Please Don't Hate On 7.01.09: Michael Jackson

Posted by Jay Carroll on 07.01.2009

This week, I'll examine and defend Michael Jackson's persona against the public perception of The Man In The Mirror.

This week's edition of "Please Don't Hate" isn't going to follow the same format as most editions will. It's more of a running commentary than a bullet-pointed piece on the things that people are highly critical of regarding Michael Jackson. Next week, "Please Don't Hate" will return to its regular format.

Without overstating the obvious, or rehashing what has already been written by other commentators, I am here to defend the name of Michael Jackson. Often in death, the good that a person does is interned with their bones, and the darker side of them is brought to the forefront. So far, the more negative aspects of Michael Jackson's life have been largely forgotten and swept under the rug by the media en masse, and the public perception of the King of Pop has turned on its ear. Michael Jackson is once again in everyone's rotation at seemingly every radio station in America. MTV, MTV2, MTV Jamz, BET, VH1, VH1 Soul, and Fuse TV all deviated from their regularly scheduled programming to pay tribute to Michael by playing his music. There isn't a website devoted to current news on the Web right now that hasn't reported every new twist and turn in the Jackson saga since he was rushed to the hospital around 12 pm Pacific time on Thursday. While I'm all for the more positive side of MJ being showcased, the cynical part of me wonders when the uglier things that people have thought and said will resurface. Of course, the internet will be the first place for it (because dissenting opinions on popular subjects are like assholes on the internet, everyone has one, and invariably it will be full of crap at times), but why no negative things from the media just yet?

As much as our culture is designed on turning on a celebrity on a dime, only to take them back after a great album or a career resurgence (cuz we all know America loves a comeback story), it seemed especially hollow for people to suddenly have a change of though on Michael Jackson because of a sudden occurrence of cardiac arrest. I do not doubt that Mike still had fans, and I'm not saying that there weren't people genuinely affected by the news. But like quite a few people have already stated, Michael wasn't the beloved figure he was during the 80's anymore. He was a relic of the 80's, just like Members Only jackets, American hardcore punk, and the Delorean car. It took his death to pull his persona back from over the ledge it had been free falling from since the first accusations of his strange behavior and habits surfaced in the mid-80's.

It all started with an incident on the set of a Pepsi commercial in 1984. In the midst of shooting a simulated concert in front fans, a pyrotechnic fire set Michael's head on fire, giving him 2nd degree burns to his scalp and requiring him to be rushed to the hospital. Having already had two surgeries performed on his nose since breaking it in 1979, Michael was becoming more and more concerned about his appearance. And why wouldn't he? At that time, he was literally the biggest star in the industry, and arguably the most famous person in the world. Thriller had been released 2 years prior, and was still spawning off singles that were not only making Michael rich beyond most people's wildest imaginations, but were changing the record industry's perception on how many singles could be released from one album. His face was constantly on television, and almost in every home in America and worldwide via posters, album covers, etc; arguably, it was the number 3 selling point of Michael Jackson, behind his singing and dancing abilities. As the 80's progressed, the reason why Michael wore one glove on his left hand (the skin disorder, vitiligo which causes people to lose pigment) progressed and started appearing all over his body. In response, Jackson underwent treatment that further lightened his skin (not skin bleaching, as people have alleged) which, combined with makeup applications to even out the blotches in his complexion, gave him a complexion resembling more of a white person than a man of African American descent.


Literally, Michael at his zenith.


Also as the 80's progressed, behavior that people thought of as strange began surfacing. In 1986 he was photographed inside of a "hypobaric chamber" and the tabloids had a field day with it. Nevermind the fact that Jackson allowed himself to be photographed in such a manner to help promote a movie he was filming and promoting (Captain EO), since Jackson allowed the tabloid reports to continue unabated, it was taken to be fact. The same can be said of him owning the Elephant Man's bones. In light of such rumors, the charitable act that Michael did, such as donating funds to the United Negro College Fund went unnoticed. He later began recanting some of the stories that were told about him, but since he had previously allowed them to run wild, they continued to do so, at his behest. In his later years he was quoted as saying that he wished he had never allowed the rumors of his strange behavior to gain traction to begin with.

In 1992, before the accusations of child molestation were launched into the stratosphere, Michael started the Heal the World Foundation for Children, which gave millions to children affected by war and famine, and brought them to Neverland Ranch to visit and be entertained by Michael. At his performance during halftime of Super Bowl XXVII, Jackson brought children from around the world into the stadium to share in his performance. He also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show to dispel rumors about him for the first time on national television, and told the world about his vitilago. In the process of giving this interview, he told stories of the abusive nature of his upbringing, and his belief that he didn't have a childhood. Psychologists tend to agree that a person that has suffered adverse treatment as a child, or lost a part of their childhood, often spend part (if not most) of their adult life trying to recapture their youth. A part of the profile of a person with a "lost childhood" is doing what they can to ensure others don't have to suffer through the mistreatment that they did as a child. Thought of in that context, Michael's involvement with children's charities and children themselves makes a lot more sense.





One child's accusations of sexual abuse almost brought Michael's world crashing down in 1993, and gave the tabloid media (and media en large) more fodder for "Wacko Jacko". After being sedated, Jordan Chandler told his father that Michael had sexually abused him at Neverland Ranch. He later gave therapists and police accounts of him and Michael kissing, having oral sex, and masturbating, along with a description of Michael's penis. Despite families and children that visited Neverland Ranch saying that Michael never did anything wrong with their children, and Jordan's own mother not standing by her child and husband, the public perception was that since Michael was now a "weirdo", that behavior like this was not only possible, but had to be true. Michael was pretty much screwed when the black sheep of the Jackson clan, La Toya, came forth and told everyone that would listen that her brother was a pedophile. Despite La Toya herself having some questionable things in her background, this was taken to be truth as well. She later recanted her statements, but the damage was done. Michael had begun taking painkillers and Valium, among other controlled substances, to deal with the stress resulting from these accusations. Despite the case against him being weak, Michael settled out of court to the tune of $22 million. His reputation was in shambles, and the public perception was that since Michael couldn't beat the charges, he simply paid for it out of pocket. The real story is that Michael's friends and legal advisors believed that he couldn't handle the length of a trial, and would end up dead from the stress accumulated thru the process. Michael was crushed by the fact that a child that he was trying to do good things for had turned on him in such a vicious manner and was attempting to extort him. Most people would have stopped helping children in such a public manner, but (eventually to his detriment) Michael strived forward with what he felt was the right thing to do.


He was once again accused of sexual abuse in 2003 by Gavin Arvizo, which when coupled with the documentary Living With Michael Jackson and the steady decline of Michael's ability to draw an audience (his last original album, Invincible only sold 2.1 million copies. Imagine selling 2.1 million and being considered a flop), he was pushed to the side as a living freak show. During the investigation into the charges, Dr. Stan Katz interviewed both Jackson and Arvizo and determined that Michael had the personality of a regressed 10 year old, stemming from childhood abuse, and did not fit the profile of a pedophile. However, the documentary did tons of damage to his public perception by painting him as an aloof millionaire frivolously spending money and alluded to inappropriate conduct between Michael and children. At this point, Michael was going broke, and couldn't afford to simply pay off another accuser. So he stood trial and was acquitted of all charges 2 years and 5 months after the second round of accusations surfaced. After the trial was completed, Jackson shut down Neverland Ranch's main house and retreated from the American public, taking up residence in Bahrain and becoming even more reclused from the public at large. Neverland Ranch eventually was threatened with a foreclosure sale twice in 2007 and 2008 until Jackson purchased the loan thru Colony Capital LLC.

In February 2009, Michael announced that he was going to formally announce his farewell tour, which was to be staged exclusively in London, England. Most commentators (myself included) wrote it off as his attempt to get out of debt thru performing. While we were deriding Michael's latest attempt to get out of debt, a funny thing happened; the shows sold out. Every one of them. 50 shows in one arena, sold out completely. Who honestly thought there was still a demand to watch a man who was considered a shell of himself perform? The closer we got to the beginning of this farewell gig, the more I was interested in it. Rumors were surfacing that he had dug deep into his bag of tricks and was going to reveal one more new dance move for the world to go apeshit over. What could he have had still in the bag? We already had the Moonwalk and the impossible lean he pulled off in the "Smooth Criminal" video, so what could it be now? And since there was virtually guaranteed to be fan cams in the arena, we were going to be able to see his new show from the comforts of our own computer.

Then, last Thursday, TMZ.com reported that Michael was in the hospital, and he had been hit with a bout of cardiac arrest. Some people took it as just typical TMZ bullshit, others ran with what was at the time just a rumor. A picture surfaced of Michael being airlifted to UCLA Medical, and media outlets were reporting that the King of Pop had indeed left the mortal realm. Radio stations began playing Jackson 5 records like it was 1975. Celebrities were giving quotes on Michael left and right. And finally, it seemed as if people were willing to lose the image of Michael as a child molester and weirdo, and regained the image of Michael as the consummate entertainer, the inspiration of an entire generation of performers. In death, Michael finally got the peace from the hate he received during his life.

This week, I'll leave you with Michael's performance from the 25th anniversary of Motown Records.


Oh, and since this has been very light on humor….


That's my time for the week.

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