Michael Jackson's Pets and Animals

June 26, 2009

Animals played an important role in Michael Jackson's life, abruptly cut short yesterday. One of Jackson's earliest hits, and a personal favorite song of his, was "Ben," a loving tribute to a pet rat. Jackson was just 14 years old when he recorded the song, becoming the youngest ever performer at the time to top the U.S. charts while still being a member of a group, The Jacksons.

"Ben" was written for a 1972 film of the same name. A young boy befriends Ben the rat in the movie, which was echoed in Jackson's own life since he owned a rat as well.

Pet rats were just some of the animals that Jackson cared for, and was associated with, throughout his much too short time on Earth. Please join me in a look at some of the others.

Like many young boys, Jackson owned a mini menagerie of dogs and reptiles. But, just as his superstar life spun out of "normalcy," so too did his collection of animals as time went on. His November 1986 line of stuffed toys called "Michael's Pets" paid tribute to just a handful of these animal companions— frogs, rabbits, snakes, ostriches, giraffes, llamas and, of course, Bubbles the chimp.

Jackson rescued Bubbles from a Texas cancer research clinic in 1985 when the chimpanzee was three years old. For several years, the two were inseparable. Bubbles slept in a crib at the corner of Jackson's bedroom, where he alone was allowed to use the singer's private bathroom.

Bubbles Moonwalking

Bubbles was present during the recording sessions for the Bad album. Bubbles learned how to dance and Moonwalk, and was Jackson's escort for many important award ceremonies and events. We all seek out individuals who are like us as friends, but I think Jackson had such an extraordinary life that he had trouble finding anyone to truly bond with. My guess is that he could project his need to care for another onto Bubbles, at least during this period.

When Jackson's son Prince Michael II was born, Bubbles supposedly became aggressive toward the new young presence in the singer's residences. The chimpanzee was moved to an animal sanctuary. He is now believed to be living a quiet life at a ranch in Sylmar, California.

Michael Jackson also famously loved spiders, with Katharine Hepburn and other celebrity friends at the time expressing awe, and often dismay, at his elaborate spider enclosures. His tarantulas made headlines during a few of the singer's seemingly endless series of legal trials. In 2002, for example, the singer limped into a courtroom on crutches, explaining that he was suffering from a spider bite.

"I love tarantulas, but not the little kind," the shoeless Jackson explained.

Jackson's own enormous ranch, Neverland, housed not only rare spiders, but also a video game arcade, amusement park rides and a train. But the real eye-catcher was the private zoo, which once held an elephant, a lion and other exotic animals.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a complaint in January 2006, claiming the animals were being mistreated. This was attributed by others to Jackson's money, legal and paparazzi problems, which forced him to abandon the ranch. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, however, inspected the animals at the zoo and found no evidence of abuse or neglect.

Neverland

Jackson rarely visited Neverland Ranch again, instead living between Bahrain, Europe and Las Vegas. More recently, he'd been living in a rented home in Holmby Hills near Los Angeles.

The connection between Michael Jackson and animals, as well as related controversies, swirled until the very hour of the singer's death.

Animal activists were planning to stage a boycott of Jackson's 50 planned, sold-out concerts, since sources leaked that the singer planned to make his entrance with exotic animals.

An unnamed source was quoted by the London Telegraph as saying, "He hopes to make it the most spectacular gig ever. For the jungle section, he wants to ride out on an African elephant with panthers led on gold chains. Parrots and other birds will fly behind him. If it goes to plan it will look incredible."

Craig Redmond, director of the Captive Animals Protection Society, issued a response that included, "Exploiting animals in this way really is a thing of the past and not something that someone like Michael Jackson should be doing. It would be like a circus act – a practice opposed by most people in the UK – and we are appealing to him and his management not to spoil the show by using animals."

If the rumor was true, Jackson may have had in mind the Ben Hur Live show, planned for the same venue and scheduled for later this year. It supposedly will include some 100 animals on stage.

The controversies mirror Jackson's own life: part spectacle, part quiet, withdrawn gentleness. Over the years he reached out to animals for their unconditional love and non-judgmental companionship, which I think he often gave back to them in return. While details about his private world will no doubt continue to emerge in the months to come, it would not surprise me to learn that his deepest and most long-standing friendships were with the many animals with which he shared his life.

Comments

[Zócalo]

Información de la muerte de Michael Jackson http://www.zocalo.com.mx/

Chequen el video de la muerte de Michael Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqtYC-lXMP0

Fotografías del "rey del pop"
http://www.zocalo.com.mx/seccion/fotogaleria/

[Asher Aw]

Rest in peace, Michael Jackson.

It's sad that people forget Michael is a human and he has his own needs too. I'm no psychology major but even I can tell that he needed companionship.

Great points made in this post. I guess people's judgments just turned him away from being "normal". As for me, he'll always be the "King of Pop".

Asher

P.S.
I wrote a little poem for him here:
http://asheraw.com/asher/death-of-michael-jackson/

[Gary]

Now God can deal with the Child Molester

[Jen Viegas]

Asher- I enjoyed the post on your page as well. "Did he die of a heart attack or a broken heart? I don’t know." Well said. I think so often the spirit breaks before the body finally gives in.

[bash]

its great to see a culture idolizing a freakin child molester, oh wait, a "alleged" child molester.

[Salvation]

What's really sad is that Michael recently converted to Isllam and was no longer a christian.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that who so ever believes in Him shall not PERISH but have eternal life. John 3:16
The reality is that Michael will suffer in the lake of fire, gnashing of teeth, eternal suffering.

[SG in Windsor]

Ditto to Gary re: Now God can deal with the Child Molester. As an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I stand united with fellow survivors in feeling sorry for the family of MJ but not mourning MJ's death. As far as I'm concerned, future victims will now be saved. Neda is who should be topping news stories or any of the other horrific things happening in the world. Discovery news is the place I expected some peace from the MJ frenzy which makes me sick.

[jessica]

michael jackson will always be the king of pop to me and everyone else. no one has the right to bash him for alleged things in the past. if u didnt like michael jackson well thats your problem.i know he was a kind man and he had good intentions he obviously cared for people. and everyone who says he's a bad person u can screw off. because i think he's awsome and a pop icon to all. r.i.p Michael Jackson 1959-2009

[SG in Windsor]

jessica, I have just as much right to express my opinion as you do so telling people like me to screw off pretty much tells me your not very nice. We have free speech in this country and one thing I will not be stopped from talking about is child molesters. You talk about him as if you knew him personally, well Im betting you didn't, but I on the other hand have had lots of experience in recognizing the traits, personalities, and actions of a child molester. It's his family you should be concerned about, imagine the embarrassment he has put them threw over the years. Jessica, I will not screw off and I will not tell you to either. It's called free speech, and one less child molester is A OK with me.

[pam]

I am saddened to have lost such a terrific entertainer. There will never be anyone who can measure up to his talent

[Xina]

Everyone loves the art but hates the artist because he is not who they think he should be....

[JOHN]

JESSICA DEAR YOU ARE RIGHT FREEDOM OF SPECH. BUT THERE IS A PLACE AND A TIME FOR EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN. PLEASE LET US ENJOY HIS LEGACY. DO NOT SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD. THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. WE ALL HAVE CLOSET WITH SKELETONS.

[DLc]

This is one of the saddest day... Only because of the impact he had on racism and on the world..

playandsearch.com

[sylvia]

He was never convicted of anything and was acquitted of everything. Had there been any concrete evidence, they'd have taken him down, and God knows they tried, over and over and over again. But still they came up with nothing? Why? Because it never happened, that's why. Why would any parent of a child who was truly molested accept hush money? Perhaps the parents were pimping out their own child in hopes that MJ would molest, but when he didn't, they blackmailed him. I hope that all you judgmental people will too be judged by all the wrongdoings people ACCUSE you of with no proof whatsoever.

[Fotograf]

I am saddened, this was grate artist , grat music , grate dancer...;( [']

:( MJ we Love You

[abagale]

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[Vee]

This is a really nice post. No one can say for sure whether MJ molested those children or not, unless of course they were there with them. It's difficult to say what really happened since money has changed hands. I'm going to leave judgment to his Maker. I'd like to remember him for his awesome talent. Peace.

[Roy]

Amazing that people still believe in god. There is no god - that is why "he/she/it" is invisible. Michael Jackson is dead and his remains is returning to the Earth like every other creature. People seriously need to grow up and quit believing in imaginary beings.

That being said, Michael Jackson was an incredibly talented person. It's too bad that he was planning to use exotic animals in his upcoming tour though. Still, his talent was immense and I believe he truly, at one point, cared a lot about animals but he was misguided at other times.

[Excavior]

Micheal was truly a inspiration the the black people , he took us to a infinite possibilities of what we could accomplish in the world of music and the world of accomplishments.I will always remember him in my heart and always introduce his talents and music to my generation of kids and family .I will trully miss you Mike i know now that i trully have a heart because i felt it break . RIP Dear King you are trully missed. Excavior aka DLC

[Diana Pounsford]

I shall always remember Michael in concert walking around the stage with tiny children from all the different races around the world .... making the world a better place .... we shall never forget those who tried to brutally hurt him for caring about the children of the world. The greatest performer of the century ..... Rest in Peace, Michael, from a devoted fan.

[ace]

May Michael Jackson rest in peace despite some of the negative things said about him.

[D.L.Lungmuana Christian]

I miss him very much

[Jim Beau]

I thought that the movie was called "Willard, A rat man's diary".

[Ares Vista]

Michael Jackson's greatest attribute was his ability to be himself at all times. We all strive to be what we truly are, but he was never afraid to be Michael. That was why people loved him so much. Real, genuine people are what the world needs, and the world always needed MJ. RIP!

[Brian]

Everybody loves a hero or a celebrity. they love it even more when the hero or celebrity is fallen. The alleged animal abuse (clearly shown to be utterly fallacious) as well as the alleged child abuse (also shown to be nonsense) were simply attempts to garner attention and ratings. Honor the man his accomplishments.

Yes, MJ was a very childish man... This is true, he never really grew up, but the same can be said for shakespeare, Da Vinci, and many, many other artists... saying hurtful and impossible-to-prove things about them when they are dead just shows what a small and hateful person you are. The only "Crime' he ever committed was a severe lack of judgement about how to hold his newborn, and how many of us can honestly say we've mever made a boneheadced mistake in our lives?

MJ was an icon, a cultural hero, and for many years the very symbol of American values. He was known and beloved around the world, Honor him for what he was and what he still is, instead of trying to tear him down out of a misplaced self-righteousness or poor attempts at humor.