20 February 2016
Newsdesk
Jermaine Jackson has attacked presidential hopeful Donald Trump for claiming his late brother Michael's talents were wrecked by botched plastic surgery.
During CNN's Town Hall with Anderson Cooper on Thursday night (18Feb16), Trump opened up about his friendship with the King of Pop, telling the newsman he knew "the real story" behind Jackson's fall from grace.
Recalling the time Jackson lived at the Trump Tower in New York, the billionaire said, "He was an unbelievably talented guy... He lost tremendous confidence because of, honestly, bad-bad-bad surgery. He had the worst.
"He had people that did numbers on him that were just unbelievable... He was an unbelievable talent who actually lost his confidence. Believe it or not, when you lose your confidence in something, you can even lose your talent."
But his recollections did not sit well with members of the Jackson family and on Friday (19Feb16), Michael's brother Jermaine told TMZ.com the property tycoon was out of line to use his friendship with his late sibling to win votes.
"Name-dropping Michael don't make you cool and won't win you votes, especially when using botched facts," Jermaine told the outlet.
The Jackson brother went on to insist the late musical icon's confidence wasn't affected by surgery of any kind, adding, "Michael's confidence was affected by the pressures, injustice and vitriol of external circumstances. Period."
It has never been a secret that Michael Jackson and Trump were close - the pop superstar even spent his honeymoon at the businessman's exclusive Palm Beach, Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after exchanging vows with Lisa Marie Presley in 1994.
