How
did/do you cope with fame and fortune?
I don't
cope with fame. Fortune I have to cope with because it means,
like, your financial status and how you run your life and
finances. I only handle fame when I'm on stage performing.
But fame? At the end of the day, who does it belong to?
It's fleeting. You could be popular for this minute, a number
of years or just a period of time but before you know it,
people don't notice you any more. So, people who get caught
up in it are fooling themselves because it doesn't belong
to anybody. Fame is fame. But, fortune - like how you do
handle your life - that's something you should pay attention
to.
Back
to the Jacksons, how did it begin with you and Michael?
(Pauses
to reflect)...Michael and I, over the years, have had a
mutual respect and admiration for each other which I didn't
know until years later, as he was watching me dancing on
The Soul Train. He was a fan of my dancing for a long time.
The first encounter I had with him was when our record company
president, Dick Griffie (he used to promote the Jacksons'
tours) introduced me to Michael at one of our concerts.
Michael came to see us perform at Disneyland because he
heard so much about my dancing on stage - doing the Moonwalk
(it used to be the Backslide). He (Michael) brought little
Janet (Jackson) with him. They stood backstage and watched
me dance. After that he called me and asked if I'd come
and teach him. So, that's how it began.
I choreographed
the video BAD. I choreographed the video SMOOTH CRIMINAL,
and the MOONWALKER. I was Creative Consultant on THE GHOST...
Is
Michael Jackson who people paint him to be?
Yes,
he's what people paint him to be. As long as people paint
him, that's what they see. So, if people are painting him
to be what they want him to be - and they can never paint
any entertainer or any other person - so if people are wondering
who Michael Jackson really is and what he really is, would
they ever know unless they're intimate with him and get
to know him as a person? But the things that he's going
through and he's done, in the eyes of the media, that's
what all the people will see and perceive. So, him being
what they paint him to be, he's always gonna be that regardless
of what he really is because that's what people wanna see.
Surely,
he's a good person?
(Reflects)...At
the risk of sounding cliche, I have to be honest to say
that Michael's the sweetest person I've ever met in my life.
I mean, even when we were working on videos, he never went
like, "I don't like that, or that." He'd just
go like, "Jeffrey, what do you think about that move?
Do you think maybe it was a little big or do you think we
need to do it like that? Why don't we do it like that?"
He's paying for everything. He's paying everybody. He can
shout if he really wants to, but he doesn't. He's really
been supportive of me ever since we've known each other,
up until I left America in 2000. He's been very supportive
of me and I support him a hundred percent.
(Shared
video below). |
