Brooke Shields Remembers 'Asexual' Jackson Friendship

LOS ANGELES — Brooke Shields was 13 when she first met Michael Jackson and the two "instantly became friends" _ mainly because sexual tension was off the table.

"Nothing was jaded about him," the 44-year-old actress told Rolling Stone magazine for a special commemorative issue about the King of Pop, on sale Friday.

Shields said the two became close since sexuality wasn't a part of their friendship. She describes her young self as "the most celebrated virgin ever" at a time when women "wanted to throw themselves at (Jackson) and feel like they were going to teach him."

Shields said that as Jackson grew up, "the more asexual he became to me." But he was curious about her early relationships.

"He was like a little kid who talked about the bases _ what first base was, what second base was," Shields said. "It sounded very odd to the outside, I can imagine, but to the inside, to someone who's never really left his bubble, you can understand how he would be curious."

Shields said she last saw Jackson in 1991, at Elizabeth Taylor's most recent wedding.

"We snuck in and took pictures of ourselves next to her dress," Shields recalled. "We always seemed to revert to being little kids."

Comments

[toocoldout]

I don't believe for a second he was asexual. He struck me as someone oozing with sexual energy & he unleashed it in his music.

[YadavendarPalle]

hello hi

[Chicago48]

He was gay more than likely and covered it up with asexuality. I disagree about his sexuality. I'm a woman and he didn't get to me sexually at all. Now his brothers -- yes!

[lippp]

Did you ever see the video where he appeared shirtless. He had no muscle definition. He was soft and boyish physically. He had the body of a prepubescent girl more than a man and he was in this twenties at least when he made that video. No sex appeal whatsoever unless you were a gay man who was turned on by effeminate men. Take a look at it.

[gurukalehuru]

When Brooke was 13, Michael was 19. I don't know if he was gay, or asexual, or a pedophile, but if Brooke didn't turn him on, then we can easily rule out heterosexual.

[StillAmused]

If a 13-year-old "turned him on", he WOULD have been a pedophile.

See how that works, professor?

Anything else you'd like to "rule out"?

[Calvincito]

Thank you so much for that one Still Amused.

[lib2dbone]

Folks pontificating on MJ's sexuality, or lack thereof. Bitter folks with no existing sexual lives, trying to bring down the most talented entertainer of his time.
If only any of his critics and were that accomplished.

@ NYstateofmund:
Please. Go play in traffic. Your mom can rent the basement room you're living in.

[MariaChang]

http://www.usnewslink.com/framedjackson.htm

when are you folks going to do some real investigative reporting instead of this hearsay bull that Michael is Gay or Pedofile or a sicko. Read the article above and tell me just all the smears by the media are necessary to get at the facts. is it necessary to attact Deb Rowe and try to egg her into a challenge for custody when the family has already invited her to be part of the circle of care for the children. is it so hard for mainstream america to believe that there are actually people out there that truly love childern and would never harm them. it is this homo phobia that is pulling us all apart. you can't even hug your girl friend or boy friend and tell them that you love them without fear that it might be taken the wrong way. what is wrong with love. is love only for the elite that see thru this hype.

[olivesforbreakfast]

Wow. Thanks for posting this article.

Anyone who cares about Michael, anyone who thinks they knew what happened in 1993 based upon what they read before, what they had read in Vanity Fair, for example, about the case brought against him, has to read it. The background of the people who brought charges against Michael simply must be known.

It's all so painful, and tragic as it gets.

The child involved in the case is now in his late 20s. I wonder if he will ever come forward with a statement of what really happened. My guess is that up to now he might not have wanted to because there was so much money involved, for him and his family.

But at this point, out of respect for himself, and Michael, I sure wish he would..

[StillAmused]

Take it for what it's worth... the damage has been done.

http://sjsandteam.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/jordan-chandler-admits-he-lied-about-michael-jackson/

[FHTB]

Yes, the world has really gone nuts that looking at a child for more than two seconds can put you on a sexual predator list...the pendulum has swung so far from the old days, of course, when people swept this all under the rug, and if a kid made a stink, he or she was considered a troublemaker or even, God forbid, a tease!

There is no doubt, however, that Michael was trying to relive a childhood he never had, a case of arrested developmen­t...regard­less of how you feel about him, and I think he is one of the greatest talents in pop ever, you have to know that he just didn't understand that it really is not appropiate for a middle aged man to hang around 10-17 year old boys.

[Chicago48]

I've read so many accounts of what happened, but if it is true then MJ is to blame for leaving himself open like he did -- many times over.

However, I remember his manager Frank Dileo quitting because Jackson invited young men in his limo when he traveled and had them in his hotel room. Any star with any sophistocation wouldn't leave himself open like that.

[fbr79]

I don't think you know what the word homphobia means.

"you can't even hug your girl friend or boy friend and tell them that you love them without fear that it might be taken the wrong way". Gay is the wrong way?

[OverIt]

A treat for MJ fans! Remember the Pepsi commercial with Alfonso Ribeiro as mini-Michael?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgr3_w4b_0Y&feature=player_embedded

[AntiSheep13]

Not only do I remember but I was friends with Alfonso.

[montecarlo408]

I'd pay money to see him to the "Carlton Dance" again.

[smchp]

The guy was gay. There is absolutely no doubt. The whole presley thing...wh­o knows. He supposedly had a wierd obsession with elvis so maybe he imagined elvis when he was with her.

Lot's of closet gays that get married have kids etc. and live in denial.

[mathme]

There are also people who don't have sex. It's hard to imagine when you things are so black and white, I know.

[mathme]

Err... I am tired... I don't even know what I was trying to say in that second sentence. :)

[castlerider]

I never thought he was a pedophile.­... Indifferent, even a bit stupid about not caring what people thought to the pount of placing himself in great danger, yes, but he had very little drive that transmits as sexual from a man's testeronic view, so he didn't seem one bit of a threat in that regard to me.

I've truly wondered if he was neutered. Seriously- if he had his balls removed so he could sing higher, and not become a slave to the whims of Testosterone male ego.

Excellent dancer - probably the greatest ever, aside from Fred Astaire. But Michael exudes absolutely ZERO Male testosterone vibe in his speech, and if he had, he'd have been completely different, and probably never would have gotten in the ridiculous trouble he got into.

.

[sexyrexy]

no dear, he wasn't neutered.. MJ when he w anted to use it.. had a manly voice.. but as a family they all have these soft voices.
to see MJ's machismo?? WATCH HIS DANCING AND VIDEOS.. HE REVEALED IT IN HIS WORK..

[Thefamilyvan]

Misunderstood, complicated Michael Jackson. Asexual, not gay. Re-living his childhood as an adult, but not a pedophile. Tremendously talented and gifted, but agonizingly shy... I don't know if he'll ever be understood. But his music lives on for our enjoyment forever.

[KickerBoard]

Yep - you're right.

[shirleyfeeney]

well said. bravo.

[hoocheekoo]

I agree 100%.

[gurukalehuru]

I couldn't have put it better myself.

[FHTB]

I am glad you so much about him...whet­her he was asexual or gay, it really shouldn't be anyone's concern...­I also don't appreciate people's continued desire to paint whether he is a gay or not as something bad or awful...

[fbr79]

Finally somebody said it, all the comments here "defending" Michael from being a homosexual say a lot about what people really think.

[pearlone]

if she's 44 and he was 50 when she was 13 he was 19. One would hope any friendship between a 19 year old young man and a 13 year old girl would be asexual, even if, and maybe especially if, the 13 year old girl was acting in movies and commercials that sexually exploited her (Pretty Baby, Blue Lagoon, Calvin Klein). Later, when she was making a career of being a professional virgin I can't imagine that would be much of a turn on to someone as sensitive as Michael Jackson seemed to be.

[Patricia84]

To the "gayizers" on this thread: Gay doesn't equal woman, thank you very much. A lot of drag queens are actually heterosexual anyway. As for the way he dressed, it has more to do with his overcoming his "self" - a black man, thus violent and dark - than anything else, a consequence of the racism he had to live through. He was well aware of this, embracing/mocking the racial images so potent in the wonderful blackface vaudevilles, down to the white gloves and the outfit. You might want to compare his video for Say, Say, Say http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ggWvBXS2t4A) with this 1950 Blackface performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v==UfiNT6AKG0s). The truth is MJ was truly postmodern. He defied all humanity laws and encompassed all its polarities: innocence/guilt, young/old, black/white, man/woman, religious/secular. Of course, it made it all the more difficult to understand him but that does not make him gay.

[tnlcallen]

He was definitely confused, whatever his inclinations.

[FHTB]

overcoming his "self" - a black man, thus violent and dark ...

You are assuming that he believed in the same stereotype of black men that you seem to have.

[Nanaama]

Well said!

[Brandij]

Michael had the spotlight on him 24/7 since the age of nine - he knew and had people sue him for millions - he could not pee crooked without someone knowing. You don't become a pediphile overnight - why after 40 years? He could have ANY woman or even man without the crime factor of hurting a kid.

It maybe hard to believe but people DO and will lie to get money - they do it everyday for lesser amounts.

[Applecheeks]

I heard a rumor from a friend that Michael's father took him to Cedar Sinai Hospital for injections to delay puberty. Considering the stuff we have heard about his father's abuse, this is not so hard to believe. He was Peter Pan....

[Smirk]

If that's true, it's awful.

[rsprags]

To say you heard from a friend; then another cuckoo bird come behind you and say if it true it's awful! Some folks are really in need of some serious mental health care; you have no room to say anything about Michael! Michael could afford his healthcare but I doubt if many of you have enough mental health coverage to pay for the help you really need!

[ywcachieve]

rsprags, thanks for saying what I would have. Some people will believe anything.

[antaeus]

Have you seen and heard Joe Jackson on TV since Michael's death? Does he sound like a man who did not view his son primarily as a money-making machine? Are you serious?

If you think about it, the idea that Michael suffered from arrested hormonal development makes a lot of sense.

[AntiSheep13]

And who did his dad take him to see, Dr. Frankenstein? You shouldn't believe rumors that your imaginary friends tell you.

[NoDubya]

Michael Jackson was straight. Of course he was a VERY feminine and shy straight guy, but I never doubted it.

[JamesLM207]

He was a pedophile. He had no interest in ADULTS.

[bellepepper02]

A paedophiliac relationship involves an adult stance towards a child--it is a relation of domination. MJ was a child living in an adult world. I don't say that to insult him but to suggest that it was psychologically impossible for him to have been a paedophile. Keeping that child's quality was part and parcel of MJ being a musical genius. His fans understood that. Also, people with OCD tend often to be asexual.

[Bude]

Apparently.

[rsprags]

Which pedophile you know that could control his desire for all young children in his present; so, it is illogical to think that Michael could attack only these two children, however, control himself around all other children? He was never accused of molesting friends children, family members children, nieces and nephews, workers children (worker child testified in court and the mother that this did not happen); and his own children. It is very illogical some of the things being said is just crazy!

[smchp]

denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

[smchp]

He did not even have sex with his wife. In fact there is not a single woman that has ever said she had sex with him.

[Patricia84]

Lisa Marie Presley did. On the Howard Stern show no less but either way, I don't see why people should go around saying they had sex with so and so. I know I don't.

[escribacat]

What about Billie Jean? :)

[jillsond]

I've always thought MJ was asexual. George Clooney and Tom Cruise give off the same vibe. Brooke Shields does, too, for that matter.

There's nothing wrong with asexuality. Get over it.

[bellepepper02]

Agree with you, especially that there's nothing wrong with asexuality. But Clooney asexual? No.

[Green-Zanto]

If George Clooney is asexual than turtles don't have shells.

[FHTB]

Of course there is nothing wrong with asexuality­...nor is there anything wrong with being gay, as some seem to think there is here.

[duxguts]

Along with his other plastic procedures, he probably had a 'Cut and Tuck'.