Bashir Pulls Out Of Brit Awards After Threats

The Sun reports Martin Bashir has pulled out of the Brit Awards after receiving death threats from angry Michael Jackson fans and warnings from *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake to stay away from him backstage at the show. Timberlake told organizers, “That guy is despicable. He had better keep out of my way. Michael is a really nice guy who looks at the world through the eyes of a child.” A source at the Brits added, “Jackson fans are very passionate and he was worried he could have been targeted as he walked up the red carpet. He also felt he would be vulnerable when he left Earls Court. As well as all the fans, it’s clear his program has angered some of the performers at the Brits. He wouldn’t want to bump into an angry Justin.” Read more.

Debbie Says Jacko Had ‘Death Grip’ On Dangling Baby

February 20, 2003 - In Entertainment Tonight’s final preview of tonight’s Fox special, ‘The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant To See’, ex-wife Debbie Rowe weighs in on the baby dangling incident. “I thought, ‘Oh wow, look, there’s the new baby,'” she said. “He had a death grip on that child. That child wasn’t going anywhere except right back in the room with him.”

Bashir Left A Lot On The Cutting Room Floor

February 20, 2003 - Maury Povich tells the New York Post he had no agenda going into the Fox special ‘The Michael Jackson Footage: The Interview You Were Never Meant to See’, and still doesn’t. “I came out of it with no strong attitudes about Michael as a person or about his behavior,” he said. “All I can tell you is that there was a lot of the Bashir interview left on the [cutting-room] floor… And I don’t think Mr. Bashir is going to be happy with these two hours.”