AIBU to be shocked by public celebration of Michael Jackson?

[2021x]

Now the MJ film is out my social media feed is flooded with people doing the dances and talking about the movie etc. My local cinema is holding special events and screenings.

I personally have no doubt that he was a predatory paedophile. All the signs are there, especially how he talks about how he would never hurt a child and sharing a bed with them is the "most loving thing you can do in the world". He manipulated the world into thinking he had a "child-like persona" but was able to manage a music career worth millions... which someone who is naive would never be able to manage.

I also do not judge people who enjoy his music. It was very popular at the time, and would be associated with all types nostaligic memories. I listen to problematic artists all the time, but I don't pretend that they weren't abusive.

AIBU to be astounded that any business/media outlet would be seen dead even associating with him let alone celebrating such a horrifically abusive man.

I would imagine it would be intimidating to come forward with allegations against someone like MJ who can afford the best attorneys, endless money to fight the accuser, face scrutiny from the media/public, and it would be traumatic to go to trial.

He’s now dead though, so presumably you’re talking about when he was alive.

For the purposes of UK law (I'm sure it's roughly similar in the US), the following are illegal:

Meeting a Child Following Sexual Grooming (Section 15/15A): It is illegal for an adult (18+) to meet or travel to meet a child (under 16) after engaging in, or arranging, communication with that child for sexual purposes.
Sexual Communication with a Child (Section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015): It is a specific offence for an adult to intentionally engage in sexual communication with a child under 16, or send a message intended to elicit a sexual response, even if no meeting is arranged.
Pretending to be a Child (Northern Ireland): It is illegal to pretend to be a child to communicate with a child if the intention is to commit a sexual offence.

I haven't seen any convincing evidence of the above.

This conversation is circular now. We both have access to the same information and the sources you consider credible are not credible to me. Neither of us actually know.

The OP was "Why do people support him when he's a paedophile?" and my answer is, "I haven't seen any evidence that convinces me he was one." As stated further up, I have no particular loyalty to the man and would not be devastated or disillusioned to be proven wrong, but I don't feel I have been, yet.

Other people will have their own answers.

but if it was any other person doing the same things no one would doubt it.

I am so bored by reading this. It’s lazy, insulting and reductive. You can say it, type it a million times, but it doesn’t make you correct. You just don’t want to admit the lack of evidence, do you? The crap posted on here hasn’t been helpful to any meaningful debate, and that crap has been quickly refuted.

Alive or dead, it would still be tough. MJ seems to have a whole army of fans who will defend him regardless.

It's not lazy, it's the truth and it's not just disingenuous to say otherwise, it's straight up lying.

Your own calibre of responses on both threads has been ridiculous.'oh does every single pedophile behave the same? oh do they all refer to a textbook'?...' Have you stirred up any meaningful debate yourself? I certainly don't think so

Obviously I'm not going to say there was a lack of evidence, there's more against him than there is against most pedophiles.

Savile and Fayed never defended themselves but its now taken for granted their victims are truthful.

What about Andy Windsor, everyone rightfully believes Virginia, hes never been in court

I chuckled and then was horrified earlier in the thread when the supposed drawing of his penis was talked about being debunked one minute and them said not to be debunked!

. Defending him, the poster said it did not "match up". Well feck me a child drew a penis with markings on it, the fact it didn't have a triangle in the middle or something is neither here nor there. They saw a penis with markings

Why, if its true above, did he pay millions (like our Andy Windsor the creep) to keep them quiet. Why were there children's fingerprints found on porn?

Oh fundamentallyauthentic you really are a hoot calling people boring when your main input into this discussion is how much the film is making with lots of money signs🤣

But youre starting to sound cross now.🫤

When there’s doubt - and there has to be doubt in this case because nobody commenting was there at the time, I, personally, prefer to believe the child victims than an extremely odd middle aged man who chose the company of little boys and coerced them into sleeping with him by telling them that they would if they really loved him.

This. It's definitely something contentious about the whole thing, but i do truly think it's probably something some people would always deny.

I used to be a huge fan. But now I look at just how odd he really was, and canny too. And how many sycophants just got him what he wanted, and tried to cover up so much. It was such a tragic situation 😪

Why is it boring or lazy? If it was your Brother in law, your kids teacher, a plumber, the sweet shop owner, literally any other adult man, turning up to events with their best friend who was an unrelated 10 year old boy, and inviting him and others for sleepovers, literally everyone would be saying its dodgy as fuck!

Agreed they aren't the same as MJ, he was a pretty unusual individual by virtue of his upbringing and fame at a young age...but that doesnt give him a pass, or mean that theres a special, different, completely innocent reason for it when he did it. He had the advantage of "Wacko Jacko" image - a fragile genius but childlike and eccentric, megastar....which seemed to excuse bizarre and inappropriate behaviour.

There was a huge police/public/government enquiry into Saville and literally hundreds of victims came forward plus stories were corroborated by employees in institutions the BBC etc. the police found a lot of evidence.

She never said he was a virgin.

Sorry @MargoChanningsglass Lisa-marie did say he was a virgin when they met in her memoirs/book. Tried to delete my comment but MN wouldn't let me.

I watched many interviews yesterday as I went down a rabbit hole after another poster had me doubting myself, here's a small synopsis but I heard her say it also!

Just read this

Ignore my last message it won't let ne delete eirher😅

I mean it is literally the millionaire and modern version of 'do you want come and look at some puppies'.

Most abusers dont need to or have the means to build a world like that. They would if they could so that they attract more and give themselves more legitimacy.

MJ said the women he was into were the ones who were classy and quiet and not into all the sex and craziness because he is not into that.

And that he doesn't understand a lot of things that go on in relationships and he thinks that's one of the things that has hurt him in relationships because he doesn't understand how people do some of the things like do like mean things and vulgar things with their bodies.

No the bloke running around stage touching himself, dry humping the stage and doing pelvic thrusts definitely isn’t into doing vulgar things with his body,

i cringe every time I see him with Britney- following her round the stage three steps behind her thrusting his pelvis like a dirty old man.

yep, very classy. Not at all vulgar.

It's funny because he was critical of other people like Bobby Brown for simulating sex on stage and how he wanted to be responsible on stage, when he was asked why he grabs his crotch on stage he said he wasn't even aware of it and it's reflexive and not meant to be sexual.

I just flicked through this, but plenty of examples of him touching women and simulating sex.

I’ve just google and watched the Britney thing again.

he comes out, does his little voice over while caressing his crotch and thrusting. “The way you turn me on”. Nice. Definitely not sexual.

There’s one point where he has one hand on his crotch and he reaches the other to touch Britney’s groin. She moves her hand up very quickly to knock him away.

then he does his solo dance and humps the floor in front of her.

if he really thinks performances like that aren’t sexual then i wonder what activities that he would call “non sexual” with young boys in his bed ….

This is the issue with the accusations against Michael. There are massive holes in the accusers stories. Wade Robson is a proven liar.

It all appears to be so money driven.

Of course it is. 💯

Safechuck has also been proven to be a liar.

And finally…

The film is projected to make 1billion dollars at the worldwide box office. That’s a hell of a lot of celebrating.