I absolutely planned on NOT posting any Michael Jackson news today but considering that Q magazine is about to release their August issue with MJ on the cover, presumably his last magazine photoshoot ever, well … I felt it was worth posting on the blog. Unfortch, the photo is not a flattering one … and I understand that the coverstory article deals with the (last) four years leading up to his This Is It Tour that was to kickoff in London, England on Monday July 13. Here is Michael Jackson on the cover of Q magazine and some info about the coverstory:

On the eve of what could have been one of the greatest comebacks in music history, this month Q delves inside the mad, bad world of Michael Jackson. Charting the story of the last four years of his life, we journey through the personal, emotional and financial turmoil of the great icon. Q salutes the Thriller album as tribute to the King of Pop. A remarkable work by a truly remarkable pop star.

Because this issue went to press before MJ’s untimely death two weeks ago today, the magazine posted this disclaimer on their website:

Please note that this issue went to print prior to the sad news of Michael Jackson’s death. We hope that no offence is caused by its content in light of the tragic passing

After the jump, if you are so inclined, check out one more photo of MJ from this photoshoot with Q magazine. As unflattering as these photos are, they are among the last photos that MJ posed for before his death …

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Popstress Lily Allen is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Q magazine with few beautiful panthers to share the spotlight. At first, I guessed that Lily was merely posing with totally Photoshopped panthers but behind-the-scenes photos show that there were real life panthers on set with her. So cool. Here is Lily’s cover and a portion of her coverstory interview with the mag:

Lily Allen stripped off for her riskiest photoshoot yet as she posed topless beside two ferocious panthers. Wearing nothing but a pair of diamond-squared hotpants, opaque tights and platform heels, the Smile singer appears to show none of ‘The Fear’ she sings about in her latest single. The sexy shoot for Q magazine took place last month, just hours after the 23-year-old singer jetted in from the Caribbean … While the singer appears brave (and perhaps a little insane) to be standing so close to the predatory animals, it turns out Lily was not put at risk and the big cats were simply digitally added in. In another fun shot, it looks like Lily is taking to the dancefloor with three panthers as she shimmies in between them in a purple fringed dress. Shot by photographer John Wright, Lily poses in a series of skimpy outfits with her newfound friends from Buckinghamshire’s Amazing Animals, who were handled by experienced trainers during the challenging shoot. In the accompanying interview, Lily discusses the new ‘hunk’ in her life, Audio Bullys DJ Tom Dinsdale, despite being photographed with Jopling just days earlier. The interviewer even claims Lily French kisses Dinsdale in front of him. She tells the magazine: “The hunk in my kitchen… Well, he’s hot. He’s cute, isn’t he? I had a sleep-over two nights ago and he came along.” In the interview, Lily also admits she is in regular contact with ex-boyfriend Ed Simons, who she split from in January last year after a five-month relationship. The couple ended their relationship shortly after Lily suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage. She explained: “We still speak two times a week, he texts me all the time, making sure I’m all right. We never were not friends, it just became difficult. Because there was so much pain associated with everything that happened, for me I just needed to get away. But we still love each other. And we talk all the time and maybe one day we’ll get back together. But I don’t know. Not right now.” She also tells the magazines she has visited several lapdancing clubs, despite finding them “embarrassing”.

I really love this Q photospread and I am really loving Lily Allen these days. While I kinda liked her debut album, Alright, Still, I am TOTALLY enraptured by her new album It’s Not Me, It’s You. I can listen to her hit single The Fear on repeat for days … tho, I don’t cuz I don’t want David to leave me. After the jump, check out a larger version of Lily’s Q mag coverphoto and another photo of her dancing with some of her new panther friends …

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