Tommy Mottola Blasted by Michael Jackson

NY Daily News 7/7/02

Jacko Sees Crooks, Devils in Music Biz By MICHAEL SAUL Daily News Staff Writer

It was an odd sight, a reed-thin mega-celebrity dressed all in black, wearing sunglasses and gloves, carrying an umbrella on a sunny day in Harlem.

But, then, what did you expect from Michael Jackson?

The self-styled King of Pop visited the Rev. Al Sharpton's headquarters yesterday to unleash a diatribe against Sony Music, Jackson's label, and its brass.

Introduced by Sharpton as the world's best-selling black recording artist, Jackson attacked the music business, but saved his harshest words for Sony Music chief Tommy Mottola.

Mottola was "mean. He's a racist, and he's very, very, very devilish," Jackson said.

Jackson accused Mottola of using a racial epithet against an unidentified artist who worked at Sony. "He called him a fat black n-----," Jackson said, to a shocked hush from the audience.

"I can't deal with that, you know. It's wrong!" Jackson has aligned himself with Sharpton and lawyer Johnnie Cochran Jr., who recently formed a coalition to investigate whether recording artists are being financially exploited by record labels.

Sony Music, which has declined to renew Jackson's contract, issued a statement calling his comments "ludicrous, spiteful and hurtful." The company said it is "appalled that Mr. Jackson would stoop so low in his constant quest for publicity."

Jackson's last album, "Invincible," the subject of a $25 million Sony promotion campaign, has sold a disappointing — for him — 6 million copies, an industry source said.

List of Complaints

Jackson contends that the recording industry is guilty of a racist conspiracy that steals money from black artists.

"The record companies really, really do conspire against the artist. They steal. They cheat. They do whatever they can, especially against black artists," he said.

Later in the afternoon, Jackson showed up outside Sony's offices in midtown, riding atop a double-decker city tour bus. At one point, he stood and raised both fists, joining the crowd in chanting, "Down with Tommy Mottola!"

The bus drove twice around the block, with hundreds of fans running after it, screaming, "Michael, we love you!"

At another point, Jackson held up a poster with three boxes marked "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" — with an image of himself in the "The Good" box and Mottola's face with devil horns in "The Bad" box. Mottola's unadulterated image adorned "The Ugly" box.

During remarks previously yesterday, Jackson mentioned several artists as industry victims, including James Brown, Mariah Carey (who was once married to Mottola) and Sammy Davis Jr.

http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-07-07/News_and_Views/Scandal_Sheet/a-156705.asp