Grace Rwaramba, the 42 year-old woman who spent five years as Michael Jackson’s secretary and then 12 year’s as his children’s nanny was probably the closest person Michael Jackson had and he often trusted her with his life.
Grace, in her first interview ever, breaks her silence and reveals how Michael lived in a friend’s basement like a rat for weeks on because he was broke, how his children were often neglected and at times afraid of him…how he preferred to spend thousands of dollars in benefactor money in antiques and posh hotels at a time when his children didn’t have a home or even a tutor to give them basic elementary education…how she often pumped his stomach after an overdose of drugs.
Uganda-born Grace revealed she fled America to join British TV interviewer Daphne Barak at her Swiss holiday home after she was abruptly sacked by ailing Jackson just two months ago. And on Thursday she screamed with shock as she learned of his death.
Grace told Daphne: “I took these babies in my arms on the first day of each of their lives. They are my babies.”
Grace claims she was sacked by Jackson because she was getting too close to the children but had fully expected to be reinstated soon.
She said he routinely fired her then begged her to return as he was unable to look after himself never mind the three children.
She told Daphne: “These poor babies. . . I was getting phone calls that they were being neglected. Nobody was cleaning the rooms because Michael didn’t pay the housekeeper.
“I was getting calls telling me Michael was in such a bad shape. He wasn’t clean. He hadn’t shaved. He wasn’t eating well. I used to do all this for him and they were trying to get me to go back.”
Grace claimed that while she gave the children a loving and stable influence they had a cold, uneasy and sterile relationship with their oddball father, with whom she was at the centre of marriage rumours in 2006. She said: “I used to hug and laugh with them. But when Michael was around they froze. I really miss Blanket. He makes me laugh. Only recently, he decided to do a concert for me. He was so cute, singing Billy Jean and other songs by his father.
“I was laughing so hard. Prince and Paris were playing around. It was such a happy moment. Then suddenly Michael walked in and the kids just looked frightened. Michael was so angry.”
As for the masks Jacko made the kids wear in public, Grace revealed: “They didn’t like them. It wasn’t my idea. I hated it as well. So whenever I had a chance I misplaced the masks or ‘forgot’ to pack them.
“Michael always got angry. But what was most shocking to me is that the children don’t even have a teacher. They can’t play with other children and don’t have a teacher to help them learn about the world.”
Grace also said Jackson had permitted the Nation of Islam to exert an influence over him and his children.
She said: “He allowed this woman from the Nation of Islam… she was so cold and didn’t know how to hold them or how to hug them.”
Last night Jacko’s close pal Deepak Chopra confirmed: “The kids love Grace and kids called her mum. And she was the only person that told Michael the truth about his life.”
Grace also revealed to Barak how Jackson had overdosed on drugs before.
She had to step in quickly to save his life. Jacko was taking a deadly daily drug cocktail including up to three powerful narcotic pain relievers, including the potent Demerol.
Grace said: “I had to pump Michael’s stomach out many times.”
The nanny told how the 2005 child abuse case left Jackson with so little money he relied entirely on handouts and cash loans from friends.
Astonishingly she told Barak, who had recorded a series of TV inteviews with her, that even when he DID get money he preferred to blow it staying in strings of posh hotels rather than providing a stable home.
She said: “The truth is Michael didn’t have money. One day out of the blue he received some cash but instead of buying a house somewhere so we didn’t have to keep moving from one hotel to another or stay with friends, he told me, ‘Go to Florence and buy antiques.’
“He asked me to spend £600,000. But we didn’t even have a home so we had to put them all into storage.”
Grace told how Jacko had so little understanding of financial matters that cash had to be paid into HER bank account, then drawn out and given to him like pocket money.
She said that after the 2005 child abuse case he was left skint and his brother Jermaine “connected him” to Sheikh Abdullah, son of the mega-wealthy King of Bahrain.
She said Abdullah “sponsored” Jackson – paying for lawyers and other huge expenses – because he thought the singer was going to create a charity and make a CD with him.
Grace said that after Abdullah later sued Jacko, the singer at first denied ever getting money from him.
But she added: “Michael just did not have a clue about have money.
“The Nation of Islam was telling him that the house we had in Los Angeles, after Neverland was sold, cost £60,750 a month.
“But I checked with many real estate agencies. To rent this house should not have cost more than £12,000-15,000.
“And once he got a £600,000 offer to make an appearance in Japan. But there were a lot of different business parties involved and I warned him that by the time everyone took their cut he would end up with a very small amount. He didn’t want to hear. He flew to Japan and got £121,500.
“Then he got a second proposal to go to Japan and this time there was only £121,500 on the table.
“He went and then decided on the spur of the moment to attend the birthday party of the son of Sultan of Brunei. He spent all the money from Japan staying in a big expensive hotel.”
Grace revealed how, shortly before his death, Jackson was forced to bed down in the New Jersey basement of one of his former employees.
“We were running out of friends,” said Grace. “But we suddenly showed up at the home of Frank Tyson. Now Frank’s family isn’t rich. They have a small house. But we stayed there for weeks. I felt so bad.”
Grace also feared the pressure of his forthcoming London O2 comeback tour had taken its toll on Jackson.
She believed he was in such a state that he did not even REALISE he had signed up for 50 dates.
The tour had been eagerly awaited as the King of Pop had not set foot on stage since a disastrous appearance at the World Music Awards in 2006, when he managed to sing only two lines of We Are The World.
Grace said: “Fifty performances! I said, ‘What are you doing?’ He said ‘I signed only for 10′. He didn’t know what he was signing. He never did.”
what a moron…
I meant Jackson in case there are any doubts…
You couldn’t write down a complete thought, what a moron. Yes I meant you !!
MJ was stupid … for trusting people, bunch of back stabbing, money grabbing, two faced, self obbsessed low lives who crawl out of the woodwork to use a guy who although talented was lonely and just wanted love, can anyone name the photographer to took the last pic of MJ reciving medical treatment? so fans know who to hunt down !
This is all speculation by the media! Grace Rwanda hasn’t appeared publicly so far. No one has confirmed that Diprivan was found, at M.J. house. People closest to Michel Jackson (Miko Brando- and Jermaine Jackson) are denying any speculation. This means nothing without a toxicology report or tissue sample.
Michael Jackson’’s children know about all this speculation. The idea that they don’t watch the news, wont do any good. The rest of the world watches it, & they are involved, that’s going to be very damaging.
Well hes dead now so who are you going to pick on next his babies. You guys are cowards all of you.
its so sad that he had no idea about these things. he was brought up in a bubble and was never taught them; by the point in his life where he had the time to be able to do these things he was too far gone…………mentally. The poor guy never had a chance; yes he made lots of mistakes but who is perfect?
The only thing that matters now is that his kids get the money from his now legendary sales of merchandise; and that they get the protection of their welfare and best interests which MJ never got from his family ( parents more so ).
His life was a circus, but this is one show that must not go-on to affect more lives.
shes aback stabbing c**t and i don’t believe a word of it
That nanny was also part of the Nation of Islam evildoers. They paid for an apartment for her and gave her cash they stole from MJ. She’s a bonafide liar when she states the kids were afraid of her and not educated. He paid for University oif California professors to tutor the kids and he, himself was quite knowledgable in the arts and history.
Yeah back stabbing is right.. Its so sad for those little kids.
I’m so sad about the future of Michael Jackson childrens.If it’s real they were not well educated by their father,who will take care of them know that he is dead?
Well hopefully the nanny won’t get his kids or his money. I think that is what she is after. Scary and i’m sure they were educated. She is a liar.
well fame fortune riches then you die in shame broke and alone a story that happens to people all the time ******* shame poor dude!!
I believe every word because if you look at all of his financial business lawsuits and they are really, really bad and no he didn’t know what he was signing and/or didn’t care. He owed many people lots of money and breached many serious contracts over the years.
All you have to do is a Yahoo search for Michael Jackson’s lawsuits and settlements.. He would settle out of court if he could or just ignore the suits as if they didn’t exist. These were people he worked with AKA Producers/Directors, Video Actress (Ola) from “Thriller”, Publicist, Financial institutions such as Bank of AMERICA and more.
Finally the courts would tell him he HAD to come to court….Get the UGLY picture yet??
He also owed approx.100,000$ for a massive pharmacuetical bill for one year only.That comes out to approx. $10,000 a month for drugs!!!!
And if you look hard at 2 of his family members and how they ACT in front of the camera’s yesterday at the BET awards, Joe says the “he is GREAT,just GREAT and his family is FINE, just FINE”, he told Don Lemon of CNN at the awards ahow lastnight!!!
Listen up people, if they are truly in mourning than why is he ” GREAT “?? BEACUSE they know what a weirdo MJ turned out to be and they know he was VERY mentally ill , a pedophile and wanted to turn white. Notice he never married any black women?
Also, he “stole” his children from their birth mother’s so he could “own them” all to himself. He cruely convinced them to take the money and they ran because they knew they couldn’t fight him “The King of Pop” and his crooked cronies that would do whatever he said…just like his crappy doctor that wasn’t even a BOARD CERTIFIED PHYSICIAN!!
In the medical society if you don’t hold that certification than that is a RED FLAG warning not to go to that DOCTOR!!
Also, Janet was at the awards show lastnight and she acted her way through her performance speech about MJ. Not one tear was shed by her or her brother Jermaine or their Father Joe, in the publics eye.
Wouldn’t you be tearing up if it was your brother/son? He just died a few days ago!!!
I think they are all wicked and that is why MJ was so LONELY as he stated many times in his past.
I have been watching this cooky family since I was a child and I am 44 now!!!!
I felt so sorry for MJ and how is father beat him and wouldn’t let him just be a boy and go play sometimes. He made him work all the time. MJ has shown his disgust for his so called Father on many occasions in interviews.
See the OPRAH interview from years past yet?
He wrote his songs and some are very telling of how he actually felt…as stated by him.
He spent his days lonely as hell and barely ate, popping handfull of pills and was accused of sexually molesting young boys that he had travel with him as well…He bought them expensive gifts and kept the sisters/girls away from his bedroom…just the boys were allowed in over night in his bed..Read the transcripts from the trial he was acquitted from. He gave them “Jesus Juice”=wine.
YES one guard has spoken out about MJ’s demand for his Vaseline from his vehicle console be brought up to him in his bedroom. As he opened the door MJ was all sweaty and looked sexually aroused and the boy was also seen in there w/ him. That poor kid suffered by MJ’s actions and he even had to go to alcohol counseling! This is why the mother of the child took him to court. they never asked for any money…Mind you, that was the first sexual accusational case in which MJ gave them an out of court settlement of approx. 20million $$…SICK!!
LITEN UP, YOU DON”T GIVE SOMEONE 20 MILL$ IF YOUR INNOCENT! He BOUGHT THE 1st BOY OFF, just as he did to the birth mother’s of his children. He USED PEOPLE ALL HIS LIFE!
He ripped people off constantly as well.
I feel he was so narcasistic and childlike because he wasn’t raised right and his father broke his soul.
God Bless His Soul…..
YES I LOVE HIS MUSIC. I grew up idolizing this man…until the last 15 years when he went crazy like and extremely strange. He lost almost all of his so called close friends from his wacky behaviour/antics/perversions…
VERY VERY VERY SAD, and tragically so for all the people involved w/ him.
Annie who is the nut here? No one really knows anything but Michael. Can anyone just remember him for his music? I think you should all stop bad mouthing a man who made music what it is today. Not saying if he has done a wrong it is O.K. Thanks Michael for everything you have given to music including your life.
Well Annie? that is your name I assume, everyone is entitled to its own opinion. Right! So I ask you do you have any regrets from your life, ever made any mistakes? I imagine that some of what you wrote about him in how he was hurt and broken is somehow close to being true, his life was not easy, to go through all he did & be hole is impossible those who live in the entertainment.. world are prisoners of that world always being pushed and surrounded into having to make wrong choices, based on what you wrote you must have lived & been very close to him for it seems you know him so well. Yet there’s no mention of the way he saved many children life’s visiting hospital handing out gifts. or how he dedicated most of his life to entertain others. God forgives & redeems us when we die.I believed in him, loved him & don’t judge him. who are you to do that God!!….