Why are we still celebrating Michael Jackson?

[Conniebygaslight]

Just that really…this man shared his bed with children but it was excused as him being ‘childlike’
I know his music is iconic but seriously, there are so many live tribute shows to celebrate him and his music is played everywhere. It feels wrong on so many levels.
Surely we can’t just pick & choose who we accept predatory behaviour from…?!

I'm not. It's grim

I’m not a fan of his music so would happily choose not to ever listen to it. But he was never actually found guilty of anything, was he? He was undoubtedly a creepy weirdo, but he won’t be cancelled without proof of something.

I wonder this too. I’ll switch off the radio if any of his songs come on - odious man.

It’s is absolutely incredible to me that people defend him or turn a blind eye cause they like a few of his songs. He is a sick pedo that not only physically but mentally abused young boys. I sometimes wonder if the victims were girls there would be more outrage?

And Boy George.

No he wasn’t but to be honest anyone today that was ‘sharing a bed with children’ wouldn’t need a court case. There seems an inconsistency in what/who is acceptable. Look at Gregg double Gee, he has been more or less cancelled without any trial…(he’s an arse, I’m not defending him).

There are so many questionable artists who have produced great art of many forms.

Enjoying his music isn’t condoning his behaviour.

I think the idea of pretending someone and their work never existed is a recent affection and a way of virtue signalling.

I really hope it doesn’t last long.

I’m not a fan (love Ben though) but if we cancelled all music from musicians that have done bad stuff, what would we be left with.

I think sharing a bed with children is more than ‘bad stuff’ I like a lot of his music but celebrating him with shows etc makes me uncomfortable.

Abusing children trumps most things I think. I like a lot of his music but I still don’t think we should be celebrating him

I used to love the Lost Prophets music but they are absolutely dead to me after what he did. Same for MJ, I just can't enjoy the music knowing that children were sexually abused by them.

Not me! I switch over any radio station playing his music and I've made my own teens aware of his wrongdoings. I absolutely will not celebrate any success this man 'had'.

I think there's an argument to be made for distinguishing between celebrating the person and enjoying their work - if you feel a broadcaster is publishing stuff that glorifies the person and potentially normalises the bad behaviour, I would take it up with that broadcaster.

I agree with PPs that if we sought to boycott the work of everyone who'd ever done anything that wouldn't be acceptable by today's standards, we'd be quite screwed as we'd likely have to start science again from scratch as well as arts and the humanities. Which would be utter madness.

but it is not about something being unacceptable by today's standards, child abuse was never acceptable. There are other older male singers who had sex with minors who are revered, some dead some alive still.

Boy George has never been accused of any crimes against children as far as I am aware

These posts bring out the die hard fans who don’t want to see the imo wealth of evidence to say it was definitely something very something untoward went on .

I watched the channel 5 documentary on ‘who killed Michael Jackson’ that was on yesterday. The child abuse allegations were barely mentioned. It was all about his 25 year drug addiction and the doctors that enabled this. He truly was one fucked up person.

I don't think we do celebrate him in the UK but I'm always surprised at all the tribute acts when we're on holiday in Europe- even in child friendly resorts , grim

What did boy George do?!

but it is not about something being unacceptable by today's standards, child abuse was never acceptable.

I think people turned a blind eye to it much more frequently in previous decades than they do today, so in a sense it was more accepted, if not acceptable.

This! It drives me mad how the younger generation seem to believe they have the right to "cancel" someone. Who the hell do they think they are? Hopefully future generations will see it for the nonsense it is, and yes, it really is a way of virtue signalling (and tiresome with it).

Tbh I do love a lot of MJ's music and do listen to it sometimes , but I absolutely do think he was guilty

I neither like or hate Michael Jackson's music.
I kind of think he was probably guilty.
I can't see how listening to his music or stopping listening to his music makes any difference to anything whatsoever 🤷‍♀️.

You’re joking?! 15 months in jail.

There are quite a few clips of him where his real deeper voice comes out. That squeaky innocent voice was all an act. If anyone still believes he is innocent after watching the Leaving Neverland documentary, then they need their heads testing.