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Last update - 21:26 20/09/2009
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: Michael Jackson threw his life away
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Tags: Shmuley Boteach, Drugs 

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the renowned U.S. writer and broadcaster, has said that pop superstar Michael Jackson "threw his life away" by taking doses of medication he knew were lethal.

"As far as Michael Jackson is concerned, his death is a terrible tragedy, a terrible loss of life, a terrible waste of human potential," Boteach, a onetime friend of the late superstar, told Haaretz this week. "I'm very sad that he threw away his life, because he did throw away his life."

Boteach, 42, whom Newsweek ranked seventh on its 2009 list of the "Top 50 Rabbis in America," was a friend of Jackson's for several years at the beginning of the decade.
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"Michael knew what he was doing," he said. "He knew that the drugs he was taking - that the amount that he was taking - could kill him at any moment. And many people tried to stop him and discourage him, and it's very, very sad and tragic that he lived with so much pain that he couldn't stop."

The rabbi said he never said Jackson taking drugs; but he added that he speculated that the "King of Pop," who died on June 25 after reportedly having been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam, had in fact been using narcotics.

"With Michael, at times it appeared, he used to bring with him what I believed were unaccredited doctors, doctors who were probably very questionable," he said. "I used to always ask why he brought them with him, he would always find a reason - he fell on his back, he broke his foot - he always needed a doctor. He always had excuses to why doctors were around."

Boteach noted that Jackson's apparent drug use was a factor in the breakdown of their friendship. On Friday, the star's former manager Dieter Wiesner told The Sun, the British Tabloid, that Jackson had put Boteach's name on an "enemy list" he kept.

The rabbi, who is perhaps best known for his bestselling book Kosher Sex, described Jackson's legacy as "very mixed."

"He did good in his life, and he made people happy - and [for] some of whom he was very special - but he may indeed have been guilty of very serious crimes, which no one could excuse, and if he was guilty of those crimes, he deserves to be condemned," Boteach said, referring to child molestation allegations against the pop star.


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      1.   Rabbi Look-at-Me 23:36  |  Stephen 19/09/09
      2.   Jackson had attract SO MANY leeches most will 23:49  |  lydia 19/09/09
      3.   I Call Sour Grapes on Rabbi Shmuley`s Comments 00:26  |  Jillian Searles 20/09/09
      4.   Let The Rabbi Speak on This.......! 00:45  |  BDF 20/09/09
      5.   being a creep 03:11  |  nb 20/09/09
      6.   Only Hashem can judge Michael Jackson 04:05  |  Chaim Ben Kahan 20/09/09
      7.   Rabbi Boteach and Michael Jackson 04:51  |  michael sternfield 20/09/09
      8.   Michael Jackson 09:16  |  Maria 20/09/09
      9.   too late Shmuely 10:37  |  kochmalogue musmach 20/09/09
      10.   M.J. did not commit "serious crimes" 18:21  |  Matt 20/09/09
      11.   Rabbi Shmuley trying to play God 20:21  |  Cookie 20/09/09
      12.   He should know. 20:29  |  Eliezer 20/09/09
      13.   Why did Boteach hang around with Michael Jackson? 21:35  |  Katherine 20/09/09
      14.   Rappa _ What Kind of Rappa or Spiritual advisor are you? 03:25  |  Rosy 22/09/09
      15.   Thank you posters 04:00  |  Rosy 22/09/09
      16.   Shmuley is a liar 04:15  |  Jade 26/09/09
      17.   Rabbi Shmuley 08:33  |  BlingyGirl 26/09/09
      18.   michael jackson 10:38  |  sherry 26/09/09
      19.   michael jackson 10:46  |  sherry 26/09/09
      20.   michael jackson 10:56  |  sherry 26/09/09
      21.   michaeljackson 11:02  |  sherry 26/09/09
      22.   michael jackson 11:08  |  sherry 26/09/09
      23.   michael jackson 11:17  |  sherry 26/09/09
      24.   michael jackson 11:26  |  sherry 26/09/09
      25.   michael jackson/rabbi shmuley 12:04  |  sherry 26/09/09
      26.   Rabbi Shmuley-Michael Jackson 01:59  |  Shelly B. 27/09/09
      27.   Boteach Agenda 17:39  |  SeptSpirit 05/10/09
      28.   Action 18:22  |  SeptSpirit 05/10/09
      29.   Why is anyone surprised at another Madoff surfacing 05:20  |  lydia 21/10/09
      30.   Rabbi Shmueli betraied poor Michael Jackson 00:47  |  Or 01/11/09
      31.   Schmuley the Tell All "Rabbi" - NOT TO BE TRUSTED OR BELIEVED!! 01:15  |  Patricia 04/11/09
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