Elton John has a new autobiography coming out tomorrow in which he makes some rather bold claims about the late Michael Jackson, mainly that in his later years, the King of Pop had gone off the deep end.

via TMZ:

“I’d known Michael since he was 13 or 14 … He was just the most adorable kid you could imagine. But at some point in the intervening years, he started sequestering himself away from the world, and away from reality the way Elvis Presley did.”

He goes on to say, “God knows what was going on in his head, and God knows what prescription drugs he was being pumped full of, but every time I saw him in his later years I came away thinking the poor guy had totally lost his marbles.”

Then comes the big allegation, with Elton writing … “I don’t mean that in the light-hearted way. He was genuinely mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around.”

He goes on to describe a party he once had, in which Michael wandered off and was found playing with Elton’s housekeeper’s son. He says, “For whatever reason, he couldn’t seem to cope with adult company at all.”

(Photos: avalon)