Elton John Says Michael Jackson Was A 'Mentally Ill,' 'Disturbing Person'

Elton John is gearing up to publish his memoir Me on Tuesday (October 15) and on the eve of its release the pop icon shared an excerpt with The Independent, detailing his friendship with Michael Jackson and how that relationship changed later in life.

“I’d known Michael since he was 13 or 14,” the excerpt reads.“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.”

“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,” it continues. “It was incredibly sad, but he was someone you couldn’t help: he was just gone, off in a world of his own, surrounded by people who only told him what he wanted to hear.”

John went on to recall a dinner party he invited Jackson to, where he "looked awful" and wouldn't eat a thing.

“After a while, he got up from the table without a word and disappeared. We finally found him, two hours later, in a cottage in the grounds of Woodside where my housekeeper lived: she was sitting there, watching Michael Jackson quietly playing video games with her 11-year-old son," he wrote. "For whatever reason, he couldn’t seem to cope with adult company at all.”

The legendary musician is celebrating the release of Me with a special event hosted by iHeartRadio. During iHeartRadio ICONS with Elton John, the 72-year-old will share stories from his autobiography during an exclusive interview hosted by iHeartRadio's Jim Kerr, as well as perform snippets of select hits featured in his memoir.

Fans can listen and tune in free for a video stream of the exclusive iHeartRadio ICONS with Elton John: Celebrating the Launch of Elton John's Autobiography,Me on Wednesday, October 16th at 7pm PT/10pm ET via CWTV.com or on the CW app. Additionally, the event will be broadcast on iHeartRadio's Big Classic Hits and Soft Rock radio stations via the iHeartRadio app.

Photo: Getty Images


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