Five months after
Michael Jackson blasted Sony CEO Tommy Mottola for racism due to comments he
made about an unnamed African-American artist, his brother Jermaine Jackson
revealed the artist as Murder Inc mogul Irv Gotti on Connie Chung’s “Tonight”
show on December 10.
"Tommy Mottola
referred to Irv Gotti as a ‘big fat black n#####,’" Jackson alleged on
the program. Irv worked with Jennifer Lopez on a variety of records, including
Lopez’s#### "I’m Real." Gotti said in the past that he had a "great
relationship" with Mottola.
In July, Michael
Jackson lashed out at Tommy Mottola, stating the powerful head of Sony was "mean,
he’s a racist and he’s very, very, very devilish." Jackson made the remarks
at a rally in Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network headquarters in
Harlem, New York City.
At an anti-Sony
rally, which protested the promotion of Jackson’s Invincible, the entertainer
appeared riding a red double-decker tour bus chanting "down with Tommy
Mottola."
At the time, various
movers and shakers in the music industry defended Mottola, including Russell
Simmons, Steve Stoute and even the Reverend Al Sharpton said he was surprised
by Jackson’s comments.
"There are
two things I know," Simmons told the Post. "Tommy Mottola is not a
racist, and in black music, especially, you don’t need $30 million to make an
album successful. If it’s a hit record, it’ll stick on its own."
Sharpton also defended
Mottola. "I have known Tommy for 15 or 20 years, and never once have I
known him to say or do anything that would be considered racist."
“The recording
companies really, really do conspire against the artists — they steal,
they cheat, they do everything they can,” Jackson said in a rare public
appearance. ”(Especially) against the black artists,” Jackson said.
Jermaine Jackson
scolded various people in a press release in July and even threatened legal
action against various comedians.
"Industry
types, such as Russell Simmons and Ricky Martin … [are] uninformed and should
wait to hear the facts before making derisive statements about Michael,"
the statement read. "Comedians Dennis Miller and Robin Williams and others
who bad-mouth and make comedic references to the scandalous [child molestation]
allegations that he faced several years [ago] need to be reminded that not only
was Michael not convicted of any crime, he was never charged nor was he ever
indicted. Any statements to the contrary are libelous and subject to legal action."
Gotti was not available
for a comment at press time.
