Gossip: Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was given shots of a “chemical castration” drug to curb his sexual appetites during the time that he frequently shared a bed with young boys, the London Mirror reported this week. Dr. Alimorad Farshchian began treating Jackson in 2001, when he became concerned about the pop star’s sleepovers with young boys at the Neverland Ranch. Farshchian’s spokesman said the doctor had prescribed Depo Provera, a drug given to sex offenders to suppress their sex drives. “He was trying to help Michael,” the spokesman told the newspaper. Ian Barkley, Jackson’s “official” photographer for several years, said the injections were an attempt “to help Michael suppress some of his issues.”