Michael Jackson knew how to manipulate the media, his former bodyguard is claiming in a new interview.
Matt Fiddes worked with the late singer for 10 years, and during that time he became well acquainted with Jackson's unusual traits. However, many of these quirks were a ploy to gain public attention and media coverage, he told Metro.co.uk.
"He knew how to manipulate the media. He knew exactly how to get the front pages. He used to have a meeting as soon as he got to a" city, Fiddes said.
Jackson wanted to remain a mystery to the world. To do so he needed a gimmick, which is where his unusual behavior came in. The King of Pop would wear a surgical mask in public or tape on his hands to draw attention to himself. In most cases it worked, but behind all the oddities was a "normal guy" who "knew the fascination would stop with the newspapers printing about him," Fiddes said.
The former bodyguard, who now works as a property developer and owns a martial arts chain, said the public thought they knew Jackson but actually had no idea who he really was.
"He was super intelligent, couldn't sit down and watch a movie because he'd analyze every angle, very mistake the director made."
Fiddes also dismissed the allegations of child sexual abuse against Jackson, calling them "nonsense."
"The guy had girlfriends and had a legitimate marriage to Lisa Marie, that was the way he lived his life," he said of the accusations that emerged in the controversial documentary "Leaving Neverland."
In the two-part HBO series, James Safechuck and Wade Robson claimed to have been abused by Jackson, but Fiddes said the music icon was hardly at Neverland because he was constantly traveling, recording, and performing. It would have been "impossible" for Jackson to commit the crimes.
"If he was doing what he was doing to young kids he would never get any work done," Fiddes said. "He was already recording, performing, and rehearsing, for him to be messing around with young kids would be impossible because of the security that was in place. It's impossible."
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