Jackson Promises Disclaimer in Future ‘HIStory’ Albums : Pop music: Lyrics that the singer says target racism and bigotry have come under fire from Jewish groups.

Michael Jackson, stung by criticism from Jewish leaders for his use of anti-Semitic terms in a song on his new album, plans to add a disclaimer to future shipments of the set, “HIStory--Past, Present and Future Book I.”

The singer revealed in a letter received Friday by Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center that he will add the message “so that no one can listen to my music and misconstrue my intentions.”

Jackson, whose new album will be released Tuesday, has come under fire for his use of the terms Jew me and kike in the song “They Don’t Care About Us.”

Jackson said in a statement Friday that the song’s lyrics target racism, bigotry and stereotyping and that he was sorry if they had been misinterpreted.

Jackson echoed those comments in his letter to Hier and Cooper, saying that future copies of his album will include the following disclaimer:

“There has been a lot of controversy about my song, ‘They Don’t Care About Us.’ My intention was for this song to say ‘no’ to racism, anti-Semitism and stereotyping. Unfortunately, my choice of words may have unintentionally hurt the very people I wanted to stand in solidarity with. I just want you all to know how strongly I am committed to tolerance, peace and love, and I apologize to anyone who might have been hurt.”

Cooper said Friday that he spoke to a distraught Jackson for about 10-15 minutes Thursday night.

“The fact that this [disclaimer] is going to go into the album is a very important gesture and, at this late stage, probably the best that we could expect--and we welcome his gesture,” Cooper said.

A spokesperson for Epic Records said Friday that the initial shipment of the album was 2 million copies.

Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg--singled out by Jackson as one of the singer’s closest friends during Diane Sawyer’s interview with Jackson on Wednesday on ABC-TV’s “PrimeTime Live”--issued a statement Thursday clarifying the context of liner notes he provided for the double-album set, which includes one disc of new material and one disc of re-mastered hits.

“I was asked to write liner notes for Michael Jackson in August of 1993,” Spielberg said in a statement released by Amblin Entertainment. “It was represented to me that these liner notes were to be for . . . a ‘Best of Michael Jackson’ album. Based on that, and my admiration for Michael Jackson, I wrote the liner notes at that time. My liner notes are by no means an endorsement of any new songs that appear on what has now been released as Michael Jackson’s ‘HIStory’ album.”