Silke Jasso
Broke Shields is opening up about her friendship with the late Michael Jackson, addressing claims made in 1993 saying they were dating, despite her being with Dean Cain at that time. The model spoke ahead of her two-part documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, which is set to be released on April 3 on Hulu. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Shields recalled the singer telling Oprah Winfrey on TV that she was his girlfriend.
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“I called him up and I think I said, ‘This is kind of pathetic that you need to do this. I am having a shot at normal life – you cannot drag me into crazy town’,” she stated. In response apparently, the singer laughed off Shield’s reaction to his claims.
When asked if they ever dated or kissed, she stated, “No! There was one moment when we were in the car and the cameras were there and he grabbed me to kiss me, and I said, ‘No! Stop! We are just friends and you need me as a friend.”
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“I remember the early days when other actresses were after him and he was kind of cute, before the shift. But it never ever crossed my mind,” she continued.
Jackson and Shields first became friends in 1981 when he was 20 and she was 13th, and they would attend award shows as each other’s dates regularly. “He was so famous and I was so famous, and we could laugh at everybody, like little kids,” she stated.
Between 1993 to 2005, Jackson faced several allegations of child sexual abuse and molestation. In 2005, he faced trial and was charged with 10 criminal counts, including abduction, false imprisonment, child molestation, and extortion. However, he was ultimately found not guilty. He passed away at the age of 50 in 2009.
As far as what she thought about the allegations, Shields stated she didn’t know “how to think about it” since “it was so hard to believe.”
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“I wish I knew the truth. Then I could figure out how to structure the narrative in my head. But I’m as shocked as I think the world is,” she noted.
Shields attended Jackson’s public memorial service held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and delivered a eulogy, where she described their connection as “the most effortless and genuine of friendships.” Shields is currently married to filmmaker Christ Henchy, and the two have two children together, Rowan Francis Henchy, 19, and Grier Hammond Henchy, 16.
