Michael Jackson was a paedophile. Why does the local school choose one of his songs for the kids to perform to?

There's no cure for people.

I think the “separate the man from the music” thing is bullshit. Even if he wasn’t convicted (as someone said, one of the richest and well known people in the world) he still acted very creepy and inappropriate. We are in a time when people should face consequences for their crimes and it shouldn’t be ignored or swept under the carpet like in previous times. If there is no public disapproval then what is the deterrent? Someone in any other job would be sacked

The prophet of a major world religion was very much a paedophile according to current western thinking.

That doesn't stop over a billion people worshipping in his name every day.

Human mores and behaviour evolve over time and across cultures. What was acceptable 1400 or even 40-50 years ago is now seen in a very different light. Some brilliant individuals were often warped or damaged in other ways - especially MJ.

Winston Churchill was trenchantly opposed to ANY woman being allowed to vote for MPs.

And yet millions of women voted for him to be dubbed the greatest statesman that ever lived.

I find it more baffling when people think he was innocent. To me it makes no difference he wasn't convicted. The evidence and the documentary was enough for me. He was a pedophile.

And for people above asking "where do you draw the line"? I would say anyone who has victims who are still alive and suffering is a pretty good place to start.

Knowing what you know about him now, would you let your 7 year old child spend the night with the "eccentric" Michael Jackson?

It used to be common to marry at 12 ...

Exactly, Eric Gill was a really nasty piece of work, yet his typeface is widely used as is the London Underground typeface that he assisted in the design of.

And Fanta, everyones favourite orange soft drink was a Nazi creation due to a shortage of Coca Cola.

Even Zyklon B didn't get a name change until 1979 when it was re named Cyanosil. An advert from its makers in '78 proudly showed technicians clad in gas masks and white suits opening cans of Zyklon in Notre Dame to eradicate a woodworm infestation.

Then of course there is the huge number of pharmaceuticals that got accelerated testing in the death camps and are now medical staples.

With respect to MJ, he was never convicted, he was a musical genius, and is dead, you have to disconnect the music from the man.

I find it really jarring when his songs come on eg Radio 2. It's clear that he was a paedophile. I don't want to hear his music. I turn it off when it comes on. It really surprises me that it is routinely played by the BBC.

I think a lot of people here may be playing devil’s advocate. Of course it’s alright to feel discomfort about hearing Michael Jackson’s music played. It’s natural to feel conflicted about it, as you on the one hand enjoy it/it’s redolent of your youth whilst you also know what people have said he was doing in his private time.

Doesn’t adidas have some connection to the nazi party?

So I didn't believe this could be true

Until I realise I couldn't even remember any Lostprophets songs and they were a big part of me growing up.

But Ian whats-his-name was also convicted and it involved babies which may have had an effect

The evidence points to extortion rather than paedophilia.

I agree OP. Why is “divorcing the artist from the art” only applied in some instances?

I don't think it was ever acceptable to sleep with small children that were not related to you.

People saying the Leaving Neverland allegations were 'debunked' can I ask what they mean by this? Not being goady, I'm genuinely curious. I know they didn't win their case in court, but proving allegations of this nature legally is very difficult. To me the men's stories seemed very compelling but I'm open to evidence to the contrary.

If you start judging people based on today's standards then you will quickly find your pool of "acceptable" media is very small indeed...

The Gaurdian had a good article on this last year (not just MJ).

What you say about The Beatles is interesting because people always say that people thought differently about abuse in those days. Your post suggests that isn’t true.

Absolutely not condoning Elvis and all the other famous musicians that slept with young girls
But some of the boys MJ was allegedly abusing were as young as five.

Yeah I thought Pete Townsend but Roger daltrey shouldn't have his name associated by naming the who.
Thanks for replying.

Gandhi used to sleep with his naked nieces to test his celibacy.

Pearl clutching is strong this morning!

His impact on culture was so profound and so amazing that it is impossible to erase it from our memories, our hearts. The only thing we can do (and I really try) is to separate the artist from the art.

Also, he wasn’t solely responsible for the brilliance of those albums. Quincy Jones produced Off the Wall and was therefore responsible for its iconic sound. I don’t want to erase Quincy Jones.

However I get where you are coming from, Op. And while I might personally enjoy MJ’s work I don’t think I could create a dance to his work to be performed by young people. That would be rank, I feel. No wonder you felt sick.