Michael Jackson Faces Two More Lawsuits

05/08/09 4:44pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Michael Jackson is being sued by his former publicist and the former Playboy model who played his date in the "Thriller" video.

Raymone Bain, Jackson's former publicist who represented him during his 2005 child molestation trial (he was later acquitted), is suing Jacko for $44 million U.S. (about $51 million Canadian) for breach of contract because she says he never paid her.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Jackson has chosen not to honour the financial obligations of our contractual relationship, despite my numerous attempts to amicably resolve this matter," Bain said in a statement.

"I am sincerely disappointed in Mr. Jackson's failure to honour his obligations."

Bain claims she was made the general manager of the Michael Jackson Company, which handles the singer's business affairs, in 2006, according to Reuters.

Bain's lawsuit says her duties in this job included finding Jackson housing, emergency refinancing, handling his travel and security, and scheduling meetings with producers.

"Despite the action I have been compelled to take for professional and business reasons, when looking back, I have no regret," Bain said in a statement. "Michael Jackson, in my opinion, is the King of Pop."

Ola Ray, who appeared in Jackson's infamous 1984 "Thriller" video, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif. Her lawyer, Jason Feldman, told the New York Daily News newspaper that Jackson's lawyer paid Ray an unspecified amount of royalties through the Screen Actors Guild in 1998, but payments have since been off.

"She just wants to get her fair share of payments from this extremely successful project that she's very proud of," Feldman told the newspaper.

"She did receive some payments early on, but we don't believe they were complete, and they were never timely."

Jackson hasn't responded to either of the lawsuits.

Jackson was sued by John Landis, who directed the "Thriller" video, in January. Landis claimed Jackson owed him more than four years of unpaid royalties and accused Jackson of "fraudulent, malicious and oppressive conduct." He was seeking $1 million U.S. in damages.

Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, one of the king of Bahrain's sons, sued Jackson for breach of contract in November. Jackson is rumoured to have settled that lawsuit earlier this year.

Jackson will play his first concerts in eight years this summer during a 50-show run at London, England's O2 Arena beginning July 8. The shows are expected to net him 50 million British pounds (about $88 million Canadian), according to The Guardian.