Big day. Today, the Michael Jackson bio pick drops in cinemas.
Swinging the capital laughs.
Oh, Michael's success because a Jackson family, because the brand.
That's our copper caller, and we need to start selling. So I'm planning an international tour. This is just the beginning. I need to think. I told you what to think.
With the movie dropping in cinemas today, we thought what was he really like? And our next guest can tell us he spent ten close years with Michael Jackson. He's former bodyguard and good friend. Matt Fodesk.
You were Michael Jackson's bodyguard and his close friend, so you know more about Michael Jackson than most people. When a movie like this is being made, do the producers or writers or directors come to you and ask you for information about him?
Have you had any involvement in the film?
No on this this section, because the rumor is there's going to be a part too, So this film takes you drops in nineteen eighty eight, I would have been a primary school then. I do remember doing pe lessons to the Bad Song and stuff like that, not knowing I was going to go and end up being his friend and bodyguard for ten years. But I think in the second part there's going to be some definite questions
and queries and so forth. But every day of michael life is very documented and a lot of people don't realize that.
Whenever he was.
Out and about, he had his own film crew with him. He believed, if life is worth living, it's worth recording. So he journalized his whole life. So everything's the videographer followed him everywhere. It's all archives, so they've got everything.
Really, So tell us about the Michael that you know and remember, because I mean, from the outside looking in, he looked like a complex character. What was it like hanging out with Michael?
Yeah, Michael's not your average guy. He was very super intelligent. I mean he used to read three to five non fiction books per week. He would stay the greats and make them, make them better. He was not the clown or weirdo or whatever the world sees him as. He was the greatest media manipulator I've ever met in my life. And whatever he'd rite at a different city, he would set at the table and get us all together and think, right, how can we make front pages?
What can I do?
And if we went out for dinners, even at friends houses. He would say, I need an hour to become Michael Jackson and go off to the bedroom, put the lipstick on and the sticky taking those and it was all an act.
It was all on me.
O guy behind closed doors was pery jeans and a T shirt, watch TV order, Curry drugs. Just unfortunately the image backfired on him, and in the social media era, the the the image he created when we used to walk out to the fans at the hotels and and go out to public of events, he'd all say to me, Matt, make sure I want my life to be the greatest show on Earth. Wow, yeah, the greatest mystery on Earth.
And we had to play that game for him with him, you know, we used to play bad cop and he put on the high pitched voice and made sure the face mask was on. People wondered what was behind it. He would alter the makeup accordingly. But we had no social media in his era, so he just started to use the email before he died, that was basically about MySpace, but so it was very different. When social media came out,
it backfired on him and people did really understand. Back then, lots of people used image control, like you know, Madonna used to be invent herself all the time, you know, Sorry Prince.
And people like that.
So you're saying there was very much Michael Jackson the human and then Michael Jackson the character, and they were very different people.
He used to I remember driving with his brother, Tito Jackson in California and Tito.
Was complaining to me.
He said, I my little brother Michael is that he lives and breathes being Michael Jackson the performer.
He loved it. He would never switch off.
He literally was working day and night like the song, and even at nighttimes he had a job to sleep, he was recording and every day I used to have a room adjacent to his living room and he used to keep me up all night singing and playing Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. And then he apologized the next day. We go through the same routine and every single day when we're on the road.
But he loved it.
But the Michael Jackson that wasn't the performer was a very kind man and who lived for his children and would do things for charities and stuff. But he would never switch off. He'd always be recording new songs and he wanted to be a movie director. That was his goald in life.
I know with the movie there's a section where they start to tackle the allegations around Michael, and apparently they have to do race shoots on it. You were with him for ten years. Do you remember your feeling when news of allegations around Michael Brooke.
We knew so the nineteen ninety three obviously I would have been at school, but it was mainstream media was massive then, so I was aware of it even at school, and there was always jokes about Wacko Jacko and Michael being into young children and stuff and so forth. So when I got to meet Michael nineteen ninety eight, then I got to know the real guy. Now, if we're talking about the last allegations where he was found not guilty on those all counts, we kind of knew his charge.
Knew it was approaching even before approached. So when we knew that Neverland was being raided and he was going to be accused of child on the station and they're not allowed to release the child's name, we knew exactly who it was going to be because that family was something else that we warned Michael all the time about it, and they were taking advantage he was to give in. They were foreign tangents, they were wrecking Neverland with the
quad bikes and stuff. So and we were feeding this information back to him, and in the end he cut them off and then kind of frets were made and stuff. So we were we were shocked that they went to that length, but we kind of just thought they weren't money. Really, I mean, that's what happened in ninety three. Everyone thinks that Michael was paid that family off. It wasn't Michael Jackson. It was Michael Jackson's insurance company.
Hey, hey, Matt, just in terms of his celebrity, and you acted as his bodyguard for many years, were you ever shocked at how, you know, how people acted around Michael because he was.
The people, says Lauren, Like, I've never seen anything like that.
He was probably at one stage the most popular person on the planet. Like, what was your experience, Like.
It was, Yeah, it was insane. I remember going to a very famous person's wedding once and Michael was best man, and everyone at the wedding were all Hollywood styles, major TV movie Hollywood stars, and at the end of the wedding, ceremary. They all mobbed him for his autograph or picture. We had to we had to lock Michael away in a room. It was like the Superstar of Superstar.
He is the celebrity, celebrity whose wedding.
It was.
I know you guys remember him in Australia. I'm not sure how famous he got there. Guy called Yuri Geller, famous for bend in spoons with a power of mind. He was more like seventies, but one of Michael's best friends. But it's a big time in America and around Europe. But I don't think he ventured out to Australia too much. But yeah, and it was interesting to see that. But everyone was trying to get him, get to him, you know, like Britney Spears would be hanging around and and she
she looked out to him. And we used to have presidents ring us all the time, and he was too busy. He would turn him away, like President Clinton used to call all the time.
And yeah, yeah, literally that happened.
I was in London and the phone went I answered its President Clinton. Can I speak to mister Jackson? And I went into interrupt Michael. Mike was Father's day. I remember very well. Michael was reading a book to his children.
They were in New York.
We were in London on loudspeaker for Father's Day, and I said, President Clinton's on the phone for you, and he said, Matt telling him to I'll call him back, and his father's.
There to his kids.
Yeah.
Is carried on reading the story to Prince and Paris, who were in New York. We're in London, and I told President Clinton that he were calling him back.
How did that go?
He was fine. They were good friends, you know. He was fine, but well, he's busy.
They just bill j popular.
Did he sorry? Did he pay?
Well?
I did it for free. I did it for free. I was in the unusual situation. I've been in a millionaire of my own business by the time in nineteen and I think that's why it works so well, is that there was no financial transactions. It was he opened awes from me. He taught me how to build the biggest martial arts brand, franchise brand in the world, over two thousand locations. He had the biggest merchandise brand in deal with Pepsi Cola where he burnt his sculp and
I did it free. He offered money many times, but I knew he was struggling financially.
I did want the money.
I had over one hundred staff that could help him out, my brother in law, So it was a non transactual.
So you saw it has been good for your brand to be his bodyguard, to show the world what you're.
Know if you think about it, I've got one of the biggest children's organizations in the world. So at times I had people in my ear saying, you're doing the right thing here. You sure this guy is not guilty because you're sticking your neck out for this man as your mate, being seen with him all over the world. But I knew the real Michael, knew what he was like. But yeah, I mean, I won't be talking to you guys now. I being his friend and body got the open doors. But I didn't realize at the time.
But how did the relationship start? How did you reach out? How did you get into that position in the first place.
So I built the biggest martial arts chain in the world, the Mattfest Martial Arts Schools that hit UK international media. But he boy comes millionaire at nineteen. His best friend saw it and Michael was already a black belt and he wanted to meet me. He was interested in my success and my ambition, and he wanted to work towards his second to be black belt. That's what you see some of his dance movies does kick some blocks and
so forth. So his best friend you that I could be trusted with Michael and and we were friends for a year training beforehand before he took over his security operation.
Gosh, he had a fascinating life. I did not know who like. There's so much we do.
Not controversial as well? How do you how do you expect this film to be received? Because because I canceled is a is a word that gets bandied around. I mean, is Michael Jackson still canceled in many respects?
Do you know what? Every day? There's not a day in the UK, I'm very known for me.
Michael Jackson's bodyguarb also every thing out so I get stopped or there's not a day I don't get a DM or questioned about him. He's getting bigger and bigger as the years go by. So I've got friends, we've seen this movie. I was invited to a private screening, but I couldn't make it to a business agreement. It's controversial because they stopping it just before plastic surgeries. The allegations. You know, I'm not an idiot, I know exactly. The
media are going to go wild over this. That is his brand has been whitewashed by the Michael Jackson State who direct this will collaborate this for this movie with Lionsgate Universal, So it's going to be controversial like the Freddie Murcury.
That's just the same people who made the Freddie Murcury movie.
But what it will do is rebrand the Michael Jackson State. You're going to see kids moon walking at school again.
It's going to be which seem to like their MJ musical as well, which just like tickets flew off the shelf.
So that and this is going to jump down and do that, don't.
I don't think you can counsel Michael Jackson. I think he's too big to be counting. It's been proven now and this is just there's been lots of documentaries, negative ones come out in the UK and Ireland about Michael and just no one's watching, no one's listening anymore. It's and for me, I would not hang around a man for ten years, hang around my child.
I got six childs. Hang around my kids.
But you know, and if I thought there was any sighted bit the truth, I was sneaking women into his room.
That was the thing. The trouble you've got.
They've all signed NDA's or no one wants to go with the narrative that man was a womanizer. He was not interested in young boys, but he was brainwashed by Motown. And I hope the movie will cover this, that you cannot be shown to be married. When Tito got married, the first Jackson be married, Michael was crying, so he
thought it was the end of his career. At the end of the Jackson's he used to tell me this, So towards the end of his life, he was gonna He tried to make a documentary about his love life, but Mianbushier screwed him up, and that was supposed to cleanse his whole image and show the real him talk about his relationship. I still speak to some of his girlfriends that he had to this day. We're still in contact. But no one wasted.
Hey, just quickly, can you just take us behind the curtain at Neverland? Like that place fascinated me where he leaved, what went on there, like was it as kookie as it seemed. Did he really he had a monkey or Bubbles? Didn't he at one point?
Yeah, that was before he had many monkeys, but that was before my my era. Bubbles had to go to a zoo because when they become like teenage age, they they get abusive, so he had to go to zoo.
He's in Miami right now.
I'm still alive.
Yeah four yeah, yeah, here he comes. Yeah.
He Documentaries made about him all the time and people try and visit him. He's an animal sanctuary being looked after by the Jackson Estate in Florida.
But the whole place to look like a playground.
It's like a playground, but once you left a few days, you go crazy. I mean you go mad. It's this like the music that you go to. So if you guys over been to euro Disney or disney Land, but the music's playing all the time in years and when you're there, you never see Michael, who was like a
running joke. You never seen Michael never Land because he just kept himself to hisself off in his room, in his quarters, and very rarely would he come out because the security would have to follow him around because people would parachute in to try and get to meet him.
So even in his own privacy of his home, he didn't have.
What was the what was the craziest fan interaction, like someone that had gone to an extreme level to get to him.
So many I mean would find fans underneath his bed. They would hide in the trolleys for room service, So so we'd have to check the trolleys before we go into the hotel rooms. Parachuting in to Netherland was a very common one where am I and they did. The security would run the quick MIKEL would run to the panic room. And that's the room the media like to say,
is the sex chamber room off his bedroom. Yeah, that was built before he bought Neverland, and so he would go there until head of security at Nevland said it would save for him to come out.
So was he like he was so oh famous? Was he scared about his popularity?
Was he scared someone was going to hurt him?
Towards the end, he was terrified.
But before before the allegations, no, but after two thousand and five things changed.
When we would go around people with shout abusive.
Comments to him to try and we would hear him being shouted. People called him a pedophile, you know, which we never got that before the trial.
Matt, what was your last interaction with Michael.
I spoke to him two nights before he died.
He called me. He was panicking. He was asking for Joseph. He called his dad, Joseph. He wanted to know if I knew where Joseph was he was. I told him I did. I gave him Joseph's number. His dad he was in Vegas. Michael was in rehearsals at the time, and I could tell Michael was not good and he was on some kind of substance. He told me he was on effort room, which the doctor gave him, which kind of reassured me a little bit, which is not
uncommon for dancers to take. But he told me, you know, I won't swear the word he you because it's on Nash Radio. But he told me, my dad is Joseph is the only person who can sort this beep out the situation, and they're working me to death. I can't go on like this. And he spoke to my children, and he spoke to my wife at the time, and that's the last I heard. Then he left a message
on Joseph Jackson's ass the phone machine. Unfortunately, jose didn't pick it up until after Michael passed away on the Thursday morning.
Wow, well, mate, look what. I can't thank you enough for an insight you've given us this morning. I'm sure no doubt the movie will be hard for you to watch, but we really appreciate your time.
Mate, Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.
It's been nice to hear a very different side of the man we thought we knew.
Yeah, and I hope they take a part two past nineteen eighty eight.
Yeah, I agree.
I think the fans are going to be disappointed because they're gonna want to see the real guy. They've seen the performer. They're gonna want to see the loneliness of sadness. But let's see, let's see what happens. Is everything Michael does as controversial, but I think this will be the biggest movie of all time.
That's my prediction.
Wow, there go.
Jas and Lauren.
Lauren wake up feeling good. Follow them on the socials.
So h