New York Post

Jacko icon and ‘con’

- Richard Johnson rjohnson@nypost.com @HeadlineJo­hnson

MUSIC video producer Rudi

Dolezal, who worked with Michael Jackson for many years, believes the two sex-abuse accusers featured in the documentar­y “Leaving Neverland,” and he understand­s why they initially defended Jackson.

Dolezal, who first met Jackson when he filmed the “Dangerous” tour in Munich in 1992, told me, “I believe almost every word. It’s brilliant work.”

The two accusers first denied they’d been molested, because they may have feared attacks by Jackson’s rabid fans, who could deem them money-grubbing liars.

“Nobody would stop Michael,” Dolezal said. “It’s hard to believe an icon is a con.”

A producer of 1,000 mu- sic videos, 500 documentar­ies and 500 concert films, Dolezal said he was shocked when the late Joe Jackson matter-of-factly explained how he trained Michael to be quicker with his dance steps. “He put the 4-year-old on a hot stovetop barefoot,” Dolezal said. “The way he told it, he was not regretting it. I felt really sorry for Michael.” Michael went overboard on plastic surgery when he realized he was starting to look like his dad, Dolezal said. “He hated his father.” Jackson would only agree to be on camera on days when he was performing. When Dolezal asked Jackson’s handlers why he couldn’t film other times, Dolezal was told, “On those days, he doesn’t have a nose.”

So much cartilage had been removed, Jackson’s nose had collapsed, Dolezal said. “He needed a plastic nose that took hours to put on with putty and makeup.”

Dolezal — who is writing a book, “My Friend Freddie,” about Freddie Mercury — calls Jackson “a predator” and said, “If the Michael Jackson legend is destroyed by this, the person responsibl­e is Michael Jackson — no one else.”

 ??  ?? Rudi Dolezal: Worked with Michael Jackson and believes accusers.
Rudi Dolezal: Worked with Michael Jackson and believes accusers.
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