Actress Claudine Longet Shot and Killed Her Olympian Boyfriend Spider Sabich — But Only Spent 30 Days In Jail. Inside the Twisty Case

Claudine Longet shot and killed her boyfriend, Olympian Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, on March 21, 1976

NEED TO KNOW

• She claimed the gun accidentally discharged while Sabich was showing her how to use it

• Longet and Sabich's relationship was reportedly strained before his death

Olympian Vladimir “Spider” Sabich was preparing to take a shower on the evening of March 21, 1976, when he was shot in the stomach by his girlfriend, Claudine Longet.

Longet, who had been holding an imitation World War II model Luger pistol at the couple's Aspen, Colo., home, called an ambulance, but Sabich was pronounced dead from the gunshot wound before reaching the hospital. The American alpine skier died at 31.

Longet was arrested, but insisted that the gun had accidentally discharged while Sabich was showing her how to use it. While Longet was initially charged with reckless manslaughter, percourt papers, a series of mistakes by investigators limited the evidence that could be used in court. She was ultimately convicted of a much lesser charge.

Here's everything to know about the death of Vladimir “Spider” Sabich — and Claudine Longet's involvement.

Claudine Longet was a French-born actress and singer

Longet, who was born in Paris, moved to Las Vegas in 1960 to perform at the Tropicana casino, where she metAndy Williams, the host of theEmmy-winningThe Andy Williams Show, according toGQ. The two got married in December 1961 and welcomed three children — Noelle, Christian and Bobby.

With the help of Williams, Longet began to establish herself as a singer and actress in the U.S. She appeared many times onThe Andy Williams Show, costarred in the 1968 box office hitThe Partyalongside Peter Sellers and released two albums through Williams' record label.

However, their romance didn't last. The couple separated in 1970 and divorced in 1975.

Longet went on to meet Sabich in 1972 at a celebrity ski race in Bear Valley, Calif., according toTahoe Quarterly. Sabich's friend Moose Barrows recalled their first meeting in a restaurant during the race, when Sabich walked in to see Longet sitting withLiza Minnelli,Clint Eastwoodand Robert Conrad.

Sabich introduced himself, and they struck up a romance. “We thought she was crazy,” Barrows toldThe Denver Post. “She had a temper and a few other things — she was French.”

After splitting time between California and Aspen for a year, Longet and her three children moved to Aspen to be with the skier, per theAspen Times.

Spider Sabich was a decorated Olympic skier

Sabich was a successful star in his own right, having been a member of the U.S. Ski Team at the World Cup for its first four seasons. He placed fifth in the slalom at the 1968 Winter Olympics, won the slalom at the World Cup later that year and was the pro ski racing champion in 1971 and 1972.

“He was just instantly likeable, a typical California kid,” Billy Kidd, a fellow ski racer, toldTahoe Quarterly. “Within five to 10 minutes, you feel like you've known him for a lifetime.”

In fact, Sabich and Kidd were the inspirations behindRobert Redfordand James Salter's 1969 filmDownhill Racer.

“[Sabich] was one of the most charismatic and fun people to ever be on this planet,” Kidd said. “There wasn't any girl around who, from the instant she heard the word 'Hello,' didn't want to spend more time with him.”

However, Sabich had been suffering from ski-related knee and back injuries around the time of his death, perGQ.

Sabich died in March 1976

During the afternoon of March 21, 1976, Sabich went home after a training session to change his clothes before meeting a friend, Bob Beattie, for dinner, perThe Denver Post. But while he was preparing to take a shower, Longet shot him in the stomach.

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Responding officers found Sabich's body slumped on the floor of the bathroom, perGQ. He was 31 years old.

During Longet's trial, Aspen detective David Garms testified that immediately after the shooting, the actress claimed it had been an accident. Garms said that Longet claimed she had found the .22-cal. pistol in their house and asked Sabich how to work it, thinking it would be helpful when she was home alone, perTIME.

“I raised the gun and playfully went ‘Boom, boom,' and it went off," Garms said Longet told him.

While on the stand, Longet told the jury, “I continued walking toward him, telling him I wanted to know more about it." She then insisted that she didn't do so “playfully” as Garms testified, because “I wouldn't joke with guns.”

After the gun went off, “Spider called my name many, many times,” Longet said on the stand, according toThe New York Times. “He sort of slid down and I told him I would call the hospital and not to move. I told him to try to make it. He was fainting, and I tried to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

Their relationship was rocky before Sabich's death

However, Longet and Sabich's relationship reportedly wasn't in a good place before his death.

Sabich's ex-girlfriend, Marty, toldGQthat, shortly before his death, the two went out to dinner and Sabich told her “he could not get rid of Claudine” and “she was throwing tantrums.” Beattie claimed that their relationship was about to end, according to the outlet.

While responding to their house on the afternoon of Sabich's death, officers found a diary that revealed "explosive" details about the couple's relationship, according toGQ.

On the stand, Longet said that “Spider and I loved each other very much," perThe New York Times. However, she later admitted that she was looking for another place to live at the time of his death.

Significant pieces of evidence were inadmissible in court

Pitkin County Sheriff's Office deputies did not have warrants when they took Longet's diary and blood and urine samples from her, which made them inadmissible in court, perThe New York Times.

The prosecution claimed that her sample contained cocaine, but it could not be used as evidence, according toGQ.

The weapon was also handled improperly. It had been wrapped in a towel from someone at the crime scene and stashed away in a police car glove compartment for days, rather than properly stored as evidence. The defense claimed that this was evidence tampering, perEBSCO.

Longet was found guilty of misdemeanor negligent homicide and sentenced to 30 days in jail

On January 14, 1977, Longet was found guilty of misdemeanor negligent homicide, perThe New York Times. Longet was given two years' probation and ordered to spend 30 days in jail — which she could serve on consecutive weekends — starting on a date she chose, and was charged a $25 fine to pay the costs of her probation report, according to theoutlet.

“There is not really very much to say,” Longet said after receiving her sentence, per EBSCO. “Only that I have too much respect for living things to do that. I'm not guilty.”

In May 1977, Sabich's family filed a civil lawsuit against Longet for $1.3 million, which was settled out of court. Longet signed a confidentiality agreement that she would not speak publicly about Sabich or the killing, and promised never to publish a book about her life or the trial.

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April 30, 2026

Actress Claudine Longet Shot and Killed Her Olympian Boyfriend Spider Sabich — But Only Spent 30 Days In Jail. Inside the Twisty Case

Claudine Longet shot and killed her boyfriend, Olympian Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, on March 21, 1976 NEED TO KNOW S...

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King Charles lauded checks and balances. At the same time, the White House posted a photo calling Trump a King

As King Charles addressed Congress on how executive power is "subject to checks and balances," the White House's official X account posted a photo of the British monarch with President Donald Trump captioned: "TWO KINGS."

King Charles III emphasized the importance of the U.S.-U.K. alliance as well as NATO in his historic addressto a joint session of Congress Tuesday afternoon, during his four-day state visit.

As the royal did so, the White House posted an image on X of Charles and Trump earlier in the day, sharing a jovial moment on stage in the White House grounds. It was captioned: "TWO KINGS" and completed with a crown emoji.

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Lawmakers on Tuesday gave King Charles a standing ovation as he spoke about the U.S. being built on the idea of checks and balances — especially as it pertains to the executive branch — based on the Magna Carta.

“Our Declaration of Rights of 1689 was not only the foundation of our constitutional Monarchy, but also provided the source of so many of the principles reiterated – often verbatim – in the American Bill of Rights of 1791,” he said.

“And those roots go even further back in our history: the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society has calculated that Magna Carta is cited in at least 160 Supreme Court cases since 1789, not least as the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances.”

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King Charles lauded checks and balances. At the same time, the White House posted a photo calling Trump a King

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A journey through the jewels of Uzbekistan – how the Central Asian country is revealing itself to tourists

No other far-flung city has so fired the imagination of English poets over the centuries as much asSamarkand– exotic, magical and mystical, a fairytale architectural citadel in the heart ofCentral Asia. Uzbekistan has been the playground and battleground of Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Emperor Temur and Peter the Great who laid the groundwork for Russian control a century later.

Today this ancient citadel is something of a tourism secret, withUzbekistannow undergoing a renaissance having freed itself from the Soviet yoke through Gorbachev’s Perestroika revolution in 1991. It is remarkably undersold as a stunningly attractive and safe destination. It is also a flourishing trade hub, its economy turbocharged by copious gas and gold mining, making it a surprisingly alluring ancient and modern tourist hot spot.

It is also one of the few places where every visitor almost immediately becomes a millionaire. It's not just because Uzbekistan is prosperous, which it is, but because of its currency the Som – £100 of sterling is worth 1,630,000 Som! Even better, these rather eye-watering sums find tremendously good value with accommodation and shopping compared to European prices.

And there are so many shopping opportunities – from sourcing silk dressing gowns, which can be tailor-made in an hour, to scouting the vast emporium of the seventh generation carpet dealer Sabina Burkhanova, whose speciality is a particular silk design and weave specific to the Bukhara region.

Uzbekistan is in so many ways an Aladdin's Cave of treats and treasures, from amethyst necklaces to fabrics and fashion. Beating the path to shop here are London and Paris interior designers who come for the fabrics. High on their list to see is the Queen of Uzbekistan Embroidery, Madina Kasimbayeva, who has revived the traditional Tashkent school of Suzani hand embroidery. Her signature is coats – she has exhibited in museums and has a couture clientele. During her catwalk show in Tashkent this month the chicness of her designs on 23 sashaying models was matched by that of her high society and fashionista guests who all wore white. Her clothes are considered works of art. "Buy for investment. This is not just a coat," said a fashion expert from Seattle flown in for the show.

Kasimbayeva is considered the Muccia Prada of Central Asia. She may be high-end but everyday shopping here – from trinkets to silk scarves and souvenirs – is fun but also completely hassle-free. This is one of the most easy and friendly places for a tourist to navigate. Or even wind down with a meal and drink. It is relaxed about alcohol in restaurants: Uzbekistan has a mainly Muslim population but is a secular country.

For many years Uzbekistan, nestled along the legendarySilk Road, has been the chosen territory of adventurous English travel writers, from Robert Byron to Colin Thubron and Wilfred Blunt. They tempted readers through their courageous exploits on horseback, train, camel and foot to discover what were once truly wild and remote tribal territories.

Today Uzbekistan is an easy six hour flight from London to Tashkent. The capital has a flavour of Paris with its wide boulevards, tree-lined avenues and verdant parks. There are many brand newfive-star luxury hotels– some with a sushi bar on the penthouse floor – as well asboutique hotelsnestling next door to marble monuments and galleries. It seems a haven of peace away from the world’s many trouble spots.

Uzbekistan likes its very local food and customs and has deliberately kept out fast food franchises.That said, the shopping malls in Tashkent compete with Oxford Street in terms of big name brands – and Rolls Royces and Maybachs for sale are displayed in the hallways of the malls.

Samarkand has always been intoxicating as an exotic fantasy and idyll, even for those who never actually visited it like Christopher Marlowe, the Elizabethan dramatist, who had much to say about the romantic and remote city in his playTamburlaine. Milton was also seduced by the idyll of Samarkand, while Keats described the city as “silken”. Oscar Wilde was won over too:

“The almond groves of Samercand,

Bokhara, where red lilies blow,

And Oxus, by whose yellow sand,

The grave white-turbaned merchants go”

But it was James Elroy Flecker, the late Romantic poet, who surpassed them all in 1913 with his famous poem “The Golden Journey to Samarkand”, where the desert city is presented as a distant and mythical destination. His repeated line "We are the Pilgrims … we shall go, always go a little further" suggests a longing for exploration and the pursuit of an ideal world. Oxford University's Bodleian Library recently acquired the manuscript of this highpoint romantic poem. The university's Centre for Islamic Studies is also about to stage an exhibition of key historic artefacts from Uzbekistan.

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Milan Fashion Week has just featured Uzbek designs as the most potent source of fashion inspiration with the best interior design magazine Cabana having a pavilion dedicated to Uzbek textiles. The standout influences are the ikat techniques, blurred flame-like patterns, which have covered a million sofas and lampshades in textiles, from Oscar de la Renta to Missoni and Dries Van Notem. On catwalks all over the world designs include ikat prints and Suzani embroidery, whose bold deep blues, saffrons and reds combine exotically with their hand-made clothes. As a savvy marketing slogan might say: “Art, Literature, History & Fashion r UZ!”

For over 2,700 years, Samarkand has stood at the crossroads of trade, art, religion, battles and scientific invention. The term Silk Road was not used until 1877 by Ferdinand Richthofen, uncle of the Red Baron, to describe the essential trade road from China through to Europe.

My journey began in Samarkand, which is dominated by the vast Registan. As one of the most iconic architectural public spaces, which anchors the city, its trio of madrasahs glow with intricate tilework in shades of blue and gold. Nearby, the necropolis of Shah-i-Zinda offers a more intimate, spiritual atmosphere, where narrow lanes are lined with exquisitely decorated tombs. Samarkand feels grand and ceremonial, a place where the scale of empire is written into every façade. Intriguingly, the 15th-century mausoleum of Amur Timor – known as Gur-e-Amir - with its ribbed turquoise dome on a cylindrical drum and decorated with deep blue tiles gives off a luminous and almost celestial quality. Maybe we should not be surprised at its connection to the ultimate edifice of magical serenity, India's Taj Mahal in Agra, which was built by Timor's great great grandson.

Traveling onward to Bukhara, the mood shifts from imperial spectacle to lived-in history. The city’s Old Town is a maze of narrow streets, trading domes and hidden courtyards that seem largely unchanged for centuries. At its heart stands the Poi Kalyan Complex, where the towering Kalyan Minaret has guided travellers for nearly a millennium. Bukhara invites slower exploration – sipping tea by a pond, browsing artisan workshops, and absorbing the rhythms of a city that once thrived on the Silk Road.

Further west lies Khiva, a destination that feels almost like stepping into a living open-air museum. The walled inner city, Itchan Kala, is compact yet dense with architectural treasures – mosques, madrasahs and palaces rising behind earthen walls. Yet it is also home for many. Children play football in the public spaces, students wear the traditional sheep helmet hats to mark their graduation. Like medieval Italian cities it is full of the noise and heartbeat of its locals. But always history is felt. The unfinished turquoise tower of the Kalta Minor Minaret stands as a striking symbol of Khiva’s distinct character. Unlike Samarkand’s grandeur or Bukhara’s lived-in charm, Khiva offers a sense of immersion, as if history has been carefully sealed within its walls.

Taken together, the route from Samarkand to Bukhara to Khiva reveals a rich progression of experiences along the Silk Road. From monumental ambition to intimate continuity and finally to preserved heritage, each city offers a different lens on Central Asia’s past. The journey is not just geographical but atmospheric, shifting from awe to reflection to a kind of timeless stillness that lingers long after leaving Khiva’s gates.

Each of these cities share a dazzling architectural splendour comparable in drama and aesthetic impact to Jaipur’s Pink City or Delhi’s Red Fort. This is the stuff of dreams for anyone wanting to find a modern day Grand Tour. Samarkand's central square, Registan, for instance is as defining here as St Mark's Square is in Venice. Epic and mesmerising, this majestic plaza is surrounded by three grand madrasas – Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor and Tilya-KorI – each towering and epic, covered in stunning majolica tilework. It is sculptural and splendid, seeming to carve time out of the desert's open space.

And of course no one forgets Uzbekistan's food or its endless hospitality, be it from the courtesy of the ticket inspectors on the train, the ubiquitous tourist police or the cafe waitresses. Sit down anywhere in Samarkand or Tashkent and before you can say “just something light,” a table mysteriously fills with bread, salads, tea, and at least three dishes you didn’t order. The star, of course, is plov – a heroic mound of rice, carrots, and meat that arrives looking like it could feed a small cavalry unit. You start bravely, insisting you’ll only have a little, and somehow end up finishing enough for two people while your host watches with quiet satisfaction, as if you’ve passed an unspoken test.

What makes it truly delightful is the warmth wrapped into every bite. Meals stretch out, not because they’re slow, but because no one is in a hurry to leave – tea keeps appearing, bread keeps being broken, and conversation keeps circling back to “just one more taste”. Even something as simple as their delicious “non” bread feels ceremonial. Non, round loaves baked in a clay oven, is sacred in Uzbek culture and should never be served upside down. It is stamped with beautiful patterns and treated with respect (dropping it would feel like a social crime).

Samsa are oven-baked pastries filled with pumpkin or potatoes, and green tea is served wherever you go along with delicious pomegranate and strawberry juices. (Helpfully many restaurants have photographs of their dishes on the menu.) Uzbek food has a way of turning a simple meal into a cheerful negotiation between you and your appetite. By the end, you’re full, slightly overwhelmed, and deeply appreciative – convinced that Uzbek cuisine isn’t just about food, but about generosity disguised as a feast.

The capital Tashkent is emblematic of the entrepreneurial energy of this city, much rebuilt in the last ten years. It is a modernist capital, which has cherrypicked some of the best modern architects from all over the world. It has seen a stampede of glimmering new glass and steel buildings layered on top of Soviet era architecture. A terrible earthquake in 1966 led to major recasting of the city. Care has been taken to make changes to the cityscape with style and elan. A notable landmark is the Soviet art deco Metro with its ornate chandeliers and mosaics: each station as clean as if it had been set ready for a royal visit. Litter is strikingly absent.

This is a country that prides itself on being full of entrepreneurs and small businesses. Boutique stores include Qand, a chocolate factory and shop, which makes the president's wife's favourites – luxurious and decadently delicious. Their signature recipe uses pistachios grown wild in the mountains and moulded into truly seductive rich chocolate. Their stylish packaging with multi-coloured foil wraps gives Tiffany a run for its money. They are looking to expand and export to Harrods and Selfridges, positioning themselves as Central Asia's greatest master chocolatiers. The name Qand, they explain, rhymes with cand with a “y”!

Invest in the best is the mantra of Gayane Umerova, the key cultural figure in the arts, cultural preservation and innovation. This is why the capital’s classical music concerts now have world-class performers like Helene Mercier, the Canadian pianist, playing at the new concert hall, which makes the Wigmore Hall seem like a duty provincial town hall. A new contemporary art gallery, being built by Japanese architects and supported by the Arts and Culture Development Fund, shows how Umerova is serious about putting culture at the heart of Uzbekistan’s development

There are so many surprising cultural treats to discover here. Antony Gormley was commissioned to take over a square in Bukhara with a stunning show of sculptures responding to the ruins of Khoja Kalon mosque, originally built in the 16th century, attracting global attention. There is a clear ambition to combine the arts and entrepreneurship to match and supplement the country’s economic achievements. And in a way this is a return to its romantic roots when it caught the imagination of the greatest writers.

A trip to Uzbekistan demands the lightness of touch of a butterfly to navigate and alight on its many silk dream wonders. Its three major centres of ancient art and architecture each have the capacity to stir the imagination and imprint an indelible picture of beauty and history. The massive turquoise domes and iridescent blue-tiled mosaics have the same resonance and magic they had when they were first created. They are poetry in motion, an intoxicating journey from the past to the present, and a powerful magnet for modern travellers.

How to get there

Uzbekistan Airwaysflies direct from London Heathrow or Gatwick to Tashkent. Flight time is round six hours.

byNeo

in

April 30, 2026

A journey through the jewels of Uzbekistan – how the Central Asian country is revealing itself to tourists

No other far-flung city has so fired the imagination of English poets over the centuries as much asSamarkand– exotic, magical and mysti...

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Where Is Don King Now? All About the Promoter's Tumultuous Life After Working with Michael Jackson

Don King is a prominent boxing promoter whose career has faced several controversies

NEED TO KNOW

• King worked with the Jacksons to promote their 1984 Victory Tour

• He reportedly feuded with Michael both during and after the tour

Don Kingis a longtime boxing promoter who has organized several major events over the years — includingThe Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour.

King made a name for himself in the boxing world after working withMuhammad Alifrom a young age and went on to promote matches with several major names — includingGeorge Foreman,Mike Tyson,Julio César Chávez,Joe FrazierandChristy Martin, among others.

However, many of his former clients later sued him on allegations of fraud and several of them have criticized him for allegedly worsening the boxing climate. Between 1954 and 1966, he killed two people; one was deemed "justifiable homicide," perThe New York Times,and the other charge was reduced to manslaughter in 1972 after he served over three years of his original sentence.

After his legal problems, King was chosen byJoe Jacksonto promote and organize his sons' The Jacksons' Victory Tour in 1984. Joe reportedly encouraged his sons, includingMichael Jackson, to work with King, because he promised the family an advance of $3 million, according toTIME.

The Victory Tour marked the only time all six brothers —Michael,Jermaine, Randy,Tito,MarlonandJackie— went on tour together and was also the last time Michael performed with them before fully embracing his solo career. The Victory Tour andMichael's decision to depart from his familyprofessionally was a major plot point in the 2026 biopicMichael, in whichDeon Coleportrayed King.

Here's everything to know about where Don King is now.

Who is Don King?

King is a prominent boxing promoter who has worked with some of the most successful boxers over the course of his 50-year career. He organized the famed 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight championship fight between Ali and Foreman; a 1975 fight between Ali andChuck Wepner; and a 1975 match between Ali and Frazier.

Over the next 20 years, King continued promoting prominent boxersTyson, Larry Holmes, Chávez, Evander Holyfield, Aaron Pryor and Marco Antonio Barrera, among many others.

However, his career was riddled with controversies stemming from past crimes and fraud allegations. Before his career took off, King served nearly four years in prison for second-degree murder. The charge was later reduced to manslaughter, he was released from prison and pardoned by Gov. James Rhodes in 1983.

A year earlier, Ali sued King and accused him of cutting over $1 million from a fight he earned, perThe New York Times. King allegedly ended the lawsuit by convincing Ali's friend to give the boxer a suitcase of $50,000 in exchange for signing a letter dismissing the suit, according to the 2003 book,The Life and Crimes of Don King: The Shame of Boxing in America.

Since then, several of King's former boxers have sued him on similar allegations of fraud.

Holmes alleged that over the course of his career, King cheated him out of $10 million; they eventually settled for $150,000, per the book. Tyson sued King for $100 million before settling for $14 million, according to NBC Sports. Other lawsuits that King settled for millions of dollars included cases with Terry Norris, Tim Witherspoon and Chris Byrd, among others.

"I found out that someone I believed was my surrogate father, my brother, my blood figure turns out to be the true Uncle Tom, the true n-----, the true sellout. He did more bad to Black fighters than any White promoter ever in the history of boxing," Tyson said of King in a 2001ESPN profile.

When did he work with Michael Jackson?

In early 1983, the six Jackson brothers — Michael, Jermaine, Randy, Tito, Marlon and Jackie — met with several promoters to discuss their highly-anticipated Victory Tour.

After meeting with King twice, the Jackson brothers and their father, Joe, signed a contract with him on Sept. 30, 1983, perRolling Stone. The contract stipulated that King was the Jacksons' employee, so the Jacksons still had "final say on all aspects of the tour."

However, Michael's lawyer and manager,John Branca, later claimed that King was "not Michael’s first choice to promote the tour," but he promised to pay an upfront advance of $3 million — $500,000 per brother — if chosen as their promoter.

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"You’re taking the number-one artist in the world; you would normally want somebody who has some experience in the music business," Branca told the publication in March 1984. "Don King was not Michael’s first choice to promote the tour. This tour is important to Michael because it’s important to Michael’s family. I’m not sure the tour was Michael’s first choice. He might have preferred to do other things."

He continued, "But he found it important to tour at his brothers’ request and his family’s request. They very much wanted to work with Don King. So Michael said, ‘If it’s that important to my father and my family, I will work with Don King.' "

The Jacksons made the tour announcement with King as their promoter in a press conference on Nov. 30, 1983.

Did Don King and Michael Jackson have a falling out?

Before the Jacksons even embarked on the tour in 1984, the family and King had already run into issues over how to promote the shows and sell tickets — including causing controversy for forcing fans to buy a minimum of four tickets at an expensive rate in a mail-in lottery system.

Another point of tension came when the Jacksons were prepared to sign a contract with the Quaker Oats Company to sponsor the tour, but King had already signed an exclusive deal with Pepsi for 40% less than Quaker, as Branca alleged toRolling Stone.

The tension culminated with Michael allegedly writing a letter to King where he instructed him on how he should behave moving forward.

In the letter, King was allegedly told "not to communicate with anyone on Michael Jackson’s behalf without prior permission; that all moneys paid to Michael Jackson for his participation in the tour would be collected by Michael Jackson's personal representatives, not by Don King; that King did not have permission to approach any promoters, sponsors or any other persons on Michael’s behalf; that King was not to hire any personnel, any local promoters, book any halls or, for that matter, doanythingwithout Michael Jackson’s personal approval," per the publication.

When asked about the letter in February 1985, King said, "I don’t know anything about it."

Amid ongoing feuds with Michael, his brothers and King, Michael stunned everyone involved when he announced during their performance at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium on Dec. 9, 1984, that that performance with his brothers would be his last. The tour, which was expected to continue in Europe and Australia, was cut short.

After the final show, King was allegedly fuming and said, per the 2010 bookMichael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, "There's no way Michael Jackson should be as big as he is and treat his family the way he does."

"He feels his father done him wrong? His father may have done some wrong, but he also had to do a whole lot right," he allegedly continued saying, while mocking Michael for thinking of himself as a "megastar."

The comments reportedly left Michael enraged, and he subsequently told Branca to "sue his ass."

"That guy has been pushing my last nerve since Day One," he reportedly told Branca, who later "convinced him to let it go."

Where is Don King now?

As of 2026, King is in his 90s and has taken a step back from the boxing world. While he hasn't promoted a major event in years, he has occasionally promoted smaller fights.

King gave a rare press conference for a fight featuring Adrien Broner in May 2023 and later stepped out for a fight between Broner and Blair Cobbs in Hollywood, Fla., in June 2024.

However, King's legal issues remain ongoing, as a promoting company sued him for $3 billion on allegations of defamation, tortious interference and fraud in January 2025, perNBC News.

Read the original article onPeople

byNeo

in

April 30, 2026

Where Is Don King Now? All About the Promoter's Tumultuous Life After Working with Michael Jackson

Don King is a prominent boxing promoter whose career has faced several controversies NEED TO KNOW King worked with...

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