I killed Michael Jackson

Unless you lived under a rock or an abandoned missile silo for the past 12 years, most of us are aware that the king of Pop Michael Jackson died at age 50 in 2009. However, I had a small part in reporting his death ten years before his untimely demise.

The year was 1997, and I worked as a tabloid photographer covering celebrities in my home state of Hawaii. Today was the big day when Michael Jackson was arriving at Honolulu Airport for the last leg of his HiStory Tour. Security was tight, and the weather was great. Police kept fans and the media behind a fence. In one area behind the fence, a large party of Michael Jackson lookalikes had gathered. Next to them, you could see fans holding signs mixed in with parents who looked excited to be a part of this too. In my section, we had a mix of reporters, photographers, and hula dancers. After a quick check on my cameras, I noticed I packed the wrong zoom lens and needed to get closer. I overheard a group of hula dancers talking to security about staging next to the jet after it's parked and doing a quick hula show. I walked up to two dancers and made up a story that I was to go in with them to get photos of the performance, and we all walked in together. On the inside, I quickly looked for a few tall dancers and hid behind them. A large jet with Kingdom entertainment on its fuselage taxied towards us as we waited near the tarmac. When the plane parked and the door opened, a tall Middle Eastern guy in a custom-fit suit walked out with a T. V. Cameraman, and they both stood outside the jet. A lady with a clipboard in hand approached the dancers and asked the group to get closer to the plane. Another group of people walked next to us with flower leis. "You will greet Mr. Jackson first said the clipboard lady, and then the dancers would perform one song in this area, don't pass this line next to the jet."

As Michael Jackson walked out, fans greeted him with a roaring cheer. Michael Jackson walked next to the dancers and received a few Hawaiian leis, and I started to shoot photos as the dancers did a quick hula show.

As I got closer to Michael Jackson, I felt a tap on my shoulder and a voice ordering me to move back. It was one of Jackson's bodyguards. I quickly pulled back behind the dancers to grab a few wide shots.

I noticed five large black SUVs pulled to the side of the jet, and I knew that was where the King of Pop would be next and needed to get near his ride. As he walked towards the SUVs, I was in the right spot and got a nice head-to-toe image of him draped in Hawaiian leis. I ended up with some fantastic shots that day. I called a few different editors to plug and sell my photos. One editor requested some big story to go with my photos. I told her, well, hopefully, he won't die in Hawaii and went on to explain how he was signing autographs with the year 1998 next to it because he had a premonition that he would die before or at age 40. Many months later, this editor ran my photo of MJ with the headline "Jacko Dead at 40" as part of a Hollywood rumors section. I was shocked that they ran the story and told myself, I need to check what I say to editors because I just killed off Michael Jackson.