Simon Newton rubbed shoulders with the elite during his time working in security
A former celebrity bodyguard has spoken out about his experience working with Michael Jackson less than three years before his death.
When the ‘Thriller’ hitmaker visited the London, England, in November 2006, Simon Newton was one of a host of bodyguards hired to protect him for his 10-day visit to the UK.
You’d imagine that it could be difficult, given the controversy that had surrounded him in his later years, and it seems like that was the case for a 27-year-old Simon Newton – who described the experience as ‘consistently horrendous’.
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Simon Newton has rubbed shoulders with the elite during his time as a bodyguard (Simon Newton London)
Having served a number of years in the British military as a mechanical engineer in the Middle East, he soon found himself working as a close protection officer for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Afghanistan.
After leaving that post, he returned to London to work as a bodyguard. He has guarded Kendall Jenner, Rita Ora, Bella Hadid, as well as billionaire royals from the Middle East.
The hardest of all his tasks was looking after the ‘King of Pop’, with Jackson having flown over for the World Music Awards.
Simon Newton pictured far-left alongside Michael Jackson and his entourage of bodyguards, during the singer’s visit to London for the World Music Awards in November 2006 (Getty Images/Getty Images)
“The biggest thing with him was just his fan base – it was huge,” 46-year-old Newton explained.
“We had people paying for black cabs on meters all day, just so they were sitting there and they could jump in whenever we left to follow us, literally just everywhere we went.
“The biggest problem we had was crowd management, you know, trying to get him in and out. We always used to get the car door almost up on the pavement, right into the doorway of where we were going, the property we were going into.”
Newton pictured guarding Kendall Jenner back in 2014 (Ki Price/Corbis via Getty Images)
He added: “There wasn’t any sort of like immediate threat as such, but just fans, overzealous fans, maybe trying to grab him or touch him – that’s, that’s probably the biggest thing. I’ve never looked after anyone else since him, with that sort of fan base.”
His efforts of guarding the likes of Jenner, Ora, and Hadid were much less eventful, and in 2018, he packed his career up to concentrate on his passion – acting.
Having featured as an extra in the 2011 Guy Ritchie film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, he is now hoping his career in Hollywood will soon to take off just like his fashion label Simon Newton London has.
Former celebrity bodyguard Newton has launched his own fashion label (Simon Newton London)
Two and a half years after Newton protected Jackson, the singer died of a heart attack at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009.
Coroners concluded his death was caused by acute propofol intoxication – the anaesthetic Jackson had used to help him sleep.
The death was ruled a homicide and in 2011, Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in jail.
Michael Jackson was more than $500 million in debt at the time of his death
The King of Pop’s executors described being left in ‘challenging circumstances’ when he died
New court documents filed by the executors of Michael Jackson’s estate have revealed the pop star was more than $500 million in debt when he died.
Jackson spent decades in the spotlight before his death in 2009, having released more than a dozen number one songs and multiple albums, as well as appearing on tours for his fans across the globe.
The singer’s fame meant that he died with an estimated net worth of between $482 million and $500 million, according to varying reports, but it’s now been revealed that he actually owed a similar amount in debt.
The news comes through a petition filed by Jackson’s executors, John Branca and John McClain, who are seeking authorization to pay various legal firms for services they provided to the estate in 2018.
The filing, obtained by Entertainment Weekly, provides details about Jackson’s assets before and since his death, and claims his debt has caused issue for the executors.
Jackson’s debt increased with high interest. (George De Sota (ID 5073478)/Redferns)
The petition explains: “The Executors have faced extraordinarily challenging circumstances.
“Among other issues, at the time of Michael Jackson’s death, Michael Jackson’s most significant assets were subject to more than $500 million of debt and creditors’ claims, with some of the debt accruing interest at extremely high interest rates, and some debt in default.”
Further costs had accrued as Jackson prepared to make a comeback with his This Is It residency, which was set to begin in London just a couple of weeks after the date of his death.
After Jackson died, the executors claim they have managed to resolve ‘virtually all of the creditors’ claims and litigation’, while also solidifying ‘the MJJ business as a significant entity in the music industry’.
Jackson’s executors worked to get the estate in a better position. (Steve Granitz/WireImage)
One of the ways the executors helped to get the estate in a better financial position was by buying a stake in EMI Music Publishing for $50,000 in 2012, and selling it for $300 million in 2018.
The estate has also made gains with the help of projects like MJ the Musical on Broadway, and the upcoming biopic film, Michael.
Now, Branca and McClain are hoping to compensate law firms who provided services that year for more than $3 million.
Their request comes after Jackson’s three children, Paris, Bigi and Prince, were cut off last month from receiving money from their dad’s estate amid a dispute with the IRS.
As the value of Jackson’s estate had to be determined, Branca and McClain rejected a request that a portion of it could be distributed to the Michael Jackson family trust, meaning the kids were cut off pending the resolution of the issue.
Featured Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Phil Dent/Redferns/Getty