Prince is planning his own tour later this year. Photo / Reuters
Prince is planning his own tour later this year. Photo / Reuters
KEY POINTS:
Prince has reportedly snubbed Michael Jackson's offer of a joint tour, because he didn't want to be the fading star's support act.
The Thriller singer is said to have begged Prince to perform a string of concerts with him to help Michael re-launch his career.
However, Prince toldMichael he wasn't interested as he already has plans for his own tour later this year.
Michael was reportedly overheard complaining about the snub at the Sultan of Brunei's son's 25th birthday party, for which he received £5 million for making a personal appearance.
A fellow partygoer is quoted by Britain's The Sun newspaper as saying: "Michael seemed pretty upset about it. He said he'd approached Prince to see if he would like to work together, but Prince wasn't interested."
Sources claim Prince was concerned that the hype surrounding Michael's comeback would over-shadow the concerts, and he wasn't prepared to be the Beat It singer's support act.
Michael's career has been in free fall since his 2003 child sex abuse trial.
Although he was acquitted on all charges, he has struggled to regain his once huge fan base and has been plagued by rumours his once massive fortune has dwindled.
