Continuing with the saga of Dr Tohme Tohme, an article appeared in the Associated Press titled “Jackson’s Mysterious Adviser Tohme Opens Up”
It was the first interview Dr Tohme Tohme had granted after Michael’s death and it was conducted in the office of lawyer friend Dennis Hawk in Santa Monica, California.
The article recounts how Tohme and Michael met when Jermaine contacted him to ask if he could help to save Michael’s beloved Neverland ranch from foreclosure.
Tohme said he traveled with Jermaine to meet Michael in Las Vegas, where he had been living after years of wandering the world following his acquittal on child molestation charges.
Tohme asserts that he and Michael bonded instantly. Of their relationship, he says, “For the last year and a half I was the closest person to Michael Jackson”.
Having saved Neverland from foreclosure by striking a deal with Tom Barrack, the chairman of Colony Capital, Tohme consolidated himself as Michael’s business manager/spokesperson and arranged the string of London concerts that sadly never happened.
An interesting point is that during the interview, Tohme’s cell phone rang constantly and one of the few calls he took was from Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Self-effacing, he goes on to say, “I don’t want to talk about me, i’m a nobody. I’m not important. I want to talk about Michael Jackson.”
Discussing Michael’s death, he continues, “It’s unbelievable … I’m devastated … God bless his soul.”
During his time with the Michael, Tohme claims he was paid nothing. He says he abandoned everything in his own life to concentrate his time and effort on Michael’s affairs. The culmination of his efforts being the contract with AEG for concerts at the 02 arena in London.
Being the last in a long line of business managers and spokespeople who had come and gone over the years, Tohme believed he played a pivotal role in securing the future of Michael’s children.
Says the article: “ His negotiations for Jackson included a Broadway show with the Nederlander organization, an animated TV show based on “Thriller,” a line of clothing including “moonwalk shoes,” and more. He said he was working with others to renegotiate the terms of Jackson’s main assets, his share of the Sony-ATV Music Publishing Catalog — which includes music by the Beatles — and the catalog of Mijac, the company that controls Michael Jackson’s own music”.
“I built a fence around Michael to keep people out,” he said, “I was trying to do what we could to maximize his profits and minimize spending. I wanted to find a way to reel in all the loans he had”.
“We had an agreement,” Tohme continued. “I would never interfere with his creative decisions and he wouldn’t interfere with my business decisions.”
“He always said to me, ‘I want people to really know who I am after I’m gone.’”
As for Michael’s health in the months leading up to his death, he said he was convinced that Michael was in perfect health the last time he saw him, which he says was two days before he died. He said Michael kept himself and his children on a healthy diet, never ate red meat, didn’t drink and, as far as he knew, never took drugs.
The article ends with these poignant words: “The day Jackson died, as Tohme rushed to the hospital unsure if his friend was alive or dead, he said he remembered precious moments: Jackson bringing his children to Tohme’s house for Thanksgiving dinner; Jackson and his children singing “Happy Birthday” to Tohme on the phone; the last time he saw Jackson at Staples Center, rehearsing for his big comeback.
And he remembered Jackson’s last words to him that day: “I love you.”
Which is very interesting, when you consider the conversation Michael had with his spiritual adviser in which he expresses a morbid fear of Dr Tohme.
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The spiritual adviser. Now this a lady named June, with the recording of Michael on YouTube. Is this same lady now with Jermaine and the Mom ? Will She be part of the convention ? Woody Allen said it: “any club that would have someone like me as a member, I wouldn’t want to join”
At Kathy,
Dr. Tohme Tohme cannot be trusted at all. He is the man who pushed Michael for those fifty concerts when MJ only wanted to do ten and that was it. Michael was getting his life together, and when he learned that this man took his belongings from Neverland and took them to Julien’s Auction house he fired Tohme not this man’s real name.
I believe Tohme is revengeful and got back at the King of Pop in some way. After all, MJ fired him last May and he comes back in June. I hope Rev. Jesse Jackson becomes prayerful and suspicious of this man I do not trust him. That’s why MJ hired Mr. Leonard Rowe. He trusted Rowe to help him get things together and that’s what Rowe stated on Larry King Live last summer Larry King was supposed to have this man on his show, but he bailed out twice. We never know who he could be taking his orders from. Never know. A former manager Dieter Weisner was concerned about MJ and understood why he was afraid.
Michael worked hard and owned a massive musical catalogue. Being a black man who spoke out about the mistreatment of black artists through the National Action Network, we never know who got made and had him followed, and planned his death.