MICHAEL Jackson’s late former manager Frank DiLeo is coming out with a bombshell, beyond-the-grave book promising the truth about everyone who manipulated Michael — plus revelations that the star underwent dramatic plastic surgery because he couldn’t bear to look like his father.
DiLeo, who passed away in 2011, was with the superstar during the 1980s and again just before he died in 2009.
The book, DiLeo: I Am Going to Set the Record Straight, is being put together by his longtime business partner, manager and producer Mark Lamica, using DiLeo’s personal journals and audio and video recordings.
The book reveals that Jackson went through all that painful surgery and skin bleaching because he couldn’t stand looking like his dad, Joseph Jackson, who Michael said abused him as a child.
Lamica told Page Six of the reason for Michael’s surgery: “Michael told Frank in a phone conversation that he couldn’t bear to see his father’s face when he looked in the mirror. Frank had told him that he needed to stop changing his face, because he was becoming unrecognisable to his fans.
“Michael was emotional and told Frank, ‘I gotta cut him away, I’ve got to remove him. I still see Joseph when I look in the mirror, I have got to cut him away.’”
Lamica added, “Michael couldn’t be near his father. When he would show up during the ‘Bad’ tour, Michael would have panic attacks.”
Lamica, who is in talks with two publishers for a fall release, said DiLeo — who played gangster Tuddy Cicero in Goodfellas — had asked him to put the book out if anything happened to him.
He died following complications from heart surgery at age 63.
The book also promises to name and shame all of those who ripped off and used Michael, including some big names in the music business.
It will include details of his dealings with his record label, his Neverland Ranch deal with Colony Capital, plus a shocking mob hit on Michael that was stopped by DiLeo.
It will also lift the lid on the deal for his This Is It tour and the final difficult months of Michael’s life.Advertisement