ABC GOOD MORNING AMERICA Transcript from Wednesday, November 17:
Cynthia McFadden (Intro): Last night, I sat down with Marc Schaffel. He spoke openly about a variety of issues, he says among them, Michael Jackson is addicted to drugs. He also talks about how it was not unusual for Jackson to walk around with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, but he also now claims that Jackson is broke and that he spending this money not on debts that he owes. In fact he claims Jackson owes him millions.
Cynthia McFadden (VOICEOVER): Marc Schaffel is the ultimate Michael Jackson insider. He traveled the world with the pop star and was a close business associate. When the Living With Michael Jackson documentary aired on 20/20 last year, with the disturbing images of Jackson and a young boy holding hands, Jackson turned to Marc Schaffel to produce a network special that rebutted the documentary's claims. Schaffel's says that project was one of several he has not been paid for.
Now this one-time Jackson confidant is suing him for $3 million, and talking candidly about what he says are Michael Jackson's personal problems.
CM (INTERVIEW): Let me ask you straight out. Is Michael Jackson a drug addict?
Marc Schaffel: Michael Jackson has a dependency on certain kind of drugs.
CM: Painkillers?
MS: That would be my guess.
CM: One of the things you allege in the lawsuit is Michael Jackson's drug use, in part, fueled massive spending. I want to read you something from this suit: "Jackson's need to borrow cash from plaintiff greatly 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."
Are you saying that Michael Jackson is currently a serious drug abuser?
MS: Well when Michael would be on drugs he would call 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, very distorted, and he would say, "Oh, can you get me $70,000 tomorrow? There's this table I saw I gotta have for my living room".
CM: So your observation, what you saw was the abuse of pain medication primarily, and sleeping pills?
MS: Generally, those things, yes.
CM: Alcohol?
MS: I've seen Michael drink alcohol.
CM: To excess?
MS: I've seen Michael drunk.
CM (VOICEOVER): Marc Schaffel also told us Jackson is very careless with his money. Careless and generous.
MS: He could be with a group of friends in Vegas, and hand them wads of $10,000 each, and just tell them to go be busy for a couple of hours and get some stuff.
CM (VOICEOVER): He was also generous to his celebrity pals.
CM (INTERVIEW): You say you provided a million dollars so that Marlon Brando would attend one of Jackson's concerts.
MS: That's correct. And also make an appearance in a music video. Marlon, according to Michael, had told him that he needed some cash, emergency cash.
CM (VOICEOVER): Schaffel also claims that Jackson had to pay his close friend Elizabeth Taylor for permission to use video of her in a television project.
CM (INTERVIEW): You also allege in the lawsuit that you funded a $600,000 jewelry purchase for Elizabeth Taylor. What was that about?
MS: Michael had come back and said that Liz wanted this piece of jewelry that she had picked out in order to sign the release.
CM: Sounds like there were a lot of people with their hands out to Michael Jackson.
MS: A lot of people.
CM: Some people close to Jackson now want to discredit you by saying, 'he's a pornographer, don't trust what he has to say'?
MS: Well, they didn't say that when they needed stuff from me.
CM: Is Michael Jackson broke?
MS: Yes, I would absolutely say he's, as it's been said before, a 'ticking financial bomb.'
CM: A ticking financial bomb?
MS: Absolutely.
CM: So you're trying to get in there and get your $3 million out before it explodes?
MS: That would be the hope.
'marc vivien' // MJJF
Cynthia McFadden (Intro): Last night, I sat down with Marc Schaffel. He spoke openly about a variety of issues, he says among them, Michael Jackson is addicted to drugs. He also talks about how it was not unusual for Jackson to walk around with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, but he also now claims that Jackson is broke and that he spending this money not on debts that he owes. In fact he claims Jackson owes him millions.
Cynthia McFadden (VOICEOVER): Marc Schaffel is the ultimate Michael Jackson insider. He traveled the world with the pop star and was a close business associate. When the Living With Michael Jackson documentary aired on 20/20 last year, with the disturbing images of Jackson and a young boy holding hands, Jackson turned to Marc Schaffel to produce a network special that rebutted the documentary's claims. Schaffel's says that project was one of several he has not been paid for.
Now this one-time Jackson confidant is suing him for $3 million, and talking candidly about what he says are Michael Jackson's personal problems.
CM (INTERVIEW): Let me ask you straight out. Is Michael Jackson a drug addict?
Marc Schaffel: Michael Jackson has a dependency on certain kind of drugs.
CM: Painkillers?
MS: That would be my guess.
CM: One of the things you allege in the lawsuit is Michael Jackson's drug use, in part, fueled massive spending. I want to read you something from this suit: "Jackson's need to borrow cash from plaintiff greatly 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."
Are you saying that Michael Jackson is currently a serious drug abuser?
MS: Well when Michael would be on drugs he would call 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, very distorted, and he would say, "Oh, can you get me $70,000 tomorrow? There's this table I saw I gotta have for my living room".
CM: So your observation, what you saw was the abuse of pain medication primarily, and sleeping pills?
MS: Generally, those things, yes.
CM: Alcohol?
MS: I've seen Michael drink alcohol.
CM: To excess?
MS: I've seen Michael drunk.
CM (VOICEOVER): Marc Schaffel also told us Jackson is very careless with his money. Careless and generous.
MS: He could be with a group of friends in Vegas, and hand them wads of $10,000 each, and just tell them to go be busy for a couple of hours and get some stuff.
CM (VOICEOVER): He was also generous to his celebrity pals.
CM (INTERVIEW): You say you provided a million dollars so that Marlon Brando would attend one of Jackson's concerts.
MS: That's correct. And also make an appearance in a music video. Marlon, according to Michael, had told him that he needed some cash, emergency cash.
CM (VOICEOVER): Schaffel also claims that Jackson had to pay his close friend Elizabeth Taylor for permission to use video of her in a television project.
CM (INTERVIEW): You also allege in the lawsuit that you funded a $600,000 jewelry purchase for Elizabeth Taylor. What was that about?
MS: Michael had come back and said that Liz wanted this piece of jewelry that she had picked out in order to sign the release.
CM: Sounds like there were a lot of people with their hands out to Michael Jackson.
MS: A lot of people.
CM: Some people close to Jackson now want to discredit you by saying, 'he's a pornographer, don't trust what he has to say'?
MS: Well, they didn't say that when they needed stuff from me.
CM: Is Michael Jackson broke?
MS: Yes, I would absolutely say he's, as it's been said before, a 'ticking financial bomb.'
CM: A ticking financial bomb?
MS: Absolutely.
CM: So you're trying to get in there and get your $3 million out before it explodes?
MS: That would be the hope.
'marc vivien' // MJJF