Jermaine Jackson Says Mottola Directed Racist Slur At Irv Gotti:

By Nolan Strong
Date: 12/10/2002 9:55 PM


Five months after Michael Jackson blasted Sony CEO Tommy Mottola for racism due to comments he made about an unnamed African-American artist, his brother Jermaine Jackson revealed the artist as Murder Inc mogul Irv Gotti on Connie Chung's “Tonight” show on December 10.

"Tommy Mottola referred to Irv Gotti as a 'big fat black nigger,'" Jackson alleged on the program. Irv worked with Jennifer Lopez on a variety of records, including Lopez's hit "I'm Real." Gotti said in the past that he had a "great relationship" with Mottola.

In July, Michael Jackson lashed out at Tommy Mottola, stating the powerful head of Sony was "mean, he's a racist and he's very, very, very devilish." Jackson made the remarks at a rally in Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters in Harlem, New York City.

At an anti-Sony rally, which protested the promotion of Jackson’s Invincible, the entertainer appeared riding a red double-decker tour bus chanting "down with Tommy Mottola."

At the time, various movers and shakers in the music industry defended Mottola, including Russell Simmons, Steve Stoute and even the Reverend Al Sharpton said he was surprised by Jackson's comments.

"There are two things I know," Simmons told the Post. "Tommy Mottola is not a racist, and in black music, especially, you don't need $30 million to make an album successful. If it's a hit record, it'll stick on its own."

Sharpton also defended Mottola. "I have known Tommy for 15 or 20 years, and never once have I known him to say or do anything that would be considered racist."

“The recording companies really, really do conspire against the artists — they steal, they cheat, they do everything they can,” Jackson said in a rare public appearance. ”(Especially) against the black artists,” Jackson said.

Jermaine Jackson scolded various people in a press release in July and even threatened legal action against various comedians.

"Industry types, such as Russell Simmons and Ricky Martin ... [are] uninformed and should wait to hear the facts before making derisive statements about Michael," the statement read. "Comedians Dennis Miller and Robin Williams and others who bad-mouth and make comedic references to the scandalous [child molestation] allegations that he faced several years [ago] need to be reminded that not only was Michael not convicted of any crime, he was never charged nor was he ever indicted. Any statements to the contrary are libelous and subject to legal action."

Gotti was not available for a comment at press time.