Michael Jackson’s family claim promoters hired a lookalike to plug Jacko’s last tour because he was ‘not fit enough’.
The fake King of Pop allegedly stood alongside TV host Dermot O’Leary to announce dates for Michael’s This Is It tour at London’s O2 Arena back in 2009.
His children Prince, 16, and Paris, 15, and their grandmother Katherine, 82, say tour bosses hired the double because their dad was ‘not fit enough’.
The family also allege that clips showing the Beat It star rehearsing, which were later used in the This Is It movie, also featured a double.
Body language expert Bianca Cobb said: ‘In my opinion, the man in the clips isn’t Michael Jackson.
‘The walk is cockier and had more bounce than MJ’s typical stride. He tended to walk with his head down.’
The Jacksons are appealing for the double to come forward and give evidence at the Los Angeles court.
A family source said: ‘Paris and Prince and their gran believe a fake Michael was involved. They have hired detectives to track him down.’
AEG deny the claim and Sony, who released the movie, said: ‘Every frame is undeniably Michael.’
Promoters AEG are also being sued for ‘wrongful death’ by the family, who claim the company was responsible for Jackson’s death in 2009.
They say the firm was negligent in hiring disgraced doctor Conrad Murray, 60, who gave Jackson, then 50, a fatal dose of anaesthetic.
Court officials have confirmed that the trial will begin on Monday.
Meanwhile Latoya Jackson is convinced her late brother Michael is haunting the family compound in Encino, California after a spooky chat with one of her mother’s bodyguards.
The singer-turned-reality TV regular has learned of a series of strange events at the home and she’s now certain that the King of Pop is still making regular visits.
And it’s all thanks to a curious minder, who can’t explain the weird things that he sees and hears.
Jackson explains, “He says it happens so much. Every single night the dog barks and he looks up at this certain window… I said, ‘That’s where Michael’s bedroom was, that’s where he stayed.’
“He barks at a certain time every night and he just keeps barking and looking at it… and then over in the other section of the house, he (minder) says that he hears someone tap dancing.
“Michael did that every Sunday for two hours straight; he would do that to keep his adrenaline going.”
Jackson admits she was so intrigued by the family bodyguard’s tales, she called on a top psychic to try and reach her brother, who died in 2009.
She adds, “I was like, ‘If Michael wants to talk, if he wants to tell me something, I want to know.’ He (psychic) didn’t know that I was coming, he didn’t know it was me… I wrapped myself up and had on glasses, so he wouldn’t know it was me, and he started telling me things and he knew right away… When they tell you something personal that you and your brother only know… then you’ve gotta say, ‘OK, this is really good!'”
And Latoya admits her chats with the psychic, she calls A.J., have helped her find peace after previously insisting her brother’s death was no medical accident.
She explains, “He (psychic) knew about me wanting to really know what happened, and he said, ‘Michael wants you to just rest and move on with your life…'”
Metro/Toronto Sun
