Was Michael Jackson loyal to bill bray?
One View:
Yes, My family knew Billy Bray, and his sister, Mildred,and
brother Guy for over 40 years. When we ran into Bray in Los Angeles
he always spoke very highly of Michael Jackson. He told me how
smart Michael Jackson is,etc because Michael always seemed very shy
so people had misconceptions of him. When anyone has a good career
working for someone like MJ, its up to them to save their money so
when they retire they can live comfortable. Michael Jackson paid
for some of Bill bray's medical expenses until he died. It might
have been tough for Michael to visit him due to his own problems
that He was dealing with.
After Bray stopped working for MJ it was told that they had a
falling out and they never saw each other again. I never asked, or
heard anything from Bray's family I just assumed that Bray Retired.
Billy Bray was very loyal to MR Jackson I do know that. MJ was a
super,great talent.But MJ made some poor self distructive choices
by travelling to Monte Carlo with young boy J. Chandler. After
paying the Chandler family Milllions of $$$$$$$ He should have
stopped having the sleep overs with Boys. Michael did have a
prescription drug problem and the last trial took its toll on him.
I don't believe that he was guilty of any wrong doing and glad that
he was aqquitted. Mj had to feel terrible after the Bashir
interview which MJ seemed under the influence of medication,and
many believe was set up by inside enablers to MJ.For MJ to say what
he did about the sleep overs with Young boys he had to be under
something. I don't think Mj recovered from the Trial, Money
troubles,etc. Their were people around him who took advantage. and
there were alot of people banking on the fact that he would be
worth more dead then alive. FOLLOW THE MONEY! All these people
didn't care about MJ. From AEG,Kenny Ortega/Travis Payne who knew
he was not up to the shows in London. He agreed to 10 shows but
because the shows sold out they added 40 more shows. On their
website for the MJ 02 London shows they are still trying to sell MJ
merchadise. And these so called MJ tribute shows are just so they
can recoup their money. Look what happen to Brittney Spears. Her
handlers were keeping her on drugs and distant from her family
until her family stepped in and did something in court to save her.
Michael Jackson cared, and gave so much, and he has fans around the
world. I hope he's a angel in heaven and knows that he is truly
loved.
Another View:
Just to add on to the above answer -- it's widely been reported
that Bill Bray and Michael had a "falling out" -- the subject of
which has remained a mystery - in the mid 90s, and that Michael
never saw Bill again. It seems to be true that they never saw each
other for the last decade fo Bill's life (from 1995 - 2005), but
the exact reason why is unclear. Some theorize that Bray may have
had a confrontation with Jackson over the 1993 molestation charge
(during which time he stood by Michael) or over MJ's drug use
during that time. Michael did have a reputation for dropping people
suddenly from his life - even loyal people who'd worked with him
for years. He did it to his longtime manager Frank Dileo, he did it
to his longtime lawyer John Branca, and he did it to his longtime
publicist Bob Jones. MJ only recently re-hired Dileo and Branca a
few years before his death. In all of these cases, the men received
no explanation - only a written notice of dismissal that was not
even delivered to them by MJ.
The theory seems to be that if Bill Bray suggested to Michael
that he might need more help for his drug use or he'd be better off
not inviting more boys to sleepover at Neverland after the Chandler
suit was settled, that it's possible MJ took such offense that he
got rid of Bill abruptly just like he did some of the others. In
the last decade of his life especially, MJ liked to surround
himself with "YES" people, so anyone who might have tried to tell
him "NO" (like Bray possibly did for Michael's own protection)
would be out on their ear.
From all accounts, Bill Bray did remain on Michael's payroll for
the remainder of his life, even though Michael never contacted him.
Some might consider that "loyalty" I guess, but what Bill really
wanted (apparently) was to just see Michael one more time. Bray
never spoke one negative word about Michael in the press, he never
wrote a book about his 25 years with Michael, and until the day he
died he maintained that he "didn't want to say anything that might
hurt Mike." It's pretty clear that Bill Bray loved Michael like a
son. He knew him since he was 11 or 12 and often literally carried
little Michael offstage away from screaming fans.
I guess it's important to remember that Bill was around 70 when
he stopped working for Michael, so it's certainly possible that he
just decided to retire, as 70 is pretty old to be working in the
kind of security capacity that you'd need to be with Michael
Jackson. Still, a simple retirement would not explain why the two
of them never saw each other ever again after all those years
together.
Michael did issue a public statement when Bray died in 2005
saying that he was saddened by the death and that Bill would always
have a special place in his heart. Sources behind the scenes said
that when told of Bray's death, Michael became "hysterical". This
seems a bit strange since Bray was in declining health for years
and Michael MUST have known about it. Maybe the guilt that he never
tried to contact Bray just overwhelmed Michael in that moment?
With both Bill Bray AND Michael now gone, it's possible that
someone in the know will put out the real story of what happened
between them. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Going back to the original question, I'd say that Bill Bray was
extremely loyal to Michael (maybe THE most loyal person Michael
EVER had in his life besides his mother), but that Michael could
have done better by Bill in the end.
