Grace was under pressure: Mallika
Tuesday, June 30, 2009Michael Jackson's ex-nanny never pumped his stomach of drugs, maintains Mallika Chopra.
Deepak Chopra’s daughter is livid. “In the aftermath of Michael Jackson’s death, I found myself in a surreal situation that gave me a glimpse into the dark side of bloodsuckers, media and celebrity,” she writes.
She is particularly incensed by tabloid reports claiming that Grace Rwaramba, introduced to Michael Jackson by her father, pumped the singer’s stomach of a cocktail of drugs on several occasions. She says, “For the record, Grace never pumped Michael's stomach. (She has no idea how she would even do such a thing.) Which quotes are true, which are in context, (many are not) to me frankly doesn’t matter.”
Mallika puts the blame squarely on Daphne Barak, “a so-called journalist who claims to be a friend of the Jackson family” and who steadily cultivated Grace for a potential scoop. Says Mallika, “Daphne reached out to Grace a few weeks ago, when she knew she was in a vulnerable place, having recently been let go by Michael yet again (this was a regular pattern). In the 17 years that Grace has worked with Michael, she has never spoken to the press. She loves Michael and his children at her core.”
She reveals, “I witnessed Daphne act as a friend while trying to bait information from Grace on her conversations with Jackson family members and friends about his death. She warned Grace that the family was going to try to set her up for Michael’s downfall, and that it was critical that Grace speak with a lawyer before leaving. As a friend, she had organized a ‘lawyer’ to get Grace’s story before she left for the airport.”
She posts online, “Grace feels used, insecure and shaken that she could have been so naïve, particularly having witnessed so many vultures in Michael’s world over the years. She made a mistake. The sad truth is that when you are a celebrity, or a close friend or family of one, in a world of tabloids, you must be impeccable in what you say and to whom. Michael probably faced the epitome of vultures, bloodsuckers and hanger-ons displayed in his endless cycle of managers, enabling doctors, and new business partners. How could anyone blame him for becoming so paranoid in his life?”
She refers to Grace as more than a best-friend and a sister., “She thinks of my parents as her own (she actually calls my father papa).” Earlier, Deepak Chopra, referring to Grace as the King of Pop’s children’s nanny and surrogate mother, wrote, “His children's nanny and surrogate mother, Grace Rwaramba, is like another daughter to me. I introduced her to Michael when she was eighteen, a beautiful, heartwarming girl from Rwanda who is now grown up. She kept an eye on him for me and would call me whenever he was down or running too close to the edge. How heartbreaking for Grace that no one's protective instincts and genuine love could avert this tragic day.”
“In the article, Daphne tries to portray a rift between Katherine Jackson and Grace. This is not true. I would like to go on record, with Grace’s permission, to say that Grace firmly hopes that the Jackson family gets custody of Prince, Paris and Michael. It would be detrimental to the children to be separated, and they should be with Michael’s family. They should know their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and they should learn about who he was as a person, not just as an icon. She has no interest in custody, and just wants the children to be happy and secure. She will be there for them whenever they need or want her.”
Mallika concludes, “As for the appetite for the salacious details of Michael’s life, my hope is that we let him go in peace. We already know he led a tortured life. He also led a great one in which he loved, and was loved, by many. Let his family heal, and let his fans celebrate his music and his giving heart."
I went through a traumatic phase: Sayali
Monday, June 29, 2009
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Very upset with the wrong media hype, Sayali says, “It’s funny. How I can break off with a person I was never seeing? It’s true that we met a couple of times on social occasions. But then that was it. It is so unfair when people wrongly write about you.” But then wasn’t it front page news that the two were dating? “Oh, yes it was, but I guess people just like to add spice till the aroma spreads. Problem was that they fail to understand that sometimes too much spice can get pungent and might cause trouble to people. Especially the person written about. Only I know the kind of mental trauma I underwent because of a misquoted report.” So the real scene was... “All the stories were falsely woven, for reasons best known to the people who did it, but the person who suffered was me. In fact, I was actually dating someone else at that point of time. Let aside the social stature, my personal life went for a toss. I had a bad break-off with my then boyfriend thanks to this report; and it was NOT Shoaib Mallik. He wasn’t even someone from the industry! My career was affected as I wasn’t in the correct frame of mind to work. I went through a traumatic phase.” She continues, “Why don’t people see the work that I’m doing and appreciate that, rather than indulge into rumours and gossip. Even criticism is welcome, but not misinformation.”
Currently, Sayali has managed to gather herself out of all the trauma she underwent. Kirkit and Paritosh Painter’s Paying Guest are the two movies that have released this month. In fact she breaks away from the glam-doll image that she had made for herself so far, in both the movies. In Kirkit, there was a slight grey shade to her character while in Paying Guest, which is an adaptation from the play of the same name, she did a straight-faced comic role. Experimenting more with the comic genre, Sayali has another comedy called Chalu Movies Inc. She has also signed Wilson Louis’ horror film, Shout. She says, “Working is very therapeutic for me as it has helped me overcome most of my mental trauma and look in a positive direction. So, consciously I try and keep my hands absolutely full.”