Jacksons

HE’S responsible for teaching Michael Jackson the famous moonwalk and choreographed some of the pop superstar’s biggest hits.

Now Shalamar icon Jeffrey Daniel, 71, has spoken in defence of Jackson’s box office smashing biopic, Michael, which has come under fire for omitting controversial elements of the singer’s life – including multiple allegations of child abuse.

Giving his view on the film, which has grossed over $700m worldwide, he says: “At the end of the day, they’re a family and it’s about their family and it’s up to them to do. The public likes to hear controversy. The public likes dirt.

“They want to delve into that negativity. But when you look at Michael’s life and when you look back at it, the negativity was something that was fabricated. There are things that were just engineered to stand against him.”

Speaking from a friend’s home in LA ahead of Shalamar’s 50th anniversary UK tour, he continues: “There’s no way in the world you’re going to be totally vindicated on all charges and acquitted and still looked at as if you’re guilty? Then what was the point of even going to court?

“What was the point of even standing in front of a jury to come to a conclusion that you’re absolutely, unequivocally not guilty if the public is still going to keep running with the narrative of what you were supposed to have done? That doesn’t make sense to me.”

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The film’s critics have called it a glorified promo for MJ’s glittering career, void of the challenging and concerning allegations he faced over the course of his life.

However, Colman Domingo, who plays Michael’s dad Joe Jackson, told the Today Show that it was the film’s timeline that dictated the events. It focuses on Michael’s life from the 60s through to 1988, some five years before the first allegations were made.

With the film teasing a part two, the darker side of Jackson’s life could still be revisited.

Filmmakers were also reportedly forced to do expensive re-shoots, having originally intended to include Jordan Chandler’s 1993 accusations when he was 13 years old.

They were unaware that part of Chandler’s $23m settlement in 1994 forbade anyone from dramatising the account.

Further accusations came much later, with Gavin Arzio’s allegations that he had been molested by Jackson as a child leading to seven charges brought against the star. However, in 2005 he was found not guilty on all counts.

In 2019, 10 years after Jackson’s death, the documnentary Leaving Neverland raised more uncomfortable questions.

The two alleged victims who were the focus of it, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, have joined forces to seek $400m (£298m) in damages from the Jackson estate in a civil trial set to take place later this year.

But Jeffrey has a different outlook and cites an online conspiracy theory that claims Jackson used his Neverland Ranch to shield child victims of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein as evidence of his innocence and insists MJ was trying to save “youngsters”.

Despite all of the allegations, Jeffrey maintains his late friend is still a great role model.

He continues: “You know what’s really inspiring? I’m seeing kids five years old, six and 10 years old imitating Michael.

“They weren’t alive even when he passed away. And they still love him. His legacy is living on.

“He’s the most successful post-mortem artist in history. He’s making more money in his grave than a lot of artists that are out there working their butts off right now. That is a testament to a miracle.

“I mean, because I work with him and I know him, I’m not trying to be biased.”

The biopic is very much a family affair, endorsed by the Jackson estate and with the King of Pop’s nephew Jaafar, 29, cast in the titular role.

However, MJ’s siblings Rebbie, Randy, and Janet don’t feature in the project and none has addressed their absence publicly, though La Toya Jackson said her sister “kindly declined” to be involved.

Jeffrey says the portrayal of the young Michael is so uncanny that it’s like seeing him revived from the dead.

“My God, you have to tip your hat to Jaafar,” says Jeffrey.

“That boy played the hell out of Michael. I couldn’t imagine anyone else. It’s like that guy who played Freddie Mercury [Rami Malek]. It’s like he was born to play that role. And deservingly enough, he won an Oscar for it.

“I see a lot of Michael Jackson impersonators, and they’re pretty good. But they either do too much or they only encapsulate just one dimension of Michael’s performance. Jaafar captured it in its totality.

“He was subtle when it was time to be subtle. He was dynamic when it was time to be dynamic. His mannerisms, the way he spoke, I got emotional.

“I mean, there’s about three times during the film I almost went to tears because I just got emotional because of the scenes that I had something to do with. And I was there when that happened. And I was a part of that when it was happening.

“And then it reminded me of being with Michael and the person he was. It was like seeing a relative come back to life or something. Because I was very close with him.”

Jeffrey’s working relationship with Michael began in 1980, two years prior to the Shalamar founder’s legendary performance on Top of the Pops.

Unknown to the public at the time, Jeffrey had taught the groundbreaking move to MJ after the Thriller star was mesmerised by it while watching an episode of American music show, Soul Train in 1979.

Jackson spent three years practising what was then referred to as a backslide before debuting his version in 1983 during a Motown 25 TV special.

Meanwhile, Shalamar had been scheduled to perform I Can Make You Feel Good on ToTP in 1982 but it was canned at the last minute when the song dropped down the singles chart.

Undeterred, they returned weeks later with a point to prove after Night to Remember became a hit.

Jeffrey’s backslide caused such a stir, bosses scrambled to get the group back for another performance.

Not long after, MJ took the backslide to new heights and remains synonymous with the move.

“I worked with him for over 20 years,” says Jeffrey. “And so, to see this come to life like that again, it was just amazing. I can imagine how his family must have felt.

“Jackie Jackson and Jermaine and Marlon were saying how they were feeling watching this come to life in front of them on screen. And by their own relatives as well, so it’s amazing.”

Jackson’s not the only megastar Jeffrey worked closely with.

He also found a fan in Sir Paul McCartney too, with the Beatle actively seeking him out on a visit to London in the 80s.

Their fortuitous meeting came when McCartney’s crew, who were filming musical drama Give My Regards to Broad Street, spotted Jeffrey taking a walk by the canal in Maida Vale and told him Macca was keen to work with him. The two music men had a brief introduction and Daniel would later return to the UK to work with him on the project properly.

On their second meeting, McCartney hopped out of a car after filming a scene with actress Tracey Ullman and proceeded to lead Jeffrey around the set by the hand, before they sat down for lunch with his late wife Linda.

He said: “I mean, oh my God. Come on, this is legendary greatness. You know, it was an amazing experience.”

Fast forward to the present day and Shalamar are gearing up to bring their energetic set to the UK next month.

Slick and well-honed after five decades, the group know what the audience wants and are more than happy to give it to them.

“The good thing about it is that we have so many hits to choose from and that’s a good thing,” says Jeffrey. “But we’re always trying to adjust it to make sure that we keep the shows interesting and that they appeal to the audience that’s there.”

The live music market is more competitive than ever. Already this year a string of big acts have been forced to cancel tours due to sluggish ticket sales.

When it comes to putting bums on seats, many of whom weren’t alive when Shalamar burst into the charts, Jeffrey says: “We have a catalogue of evergreen, feel-good music. And I think because when times get hard and we go through things, people need a respite.

“I think Shalamar’s music is kind of the antidote to that because it can help you get away when they’re in the audience. They’re up on their feet dancing. They’re singing along.

“I think we’re the last of the high performance bands in the 80s where the choreography, the costume, the interaction, it’s all there, you know.

“Not to toot our own horn, but I think we put on a good show together, you know. And it’s very entertaining. And the people love what we’re doing. And we love the people.”

A new estate-backed film, Michael, tells the story of Michael Jackson’s rise from Gary, Indiana to global fame, highlighting hits like Thriller and his record-breaking success. But it ends before major scandals, and it leaves out the US musician’s race and politics, including his solidarity with Palestine. What story is being told, and what is being erased?

In this episode: 

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by David Enders and Sarí el-Khalili, with Spencer Cline, Catherine Nouhan and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz and Tamara Khandaker. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. 

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A FORMER bodyguard and close pal of Michael Jackson has claimed the new biopic about the star whitewashes his life by not delving further into the sex abuse claims made against him.

In an exclusive interview, Matt Fiddes claimed Jackson would have wanted any movie to include the allegations and their impact on his life.

Fiddes also revealed he received a “delirious” call from Jackson two days before he died with the star allegedly pumped full of ephedrine and desperately reaching out for his dad.

Speaking ahead of the release of a new biopic on Friday, Fiddes said the star also claimed on the call that bosses were “making him rehearse too much” and that he “never agreed to 50 shows.”

Giving a unique insight into the moments leading up to Jackson’s death, Matt claimed Jackson was forgetting his lyrics and acting erratically – but it was still a complete shock to everyone who knew him as they were convinced he would just pull out of the tour.

The new movie based on the life of the “King of Pop’ is set to hit the big screen later this month with Jackson’s own nephew Jaafar in the title role.

An earlier trailer became the most watched of all time – amassing 150million views when it was released.

Jackson was first accused of abuse in 1993 by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler and his father Evan, who reached a $23million civil settlement with the star a year later.

He was never ultimately charged in connection with these allegeations after a 18-month criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and Santa Barbara Sherriff’s Department found they could not prove the case without Jordan’s testimony.

The movie was forced to undergo expensive reshoots last year after lawyers found an overlooked clause in the settlement with Jordan that barred him from being depicted or mentioned in any movie, according to Variety.

The movie was reportedly supposed to originally open with Jackson in 1993 surrounded by cop cars and its entire third act was dedicated to the allegations before the rewrite.

But Fiddes, 46, claimed the impact of the sex abuse claims played a direct role in Jackson’s death and accused filmmakers of whitewashing the allegations.

Fiddes, who was one of Jacko’s closest confidants for many years, claimed although all the allegations made against him were “proven untrue,” to cut them out of the movie wouldn’t do justice to the impact they had on him.

Jackson was still plagued by further allegations from 1993 on.

He underwent a high-profile criminal trial in 2005 after being hit with felony charges of abuse against 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo – but was found not guilty on all counts.

After his death the FBI confirmed they had found no evidence of criminal conduct to warrant federal charges against Jackson by releasing 300 pages of their decade-long investigation.

And over a decade after his death, Jackson’s estate is still facing lawsuits about his alleged behavior.

Accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck are seeking $400million in a civil lawsuit that will go to a jury trial in November.

Fiddes said the release of the Michael Jackson movie would be “extremely controversial” and although he hasn’t yet seen it, he’s been told what will be in and out of it.

He added: “I’ve heard accounts from people who’ve seen the film. And from my understanding, it doesn’t cover the child abuse allegations and a lot of the struggles that Michael had behind the scenes, which are well publicised and what eventually led to his death.

“I know the fans are disappointed in this. They been contacting me. They want to see the real Michael. They want to see behind the scenes Michael, how he created his genius and how he suffered, how lonely
the man was.

“But I understand how business works. I’m a businessman, and if you’re running the Michael Jackson estate, you are going to want to have it all about the music, which is what Michael would have wanted.

“But Michael, as I knew him, would have wanted his fans and the public to see what it was like to be Michael Jackson. It was not all glitz and glamour. It was anything but.

“We could not go out. He couldn’t do anything. We had to go through the kitchen entrance to go into the hotels. He was manipulated by people he couldn’t trust. Many people. He was paranoid. He struggled to eat sometimes due to being nervous and anxious.”

Matt also said he believes allegations that Jackson was a child abuser were untrue but should still be referenced in the biopic.

He added: “It fascinates me to see still now in 2026 that there’s TV shows and documentaries being made about my friend Michael Jackson, that he’s a child molester, that he’s into young boys.

“Because having known the man personally, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“He wanted to keep his life a mystery and would always remind me wanted his life to be the greatest show on earth.

“I said to him, I think you should show how you talk about girls from the back of the car. He had a nickname for a girl he fancied or always attracted to. He’d call them fish.

“He always said, that’s a nice fish there. Well, Matt, try and get that fish to my room.

“I told him ‘Michael, you should show this side to the public. But he always refused and said one thing Motown taught him when he was a young boy, in the Jackson Five, is that he mustn’t ever show that he was straight, that he was gay, or that he was married in a relationship. As this was going to cut off his fan base and it’ll be the end of the Jacksons.

“So all the fans feel that they got a chance to marry him, whether they’re gay, straight or whatsoever.

“I understand there are contracts signed from his girlfriends that can’t be talked about. But from what I’m hearing, there’s going to be a Michael movie part two of this franchise.

“What I will say is that everything Michael Jackson touches turns to gold. And I predict that Michael the movie will be the biggest movie ever of all time, not only the biggest biopic. I think it will be the biggest movie of all time. And we’ll go past a billion dollars turnover in no time whatsoever.”

Fiddes, who now runs the largest martial arts and dance chain in the world, worked with Jackson for a decade and recalls meeting him through a friend.

He added: “He called me up in the middle of the night and said, you have to come to my house now. If you don’t, you’ll regret it. It took me a good three hours to get there, but he would not tell me who I was going to meet.

“I walked in the living room and this man walks up to me. He bows to me due to the fact that we’re both martial artists. And he said, nice to meet you, Matt. For this. My name is Michael Jackson. I’m thinking, I know who you are.”

Fiddes said they quickly became friends and hang out and do normal stuff together.

He added: “He was a very shrewd character. I always say you got two sides to Michael. You got the very shy, quiet, humble person of his mother, Mrs. Jackson. Katherine, who’s a lovely lady. And then you’ve got the toughness, brutal, ruthless businessman of his father, Joe Jackson.

“And Michael had both sides of them. But aside from that being around him, he was the the most gentle soul and would do anything for anybody. And he was just extremely clever. He loved being Michael Jackson, but he was the nicest guy in the world, most misunderstood man in the world.”

Fiddes also gave a unique insight into the state of mind of the star when he died and revealed he had desperately tried to reach out to his dad Joseph Jackson to help, but could only reach his voicemail.

Fiddes, who believes the movie would become the most watched of all time, said: “You can’t talk about Michael Jackson without talking about the bad times and the negative times and none of us were expecting that he was going to die.

“I didn’t think he was going to do the 50 show concerts. We were getting reports all the time that he was not well, that he was underweight.

“He was not remembering his lyrics. I spoke to him two nights before he passed away, and I remember that conversation vividly.

“My ex-wife answered the phone and handed me the phone and said, It’s Michael, you need to speak to him urgently. He was unhappy. He said, Matt, I need to speak to Joe, meaning his father, Joseph Jackson.

“Do you know where he is? I thought, if he’s asking for his dad, then there must be something wrong. He said ‘I need him to come and sort this situation out here. Only Joseph can do it.

“He said ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. They’re making me rehearse too much. And I never agreed to 50 shows.’”

Fiddes, who runs a martial arts business and lives in England, said Jackson sounded erratic and he asked if he had taken anything.

He added: “He said ‘I’ve just taken something called ephedrine, which is like a, an upper, like next level up from caffeine.’

“It’s a drug that a lot of dancers and performers and bodybuilders use. And he said he got given to him by a doctor, which kind of reassured me, but he was begging for me to come to Los Angeles.

“Then he asked for his best friend’s number, Mark Lester, who he called straight away. He played the original Oliver Twist from Oliver the movie and had a similar conversation with him.

“It turns out he did call Joe Jackson asking for help, but he got Joe’s answerphone and Joe went on a TV show.

“Not long after Michael passed away, he said sadly, ‘I got a message from Michael, but it was too late.’ Michael had already passed away.

“So Michael’s death was a shock to all of us. We thought he was going to call the concerts off and not do them.

“Or maybe do one or two, but not die on us. We didn’t think that was going to happen. That is something that will stick with me forever.”