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[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/ruperteverett.jpg[/img2]Family, friends, A-listers across the globe and millions of fans are still mourning Michael Jackson's death but actor Rupert Everett, for one, is not.
The star of St Trinian's and My Best Friend's Wedding became the first celebrity to break the taboo on criticising the late singer, whom he described as a 'freak'.
‘I think it was fortuitous that he died,’ he said.
‘He was supposed to be doing 50 concerts in London. It wouldn’t have mattered how good or bad he was.
Speaking ill of the dead: Rupert Everett says it was good job Michael Jackson the 'freak' died before his concert dates in London
‘He wouldn’t have managed to do all of them and the press would have destroyed him.’
Everett, who also provided the voice of Prince Charming in the Shrek sequels, compared Jackson to a character in the animated films.
He also claimed it was the 2005 sex abuse charges – which Jackson was cleared of – which killed the singer.
‘He was a freak. He looked like a character from Shrek. He was a black to white minstrel,’ Everett told the Daily Mirror.
‘He was crucified by that court case when he was accused of child molestation – that killed him.
‘He personified the pain and anxiety of a black man in a slave country. We all watched as he changed from black to white. He was living performance art.’
![[Image: article-1201457-05A1E11A000005DC-655_468x316.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/07/22/article-1201457-05A1E11A000005DC-655_468x316.jpg)
Sombre tribute: Friends, family and fans turned out for Michael Jackson's memorial earlier this month
Jackson’s death, which came just weeks before the former King of Pop was due to begin a 50-date residency at London’s O2 arena, is still shrouded in mystery.
The singer, who died aged 50, suffered a heart attack at his rented California mansion on June 25 and was pronounced dead when he arrived at hospital.
He is understood to have been addicted to a cocktail of prescription drugs, but the results of toxicology tests on his body have not yet been released.
Everett predicts that Jackson’s death could spell the end of modern day celebrity.
‘You cannot divide the music from the person,’ he said.
‘I think his life – and death – is a great lesson. I think we are going to see the end of celebrity as we know it. Showbusiness is not an honest profession.’
The 50-year-old actor likened the extremities of today’s fame to the debauched Versailles court of Marie Antoinette, which sparked the French Revolution.
‘It’s like the last days of Versailles,’ he said. ‘I do wonder how much more bullsh*t people can take about celebrities.’
He added: ‘We’re living in very strange times. We have Michael Jackson, a black man who has gone white, and we have President Barack Obama, who is a half white man gone black. It’s absolutely fascinating to watch.’
But Everett, who is openly gay, confessed that he could understand the attraction people had to Jackson in his heyday.
‘I would have leapt at the chance of sleeping with Michael Jackson when I was 14,’ he joked.
Everett is known for his outspoken nature and controversial remarks.
He has openly spoken about how he worked as a rent boy, to fund his drugs habit, when he was at stage school in London.
He also admitted sending some of his pubic hair to a woman who criticised one of his stage performances.
The actor is set to star in Channel 4’s two-part documentary, The Scandalous Adventures Of Lord Byron, which starts next week.
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