Michael Jackson’s former pet monkey ‘Bubbles’ is reportedly spending his later years in a retirement sanctuary for animals where he enjoys activities like painting and listening to flute music.
The former hitmaker Michael Jackson, who died 15 years ago today (June 25) in 2009, famously kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles. The eccentric animal turned 41 last month and by all accounts has lived a rather crazy life in tow with the Beat It star.
No ordinary chimpanzee, Bubbles had a taste for the high-life, once sporting a suave tuxedo at the 1994 MTV Movie Awards. He was often snapped out and about alongside Michael, who had bought him from an animal trainer for £51,000 in the 1980s.
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(Image: Center for Great Apes)
The primate even travelled with the singer on his Bad World tour and sipped tea with the mayor of Osaka in Japan.
Bubbles slept in a crib in Michael’s room, and would often act up and throw his own poo around the opulent mansion. In an interview with Jerry Seinfeld in 2019, comedian Eddie Murphy once recalled the time he met Bubbles.
“You didn’t f**k with Bubbles,” Eddie said. “That chimp was in a cage and Michael would say ‘don’t go near him’. The chimp would have his hands up rattling the cage going crazy.”
(Image: Sankei via Getty Images)
Like many humans who get the scent of fame and fortune in their nostrils, Bubbles sometimes found life at the top hard to manage. Over time he grew to 12 stone and was moved to a California trainer in 2003 after becoming too aggressive to be kept.
The relocation came amid serious concerns he would attack the King of Pop’s newborn son, Prince Michael II. At the time, ranch owner Bob Dunn told CNN: “Bubbles is an adult chimp and a wild animal… We don’t let him out to play.”
The new move seemed to usher in a time of peace and relaxation for Bubbles, but this was shattered later that year after the chimp tried to take his own life following Michael getting charged with child molestation.
(Image: Center for Great Apes/AFP via Ge)
The furry friend was fortunately saved by quick-acting medics, but the details surrounding the tragic event remain scarce.
The Times of India wrote at the time: “[Michael Jackson’s] favourite pet, a chimpanzee named Bubbles tried to commit suicide.” Rumours also swirled that the distressed primate resorted to self-harm after learning of Jackson’s untimely demise due to a prescription-drug overdose in 2009.
After Jacko’s passing, Bubbles was moved out to a “retirement centre” for animals in Florida, paid for by the Jackson estate. Having turned the impressive age of 41, Bubbles lives a quieter, more refined life, having developed an ear for jazz flute and a penchant for sketching.
Keepers at the centre said the 160-pound Bubbles is “huge and ugly” but has a very “sweet character”.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
