Speaking through White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, President Barack Obama yesterday extended his condolences "to the Jackson family and fans that mourn [MJ's] loss." Gibbs added that Obama "said to me that obviously Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer, a music icon. But the president also said he had aspects of his life that were sad and tragic."
If Obama was terse, the bombastic Deepak was magniloquent, loquacious, verbose, and voluble in a circumlocutory, effusive and even ebullient 1,022-word tribute on BeliefNet.com, in which he said he had a "sinking feeling" that drugs contributed to the singer's demise.
Deepak, who said MJ left him an "upbeat" voicemail just two days before his death, said he knew the singer's pain: "His mixture of mystery, isolation, indulgence, overwhelming global fame, and personal loneliness was intimately known to me."
An emotional Labelle says, "I can barely speak because I'm so heartbroken. I feel like I've lost a piece of my heart. Michael was a true treasure and there will never be another like him."
Philly Sound pioneers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who recorded a string of singles by the Jacksons, including "Man of War" and "Find Me a Girl," said, "Michael was a great and wonderful artist and performer. We were privileged and honored to record him and his brothers."
Donny Osmond, who had known MJ since they were both 13, tells celeb TV show The Insider that he and MJ planned to collaborate on a recording of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" in 2005, but were sidetracked by MJ's child molestation trial.
Publishing magnate Linda Johnson Rice, whose father, John H. Johnson, founded Jet and Ebony mags, said her family "served as one of [MJ's] closest advisers and friends," adding, "we always had a fabulous time together, and I will always cherish those memories."
