to be put in an environment with someone they didn’t know, who clearly has issues with normal boundaries, regardless of whether his behavior extended into actual molestation. This is one of a very few situations in which I would say parents should consider the adult guilty until proven innocent. It is awful if it isn’t true, but not worth risking your child’s wellbeing if it is true.
I was actually glad MJ was acquitted in 2005. I am generally a “lock them up and throw away the key if you don’t stick a needle in them first” girl, but everything I read from the trial indicated that those parents knew exactly what they were signing their kid up for and what would happen to him, and let it happen so that they could get money. I think the parents deserved to be locked up more than the molester. The molester might be able to claim psychological issues, but the parents were just evil. Also disturbing were the former employees who claimed to have witnessed inappropriate behavior. I don’t care how much your employer pays you, if you see abuse like that and don’t report it, you should go to jail too. Really, everyone in that case was guilty as sin, except the kid.
What is with these religious figures releasing personal papers and conversations? As a history nerd, I appreciate the insight into people that personal correspondence and such can give, but there is such a thing as discretion and privacy. Most people assume communication with spiritual leaders will be kept quiet. Remember when some of Mother Teresa’s letters were released that she had asked the recipient to destroy? You would think that these people would have more class.
DECEIVER MADE THE NY POST AND ELIZABETH EDWARDS HAS BEEN IN OUR MIDST!
Of course, we knew it all along.
That’s why we constantly referred to Rielle as “the beautiful Rielle”.
Praising Rielle is something Elizabeth would be unable to stand.
Hilarious.
http://deceiver.com/2009/06/22/another-addition-to-the-john-edwards-bookshelf/
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/09/27/2009-09-27_john_edwards_exmistress_rielle_hunter_targeted_by_elizabeth_edwards_in_blog_comm.html
The Huffington Post may have been in collusion. Cherubim’s posts are frequently the very first post in a John Edwards article.
And much like Elizabeth Edwards, they talk about being “thankful” and quoting one sentence soundbytes from dead poets.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendy-button/not-about-governor-sarah_b_127168.html
Which is redundant, but I see your point.
Hmmmm…..I seem to remember a ‘Cherubim’ who used to post here…
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/09/27/2009-09-27_john_edwards_exmistress_rielle_hunter_targeted_by_elizabeth_edwards_in_blog_comm.html
“For months now, Elizabeth, who is said to be talking to a divorce lawyer, also has been sniping at Hunter – painting her as a blackmailing gold digger – in blog comments where she uses the pseudonym “Cherubim,” according to a source who knows Elizabeth.
Though “Cherubim” has recently described herself as an African-American woman, the source insists, “It’s Elizabeth. She’s used ‘cherubim’ as a password. Look at the gravestone of their son Wade: It’s an angel holding a boy.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/09/27/2009-09-27_john_edwards_exmistress_rielle_hunter_targeted_by_elizabeth_edwards_in_blog_comm.html#ixzz0SMVEcYNl
…and Michael Jackson had a rabbi?!?
No less a source than the National Enquirer confirms that John Edwards has had affairs on the most recent campaign trail with many women.
Perhaps a certain Duke student who looks not dissimilar from Edwards’ eldest daughter?
Enquiring Minds want to know!
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/john_edwards_multiple_affairs_sex_tape_elizabeth_andrew_young_divorce/celebrity/67387
A commenter using the ID Tom Kane and purporting to be from the group ANGLE purports John Edwards planted questions about his son’s death, even using the same questioner on two separate occasions.
Just when you think this a$$hole couldn’t be anymore of a douchebag, he somehow manages to redine exactly what a low-life he is.
If he had any shred of decency he’d crawl in some small cave and blow his brains out.
There is a Muslim girl never met Michael has written a book based on her spiritual encounter with the soul of Late Michael Jackson. Anyone of the persons managing the affairs of Jackson Estate or any publisher interested to publish this spiritual book, please contact on the following Email:
a.q.hijazi@gmail.com