Pop star Michael Jackson took a shopping trip to a Bahrain mall Wednesday, covering himself in a black abaya robe traditionally worn by Bahraini women and a veil hiding his face, along with three children _ apparently his _ with their faces covered with dark scarves. | An abaya? Who's surprised? |
He was wearing an abaya, a robe with long sleeves, under which his pants, white shirt and men's shoes could be seen, and his head and face were wrapped in a black veil. He had black gloves on his hands. The veil, abaya and gloves were of a style typically worn by conservative Bahraini women, though Jackson appeared to be wearing them to hide his identity.
| Or because it makes him feel pretty. |
Since his June acquittal on child molestation charges, Jackson has made several trips to Bahrain as a guest of Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of Bahrain's king. It has been reported that he was negotiating a position as a consultant with a Bahrain-based company that plans to set up theme parks and music academies in the Middle East, according to a press release, earlier this month. AAJ Holdings Ltd., owned by Ahmed Abu Bakr Janahi, said it wants to hire 47-year-old Jackson to give advice on setting up entertainment businesses. He is reportedly building a home in Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf linked to Saudi Arabia by a bridge.
In November, Jackson stirred a small controversy in the United Arab Emirates by entering the ladies room in a shopping mall. His publicist said Jackson, who arrived in Dubai as the guest of a champion rally driver, did not understand the Arabic sign on the door and left the bathroom as soon as he realized his mistake. But local newspapers reported that the 47-year-old performer was spotted applying make-up in the woman's toilets in a Dubai mall. Jackson's host, Mohammed bin Sulayem, dismissed the story as rumor.