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From The Times
November 24, 2005

Jackson 'called Jews leeches'

By A Correspondent
The Anti-Defamation League demanded an apology yesterday from Michael Jackson after ABC, the American TV network, aired what was said to be an answering machine message in which the star referred to Jews as “leeches”.

Portions of the 2003 message that Mr Jackson allegedly left for a former adviser, Dieter Wiesner, were played on Good Morning America on Tuesday.

“Michael Jackson has an anti-Semitic streak and hasn’t learnt from his past mistakes,” Abraham Foxman, director of the League, said in a statement: “It seems every time he has a problem in his life, he blames it on Jews.”

A transcript quotes the singer as saying: “They suck them like leeches . . . They start out the most popular person in the world, make a lot of money, big house, cars and everything and end up penniless. It’s a conspiracy. The Jews do it on purpose.”

Mr Jackson’s spokeswoman Raymone Bain said that he had no comment. A call to the singer’s lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, was not immediately returned.

Mr Jackson’s song They Don’t Care About Us upset Jewish groups in 1995. He apologised and changed the lyrics. (AP)

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