Back in 1987 when Sheryl Crow cruised with Michael Jackson, she had reportedly experienced nuisance from the pop icon’s manager. According to The Independent, a British online newspaper, Crow was only 25-years-old then, when she had taken to the backup singing gig.
The talented songwriter and singer had told the news channel that she had experienced sexual harassment from Jackson’s manager Frank DiLeo, who was 39 years old at the start of the Bad World Tour back in September 1987.
The allegation stated by Sheryl comes up after almost a decade after DiLeo passed away at the age of 63 and nearly 12 years after the death of Michael Jackson at the age of 50.
Crow told The Independent that Naiveté is such a beautiful thing and it was great in every way, form, and shape for a young person who came from a small settlement to see the world and to work with arguably the supreme pop star of all times.
She added that she had got a crash course in the music industry.
Crow who is now 59 claimed that DiLeo had consistently approached her with lucrative offers with a promise to make her a star. She claimed that the manager had also threatened to ruin her career she if reported the incident or him.
However, this isn’t the first time when Sheryl has opened up about the harassment that she had undergone during the initial years of her career.
In 1993, Crow mentioned the name of DiLeo in the sixth song from her 1993 release ‘Tuesday Night’ Music Club. The song The Na-Na Sing spans about 3 minutes and 12 seconds and mentions DiLeo’s name near the end of the third verse.
Crow also opened up about the alleged harassment she faced in 2017 as a way to support the #MeTooMovement.
Crow wrote at that time that a manager on her first big tour as a backup singer, she said that she went to a lawyer who had reportedly told her to keep shut as he could do a lot for her. This is the reason why she wrote songs about him on her first record.
#metoo A manager on my first big tour as a backup singer. When I went to a lawyer he told me to suck it up bc the guy could do a lot for me.
— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) October 16, 2017
During her interview with The Independent, Sheryl said that she believes sexual harassment is considered more critically in recent years but there is still a long way to go for improvement.
She informed the news outlet that to be able to play the stuff about the long span of sexual harassment that she had endured during the Michael Jackson tour and to speak up about it in the midst of the #MeTooMovement feels like they have all come a long way. She added that it also feels that they are not quite there yet.
According to the Los Angeles Times, DiLeo and Jackson had parted ways in February 1989.
Moreover, Jackson isn’t the only big name that DiLep has worked with during his career. Other stars who collaborated with the accomplished manager include names like Cyndi Lauper, Prince, Ozzy Osbourne, Jodeci, Gloria Estefan, and Richie Sambora.
By the year 2007, DiLeo had established the DiLeo Entertainment Group in Nashville which was a talent management company. As per MusicRow, the company was organized to launch the careers of young artists.
However, despite the struggles and hardships that Crow faced during her career, she emerged to become a global star in her period. She’s bagged no Grammy Awards out of a huge list of 31 nominations. And, the singer has also sold over 50 million albums worldwide.
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