I've never been a Michael Jackson fan so I'm kinda neutral about this.

As you may know Michael Jackson is again being accused of abusing children. I don't know what to make of all of this, but what I do find interesting is the way that some of his fans refuse to believe he did anything wrong, mainly on the basis of liking his music. They can get a bit cultish about it.

I've seen similar responses about certain rock giants from the sixties and seventies when the question of child abuse and statuory rape comes up. When I say rock musicians, I'm talking some BIG lead singers and guitarists of the time who've never been investigated because they're too rich. Really famous people who in many cases did what they did knowingly, not just a case of "she looked older." In some cases their lyrics take on a new meaning seen in this light.

So here's the thing. I don't know whether he did these things or not. I do know I wouldn't discount testimonies based on whether I liked his music or not. I think Kevin Spacey is a fine actor. Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski and Bryan Singer are all responsible for films I liked before I heard anything about their sexual activity. But would I say any of these people were innocent on that basis? No. But can we like their material.after these revelations?

Slight clarification - I meant to say that I'm far more convinced by the accusations made against the seventies rock groups than Jackson. Some of those appeared in print back in the eighties. In at least two cases, the girls in question were hidden away.

So because Michael Jackson was a total weirdo mean his music was no good ?

The most likely reason for a posthumous movie like this is a smear campaign. The music business isn’t a friendly place. It will probably sell more MJ music, at his expense. Kinda reminds me of Mormonism.

Michael had a lot of help with the music, he was no genius. Maybe as smart as Dolly Parton or Cher I guess? As for him abusing kids, honestly I don't see it. I think he was a good person but eccentric. It's been so many years that it's going to be a mystery.

I think anyone who has followed MJ more closely would conclude that he was a pedophile. He was only interested in young boys, never the girls. They slept with him in his bed and showered with him. He groomed both them and their parents. He was a skilled manipulator in gaining the trust and devotion of his victims. The men in the film “Leaving Neverland” were NOT his first victims. The were several others he paid off in settlements to keep quiet.

He never made any secret of his sharing his bed with lots of young boys. Just denied any touching. Very probably a paedophile, maybe a deluded one who thought he was just having nice relationships. Certainly a very strange dude.

Whether people should still celebrate and enjoy his music is another matter. The old songs and videos haven't changed since the latest film came out, so you can still dance to them if you want. You might draw the line at buying anything that is going to result in benefit to his estate. Until such time as his estate managers say that they are going to support child abuse victims.

MJ never grew up. Two boys sleeping over doesn’t make either of them a pedophile.

Joseph Smith on the other hand did take a sexual interest in young girls. Unlike MJ, he ruined their lives if they opposed.

Now everyone seems shocked and surprised.

I'm kind of surprised more people didn't openly suspect what he was doing. Even when he was alive, I thought it was a common popular assumption he was probably engaging in some kind of inappropriate behavior with children.

His whole weird child obsession and Peter Pan thing was right out in the open. What did people think he was doing with his sexual urges?

For a short time I thought ~maybe~ he wasn't actually diddling kids when he married Debbie and then Lisa. However it became obvious he wanted Debbie to get him a kid and I have doubts he was sexually interested in either of them.

I know I would not have left my kid alone with him for 2 minutes. Yet, some parents practically served their kid to him on a platter.

I have not seen the recent documentary. I remember there was a lot of speculation when he was alive.

For me it boils down to this: There are no heroes.

If you look deep enough, be it a founding father, ancient philosopher, religious figure, author, teacher or anyone you admire, you will usually find something repugnant to you. I've given up expecting people who contribute good things were also 100% good people. None of us are. I'm not sure I would respond to each case the same way, especially once they are dead and we can't do anything about it. We should include the good with the bad when we teach about influential figures.

He married Lisa Marie before Debbie Rowe.

Thanks. I didn't remember the order and should have checked.

He was the family meal ticket instead. He was frightened by maturity. He surrounded himself with an artificial childhood world throughout his life.

I don't really know about the history of the abuse claims except that he wasn't convicted and there have been stories for years.

I do know from news reports the guys in the documentary denied under oath that MJ molested them.


So, without more hard evidence, I'll say that as an eccentric celebrity he's a target.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2019 01:38PM by anybody.

Given the fact that the overwhelming majority sexual assaults go unreported, the odds that numerous kids have made false allegations overs several decades seems a bit far fetched. I obviously do not have any inside information, but IMHO there is far too much smoke for there not to be any fire.

If only such scrutiny were given to Joseph Smith.

In about 1985 I interviewed a Black woman who worked as a maid at the Jackson residence. Michael was in his mid-20s. The interview had nothing to do with her employment. After the interview was over, both her representative and I asked her, basically point blank, "hey, what's up with MJ's lifestyle and sexuality.

We'd had a good interview and there'd been a goodly amount of laughter shared among us, so I suspect that she wanted to continue the bonhomie we'd experienced and she coyly said that she's had no problem reaching a conclusion based on the number of young boys who had sleep-overs at the mansion.

None of us wanted to or felt the need, to smear MJ with a broad brush, but I came away from that meeting convinced that MJ's sexual preference was male children. That's against both most moral and legal laws, but so's drunk driving and theft. Laws don't change behavior, only punishment does, and many people are able to escape punishment. If that maid was correct in what she implied, MJ went through life 'getting away' with it. Most of us have "flaws" that we hope to conceal from the rest of the world, so we, too, can 'get away with it.'

There seems to be a good basis for concluding that the Godhead, pop, the kid and the ghost, are not doing humankind much of any good.