Andrew Tsai

Dr. Clark

ENGW1111

25 October 2021

Michael Jackson: King of Pop, Predator?

Michael Jackson and The Jacksons Live at Giants Stadium during The Victory Tour (Pilling)

July 29, 1984. Michael Jackson’s name is synonymous with “Legend” and “King of

Pop”. Over 44,000 fans have gathered at Giants Stadium to witness him perform during The

Victory Tour. After the release of Thriller, Jackson was met with “constant television exposure,”

and his fame both inside and outside of the music industry was unmatched (Pareles). Michael
Jackson had cemented himself among the most influential artists of all time. However, in the

years that followed, Jackson’s fame became shrouded in controversy following multiple

allegations of sexual abuse, especially of minors.

Following the civil rights movement and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in

1968, racial tension was high. By Michael Jackson’s debut in 1969 as part of the Jackson 5,

society was divided. The music industry’s marketing strategy relied on music being segregated

into racial categories, and it was a rare occasion when a recording became popular in more than

one market. Not even a decade prior, many concerts were even segregated by race (Roberts).

Michael Jackson was the perfect figure for a time like this. From his debut at age 11, he

appealed to people of every race, gender, class, and age. Jackson challenged society’s

assumptions about black men and his widespread popularity allowed him to break down cultural

barriers within the music industry (Wilburn). Before Jackson, black artists received little to no

airplay on mainstream music television channels like MTV. However, following the massive

success of Thriller, networks were forced to air Jackson’s music, opening the door for other

black artists such as Prince and Whitney Houston to be featured as well (Young). On top of

being a massively successful artist and performer, Michael Jackson was known for his positive

cultural impact on society, which made it a massive shock once the allegations of child

molestation first came to light.

Jackson’s long history of sexual abuse allegations, police investigations, and lawsuits

started in 1993 following claims that Jackson had molested four children (Tsioulcas). One 13-

year-old boy’s family filed a lawsuit against Jackson, but police were unable to find any physical

evidence after a sweep of Jackson’s Neverland Ranch and the case was settled for $23 million

(Sisario). In 2003, the documentary Living with Michael Jackson was released. The documentary
included footage of Jackson holding hands with an unrelated 13-year-old boy and admitting to

sleeping in the same bed as children. Although Jackson denied that the action was sexual, the

footage was concerning enough to spark another police investigation. The case went to trial in

2005, but Jackson was eventually acquitted of all charges (Sisario).

Even after his death in 2009, Michael Jackson continued to be accused of pedophilic

actions. Most recently, “Leaving Neverland”, a documentary released in 2019, details the

accounts of Wade Robinson and James Safechuck who were allegedly sexually abused by

Jackson (Sisario). Although Michael Jackson is not alive to explain himself or tell his full side of

the story, it is still important to take these allegations seriously. There is no cold hard evidence of

Jackson’s sexual abuse, but there is not exactly any proving his innocence either. However,

public opinion, especially that of late, seems to sway towards Jackson being guilty. For one

thing, his concerning behavior with children is undeniable. As previously stated, Jackson

exhibited behavior deemed worthy of a serious police investigation and admitted to sharing a bed

with children on film. Even if he were completely innocent, many still found it problematic that

he had numerous friendships with children throughout his life as a grown man. Some excused

this behavior because of the idea that Jackson's fame as a child robbed him of a normal

childhood, but along with his long history of sexual abuse allegations, it definitely does not help

the case that he is innocent.

Whether or not Michael Jackson was truly responsible for the actions he was accused of,

the issue of celebrities and people in power getting away with wrongdoing is something that

persists to this day. Despite incriminating evidence and public opinion that he was guilty of

murder, O. J. Simpson was acquitted of all charges in his murder trial in 1995. Karl Malone got

away with fathering a child with a 13-year-old as a college student in 1983, going on to become
inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010 (Anderson). There is a long list of celebrities who have

gotten off of their crimes easily solely due to their fame. However, in recent years, Harvey

Weinstein’s massive scandal has made it more common for celebrities to be held accountable for

their actions. Just this year, R. Kelly was “found guilty of charges including sexual exploitation

of a child, bribery, racketeering, and sex trafficking” after over 25 years of accusations

(Tsioulcas). While it has become much more difficult to make wrongdoing with fame nowadays,

it is still important to make sure that people are held accountable for their actions no matter their

social status moving forwards.

 Works Cited

Pareles, Jon. “Concert: Jacksons at Giants Stadium.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 30 July 1984, https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/30/arts/concert-jacksons-at-

giants-stadium.html.

“A Michael Jackson Timeline.” NPR, NPR, 26 June 2009,

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4702126.

Wilburn, Aly. “The King of Pop: How Michael Jackson Revolutionized the Music Industry.”

Medium, Medium, 8 May 2018, https://medium.com/@aly.wilburn/the-king-of-pop-how-

michael-jackson-revolutionized-the-music-industry-f90087dd2928.

“Michael Jackson Is Born.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 4 Mar. 2010,

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/michael-jackson-is-born.

Fatah, Natasha. “Michael Jackson Broke the Color Barrier.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 29

June 2009, https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.833673.

Young, Courtney. “A Thriller in His Own Right: MJ and the Desegregation of Popular Music

and Culture, Popmatters.” PopMatters, 9 July 2009, https://www.popmatters.com/107951-

a-thriller-in-his-own-right-mj-and-the-desegregation-of-popular-musi-2496052994.html.

Vogel, Joseph. “Black and White: How Dangerous Kicked off Michael Jackson's Race Paradox.”

The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Mar. 2018,

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/17/black-and-white-how-dangerous-kicked-

off-michael-jacksons-race-paradox.
Roberts, Tamara. “Michael Jackson's Kingdom: Music, Race, and the Sound of the Mainstream.”

Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 8 Mar. 2011,

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1533-1598.2010.01262.x.

Tsioulcas, Anastasia. “Michael Jackson: A Quarter-Century of Sexual Abuse Allegations.” NPR,

NPR, 5 Mar. 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/03/05/699995484/michael-jackson-a-

quarter-century-of-sexual-abuse-allegations.

Sisario, Ben. “What We Know about Michael Jackson's History of Sexual Abuse Accusations.”

The New York Times, The New York Times, 31 Jan. 2019,

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/arts/music/michael-jackson-timeline-sexual-abuse-

accusations.html.

Anderson, Ben. “Karl Malone Jr.. Addresses Father's Statutory Rape History.” KSL Sports, 19

May 2020, https://kslsports.com/434466/karl-malone-jr-addresses-fathers-statutory-rape-

history/.

Tsioulcas, Anastasia. “R. Kelly Found Guilty of Racketeering and Sex Trafficking.” NPR, NPR,
27 Sept. 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/09/27/1040528011/r-kelly-verdict-guilty-
racketeering-sex-trafficking.