LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A former confidant of Michael Jackson said the late U.S. singer would occasionally fall ill when he and his father, Joe, would share the same room.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said his book, "The Michael Jackson Tapes," discusses how the "Thriller" star would sometimes faint or vomit due to his fear for the man, CNN reported Friday.
Boteach's new book is based on 30 hours of interviews with Jackson, who died on June 25 at the age of 50.
"My father walked in the room -- and God knows I am telling the truth -- I have fainted in his presence many times. I have fainted once to be honest," Boteach quotes Jackson as saying. "I have thrown up in his presence because when he comes in the room and this aura comes and my stomach starts hurting and I know I am in trouble."
CNN said in the interviews, Jackson reportedly detailed how his father occasionally used violence as a punishment and once turned to alleged emotional abuse.
"God bless my father because he did some wonderful things and he was brilliant, he was a genius, but one day he said, 'If you guys ever stop singing I will drop you like a hot potato.' It hurt me," Jackson is quoted as saying.
