Michael Jackson’s tour doctor defends his behaviour

A private doctor who went on tour with pop legend Michael Jackson and introduced him to the drug
that went on to kill him has defended the star’s bizarre behaviour by calling it a “celebrity thing”. Neil Ratner, who dubbed himself the ‘Rock Doc’ after his switch from a career in music to medicine, has said the way Jackson acted was “a celebrity thing” and nothing more, reports a website. Ratner toured with Jackson for eight years as his private physician in the 1990s and has spoken out about the sexual abuse allegations against him almost 10 years after the singer’s death. He said he was the Beat it hitmaker’s confidant and that the singer would often speak of his own childhood traumas and was obsessed with “childhood innocence”. “The oddest part of Michael (was) his inability to grow up. His inability of wanting to be an adult. That was his hangup. Did he like children more than adults? Probably,” Ratner told the publication. He believes that Jackson’s own lack of childhood led to psychological problems. (IANS)