THAT'S THE SORT OF SUPPORT YOU NEED

Great news for Michael Jackson - he's not been totally abandoned in his hour of need. Oh, no: O J Simpson is full of sympathy, doing an interview on ESPN with Graham Bassinger:

I know Michael, and I never saw that side of Michael. My family has spent a lot of time at Neverland. Most of the time, Michael is not there. But, he had opened up Neverland for my family, my kids' birthdays and things. Back in the '70s, Michael, myself, Dustin Hoffman, Neil Diamond, we started a camp called Camp Good Times for kids with cancer, because one of Dustin Hoffman's nephews, I believe, couldn't stay in a camp in Malibu, because they didn't have the facility or something, to take care of him if he got sick. So we all got together and did fund raisers and stuff and started a camp called Camp Good Times in Los Angeles, that spread all over the country, Camp Good Days, or Camp something else around there. I know at Neverland, Mike had that Neverland Ranch opened up all the time for kids, and I'm sure the kid had cancer. Mike has always been involved with helping kids, especially kids with cancer, and I know that firsthand, so I just hope that -- I saw where he said that he would continue to participate, but from afar. So, I took that to mean that maybe he's not selling Neverland Ranch, and maybe he will leave the ranch there for those charitable purposes and just stay away.

Bensinger: I mean, as a friend of his and the family, did you ever talk to him about that?

Simpson: No, I talk to his brother a lot, sent him a couple of messages, and of course at Johnnie's funeral, Johnnie Cochran's funeral, we had a few words, but I was just telling him to stay strong and stay prayful and stay strong, and everything works out.

Bensinger: How's he doing?

Simpson: He seemed to be doing well. I haven't talked to him since, but his brother says he's doing well. You know, Michael was a frail guy to begin with. I think health wise, it took a toll on him, and, hopefully, he's getting well now, and we'll see him

It's odd, you know: when OJ got off with the murder that time, we could have sworn he said he was going to spend every waking moment searching for the person who really killed Nicole, although judging from this interview he manages to multitask quite well. Anyway, doubtless Jackson will be delighted to hear that OJ is speaking for him.

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