• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Celebrity bodyguard who protected Michael Jackson explains why it was 'consistently horrendous'

Home> Celebrity> News

Updated 10:47 19 Mar 2025 GMTPublished 09:59 19 Mar 2025 GMT

Celebrity bodyguard who protected Michael Jackson explains why it was 'consistently horrendous'

Simon Newton rubbed shoulders with the elite during his time working in security

Joe Yates

Joe Yates

A former celebrity bodyguard has spoken out about his experience working with Michael Jackson less than three years before his death.

When the 'Thriller' hitmaker visited the London, England, in November 2006, Simon Newton was one of a host of bodyguards hired to protect him for his 10-day visit to the UK.

You'd imagine that it could be difficult, given the controversy that had surrounded him in his later years, and it seems like that was the case for a 27-year-old Simon Newton - who described the experience as 'consistently horrendous'.

Simon Newton has rubbed shoulders with the elite during his time as a bodyguard (Simon Newton London)
Simon Newton has rubbed shoulders with the elite during his time as a bodyguard (Simon Newton London)

Advert

Having served a number of years in the British military as a mechanical engineer in the Middle East, he soon found himself working as a close protection officer for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Afghanistan.

After leaving that post, he returned to London to work as a bodyguard. He has guarded Kendall Jenner, Rita Ora, Bella Hadid, as well as billionaire royals from the Middle East.

The hardest of all his tasks was looking after the 'King of Pop', with Jackson having flown over for the World Music Awards.

Simon Newton pictured far-left alongside Michael Jackson and his entourage of bodyguards, during the singer's visit to London for the World Music Awards in November 2006 (Getty Images/Getty Images)
Simon Newton pictured far-left alongside Michael Jackson and his entourage of bodyguards, during the singer's visit to London for the World Music Awards in November 2006 (Getty Images/Getty Images)

Advert

"The biggest thing with him was just his fan base - it was huge," 46-year-old Newton explained.

"We had people paying for black cabs on meters all day, just so they were sitting there and they could jump in whenever we left to follow us, literally just everywhere we went.

"The biggest problem we had was crowd management, you know, trying to get him in and out. We always used to get the car door almost up on the pavement, right into the doorway of where we were going, the property we were going into."

Newton pictured guarding Kendall Jenner back in 2014 (Ki Price/Corbis via Getty Images)
Newton pictured guarding Kendall Jenner back in 2014 (Ki Price/Corbis via Getty Images)

Advert

He added: "There wasn't any sort of like immediate threat as such, but just fans, overzealous fans, maybe trying to grab him or touch him - that's, that's probably the biggest thing. I've never looked after anyone else since him, with that sort of fan base."

His efforts of guarding the likes of Jenner, Ora, and Hadid were much less eventful, and in 2018, he packed his career up to concentrate on his passion - acting.

Having featured as an extra in the 2011 Guy Ritchie film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, he is now hoping his career in Hollywood will soon to take off just like his fashion label Simon Newton London has.

Former celebrity bodyguard Newton has launched his own fashion label (Simon Newton London)
Former celebrity bodyguard Newton has launched his own fashion label (Simon Newton London)

Advert

Two and a half years after Newton protected Jackson, the singer died of a heart attack at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009.

Coroners concluded his death was caused by acute propofol intoxication - the anaesthetic Jackson had used to help him sleep.

The death was ruled a homicide and in 2011, Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in jail.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images

Topics: Celebrity, Kendall Jenner, Michael Jackson, Music, London, Fashion, Hollywood

Joe Yates
Joe Yates

Joe is a journalist for UNILAD, who particularly enjoys writing about crime. He has worked in journalism for five years, and has covered everything from murder trials to celeb news.

X

@JMYjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
3 hours ago
5 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Harry Potter actor makes appearance at JK Rowling's stage show amid her ongoing feud with co-stars

    Many Harry Potter stars have distanced themselves from JK Rowling amid her comments on the trans community

    Celebrity
  • 3 hours ago

    Brad Pitt and ex Angelina Jolie's legal battle takes a major turn as he makes fresh new demand

    The A-list actors might be divorced, but their legal battle is far from over

    Celebrity
  • 3 hours ago

    Akon’s $6,000,000,000 futuristic 'crypto city' is abandoned after 7 years

    The music star would've had its residents using his own cryptocurrency

    Celebrity
  • 5 hours ago

    Disturbing final message from Jeffrey Epstein just hours before his death revealed

    Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in 2019

    Celebrity
  • Michael Jackson’s son 'Blanket' has new nickname after completely reinventing himself
  • Elton John admitted Michael Jackson was 'a disturbing person to be around'
  • Michael Jackson once closed entire supermarket just so he could feel normal
  • Kendall Jenner's 'horrendous' runway walk leaves fans cringing