August 30th

Michael Jackson collapsed backstage in costume, taped fingertips and all. He was supposed to be on in a few minutes. Elizabeth Taylor insisted he go to the hospital for an MRI. The crowd waiting hours for his second show in Singapore's National Stadium were told only the following: "He is ill." Of course, disappointment became anger this August 30, 1993. A teenager sulked: "If he's so sick, why did he even go out on tour?" Michael's third canceled show marked a week of allegations and public statements. In private, Michael told a friend he felt "the world hates me now—and it's tearing my heart to shreds."

In L.A., Michael's private detective Anthony Pellicano and lawyer Howard Weitzman held a news conference. They played a secretly-made tape of Evan Chandler, a "Beverly Hills dentist, who moonlights as a screenwriter," according to People. Even doctored, the recording did nothing to prove extortion. More importantly, it propelled coverage in the direction Michael had with increasing skill since Thriller. A September 6th Time cover story calls that command the "tacit agreement of trust with Jackson as his star rose." That's what draws us into all that Michael does. When we watch him, "we know it's theater."

All the media puns remind us. The subtitle of Time's "Michael's World" article is almost expected: "Is He Dangerous or Just Off the Wall?" We read everything Michael together, as one performance. It confirms what we think we know already. Didn't we already suspect something, anyway? Those near Michael at the World Music Awards in Monaco that May did. During the ceremony Jordan Chandler sat in his lap. Michael hugged him warmly from behind. The National Enquirer carried a picture of Michael with Jordan, his sister Lily, and mother June. It came underneath the headline "Jacko's New Family." Jordan sports the trademark red shirt topped with a black fedora hat.

The more visible and the more talkative, the stranger Michael became in 1993. And the more we watched. His Feburary chat with Oprah galvanized 90 million viewers. The truth of what he said then was less compelling than watching him talk. Bob Merlis, Senior VP of publicity at Warner Bros. Records voiced the consensus on that interview's effect: "I think it made him a sympathetic figure instead of just a total inscrutable weirdo." But even Michael's odd contradictions were part of the act we loved, including the sinckers about his toothless crotch-grabbing. We like to think we're in on the joke. Was this August week just another kind of zipper show-and-tell? His nether regions choreography had already encouraged a close-up on the 50-yard-line at January's Super Bowl. In the "Black or White" video, Michael zipping atop a car he just smashed required its own sound effect.

Reporters listen to Evan Chandler talk on cassette. He explained what the media was still getting their hands around. "It's going to be bigger than all of us put together," he warned. The news "is going to crash down on everybody, and destroy everybody in sight." Another prepared statement drew attention in Las Vegas. Jermaine Jackson wanted to show that "our family has come together in unity and harmony." Missing was sister LaToya. The Jacksons share a "collective, unequivocal belief that Michael has been made a victim." They also want to announce an upcoming reunion concert, the proceeds of which will go to unspecified "children's causes."

Michael leaned on Elizabeth Taylor's shoulders. They made their way through the kitchen of the Raffles Hotel to avoid the throng in front. Inside, there were enough eyewitnesses to see him visibly weak. His physician Dr. David Forecast determined that Michael suffered from "acute vascular migraines." They didn't seem to prevent the daily calls he made to L.A. Michael wanted updates on the transfer of his publishing company to EMI music. This record-breaking deal netted him over $70 million. Over the phone, he sounded "hurt and disturbed by what people have said about him," an adviser testifies. Michael was particularly distraught over "what the press has been doing, all the leaks."