LOS ANGELES – Prosecutors are demanding that Michael Jackson surrender his passport if he doesn’t use it for a promotional tour to Britain, officials said yesterday.
Jackson’s lawyer and Santa Barbara District Attorney Thomas Sneddon had hammered out a deal last week to allow the King of Pop – who faces child-molestation charges – to travel to England between last Saturday and Jan. 6 for a tour to promote his CD.
But it remained unclear whether he had yet to embark on his trip; there have been no public sightings of him to date. The London Sun reported yesterday that Jackson scrapped plans for the trip amid an uproar abroad, but Reuters said his manager has insisted the tour is still on.
“I have faxed a letter to [Jackson’s lawyer] Mark Geragos, seeking either documented confirmation of the trip or requesting the return of Michael Jackson’s passport,” Sneddon said in a written statement.
The DA’s move came two days after Jackson starred in a support rally thrown on his behalf at his Neverland Ranch, where guests included former Yankee and Met star Darryl Strawberry.
The slugger helped counsel Jackson at the gathering, dubbed “You Are Not Alone,” said pastor and Jackson pal Randy White.