Michael Jackson, the unreleased charity single and the gay porn producer
New Times LA has a long feature article about the Michael Jackson charity single/gay porn producer debacle. (Jul 2002)
The LA Times untangles the mysterious non-release of Michael Jackson's 9/11 celebrity charity single, entitled "What More Can I Give?" (Registration required, or try this alternate URL which doesn't require registration.) Jackson's main collaborator on the project was a little-known personal friend named Marc Schaffel, who did most of the legwork lining up participants and recording vocals around the country.
The singer's handlers were as bewildered as everyone else--so much so that they set out to learn more about Schaffel. What they discovered would trigger a major damage-control effort and bring a halt to a project that some of the country's top performers had hoped would help the grieving families. Schaffel, it turned out, was in the gay pornography business--and Jackson's people did not want him linked to the self-described King of Pop, whose legacy already was tarnished by allegations of sexual molestation in 1993.
Given the high stakes for Jackson--and the high visibility of the charity project--his aides quietly asked Sony Music Entertainment Inc. to bury the single, according to documents obtained by The Times and interviews with those familiar with the deal. The record suffered yet another setback when McDonald's backed out of a multimillion-dollar proposal to sell it at its franchises, fearing fallout from customers who would be unhappy with the chain's association with Jackson, sources said. [...]
Among the key players, only Schaffel is talking. And he says he feels wronged. "I believe this charity single could still generate lots of money to help those in need," said Schaffel, who has produced and directed dozens of gay pornographic videos. "Why shouldn't it come out? Because of something I did in the past? I mean, this is an industry in which rock stars date porno queens. Adult film doesn't have the same stigma it used to. So really, what's their excuse?" (Jul 2002)
