School band playing Michael Jackson

[recededpronunciation]

It’s been decided that the school band - a group of 11 year old boys - are going to play a Michael Jackson number at the next concert. School staff were involved in this decision.

AIBU or is this just massively inappropriate in the wake of the Leaving Neverland revelations?

[ArtisanPopcorn]

How people still defend him is beyond me.

[ethelfleda]

YABU

[WailingAtPaintings]

I'm with you OP, I think it's gross.

I do not believe Jackson's music should be banned, but having 11 year old boys perform it, when MJ was abusing children of a similar age, it pretty sick.

[mrsstephens89]

YABU

[BarbieJellyBabyBrain]

Can't believe people are defending Michael Jackson on this thread!

[BarbieJellyBabyBrain]

I won't listen to any more MJ, I cant do it without thinking about what he did to those poor boys.

[PillowTalker]

Beat it OP. You don't wanna be startin' something bad, make a big fuss of this and the kids will all be thinking that they don't care about us

[AirMass]

YADNBU!!! I cant bear to hear his songs on the radio, I feel physically sick, actual nausea when I hear his songs. I cannot separate the man from his music, he sickens me

[SleepingSloth]

I can't believe the people that don't have a problem with this. Totally inappropriate.

[PillowTalker]

I feel physically sick, actual nausea

Oh do bore off with the melodrama.......what he's accused of is absolutely awful but with this kind of claimed reaction I wonder how you cope watching the news, browsing the internet, navigating the highs and lows of real life?

[Sparklingbrook]

YABU

[happyhillock]

Oh get a life, a band singing a song isn't going to hurt anyone

[Butteredghost]

It's not a decision I would have made as a teacher. I would anticipate many parents would think this way and think let's not go there.

The timing is really terrible.

[NCforthis2019]

I liked the guys songs - I didn’t know him nor do I condone what he did. His songs are great - they will carry on after we have all died, that’s just the way it is. That’s just it - I like his SONGS, not him, his SONGS. I saw a school play last week where the opening songs were Michael Jackson songs - no one batted an eyelid, again, it’s the songs, not the guy.

[Foo2]

YANBU

[Witchtower]

Omg I can’t believe some of the responses. YANBU.

There’s a big difference with commiting some petty crimes in the past to paedophilia.

We can believe what we want. This guy specifically chose boys and build a bloody theme park to groom them.

Same goes for R Kelly. I love their music but we need to stop being in denial.

[Crockof]

Yanbu. I turn over if he is on the radio

For evil to prevail all we need is for good people to do nothing.

[GrintusBintuss]

YANBU. Bring it up with the school. It makes me feel a bit sick.

[Valanice1989]

I can't be the only one thinking of from Phoenix Nights.

[Laiste]

It's just 'songs' ect .... hmmmm

The trouble with separating the artist with his actions in this case is that his art how he made the dollars it took to create that paedophilic honey trap known as Never Land.

I hear the songs and can only think of how he spent the cash.

[Flamingobaby37]

You are definitely not being unreasonable. I would complain if it was my child. I would not want them playing the music of a prolific abuser nor want to sit in an audience listening to it.

[JuniperNarni]

I hear the songs and can only think of how he spent the cash

But he isn't spending the cash now is he, given that he is dead. The only people that could benefit financially now from his music are his children, who are completely innocent in all of this.

[Sunshine1235]

YANBU op. I only hope that the pps who have said YBU haven’t seen the documentary. How anyone can watch it and then think that we shouldn’t at least ask the question whether listening to his music is the right thing to do is beyond me.

We were big MJ fans in our house, played his music a lot, had tickets to see him etc. Since watching the documentary I just can’t stomach his songs anymore. I don’t think his music should be censored; but I do think it’s inappropraite for a school to be promoting it. Imagine if there was a school talent show and some boys did a Jim will fix it sketch, it would be deemed as inappropriate. I know people love MJs music and don’t want to let it go (I was one of them) but I do think people need to start speaking up if they don’t want to listen to it

[Piglet208]

The teachers in our school had a discussion and decided that for the time being we would not use music by MJ in performances, class time or assemblies. We felt it would be provocative and potentially disrespectful. We might not know for sure whether the allegations are true but it seems better to err on the side of caution while recent revelations are raw.

[Laiste]

He may be dead but many of his victims aren't. They alive and living with depression and trauma.