My Passion for Michael Jackson.
Written by a Digital Journalism Student.
One of a kind.
Michael Jackson has always been one of my favorite artists. Ever since I was around the age of seven, I have admired his talent for singing and dancing. I think we can all agree how rare it is when a pop star stands out from the crowd and becomes an unforgettable icon from just being their self. Jackson’s ability to be able to entertain with his music and choreography is something truly special, and it cannot be argued that without Michael Jackson, Pop would not be what it is today. He has influenced so many icons… Beyonce, Jason Derulo, BTS, Kanye West, Drake, and many others, who have mentioned Jackson in their music, or have followed his art style.
To me, Jackson is powerful. The way he can transform any atmosphere into being upbeat and at the same time chilled is amazing to me. His music genres vary from pop funk to blues rock to new jack swing, and although it seems like a random mix of rhythms, it surprisingly works and melds together. A playlist full of Michael Jackson to me is pure bliss, which is why I fully agree with statements made about Jackson being a musical genius.
Discovering Michael.
I vividly remember my mum introducing Jackson to me, teaching me the choreography to the hit song Thriller. I remember being enthralled with the costume, makeup, dancing, and story that was told throughout the music video. The classic movie theatre scene that was an eighties vibe was my favourite scene and it really made me want to experience life back then.
My obsession with MJ has made me fascinated by his music career, back when he was a part of the Jackson Five and then going on to his flourishing solo career. I find the controversies and arguments towards him interesting, and I enjoy searching for statements and stories from people close to Jackson to try and grasp the struggles he was faced with throughout his life.
To me, Jackson is misunderstood and over hated due to stories and rumors ridiculously spun out of context. It has been thirteen years since the king of pop passed, and usually when he is mentioned, it is followed along with statements claiming he is a nonce, or he bleached himself white due to his aspiration to become a white man. I do not believe any of these stories and I can fully support my opinion based on evidence and research I have personally conducted.
Questions on what controversies are there towards Michael Jackson, and whether he is guilty of said controversies?
One big story revolving around Jackson is his drastic change in looks due to plastic surgery. Insinuations were made about Jackson slowly erasing his heritage from his facial features, articles even deciding to snidely comment on it. Allure.com questioned Jacksons motives with the statement “It doesn’t illuminate why Jackson gradually erased every vestige of his heritage.”
However, the reasoning behind Jacksons extreme face change is not widely known or told. The surgery starts with Jacksons nose, when he breaks it while dancing in 1979. Two rhinoplasties later, making Jacksons nose look slimmer, it is disclosed by his surgeon, Steven Hoefflin, that the singer suffered from body dysmorphia, thinking his nose was larger than it was. Beverly Hills plastic surgeon backed this comment from Hoefflin shortly after the pop stars death with the statement “Michael Jackson viewed his nose how an anorexic views the body… no matter how tiny his nose was, it was always fat. He perceived it as the opposite of what he saw.”
As we can see though, Jacksons experimentation in plastic surgery did not stop there. Although he denied having done anything other than the two rhinoplasties, we can physically see the transformation his face underwent, and yet again, he had a good excuse for it.
In 1984, a twenty-five-year-old Jackson experienced a horrific accident whilst filming a commercial for Pepsi with his brothers from the singing group, the Jackson five. On the sixth take filming, as he was making his way to stage during the introduction, the pyrotechnics burst further than they were supposed to, causing Jacksons face to be engulfed into flames. Unaware of the situation, he continued dancing, and had to be wrestled down by crew members to put the fire out on his hair.
The pop star suffered first, and second degree burns on his scalp, and had several bald patches on his head from where the fire burnt of his hair, which also explains why Jackson can be seen to be wearing wigs during performances and in paparazzi pictures. The aftermath of the accident caused Jackson to be heavily compensated by Pepsi, a whopping amount of 5.5 million, which he later donated to Brotman medical center, one of the hospitals he was treated at.
Another big story was Jacksons skin appearance, on how his skin started to become lighter after he released his hit song Thriller in 1982. Many made comments on how Jackson had begun to bleach his face due to his desire to become a white man and had even seen him applying the bleaching cream to his face before performances and interviews. However, these comments on Jacksons inclination to change race are false, since he suffered from the skin condition Vitiligo. Jackson first admitted his condition publicly in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, however, the rumors about him using a bleaching cream to make himself whiter were more commonly known and believed, surprise, surprise!
Jacksons autopsy statements, made by his Coroner Dr Christopher Rogers, confirmed on the singer’s vitiligo, which could be seen by the light patches covering his arms and hands. From this we can assume that he was humiliated by his skin condition and attempted to hide it by wearing long sleeved shirts and gloves during performances. It was also later revealed that Jackson used Benoquin, a de-pigmentation cream on his face, that was prescribed to him by his personal physician, Conrad Murray. He used the cream to even out his skin tone, and so the bleaching cream story was partly false, and more aggressively spun out of context.
The biggest controversy towards Michael Jackson, however, was the allegations against him with child molestation accusations. It is widely believed that Jackson was a sexual predator, though through the first accusation story with the Chandlers, we can see evidence of Jackson’s innocence.
As everyone knows, Jackson had a close bond with children. One child in particular was called Jordan Chandler, who found a father figure in Michael Jackson. Jordan knew Jackson through his stepfather, after the pop star rented a car from his dealership. From there, Jordan and Jackson became close, and the singer even invited Jordan and his parents to travel with him to places such as Morocco and his ranch house named Neverland. Jordans biological father, Evan Chandler, did not like how his visitation rights with his son were interrupted due to the families’ constant travels with the pop star. This aggravation is believed to of festered when headlines such as ‘Jackson’s secret family’ were published by magazines such as the national Enquirer. Between June and August in summer 1993, is when Evan Chandler started to build a case due to suspicions of something going on between his son and Jackson. Evan was discussing filing a restraining order against Jackson, and there are even secret recorded messages of the jealous father threatening to ‘ruin Jackson.’
In the middle of July, there was a custody battle between Jordans mother and Father, and Evans claimed that Jordan disclosed to him how Michael had molested him several times. Jordan was later sat down by Jacksons Private Investigator, where Jordan denied being sexually assaulted by the singer. The investigation continued for eighteen months and was soon closed due to Jordan not co-operating. The battle was settled however when Jackson paid the Chandlers 22 million, and a few years later, Jordan demanded legal emancipation from both of his parents.
This is the first accusation story towards Jackson, and other allegations were soon made when it was made clear that Jackson would have to pay the Chandlers. When we look at the story closely, we can see that the story has many inconsistencies. One being that Evan Chandler had already started building a case against Jackson before his son supposedly disclosed that Jackson had molested him. Another thing is that Jordan soon demanded legal emancipation once the case was closed, which could be insinuated that Jordan was being controlled by his parents to say and do things, which were not true.
Another thought I had was how more reports of Jackson molesting children were being made when it was official Jackson would compensate the Chandlers. On that note also, I find it worrying that the Chandlers were looking for compensation, not justice, when at the start of the battles in July 1993, they wanted to sue Jackson for 30 million on sexual battery, battery, seduction, willful conduct, fraud, and negligence.
Overall, I believe that the allegations towards Jackson are false, and motivated for compensation purposes, and the fact there was no credible evidence ever found is one massive factor in Jacksons innocence.
What was Michael Jacksons eventual demise?
In simple terms, it is easy to just say that Jackson died of a drug overdose, however, it needs to be more widely broadcasted on why he was addicted, and who put him in that position.
After Jackson’s Pepsi accident, he became dependent on opioids, a drug that he was prescribed to treat his scalp wounds, and although the singer became addicted to the drug, this was not what killed him. Jackson suffered from insomnia; statements made by Dr Charles Czeisler in trials after Jacksons death. Conrad Murray, Jacksons personal physician, prescribed the singer a drug called propofol, to treat his insomnia. Murray even treated him for sixty days through an IV drip, which was a main reason for Jacksons addiction. It was said in trials that the pop stars dosage was fifty milligrams a night.
Jackson went into cardiac arrest on the twenty fifth of June in 2009, and he later died in the afternoon at 2:26 pm. It was reported that he died of acute propofol intoxication, and intoxication from an illegal drug cocktail that Murray prescribed him. The cocktail included the sedatives midazolam, diazepam, and lidocaine, which are lethal mixed together. In later trials, Conrad Murray was convicted of manslaughter.
My Conclusions on the Pop Star.
Michael Jackson was a massive influence on me, and from all the biased statements made that created all sorts of out of context stories, we can see how although his life was sad, he was dedicated to performing.
His motivation is what pushed him to be titled ‘The king of Pop,’ and he has had many achievements to prove him worthy of that title. One being him winning eleven Grammys in one night for his hit song Thriller, which was number one on the charts for thirty-seven weeks.
I am incredibly open to debates concerning Michael Jackson controversies, but my main statement would be that when you are in the spotlight, one mistake, or one difference in appearance can cause many discussions, which are usually always negative, which is why I consider Michael Jackson to be inspirational. Because through all the judgement, and all the rumors, and all the abuse, he was truly a kind spirited, generous musical genius.