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.

It’s also entirely plausible that he deliberately befriended younger men/ boys in the industry and didn’t do anything to them so that they would come out and publicly defend him. Plausible deniability.
He systematically abused. It’s very likely that he set things up to work in his defence before he was caught.

I’m sure i saw a video of the police looking around his room after he died-body cam?
there were posters of babies around the room, looked liked baby formula advert posters?
i cant remember where i saw it? On the news
It gave me the creeps, I watched the documentary, leaving neverland….
never been a fan , never will be
i turn off the radio when his songs come on

Agree with you. Ozzy was a twat. An addicted twat, but still a twat. I don’t understand how people heroise John Peel (and many others), whilst blithely ignoring the fact that he had a thing for young girls. Evil Genius should be compulsory listening 🙂

But the difference is that your examples were convicted for their crimes.

Whether we like it or not MJ wasn’t. He was accused went to court and was acquitted of all crimes.

So that’s why. He wasn’t convicted and was proven innocent in a court of law. Feelings, intuition etc don’t convict a person a legal system does.

And yeah he settled out of court but again this is common and those boys agreed to settle and not go to court. Their choice.

A number of famous children - Corey Feldman, Aaron Carter, Macauley Cullin all supported him.

We may never know but if you watch a lot of the document it’s it can go either way. There was one where a journalist investigated the claims - one boy said he was abused in the train station building at Neverland ranch at a certain time and showed he was there at that time - planning and construction documents show it wasn’t built yet. The same biy who accused had been living at MJs ranch for months and onky accused when after six months he asked the family to leave.

My conclusion - could go either way.

Couldn't believe it when I saw the trailers. Mind you, I was shocked when Sean Connery and Diego Maradona died a few years ago and people went mad with gushing praise, including lots of types on the left who would normally be very vociferous in condemnation of VAWG. As a poster said upthread, 'men get away with everything.'

Jimmy Saville was never convicted of anything and neither has so far, Scott Mills

Both utterly cancelled.

Theres probably more in that category that I cant remember

The point people are making is not whether someone was convicted or not, or whether they were any good at what they did in the first place, but why some people argue you should separate the crime from the artist/art and some dont

Its not really enough to say someone wasnt very good and someone was a great artist so they were so good we can continue celebrating them.

I don't think the movie should have been made.

It's all just best left in the past. He was a genius but so flawed we all need to leave it in the past. The movie is glorifying him.

Michael Jackson was an incredible artist who created amazing art that gave so much pleasure and continues to please millions of people.

Michael Jackson was a disturbed individual who behaved unforgivably with children and was outed and judged as such .

Two things can be true at the same time.

Have you heard of Hillary Clinton?

Well it was made by his family I believe so anyone can make a film about anything

What is more the question is who will see it (answer, millions) who will enjoy it (answer, millions), who will feel uncomfortable about it (answer, millions)

If people werent still fans, there wouldnt be any mileage in it

Im conflicted because there is no doubt he was a genuius, hugely talented, of the like you rarely see and may never see again.

Like classical composers of old, like hens teeth.

But there is no doubt he was a sexual abuser of children, that simply isnt in question.

Wow. How was that even a thing?
Just shows you can buy almost anything you like, including 'innocence from beyond the grave'
Greedy, greedy greedy corrupt fuckers

Sort of misses the point that it is however morally repugnant to rejoice in and celebrate the art of a prolific pedophile even if he was very talented

I was shocked to see the trailer for this at the cinema a few months back. I literally said so out loud, couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Wrong IMO.

Not if you separate the art from the artist. We have absolutely no idea of the character of some of the historic great artists, writers and composers and we don’t need to because we focus on their work.

his estate even got HBO to pull Leaving Neverland because they dusted off a 1992 contract to air a concert he played in Budapest that contained a non-disparagement clause so they argued that it meant they could never ever air anything disparaging

I think we do need to start holding people to a higher standard on their behaviour towards others.

This is why I find the argument we was never convicted baffling it's such a low bar. Inappropriate behaviour with children isn't okay imo whether the law deemed it crosses the line of criminal or not.

After leaving never land im pretty sure he was a prolific paedophile
But even if he wasent ,he certainly emotionally abused children
His he woyld shower them with gifts and atrebtiin and take them eveeywhere with him untill they reached adoloescence and then he would drop them.

My point is that it is morally repugnant to separate the art from the artist in these circumstances. And MJ is hardly historic. His estate is still raking it in which is pretty disgusting considering how much they enabled and covered up his crimes

100%. I can’t fathom how on one hand everyone condemns celebs having sex with barely legal girls yet on the other celebrates a predatory paedophile. He’s revolting. And those that excuse his behaviour are revolting

Doesn't miss the point at all.
It's some people's view that it is morally repugnant to celebrate his art, it's other people's view that we separate the art from his actions and we can celebrate the art for what it is.

This and I wonder was he set up as a high profile distraction to keep the real paedophiles hidden.

Where did I say Jackson was historic? The point I made was we quite possibly revere the art of some geniuses who may well have been morally questionable. Art is not the artist.

See also the George Best Belfast City Airport.... Absolutely sickening

Which female pop star / actress has been prosecuted for child abuse?

Any sane, rational thinking adult with a modicum of intelligence who has watched Neverland cannot reach any conclusion other than that he was a paedophile.

I say this as someone who was a huge MJ fan growing up and who can still recognise how talented he was. My DD wanted me to go with her to see the movie but I declined. His music is tainted for me now, knowing just a little of what he did. The way his music makes me feel (no pun intended) now has a really unpleasant cognitive dissonance of nostalgia, appreciation, sadness and disgust.

Edited to add - it's exceptionally naive to think that just because he didn't abuse every child he came into contact with, he didn't abuse any.