The King And I: Liberace’s Ex-Lover Claims Affair With Michael Jackson

Liberace’s former lover is claiming that he had a a nearly decade-long affair with Michael Jackson.

Scott Thorson, whose relationship with Liberace is the subject of the HBO filmBehind the Candelabra, claims that he and Jackson were in a relationship for “six or seven” years.

“Liberace introduced me and Michael in the late 1970s,” the 54-year-old said. “It was right around the time Thriller was coming out [in 1982] and Michael and I became lovers.”

Thorson said that Jackson joined Liberace at his compound in Palm Springs to heal after they had all undergone plastic surgery. Thorson added that Jackson had undergone a nose job “because he didn’t think he was handsome.”

Scott Thorson first claimed that he and the King of Pop had a relationship in 2004 in an interview with the National Enquirer. He claimed the two had their first sexual encounter in 1979, but Jackson’s team denied those allegations. Thorson also claimed that the two had a relationship that would “cross boundaries” in a 2012 interview with Entertainment Tonight.

Thorson was arrested at the Ponderosa Hotel in February. He was using the alias Jess Marlow and was booked on four counts of first degree burglary, four counts of using a credit/debit ID card without consent, and numerous other charges. He pleaded guilty to burglary and the use of personal identification of another person on May 7, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 3.

Thorson was released from jail on May 31, and blasted the producers and stars of Behind the Candelabra, which is based on his memoir of the same name, for not bailing him out.

“Hollywood turned its back on me. Matt Damon or Michael Douglas would not bail me out, even though I offered to talk to them about the film,” he said. He also lamented that he barely made any money from the film.

“I need to put money back into my pocket. I didn’t make much out of the movie. I own a small percentage of the film but Hollywood is notorious for padding the bill so it shows no profit,” he said. “It has been a big success, all these European companies have picked it up. So for the filmmakers to say they haven’t made a dime would be a big mistake – especially with my mouth.”

Do you believe Scott Thorson’s claim that he had an affair with Michael Jackson?