![]() How Jackson and Omer’s paths crossed was fortuitous for both of them. Was Omer a no show because the lure of the chance of seeing his idol was stronger than his desire to perform at an out of the way retail centre? According to Helgeton, Omer never showed up for the appearance. At the time he was visiting Tunis, Omer had been scheduled to appear at a shopping center in Arendal, a small town three and a half hours south west of his home in the southern suburbs of Oslo. Like many of Jackson’s other special friends, Omer had been imitating Jackson’s dance moves from an early age and was noticed by music act manager Tor Helgeton as a “tot” in his native Norway. Helgeton organized for Omer to appear at shopping centres and festivals around the country, and he even appeared on Norwegian television stations NRK and TV3 dancing like his idol. However the main aim of Omer would have been to catch a glimpse of his idol, Michael Jackson. The family traveled from their home in Oslo to Tunis to visit Omer’s uncle Hjalmar Vinje, who was living there at the time. Omer Bhatti, the son of Humayoun, originally from Pakistan who was then 41, and Helga, a native of Norway who was then 42, (they later changed their names), was a short for his age 12 year old who loved everything Jackson – the music, the dancing, and especially the man. Michael Jackson with some young Tunisian friends. Here was a man who was soon to have a lot of new responsibilities and, I would have thought, not much time for new relationships. ![]() He had divorced Lisa Marie Presley a few months earlier, and Deborah Rowe, his soon to be second wife, was pregnant with their first son Prince. He had now moved on to perform his first ever concert in Africa as a solo artist, in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. Jackson was in the midst of the HIStory World Tour and had already performed concerts in Eastern Europe, Spain and the Netherlands. Our story begins (if you don’t count Jackson’s previous obsessions with young boys) in October 1996. Was Jackson’s relationship with Omer (and you will find out how intimate their relationship was when you read further) a result of arrogance, naïveté or compulsion? Nothing creepy here. And Michael embraced that message.īut had Jackson embraced that message? That is what makes this story fascinating. You’re supposed to be inspiring their parents to prioritize them. You’re not supposed to be building these hospitals and reading them bedtime stories. But I also said to him, you’re not the children’s messiah. Certainly, Jackson’s advisers and lawyers would have made clear that the consequences of entering into a relationship with any child at the same level as the ones he had previously would have been dire.Įven Jackson’s spiritual adviser, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, told Jackson he should not be friends with children.Īfter the 1993 allegations, Michael could no longer work with kids. Like a child bitten by a dog, someone innocently involved with children would have ensured they wouldn’t get into a situation where they may be bitten again. To any observer, it would make sense that a man with the street smarts of Jackson (remembering he had not only survived, but thrived, in the cut throat music business for thirty years), would take great pains to ensure his interactions with children from that point forward were fully accountable and transparent so as to avoid a repeat of the extreme pain that those previous relationships had caused. ![]() His health, reputation and fortune were compromised by, if you were to believe him, totally innocent relationships with young boys. He had been accused of child molestation, been forced into a humiliating strip search where his genitals were photographed, and eventually had to pay multi millions of dollars to two families so that they wouldn’t force him into a civil court where they could “tell lies” exposing his alleged sordid behavior with their sons. Here was a man who had, according to his own statements, suffered greatly as a result of his close relationships with boys. Where was he from? How close was he to Jackson? How did they meet? How often, how many times and and for how long did he visit Neverland? I didn’t really know the answers to these questions, so I decided to do some research and find out what I could about Omer and his relationship with Jackson. While I had heard his name in connection with Michael Jackson, I never really knew that much about him.
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