# data[].attributes.body
Targeting younger audience, positioned to identify as a child star.

# data[].attributes.body
An environmental themed song, raising awareness against animal cruelty, deforestation, pollution, poverty and war.

# data[].attributes.body
One of MJ's most popular songs, spreading the message of equality and raising awareness towards racism. Released at a time when everyone was questioning if he was "bleaching his skin". MJ's response was through his songs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Michael Jackson - Black Or White (Official Video - Shortened Version)

# data[].attributes.body
Even after his death, today's generation is still discussing him. Many conversations are sparked around people wanting to cancel him, and one main thing keeps being discussed between today's generation, is how wasn't cancelled earlier on and still considered a pop icon.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Why has Michael Jackson not been canceled? Think about it. In 2021 alone, male entertainers, including Chris Noth, Armie Hammer and Marilyn Manson, had film or record contracts scrapped after accusations of unfavorable behavior. J.K. Rowling, Sharon Osbourne and Ellen Degeneres have either been dropped from shows, had invitations withdrawn or not had series renewed after expressing views that are out of sync with the ideas and beliefs of today.

Jackson, by contrast, has, since his death, suffered reputational harm over child sexual abuse allegations, but not so irreparable that he - or, more accurately, his character - has been dragged down from the showbusiness pantheon.

What If Michael Jackson Had Lived?
READ MORE
Earlier in February, a musical devoted to his life and work opened at the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway. "It's unfortunate he is not alive to witness the flawless production of MJ the Musical, a model biographical musical," wrote Ayanna Prescod, of the New York Theatre Guide, who awarded the show the maximum five stars. The review was typical of others, which range from positive to rhapsodic.

Only one reviewer, Michael Appler of Variety, had the temerity to raise questions about Jackson's sexual abuse allegations with cast members. He was shown the door. "The show's backers were quick to shut down any mention of the scandal that still clouds the King of Pop's life and legacy at the red-carpet premiere of the musical," wrote Appler.

The Afterlife

When Jackson died in 2009, there was an immediate upturn in the already formidable sales of his records and a period when some radio stations played nothing but his music, whether as a solo artist or as part of the Jackson 5. Even after death, he continued to mesmerize audiences. He was rarely out of the news and even appeared as a hologram in 2014.

But in 2019, " Leaving Neverland," a 4-hour documentary focusing on two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, offered a startling account of Jackson, not as the world's onetime most popular entertainer but as a sexual predator. The testimonies of the two men were delivered with such conviction that they were accepted by many as credible. There was no headlong rush from others claiming to be victims. Robson and Safechuck were known to be close to Jackson, and their claims were detailed enough to persuade many to reevaluate the singer and, by implication, his legacy.

For a while, it appeared that Jackson's afterlife would end abruptly. Less than a year before, the arrest of Harvey Weinstein, a powerful Hollywood producer, had initiated a dramatic cultural mood shift. The #MeToo movement surged to prominence and, in the years since, every man or woman accused of untoward behavior, including verbal harassment, was castigated. Often, their contracts were revoked and their overall status downgraded - in other words, canceled.

Yet Jackson's stature, though affected, has not suffered comparably. He was the highest-earning dead entertainer in the world for eight straight years, from 2013 through 2020, slipping to number three with $75 million made last year, according to Forbes. His music continues to sell. His estate has many other income streams, including Cirque du Soleil's show, " Michael Jackson ONE," a spectacular success in Las Vegas. Michael Jackson is still with us, shows no signs of going away and most decidedly has not been canceled. Why?

Don't Speak Ill of the Dead

Obviously, many people just don't believe Jackson's accusers, and some assume they are fortune hunters. Jackson is unable to defend himself and thus any allegation is destined to remain only that - an allegation, a claim, an assertion or a contention. The supporting evidence, however direct and believable, derives from the remembrances of two men, both of whom were privy to Jackson's life but whose statements can't be refuted by the accused.

This is further complicated by the time lapse between his death and the revelations. Jackson had been subject to rumors and accusations, some of which had traction enough to land him in court. But he was cleared in 2005 and died an innocent man, legally speaking. Had he been alive at the time of the 2019 documentary, Jackson would almost certainly have denied all allegations and set a legal team on the case.

In view of the way he handled the media during his life, he would probably have appeared on television and in other media, issuing his own version of events. He would probably have pointed out that both men were treated kindly as friends and, for reasons best known to them, never uttered their complaints during his lifetime.

It sounds crass, but being dead does not guarantee innocence. British TV personality Jimmy Savile was enormously popular in his life and raised about £40 million with his charitable work. After he died in 2011, Pandora's box was prised open: All manner of people advanced accusations of misconduct, including having sex with the corpses of dead patients at a hospital mortuary. The weight of testimony convinced all but Savile's family and most devoted fans of his guilt. While he was well-liked, Savile was not in Jackson's class. The King of Pop's approval was global and worshipful. Correction: It is global and worshipful.

Don't Trust the Media

Another factor in Jackson's continued popularity is a lack of trust in the media. Research indicates that 56% of Americans agreed with the statement, "Journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations."

The rise of Donald Trump, the COVID-19 pandemic and the circulation of what many now call fake news have made people distrustful of mainstream media. Even if we leave aside the bizarre beliefs that Jackson is still alive - and probably sharing a home with Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and JFK - there are many who are likely to question practically everything they learn from the media about the star.

It's no longer necessary to be a conspiracy theorist to be a cynic. Questioning newspapers and TV news is commonplace, so the fact that the seemingly incriminating documentary was shown on mainstream channels - Channel 4 in the UK, HBO in the US - no longer validates its authenticity.

Don't Forget That He Was Black

Bill Cosby, a once-legendary black comedian, has been well and truly canceled. But Cosby was tried in court and, after initially being released after a jury failed to reach a decision, was later convicted, sentenced and spent over two years in prison before the conviction for sexual assault was overturned. He is finished as both an entertainer and the educator he seemed to aspire to be. He is now 84.

Whoopi Goldberg's recent argument that the Holocaust wasn't about race was baffling and surprising, coming as it did from an African American. An apology followed, along with a two-week suspension from the ABC show, "The View." Cancelation looks likely. Her opinions are often provocative and often well-intended. But, in this instance, she simply sounded foolish and ignorant. It's unlikely we'll hear much from her in the future.

Jackson was also black. On occasion, he proudly announced himself to be so. But his ever-changing appearance persuaded some that he was blanching his skin and undergoing plastic surgery in an effort to disguise his blackness. Jackson himself would have objected to this. On more than one occasion, he pointed out that he suffered from vitiligo, a condition that affects skin pigmentation.

Jackson's stalwart supporters would probably refer to the historical cases of Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson and Clarence Thomas, all of whom were conspicuously successful black men whose careers or reputations were damaged after high-profile cases. Jackson, they could argue, is part of a tradition in which black men who rise to the top are brought back to earth, as if to remind white America of the self-destructive element in black males.

It would be naïve to assume Jackson's blackness has not been a factor in deterring cancelation. In Cosby's case, a court of law considered evidence of his wrongdoing. Goldberg's contretemps was made in full view of millions. There is no definitive proof of Jackson's alleged transgressions, so anyone or any organization that makes decisions on his culpability is forced to conjecture. Much as they may deny the conjectures are affected by Jackson's blackness, who would believe it?

Awareness of the unequal treatment and abuse of women has been complemented by the recognition that black people have, over the decades, been suppressed and, on many occasions, brutalized. They've been unheard and underrepresented in many spheres of social activity, though not always in entertainment. The revival of the shibboleth of white privilege that was first aired in the 1980s served notice that castigation of blacks for deeds that might have gone unpunished if performed by whites has been commonplace.

This doesn't suggest Jackson has been granted a free pass. Heaven knows, he has plenty of vilifiers. Yet there is understandable caution. This prompts an awkward question: Are we less likely to condemn people of color for suspected or actual transgressions? And perhaps an even more awkward question: Does "we" usually mean "whites"? The legal precept of innocent until proved guilty has been reversed in recent years, allegation alone becoming potent enough to denounce celebrities and annul their careers.

Jackson has his detractors, for sure. Yet somehow his legacy actually grows in stature. Thirteen years after his death, he continues to fascinate just as he did in life. It seems impossible to harm or damage his - what shall I call it? - revenant. There is probably no other celebrity, living or dead, so insusceptible to cancelation.
*[Ellis Cashmore's "The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer's editorial policy. The Destruction and Creation of Michael Jackson" will be published by Bloomsbury in May.]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Hasn't Michael Jackson Been Canceled?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Why has Michael Jackson not been canceled? Think about it. In 2021 alone, male entertainers, including Chris Noth, Armie Hammer and Marilyn Manson, had film or record contracts scrapped after accusations of unfavorable behavior. J.K.

# data[].attributes.headline
What affected his mental health - The Downfall 

# data[].attributes.subject
What affected his mental health - The Downfall 

# data[].attributes.body
admitted his father abused him as a child

Developed a drug addiction

Got married and divorced twice in the span of four years

Undergoing plastic surgeries

Child sexual abuse allegations

Dangled his son out of the balcony and claimed it was done innocently and in fair of the public as they wanted to see him

# data[].attributes.headline
Never ending scandal - Will people believe the victims?

# data[].attributes.subject
Never ending scandal - Will people believe the victims?

# data[].attributes.body
After the release of the documentary "Leaving Neverland", people started discussing MJ's child molesting allegations again. As two of his victims came forward in the documentary and described in full details how he molested them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In HBO's Leaving Neverland documentary, Wade Robson and James Safechuck describe in horrific detail how Michael Jackson allegedly molested them for years, starting well before they were teenagers. Their accusations are specific, graphic, and remarkably similar - Robson and Safechuck recount not only how the late pop star sexually abused them, but also brainwashed them into believing the abuse was part of consensual, loving relationships - and the film has sparked a fierce denial from the Jackson estate, including a $100 million lawsuit against HBO.

If you're unsure if you can stomach the traumatic stories in Leaving Neverland, or you just want to know what's included in the two-part, four-hour documentary before it airs on Sunday and Monday, we've compiled this list of the most disturbing allegations made by Robson, Safechuck, and their families about Jackson.

(Note: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse.)

Allegation No. 1: Jackson brainwashed the boys and their families

Safechuck and Robson both met Jackson through show business. Safechuck, then 10 years old, starred in a 1987 Pepsi ad with the singer, playing a kid who sneaks into Jackson's dressing room. Through a local dance competition where children impersonated Jackson, 7-year-old Robson got the chance to appear onstage when the Bad tour was in Australia in 1988. Jackson promised the families of both boys that he would help their careers in show business, offering them lavish gifts and trips around the world.

Both kids eventually accompanied him on different tours, sleeping unsupervised in his bed. The parents thought Jackson was just a gentle, lonely, childish man and the boys looked up to him as a superhero. "He chose me" is what Robson recalls thinking when he became the focus of Jackson's attention. The families, enamored with their suddenly rich lifestyle, went along with it - even as they were increasingly cut off from the boys, similar to the way R. Kelly is accused of doing to his alleged victims.

Allegation No. 2: Jackson introduced the boys to masturbation and hardcore porn

While on tour, Jackson made Safechuck practice getting dressed as quickly and silently as possible in case anyone tried to get in their hotel room. At one stop in Paris, Jackson taught the 10-year-old how to masturbate and the boy did it so many times that his penis swelled up to the point that Jackson advised him to put it in a glass of warm water. Jackson, while masturbating, would also have Safechuck touch his nipples. "It felt like you were bonding," Safechuck says in the documentary. "I wouldn't ejaculate [...] but Michael would. He said I was his first sexual experience."

He also says Jackson had pornography on TVs "everywhere," even in the bathtub of one of his residences. "Porn and candy, that's what he had," says Safechuck. Robson adds it was "pretty graphic heterosexual porn - oral sex, full penetration, anal stuff. It seemed like he liked it, so I wanted to like it. I just didn't know how to deal with it. It was like him pulling back the curtain on this whole other universe, but this one wasn't so fun."

Allegation No. 3: The fondling escalated to oral sex

"French kissing, he said that I introduced that to him. It evolved to kissing all over the body and then eventually to kissing the genitals," Safechuck says.

One of the most disturbing moments in Leaving Neverland is when Robson remembers having an "adult-size penis in my mouth, a little seven-year-old's mouth." Both men also recall bending over in front of Jackson as he masturbated so he could look at their anuses; Robson specifically describes a scene where he would be on all fours at the edge of the master bed, with Jackson behind him and a large cutout of Peter Pan in front of him.

Allegation No. 4: Jackson told the boys that he was 'meant to be' with them

"You and I were brought together by God. We were meant to be together and this is us showing each other that we love each other," Robson recalls Jackson telling him. Jackson also allegedly told Safechuck not to hold his hand too much when they were in public to avoid suspicion, but they had a code - scratching the others' palm to "let each other know you were thinking of them sexually."

Allegation No. 5: As the boys aged, Jackson pushed them toward penetrative sex

"It got more dirty-sexual than friends who were touching each other," says Safechuck. "He wanted to do some anal. He put his finger inside me and I didn't like it at all, so he kind of backed off on that. I think I was just kind of wincing and I was asking him not to do it and he said, 'Oh, you'll like it.' But we continued with all the other stuff."

Robson says he went through similar violations when, at age 14, he had a growth spurt and was nearly six feet tall: "Michael tried to penetrate me in my anus with his penis, trying for a while, and I guess was able to a bit, but it was really painful too painful for me, so he stopped." The day after, Jackson ordered Robson to find the pair of underwear he was wearing that night and throw it out because it had specks of blood in it - and almost certainly, Jackson's DNA.

Allegation No. 6: Jackson 'married' Safechuck

"We had this mock wedding ceremony," Safechuck says. "We did this in his bedroom. We filled out some vows and it was like we were bonded forever. It felt good. And the ring was nice. It has a row of diamonds with a gold band."

In the documentary, Safechuck, hands trembling, shows off the ring and other jewelry Jackson bought him in return for sexual favors. "We would go buy them at jewelry stores and ... pretend like my small hand fit whatever female we were buying it for," he says. "Something that I enjoyed was used against me and so I think that causes discomfort. It's still hard for me to not blame myself."

Allegation No. 7: Jackson wanted Robson to live at Neverland Ranch with him for a year

"Will you leave Little One with me for a year?" Jackson asked Joy Robson, using the nickname he had for Wade. After Joy refused, per her recollection in the documentary, Jackson told her, "I always get what I want." She replied, "Not this time. I will share Wade with you, but I am not going to leave him with you."

Eventually, though, Joy took 7-year-old Wade and his 10-year-old sister Chantal and moved to Los Angeles, in the name of furthering Wade's career. After they left Australia, Wade's father Dennis Robson became increasingly unstable because of bipolar disorder and he eventually committed suicide. (The father of Jordan Chandler, the boy who accused Jackson of molesting him in 1993, also committed suicide just months after Jackson's death.)

Allegation No. 8: Neverland Ranch was designed to hide abuse

At Neverland, the encounters with the boys were easy for Jackson to hide. The hallway to the bedroom, for instance, had several doors with multiple locks and bells, so anybody walking toward them would be heard. Other areas were more secluded, like the attic and upstairs in the train station. "It sounds sick but it's kind of like when you're first dating somebody and you do a lot of it," Safechuck says.

The riskiest encounter between Safechuck and Jackson occurred in the movie theater's private viewing room, which was designed so children with immune deficiencies could watch films in isolation. His mother, Stephanie Safechuck, almost caught them in there, but Jackson had locked the door beforehand. "He always made excuses, like I forgot I locked the door," she says in the documentary. "He was in there with Jimmy in the bed, they were clothed. I still didn't think anything."

Allegation No. 9: Robson and Safechuck say they were 'replaced' by Macaulay Culkin and other kids

Jordan Chandler is one of three boys mentioned by Robson and Safechuck. The other two are Macaulay Culkin and Brett Barnes, who both deny that they were ever raped by Jackson. "Macaulay was where I was on the previous trips, by Michael's side at every moment," Robson says. "Now, I was kind of on the sideline as far as being Michael's friend, being his favorite." Adds his mom Joy, "It was like there was a pattern. Every 12 months, there was a new boy in his life."

Stephanie Safechuck says she felt the same way after Jackson explained to her that, because of his 1994 marriage to Lisa Marie Presley - a union he assured them was just for show - he wouldn't be seeing them as often. "We've just been dumped," she recalls telling her husband.

Allegation No. 10: Robson says that Jackson did 'sexual stuff' with Jordan Chandler

During a sleepover with Chandler and Culkin, Robson says that Jackson took Chandler into a bathroom. "I used to be the boy who was in there with Michael," says Robson, noting the jealousy he felt at the time. "I just knew in my gut that that's what they were doing when they were disappearing. They were doing all that same sexual stuff." The other details of Chandler's case - Jackson showering him with gifts, separating him from his parents, unsupervised sleepovers, kissing, fondling, and promises of romantic love - parallel the pattern of allegations by Robson and Safechuck.

Allegation No. 11: Jackson coerced Robson and Safechuck's families into defending him

From the outset of the sexual contact, Jackson would tell each of the boys that if anyone found out about the things they did, they'd both go to jail forever. When Chandler's father accused Jackson of molestation in 1993, the Robsons went on television to defend the star and Safechuck, after coaching from Jackson's lawyers, says he lied in a deposition to protect the singer. Robson soon became Jackson's favorite boy again while the Safechucks got their home loan paid by the singer. "He did buy us a house," says Stephanie Safechuck. "'It's just coincidental, he wasn't buying us off,' but the timing's right there. It just sounds bad."

When Jackson was tried in 2003 for molesting Gavin Arvizo, he again reached out to Robson and Safechuck, who were now in their 20s. This time, Safechuck refused and Jackson threatened him with legal action, saying Safechuck perjured himself in the 1993 deposition. They never spoke again. Robson also tried to get out of testifying, but after telling his mom once again that Jackson never abused him, she urged him to take the stand. "You and Macaulay Culkin are the only two people in the world that can save him," she said. Robson's testimony is cited as one of the key reasons for Jackson's acquittal in that trial.

Throughout the documentary, both men talk about how they still have fond feelings for Jackson after all the trauma, not uncommon for sexual abuse survivors. When Jackson died in 2009, Robson says he cried more than he did for his own father's death, while Safechuck mourned because he never got the chance to mend their friendship. It is odd that the documentary devotes such little time to both men attempting to sue the Jackson estate multiple times - the suits are currently under appeal, and their existence is only mentioned in the last few minutes - and that Robson lobbied the family to allow him to direct a Jackson-themed Cirque du Soleil show in 2011, then tried selling a book about his allegations in 2012. Still, it's clear that whatever happened, both men are deeply scarred by spending most of their youth with Jackson.

"Michael had a lot of great attributes and he was great in a lot of ways and you loved him in a lot of ways, and then Michael does these things to you that are not healthy but you still have love for him, so it's really hard to have those two feelings together," he says. "I still, today, am grappling with that."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The 11 Most Disturbing Michael Jackson Allegations in Leaving Neverland

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In HBO's Leaving Neverland documentary, Wade Robson and James Safechuck describe in horrific detail how Michael Jackson allegedly molested them for years, starting well before they were teenagers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Michael Jackson the pop star was his own unique creation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
To mark the fifth anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, here’s a classic piece originally published the day after he passed away

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Michael Jackson was fascinated by celebrity tragedy. He had a statue of Marilyn Monroe in his home and studied the sad Hollywood exile of Charlie Chaplin. He married the daughter of Elvis Presley.

Jackson met his own untimely death Thursday at age 50, and more than any of those past icons, he left a complicated legacy. As a child star, he was so talented he seemed lit from within; as a middle-aged man, he was viewed as something akin to a visiting alien who, like Tinkerbell, would cease to exist if the applause ever stopped.

It was impossible in the early 1980s to imagine the surreal final chapters of Jackson's life. In that decade, he became the world's most popular entertainer thanks to a series of hit records -- "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Thriller" -- and dazzling music videos. Perhaps the best dancer of his generation, he created his own iconography: the single shiny glove, the Moonwalk, the signature red jacket and the Neverland Ranch.

In recent years, he inspired fascination for reasons that had nothing to do with music. Years of plastic surgery had made his face a bizarre landscape. He was deeply in debt and had lost his way as a musician. He had not toured since 1997 or released new songs since 2001. Instead of music videos, the images of Jackson beamed around the world were tabloid reports about his strange personal behavior, including allegations of child molestation, or the latest failed relaunch of his career.

A frail-looking Jackson had spent his last weeks in rehearsal for an ambitious comeback attempt and 50 already-sold-out shows at London's O2 Arena. A major motivation was the $300 million in debt run up by a star who lived like royalty even though his self-declared title of King of Pop was more about the past than the present.

"It's one of the greatest losses," said Tommy Mottola, former president of Sony Music, which released Jackson's music for 16 years. "In pop history, there's a triumvirate of pop icons: Sinatra, Elvis and Michael, that define the whole culture. . . . His music bridged races and ages and absolutely defined the video age. Nothing that came before him or that has come after him will ever be as big as he was."

Jackson "had it all. . . . talent, grace, professionalism and dedication," said Quincy Jones, Jackson's collaborator on his most important albums and the movie "The Wiz." "He was the consummate entertainer, and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

Jackson was born Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary, Ind. His mother, Katherine, would say that there was something special about the fifth of her nine children. "I don't believe in reincarnation," she said, "but you know how babies move uncoordinated? He never moved that way. When he danced, it was like he was an older person."

Katherine Jackson, who worked for Sears, Roebuck and Co., taught her children folk songs. Her husband, Joseph, a crane operator who once played with the R&B; band the Falcons, played guitar and coached his sons. The boys were soon performing at local benefits. Michael took command of the group even as a chubby-cheeked kindergartner.

"He was so energetic that at 5 years old he was like a leader," brother Jackie once told Rolling Stone magazine. "We saw that. So we said, 'Hey, Michael, you be the lead guy.' The audience ate it up."

By 1968, the Jacksons had cut singles for a local Indiana label called Steeltown. At an engagement that year at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater, singer Gladys Knight and pianist Billy Taylor saw their act and recommended them to Motown founder Berry Gordy. So did Diana Ross after sharing a stage with the quintet at a "Soul Weekend" in Gary.

Ross said later that she saw herself in the talented and driven Michael. "He could be my son," she said. Another Motown legend, Smokey Robinson, would describe the young performer as "a strange and lovely child, an old soul in the body of a boy."

Motown moved the Jacksons to California, and in August 1968 they gave a breakthrough performance at a Beverly Hills club called The Daisy. Their first album, "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," was released in December 1969, and it yielded the No. 1 hit "I Want You Back," with 11-year-old Michael on the lead vocals. "ABC," "I'll Be There" and other hits followed, and the group soon had their own television series, a Saturday morning cartoon and an array of licensed merchandise aimed at youngsters.

There was a price: childhood.

"I never had the chance to do the fun things kids do," Jackson once explained. "There was no Christmas, no holiday celebrating. So now you try to compensate for some of that loss."

Joseph Jackson ruled the family, by most accounts, with his fists and a bellowing rage. In a 2003 documentary by British journalist Martin Bashir, Jackson said his father often brandished a belt during rehearsals and hit his sons or shoved them into walls if they made a misstep.

"We were terrified of him," Jackson said.

In the Bashir interviews, the singer said his father ridiculed him for his pug nose and adolescent acne. He also described, with obvious discomfort, having to listen to an older brother have sex with a woman in the hotel bedroom they shared.

Onstage, Jackson seemed to know no fear.

"When we sang, people would throw all this money on the floor, tons of dollars, 10s, 20s, lots of change," an adult Jackson once told Newsweek. "I remember my pockets being so full of money that I couldn't keep my pants up. I'd wear a real tight belt. And I'd buy candy like crazy."

By 1972, Jackson had his first solo album, "Got to Be There," which included the title hit as well as "Rockin' Robin." His first solo No. 1 single came the same year -- the forlorn theme song from the movie "Ben."

He struggled to understand a world that he saw mostly while staring into spotlights and flashbulbs. Standing ovations greeted him onstage; parental slaps awaited him in the dressing room. Like his mother, he became a Jehovah's Witness, forswearing alcohol, cigarettes and foul language. He fasted on Saturdays and went door-to-door, wearing a disguise, to spread the faith. (He ended his association with the religion in the late 1980s.)

In 1978, Michael made his film debut as the Scarecrow in "The Wiz," a black-cast adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz." The movie launched a creative and commercial partnership with "Wiz" music director Quincy Jones.

The first fruit of their collaboration was "Off the Wall" (1979), Jackson's debut album on the Epic label. It sold 5 million copies in the United States and 2 million abroad and generated four Top 10 singles.

It was with Jones (as well as often-overlooked songwriter Rod Temperton) that Jackson shaped "Thriller," which was released near the end of 1982 and became the best-selling studio album in history and a cultural landmark. Its effect on the music industry and the music videos that came to define the then-nascent MTV was huge.

In a Motown TV special in 1983, Jackson, then 24, electrified the nation with his Moonwalk, a dance step that created the illusion of levitation. He took the stage in a black sequined jacket, silver shirt, black fedora and black trousers that skimmed the tops of his white socks. The final touch was a single white glove, studded with rhinestones.

Times critic Robert Hilburn, who observed the performance live at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, said the broadcast marked Jackson's "unofficial coronation as the King of Pop. Within months, he changed the way people would hear and see pop music, unleashing an influence that rivaled that of Elvis Presley and the Beatles."

His dance style combined the robotic moves of break-dancers, the quicksilver spins and slides of James Brown and the grace of Fred Astaire, whose routines he studied. The aging Astaire called him "a wonderful mover."

Not only did "Thriller" smash sales records as the bestselling album of 1983, but it made Jackson the first artist to top four charts simultaneously: It was the No. 1 pop single, pop album, R&B; single and R&B; album. It earned five Grammy Awards. Jay Cocks wrote in Time magazine that Jackson "just may be the most popular black singer ever."

The "Thriller" success enabled Jackson to negotiate what were believed to be the highest royalty rates ever earned by a recording artist. But it also put him in a cage of his own anxieties and obsession.

Jackson bonded with past pop-music royalty by marrying Lisa Marie Presley in 1994 and grabbing a major interest in the Beatles' catalog, an asset worth $500 million. The marriage was short-lived, however, and his wealth was imperiled by an extravagant lifestyle that included the 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, where he lived with a menagerie of exotic pets.

Jackson became a prisoner of his own celebrity. He became so accustomed to bodyguards and assistants that he once admitted that he trembled if he had to open his own front door. He compared himself to "a hemophiliac who can't afford to be scratched in any way."

Notoriously shy offstage, onstage he was electric and acutely attuned to what his fans craved. Commenting once on a sotto voce note at the end of a ballad, he said: "That note will touch the whole audience. What they're throwing out at you, you're grabbing. You hold it, you touch it and you whip it back -- it's like a Frisbee."

"I hate to admit it, but I feel strange around everyday people," he said on another occasion. "See, my whole life has been onstage, and the impression I get of people is applause, standing ovations and running after you. In a crowd, I'm afraid. Onstage, I feel safe. If I could, I would sleep on the stage. I'm serious."

In better days, his wealth allowed him to fulfill personal fantasies -- including building his own amusement park -- and bankroll charities, particularly those involving children. Then came the dark whispers about the nature of his relationship with boys.

He was often seen with youngsters, both famous and those plucked from the mundane world to visit his playground estate. In 1993, he was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy who was a frequent overnight guest in his home. On tour in Asia when the charges were filed, he canceled his performances, citing exhaustion and addiction to painkillers as the reasons.

Jackson's attorney charged that the boy's father, a would-be screenwriter who had tried to obtain Jackson's backing for a project, was trying to extort money. The criminal investigation was closed after the boy refused to testify. A civil lawsuit was settled for a reported $20 million.

"I am not guilty of these allegations," Jackson, then 35, said after the settlement was reached. "But if I am guilty of anything, it is of giving all that I have to give to help children all over the world. It is of loving children of all ages and races. It is of gaining sheer joy from seeing children with their innocent and smiling faces. It is of enjoying through them the childhood that I missed myself."

He lost a Pepsi endorsement as well as a deal to develop several films. The Jackson-themed Captain EO attraction at Disneyland was scrapped.

A second case unfolded in November 2003, when Santa Barbara authorities, acting on accusations by a 13-year-old cancer patient who had stayed at Jackson's ranch, arrested the star. The 14-week trial featured celebrity witnesses such as Jay Leno and Macaulay Culkin and Jackson's own bizarre antics, such as showing up for court in pajama pants and a tuxedo jacket. It ended June 13, 2005, with his acquittal on all counts.

Jackson acknowledged in the interview with Bashir that, despite the earlier cases, he still invited children to share his bedroom and saw nothing wrong with it.

"It's not sexual," he insisted. "I tuck them in, have hot milk, give them cookies. It's very charming, it's very sweet."

He added that his own children "sleep with other people all the time."

By then, Jackson was a figure of pop music's past, not its present. When The Times, in 2001, asked top recording executives to name the most valuable acts in the business, Jackson failed to make the top 20.

In 2003, he settled a lawsuit by his former financial advisors after legal documents portrayed the singer as near bankruptcy.

At the same time, he was waging legal battles against his 1970s recording label, Motown Records, and his current label, Sony's Epic Records. He stirred speculation about his mental state when he contended that the latter company, and in particular Mottola, had inadequately promoted his work because of racism.

He celebrated his 45th birthday in August 2003 at a curious public event that seemed to underscore the decline of his career. Hundreds of fans paid $30 each or more for admission to an old downtown Los Angeles movie palace, where largely amateur or obscure performers sang, lip-synced or danced to the fallen idol's hits. Most of the seats reserved for A-list guests went begging.

When the honoree took the stage at the end to join in a rendition of "We Are the World," he was flanked not by the likes of Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder, as he was when the famous song was first recorded, but by several Jackson impersonators.

Such impersonators usually model themselves on his "Thriller" persona, but the singer himself looked nothing like that in recent years.

There was intense public curiosity about his physical metamorphosis. Jackson often insisted that his wan complexion was the result of treatment for a skin disorder called vitiligo, but that did not explain why his once-broad nose became long, sleek and pertly tipped.

He publicly admitted to two nose operations, but cosmetic surgeons who studied his photographs surmised that he had undergone far more, possibly so many that he had destroyed the cartilage.

In 1996, Jackson married his former nurse, Debbie Rowe, who bore two of his three children, Prince Michael Jr. and Paris Michael Katherine. He did not disclose the identity of the mother of his third child, Prince Michael II.

He raised the children without their mothers and had them wear elaborate masks whenever they went out with him. Several months after Prince Michael II's birth, Jackson dangled the baby outside an upper-story hotel window in Berlin to show the child to fans assembled below. The incident led to accusations that the singer was an unfit father. He later acknowledged that he had shown poor judgment.

He is survived by his children; his parents; and siblings Maureen, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Randy, LaToya and Janet.

--
geoff.boucher@latimes.com
elaine.woo@latimes.com

Times staff writer Chris Lee contributed to this report.

--

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Aug. 29, 1958: Born in Gary, Ind. 1964: The Jackson 5 is established, with Michael as lead singer. 1970: "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5 tops the charts at No. 1. Nov. 6, 1971: The Jackson 5 releases its first solo album, "Got to Be There," containing the hits "Got to Be There" and "Rockin' Robin." Oct. 14, 1972: Michael's first solo No. 1 single, "Ben," the title song from the movie (and album) of the same name, is released. Aug. 5, 1979: "Off the Wall," Jackson's first studio album, is released. December 1982: Jackson sees his biggest smash album, "Thriller," break records. The album is No. 1 in the U.S. for 37 weeks straight, with hits including "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Thriller." Jackson's Moonwalk dance move and the mini-movie video for "Thriller" become part of the sensation. March 31, 1983: "Beat It" breaks MTV's color barrier. The channel reaches 10 million homes. Jan. 27, 1984: Jackson is hospitalized after a smoke bomb burns his scalp while he's filming a spot for a multimillion-dollar Pepsi campaign. 1985: Jackson co-writes (with Lionel Richie) "We Are the World." September 1986: The National Enquirer publishes a photo of Jackson in what appears to be a hyperbaric chamber. The singer says it's part of a program to extend his life beyond its natural span. 1987: Jackson reportedly offers $1 million for the skeleton of the "Elephant Man." He releases the album "Bad," which becomes another international hit. November 1991: Jackson apologizes after a four-minute coda to his video "Black or White," showing the singer rubbing his crotch and vandalizing a car, causes a public uproar. Feb. 10, 1993: In a telecast that draws 62 million viewers, Oprah Winfrey speaks with Jackson. It is his first solo interview in nearly a decade. Jackson tells her that being a child performer prevented him from having a typical childhood. August-December 1993: Jackson becomes the subject of a criminal investigation after a 13-year-old boy tells authorities the singer sexually abused him. Representatives for Jackson say he is the victim of an extortion attempt. A civil suit filed on behalf of the boy is eventually settled when Jackson agrees to pay a reported $20 million. May 26, 1994: Jackson weds Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of the late rock 'n' roll legend Elvis Presley. June 1995: "You Are Not Alone," a single from Jackson's two-disc CD set "HIStory," is released. The album sells poorly, failing to make back the more than $35-million promotional expense. December 1995: Jackson collapses at New York City's Beacon Theater while rehearsing for a TV special and is hospitalized. Jan. 18, 1996: Lisa Marie divorces Jackson. Nov. 15, 1996: Jackson marries dermatology nurse Debbie Rowe, six months pregnant with their child. Feb. 13, 1997: The couple welcome son Prince Michael Jr. and, after saying he wants the child to have a "normal life," Jackson sells baby pictures to the National Enquirer and Britain's OK. May 6, 1997: Jackson and his brothers are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. April 3, 1998: Michael and Debbie's second child, Paris Michael Katherine, is born. July 7, 1998: Don Barden, a Detroit businessman, joins Jackson in unveiling their plans for a $1-billion entertainment and casino complex in that city to be called Majestic Kingdom. It would include the Michael Jackson Thriller Theme Park, a hotel resort designed by the singer, a casino, botanical gardens, nightclubs and restaurants. 1999: Jackson and his wife divorce. 2002: His third child, Prince Michael II, is born. Jackson says the baby was conceived by a surrogate mother impregnated with his sperm; he says a contractual agreement prevents him from identifying her. November 2002: Jackson makes headlines for dangling Prince Michael II over the balcony of his Berlin hotel room. He appears on crutches at a civil trial in Santa Maria, Calif., over allegations he backed out of two millennium concerts. February 2003: An interview of Jackson by British journalist Martin Bashir airs on ABC's "20/20" and draws 27.1 million viewers. June 2003: Jackson settles a $12-million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by his former top advisor, avoiding a trial that threatened to spill details of his financial empire into open court. Nov. 18, 2003: Santa Barbara County law enforcement officers descend on Neverland Ranch, searching for evidence in what authorities will describe only as an "ongoing criminal investigation." A warrant is later issued for his arrest. Nov. 20, 2003: Jackson is charged with multiple counts of child molestation. He is released after posting $3-million bail. A lawyer for the Jackson family says the case stemmed from a 12-year-old boy's charges of molestation during visits to Neverland in winter 2002. Sources say the boy alleged that Jackson served him wine and then molested him several times. April 21, 2004: A grand jury indicts Jackson on charges that he molested the boy and used alcohol to seduce him. He pleads not guilty. Dec. 3-4, 2004: Neverland is searched again. Jackson provides a DNA sample. Feb. 28, 2005: The trial begins. In the next 14 weeks, it makes headlines worldwide with sensational revelations, witnesses Jay Leno and Macaulay Culkin, and Jackson's mysterious ailments and strange behavior, which include showing up for court one day in pajama pants topped by a tux jacket. June 13, 2005: The trial ends with Jackson's acquittal on all counts. May 2009: It is reported that Jackson is in rehearsals for an ambitious schedule of 50 concerts to begin at O2 Arena in London on July 8. It is to be his first extended concert run in 12 years. June 25, 2009: Jackson is rushed to a hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics, who found him in cardiac arrest and not breathing. Efforts to revive him are unsuccessful.

Source: Times reporting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Michael Jackson was fascinated by celebrity tragedy. He had a statue of Marilyn Monroe in his home and studied the sad Hollywood exile of Charlie Chaplin. He married the daughter of Elvis Presley. Jackson met his own untimely death Thursday at age 50, and more than any of those past icons, he left a complicated legacy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
All forced conversations in America about race, sex and celebrity are inevitably framed by horror and absurdity, history and the modern day. Because of this, many of my people - as in American born Blackfolk - refuse to countenance moral or legal absolutes when allegations of our stars committing sexual assault hit the news. They instead invoke a form of mathematical objectivity in pursuit of American democracy's most impossible dream: a racialised level playing field. In this accounting, Bill Cosby and R Kelly aren't defended despite victim-testimony and compelling evidence, but because not enough equally evil-ass white men have suffered enough public shaming for their crimes.

So Michael Jackson's legacy is being discussed in another judicial session and once again black folk are being asked to weigh in on the latest charges. The thing is our community recognised MJ's special kind of self-destruction decades ago. Many Blackfolk learned to compartmentalise Jackson the moment they saw the cover of Thriller; they separated the spectacular soul singer and dancing machine from his increasingly mad choices, including self-erasing skin-bleaching facelifts, chin enhancements and rhinoplasty. Would the brown-skinned, big-lipped, wide-nosed MJ who appears on the cover of Off the Wall have been allowed by white parents to have as much unsupervised time with their pre-tweens? Would he have been trusted to disappear into his mansion for hours days and nights with them?

Having seen only the trailer for Leaving Neverland, whatever confessional justice was intended by its two informants is compromised by its director's hackneyed, tabloid true-crime approach. It doesn't mean the testimony is untrue, just that it depends on the film-makers selling several racially burdened oxymorons at once: white-male innocence, white-male fragility and white-male truth-telling. Of course, MJ doesn't belong just to the court of white public opinion or to the miscreant deeds he may have perpetrated at Neverland. He got connected to something far bigger than himself way back during his Motown years: he became an inextractable and irrevocable piece of Blackfolk's story that can only be crooned, shouted, stomped, screamed and sanctified into the public record.

Alexis Petridis: 'Too many people have too much of their lives bound up with his music'

About five years ago, I interviewed a collection of diehard Gary Glitter fans, unbowed by the singer's convictions for possession of child pornography and sexual abuse. Some of them were clearly in denial about his crimes. Most weren't, though, and talked calmly about separating the artist from the art. One told me that when Glitter was first convicted, he had thrown out all his records, only to find his music exerting an allure regardless. "You don't choose music," he said. "It chooses you." Later he added: "It's not just wiping him out of history, is it? It's us, they're whitewashing us as well. They've nicked 15, 20 years of my history."

I thought about that remark when the furore around the Leaving Neverland documentary blew up. More compelling allegations that Jackson was a paedophile will undoubtedly lead to more calls for his music to be treated the way Glitter's is - unofficially banned from radio and TV, never mentioned in public (even the Glitter fans I met would only talk to me under a veil of anonymity). I can see why, but I don't think it's going to happen. You can't easily eradicate Jackson from history: too many people have too much of their lives bound up with his music. And perhaps you shouldn't. Perhaps it is all right that his music continues to be heard, so long as it comes with a caveat: that it reminds us great art can be made by terrible people, that talent can be weaponised in the most appalling way, that believing an artist automatically embodies goodness because we like their work is a dreadful mistake that can have awful consequences.

Lyndsey Winship: 'Choosing to listen to his music is a personal reckoning'

Separating man and music is difficult when that man's output amounts to a cultural phenomenon and his influence went way beyond music. Jackson brought black dance styles into the mainstream. He didn't invent steps like the moonwalk but he was responsible for bringing them to the world's attention. He inspired people to dance - especially boys, especially non-white ones - and he is cited by some of the superlative performers of their generation as the person who sparked their desire to move. From Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta to kathak-contemporary dancer Akram Khan, from the back streets of Havana to suburban Wimbledon, Jackson's reach was immense.

But, the allegations against him are hideous. Abuse can never be excused. As a society, what we consume and what we celebrate is what forms our values. Does that mean a ban on his music? It is impossible to erase from our consciousness (and much of its brilliance was created by others - Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton - not Jackson alone), but choosing to now actively listen to, or dance to Jackson? Once people have seen the film, that will be a personal reckoning, yet it must be possible to condemn the person, even shelve the records, without being ashamed of the influence his music had on us, the good things he inspired and the careers he started.

Priya Elan: 'My initial reaction was to throw Off the Wall in the bin'

My pop allegiances were always with Prince and Madonna, but I came of age when Bad-era Michael Jackson was massive. He transcended race, he transcended gender and for me he transcended a personal connection. Being a fan of his felt like being a fan of a skyscraper or a corporation. You could admire its foundations, its height, the sheer spectacle, but it would be harder to love the bones of it. He was unlike Prince and Madonna, who seemed to let their freakish rebellion hang out with a carefree abandon.

Later in life, I couldn't resist Thriller and Off the Wall. Spurred on by Spike Lee's documentary of the making of latter, I fell in love with the magical disco grooves and the story of the child star turned spangly king of the dancefloor. Watching Leaving Neverland, I felt an allegiance with the survivors: their story of manipulation, control and parental neglect is a familiar tripartite to those who have experienced emotional or physical abuse as children. By the end of the unrelenting four hours, I was broken by the story of grown men and parents trying to examine the scars of their past. My initial reaction was to throw Off the Wall in the bin (I didn't), but the next day, listening to a 70s soul compilation whose first song was the Jacksons' Blame it on the Boogie, it was to skip that track. I couldn't go there.

Laura Snapes: 'It's a cautionary tale against idol worship'

I have never really associated Jackson with his music. I was born in 1989, and grew up in a pop landscape where he was decreasingly visible. His songs remained totemic, but so much so that it rarely occurred to me that they had been made by humans, the same way that I never wondered who designed the McDonald's logo, or what's really in a can of Coke. The first time I really became aware of Jackson the man was in the build-up to Martin Bashir's 2003 documentary, which my parents wouldn't let me watch because it was "inappropriate". Obviously, I watched it anyway. Since then, I have always associated Jackson with allegations of paedophilia, and so I never sought out his albums.

Still, the irresistibility of his music crept up on me. The irresistible power Jackson brought to his music is the same power he wielded to abuse children and hoodwink their families into letting him do so. It is the same power that afforded him a coterie of enablers with a vested financial interest in ensuring that the public perceived these allegations to be ridiculous. Jackson's greatest legacy is as an unparalleled example of how the entertainment industry prioritises profit over pain. It's a cautionary tale against idol worship, and a reminder to question figures who willingly exploit that dynamic. This is the point where, for me, the man and the music become inextricable, and for ever inadmissible.

Chuck Klosterman: 'He is too massive to cancel'

The possibility of separating an artist's work from the artist's life isn't a practical question right now. We are at a point (either temporarily or in perpetuity) when people don't want to engage with that debate. The conflict still exists and the philosophical puzzle hasn't changed, but the public argument is pretty much over. What is specifically complicated about the Michael Jackson scenario is the sheer magnitude of his footprint. Even if every worldwide streaming service removed his songs and Apple Music terminated his catalogue, there are still at least 60m physical copies of Thriller scattered around the globe. He is too massive to cancel.

What will happen, I suspect, is that the ever-increasing population of transgressive musicians (both living and dead) who find themselves recast as irredeemably problematic will eventually be lumped into a separate silo of cultural history. The unspoken rule will be that their work can be consumed and analysed, but not without overtly recognising that they are members of this exiled fraternity. It will be somewhat similar to how a film student can still reference the cinematography of Leni Riefenstahl, but only after first noting her political relationships. Jackson's work is brilliant and unusually ubiquitous, so people will always want to talk about it. They just won't be able to talk about that music to the exclusion of non-musical events, which will incrementally change its musical meaning.

Simran Hans: 'I'm no longer able to square the art with the artist'

I watched Leaving Neverland on my birthday, a bruising 9am screening at the Sundance film festival. The experience was, as you might imagine, somewhat of a downer. Yet, what's both fascinating and illuminating about this film is the precision with which its two central survivors, James Safechuck and Wade Robson, describe the doublethink of abuse. Survivors can hold two contradictory thoughts in their heads; Michael Jackson was "one of the kindest, most gentle, caring, loving people I knew", says Safechuck matter of factly. He was also a paedophile, and an abuser. If you weren't convinced of Jackson's guilt before (and many of us were), it is near impossible to turn a blind eye to it now, so powerful and incriminating are the testimonies the director, Dan Reed, presents.

There is also a contradiction, or at least a tension present for Jackson fans such as myself when revisiting his art. To detach Jackson's tarnished celebrity persona from his music and reappraise it as pure and faceless pop commerce because it is more comfortable doesn't feel right. Listening to him doesn't feel right, either. I'm not calling for him to be "cancelled" but personally I'm no longer able to square the art with the artist; it doesn't exist in a vacuum. Jackson made brilliant, titanic pop, and he sexually abused children. People have known both of these things for years. Nothing has changed except the times in which the work is being received.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Too big to cancel': can we still listen to Michael Jackson?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
All forced conversations in America about race, sex and celebrity are inevitably framed by horror and absurdity, history and the modern day. Because of this, many of my people - as in American born Blackfolk - refuse to countenance moral or legal absolutes when allegations of our stars committing sexual assault hit the news.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Michael Jackson set and broke records throughout his entire career. As of 2009, he was the most awarded person, artist, entertainer with 372 recognized awards. This was excluding Diamond, Platinum and Gold Certifications. In 2000, he became the biggest selling artist of all time, with 380 million records sold. His song, "Thriller," still hold the record for most copies of a single sold - 110 million. At his Super Bowl half time show in 1993, he attracted the biggest TV audience of all time - 133.4 million. His impact was immense and undeniable. The list of records he broke is seemingly endless. However, his real influence took place in the cultural changes he made within our society.

Michael Jackson's lyrics challenged the country's ideas of how an African-American man should behave and be seen. " Billie Jean" illustrated Jackson as the object of everyone's admiration. " Bad" depicted Jackson as a rule-breaker. " Human Nature " showed a more sexual side. All of these things were taboo topics in our country at the time. However, Michael Jackson had no fear in challenging the established norms.

Michael Jackson took risks and challenged racial boundaries through his music. His music video, "Thriller," showed a metaphor for the existing racism and conflicting emotions toward Michael - and African Americans - in our country at the time. The video showed Michael moving from a handsome young man to a beast and illustrated the conflicting emotions white people had, at the time, about being sexually attracted to an African American male in a racially divided country.

Michael Jackson revolutionized the music industry with his song, music video and album, "Thriller." The music video for this song changed the way the music industry produced and promoted new releases. "Thriller" was one of the most expensive music videos ever produced at the time it was released. Albums by African-American artists were usually marketed to an all black audience. However, Michaels record label, Epic, advertised "Thriller" everywhere to everyone. The "Thriller" music video and single were released simultaneously on a global level, forever changing the promotion of music by African-American artists.

Though " Thriller " changed a lot about the way music was produced and promoted, the real importance of this album lies in the racial impact it had. After "Thriller," African-American artists were featured more prominently on MTV. "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" were two of the first music videos by an African-American artist to air on MTV. Jackson faced much resistance from MTV. However, he eventually paved the way for other African-American artists - Prince, Whitney Houston - to receive air time on MTV, as well.

The impact Michael Jackson had on the world is immense and undeniable. He set and broke records, challenged racial boundaries and revolutionized the music industry. Michael Jackson's music and groundbreaking creativity changed the very infrastructure of the way music is produced and promoted. Michael Jackson has gone down in history as a legend, and he may always be the King of Pop.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The King of Pop: How Michael Jackson Revolutionized the Music Industry

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 2009, we lost a man who set records, challenged racial boundaries, and revolutionized the music industry. This man was the King of Pop: Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson set and broke records...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Who Was Michael Jackson?

Known as the "King of Pop," Michael Jackson was a best-selling American singer, songwriter and dancer. As a child, Jackson became the lead singer of his family's popular Motown group, the Jackson 5. He went on to a solo career of astonishing worldwide success, delivering No. 1 hits from the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. In his later years, Jackson was dogged by allegations of child molestation. He died in 2009 at age 50 of a drug overdose just before launching a comeback tour.

Early Life and Family

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana. Under his father's encouragement, Jackson's career in music began at the age of 5.

Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, was a homemaker and a devout Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joseph Jackson, had been a guitarist who put aside his musical aspirations to provide for his family as a crane operator. Behind the scenes, Joseph pushed his sons to succeed. He was also reportedly known to become violent with them.

Jackson was one of 10 children; nine Jackson siblings, including Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Randy and Janet, all made marks in the music industry.

The Jackson 5

Joseph believed his sons had talent and molded them into a musical group in the early 1960s that would later become known as the Jackson 5.

At first, the Jackson Family performers consisted of Jackson's older brothers, Tito, Jermaine and Jackie. Jackson joined his siblings when he was 5 years old, and emerged as the group's lead vocalist. He showed remarkable range and depth for such a young performer, impressing audiences with his ability to convey complex emotions. Older brother Marlon also became a member of the group, which evolved into the Jackson 5.

Jackson and his brothers spent endless hours rehearsing and polishing their act. At first, the Jackson 5 played local gigs and built a strong following. They recorded one single on their own, "Big Boy," with the B-side "You've Changed," but the record failed to generate much interest.

The Jackson 5 moved on to working as the opening act for such R&B artists as Gladys Knight and the Pips, James Brown, and Sam and Dave. Many of these performers were signed to the legendary Motown record label, and the Jackson 5 eventually caught the attention of Motown founder Berry Gordy. Impressed by the group, Gordy signed them to his label in early 1969.

Jackson and his brothers moved to Los Angeles, where they lived with Gordy and with Diana Ross of the Supremes as they got settled. The Jackson 5 was introduced to the music industry at a special event in August 1969, and the group later opened for the Supremes.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Their first album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, hit the charts in December 1969, with its single, "I Want You Back," reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart shortly afterward. More chart-topping singles quickly followed, such as "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There."

For several years, Jackson and the Jackson 5 maintained a busy tour and recording schedule, under the supervision of Gordy and his Motown staff. The group became so popular that they even had their own self-titled cartoon show, which ran from 1971 to 1972. At the same time, Jackson launched his solo career.

Despite the group's great success, there was trouble brewing behind the scenes. Tensions mounted between Gordy and Joseph over the management of his children's careers, with the Jacksons wanting more creative control over their material. The group officially severed ties with Motown in 1976, though Jermaine remained with the label to pursue his solo career.

Now calling themselves the Jacksons, the group signed a new recording deal with Epic Records. By the release of their third album for the label, 1978's Destiny, the brothers had emerged as talented songwriters.

The overwhelmingly positive response to Jackson's 1979 solo album Off the Wall helped the Jacksons as a group. Triumph (1980) sold more than 1 million copies, and the brothers went on an extensive tour to support the recording. At the same time, Jackson continued exploring more ways to branch out on his own.

In 1983, Jackson embarked on his final tour with his brothers to support the album Victory. The one major hit from the recording was Jackson's duet with Mick Jagger, "State of Shock."

Songs and Albums

'Got to Be There' (1971)

At the age of 13, Jackson launched a solo career in addition to his work with the Jackson 5, making the charts in 1971 with "Got to Be There," from the album of the same name.

'Ben' (1972)

Jackson's 1972 album, Ben, featured the eponymous ballad about a rat. The song became Jackson's first solo No. 1 single.

'Music and Me' (1973)

Jackson's third solo album, Music and Me was his least successful.

'Forever, Michael' (1975)

This fourth solo album for Jackson was his last with Motown records.

'Off the Wall' (1979)

An infectious blend of pop and funk, Jackson wowed the music world with 1979's Off the Wall, which featured the Grammy Award-winning single "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," along with such hits as "Rock with You," "She's Out of My Life" and the title track.

'Thriller' (1982)

Released in 1982, Jackson's sixth solo album Thriller is the best-selling album in history, generating seven Top 10 hits. The album stayed on the charts for 80 weeks, holding the No. 1 spot for 37 weeks.

In addition to its unparalleled commercial achievements, Thriller garnered 12 Grammy Award nominations and notched eight wins, both records. Jackson's victories showcased the diverse nature of his work. For his songwriting talents, he earned a Grammy (best rhythm and blues song) for "Billie Jean." He also was honored for the singles "Thriller" (best pop vocal performance, male) and "Beat It" (best rock vocal performance, male). With co-producer Quincy Jones, Jackson shared the award for album of the year.

Paul McCartney also teamed up with Jackson for a 1982 duet, "The Girl Is Mine," which nearly reached the top of the pop charts.

Jackson filmed an elaborate music video was for the album's title track. John Landis directed the horror-tinged video, which featured complex dance scenes, special effects and a voice-over by actor Vincent Price. The "Thriller" video was an immense success, boosting sales for the already successful record.

On a 1983 television special honoring Motown, Jackson performed his No. 1 hit "Billie Jean" and debuted his soon-to-be-famous dance move, the Moonwalk. Jackson, a veteran performer by this time, created this step himself and choreographed the dance sequences for the video of the album's other No. 1 hit, "Beat It."

'We Are the World' (single, 1985)

In 1985, Jackson showed his altruistic side by co-writing "We Are the World," a charity single for USA for Africa. A veritable who's who of music stars participated in the project, including Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen and Tina Turner.

'Bad' (1987)

Jackson's album Bad (1987), released as a follow-up to Thriller, reached the top of the charts, with a record five No. 1 hits, including "Man in the Mirror," "The Way You Make Me Feel" and the title track, which was supported by a video directed by Martin Scorsese.

Jackson spent more than a year on the road, playing concerts to promote the album. While highly successful, Bad was unable to duplicate the phenomenal sales of Thriller.

'Dangerous' (1991)

In 1991, Jackson released Dangerous, featuring the hit "Black or White." The video for this song, directed by Landis, included an appearance by child star Macaulay Culkin. In the video's final minutes, Jackson caused some controversy with his sexual gesturing and violent actions. Many were surprised to see the Peter Pan-like Jackson act in this manner.

Jackson's music continued to enjoy widespread popularity in the following years. In 1993, he performed at several important events, including the halftime show of Superbowl XXVII.

'HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I'

Jackson's musical career began to decline with the lukewarm reception to 1995's HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I, which featured some of his earlier hits as well as new material. The record spawned two hits, "You Are Not Alone" and his duet with sister Janet, "Scream."

The spaceship-themed video for "Scream," which cost a record-setting $7 million to produce, earned a Grammy Award for its slick effects.

Another track from the album, "They Don't Care About Us," brought Jackson intense criticism for using an anti-Semitic term.

'Invincible' (2001)

Jackson returned to the studio to put together Invincible (2001), his first full album of new material in a decade.

'Michael' (2010)

In December 2010, the posthumous album Michael was released amid controversy about whether the singer actually performed some of the tracks. Brother Randy was among those who questioned the authenticity of the recordings, but the Jackson estate later refuted the claims, according to The New York Times.

'Xscape' (2014)

Another posthumous album, Xscape, was released in May 2014. R&B star and Jackson protege Usher performed its first single, "Love Never Felt So Good," that month at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. The album, which includes eight songs recorded by Jackson between 1983 and 1999, debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart.

DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY'S MICHAEL JACKSON FACT CARD

Wives and Kids

In August 1994, Jackson announced that he had married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of rock icon Elvis Presley. The couple gave a joint television interview with Diane Sawyer, but the union proved to be short-lived. They divorced in 1996. Some thought that the marriage was a publicity ploy to restore Jackson's image after child molestation allegations.
READ MORE: Inside Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley's Head-Scratching Marriage
Later that same year, Jackson wed nurse Debbie Rowe. The couple divorced in 1999.

Jackson and Rowe had two children through artificial insemination: Son Michael Joseph "Prince" Jackson Jr., born in 1997, and daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, born in 1998. When Rowe and Jackson divorced, Michael received full custody of their two children. Jackson would go on to have a third child, Prince Michael "Blanket" Jackson II, with an unknown surrogate.

After Jackson's death in June 2009, his children were placed in the care of their grandmother, Katherine, as dictated in his will. In respect to their father's wishes, Prince, Paris and Blanket were largely kept out of the limelight. They stepped up to the mic in 2009 to speak to fans at their father's funeral, and again in January 2010 to accept a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award for their father at the Grammys.

In July 2012, a judge temporarily suspended Katherine Jackson's guardianship of Prince, Paris and Blanket after she was erroneously reported missing by a relative. During this time, TJ Jackson, son of Tito, received temporary custody of the children. Katherine's "disappearance" came shortly after a dispute between her and several members of the Jackson clan, who raised questions about the validity of Jackson's will, pointed fingers at the Jackson matriarch and called for the executors of his estate to resign.

It was soon discovered that the elderly woman wasn't missing, but had simply taken a trip to Arizona. On August 2, 2012, a judge restored Katherine Jackson as the primary guardian of Prince, Paris and Blanket, also approving a plan granting T.J. Jackson co-guardianship of the children.

Neverland Ranch

In the 1980s, Jackson created a Southern California ranch called Neverland, a fantasy retreat for a shy and quiet performer who never was truly comfortable with media attention and rarely gave interviews.

At the 2,700-acre property, Jackson kept exotic pets, such as a chimpanzee named Bubbles. He also installed amusement park-type rides and sometimes opened up the ranch for children's events. The home features six bedrooms, a pool house, three guest homes and a four-acre lake.

The mansion was put on the market for $100 in 2015, then later re-listed for $31 million in early 2019. In December 2020, the property was sold to billionaire Ron Burkle for $22 million.

Plastic Surgery and Vitiligo

Jackson was badly injured while filming a commercial for PepsiCo in 1984, suffering burns to his face and scalp. At the top of his game creatively and commercially, Jackson had signed a $5 million endorsement deal with the soda giant the previous year. Jackson had surgery to repair his injuries and is believed to have begun experimenting with plastic surgery around this time. His face, especially his nose, would become dramatically altered in the coming years.

Around the late 1980s, rumors began swirling that Jackson was lightening the color of his skin to appear more white and sleeping in a special chamber to increase his lifespan. In 1993, Jackson agreed to a rare television interview with Oprah Winfrey to quell rumors. He explained that the change in his skin tone was the result of a skin condition known as vitiligo, and he opened up about the abuse he suffered from his father.

Child Molestation Allegations

Allegations of child molestation against Jackson first emerged in 1993, when a 13-year-old boy claimed that the music star had fondled him. Jackson was known to have sleepovers with boys at his Neverland Ranch, but this was the first public charge of wrongdoing. The police searched the ranch, but they found no evidence to support the claim. The following year, Jackson settled the case out of court with the boy's family. Other allegations emerged, but Jackson maintained his innocence.

In the 2003 television documentary, Living with Michael Jackson, British journalist Martin Bashir spent several months with the singer, even getting him to discuss his relationships with children. Jackson admitted that he continued to have children sleep over at his ranch, even after the 1993 allegations, and that sometimes he slept with the children in his bed. "Why can't you share your bed? That's the most loving thing to do, to share your bed with someone," Jackson told Bashir.

In 2003, Jackson encountered more legal woes when he was arrested on charges related to incidents with a 13-year-old boy. Facing 10 counts in all, he was charged with lewd conduct with a minor, attempted lewd conduct, administering alcohol to facilitate molestation, and conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

The resulting 2005 trial was a media circus, with fans, detractors and camera crews surrounding the courthouse. More than 130 people testified, including Culkin. The actor told the court that he had been friends with Jackson as a young teen, and never had any problems while staying over at the Neverland Ranch.

Jackson's accuser also appeared via videotape and described how he had been given wine and molested. However, the jury found problems with his testimony, as well as that of his mother. Jackson was found not guilty of all charges on June 14, 2005.

Career Decline

By the turn of the century, Jackson was increasingly becoming known for his eccentricities, which included wearing a surgical mask in public. In 2002, Jackson made headlines when he seemed confused and disoriented on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards. In 2002, he received enormous criticism for dangling his baby son, Blanket, over a balcony while greeting fans in Berlin, Germany. In a later interview, Jackson explained that "We were waiting for thousands of fans down below, and they were chanting they wanted to see my child, so I was kind enough to let them see. I was doing something out of innocence."

In the aftermath of his 2005 trial for child molestation, Jackson's reputation was effectively destroyed and his finances were in shambles. He soon found refuge in his friendship with Bahrain's Prince Salman Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, who helped the pop star pay his legal and utility bills, and invited him to his country as a personal guest.

In Bahrain, the prince took care of the singer's expenses and built a recording studio for him. In return, Jackson allegedly promised to collaborate on a new album for Al-Khalifa's record label, write an autobiography and create a stage play. The completed work never materialized, however, and Jackson soon faced a $7 million lawsuit from his friend for reneging on his promises.

In even greater financial straits, Jackson defaulted on the $24.5 million loan owed on his Neverland Ranch in 2008. Unable to part with cherished keepsakes, including the crystal gloves he used in performances, Jackson sued to block the auction of some of his personal items from the home the following year.

Around this same time, the largely reclusive Jackson announced that he would be performing a series of concerts as his "final curtain call." Despite all of the allegations and stories of odd behavior, Jackson remained a figure of great interest, as demonstrated by the strong response to his concert plans.

Set to appear at the O2 Arena in London, England, beginning July 8, 2009, Jackson saw all of the tickets to his "This Is It" tour sell out in only four hours. Sadly, Jackson would never get to experience the anticipated success of his comeback tour, as he died in June of that same year.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/AEG via Getty Images

Death

Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50 after suffering a cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home. CPR attempts failed and he was rushed to the hospital, where he died later that morning. In February 2010, an official coroner's report revealed Jackson's cause of death was acute propofol intoxication, or a lethal overdose on a prescription drug cocktail including the sedatives midazolam, diazepam and lidocaine.

Aided by his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson had been taking sedative drugs to help him sleep at night. Murray told police that he believed Jackson had developed a particular addiction to propofol, which Jackson referred to as his "milk." Murray reportedly administered propofol by IV in the evenings, in 50-milligram dosages, and was attempting to wean the pop star off the drug around the time of his death.

A police investigation revealed that Murray was not licensed to prescribe most controlled drugs in the state of California. The steps he had taken to save Jackson also came under scrutiny, as evidence showed that the standard of care for administering propofol had not been met, and the recommended equipment for patient monitoring, precision dosing and resuscitation had not been present.

As a result, Jackson's death was ruled a homicide. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter on November 7, 2011, earning a maximum prison sentence of four years.

Funeral and Memorial

On July 7, 2009, a televised memorial was held for fans of the "King of Pop" at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. While 17,500 free tickets were issued to fans via lottery, an estimated one billion viewers watched the memorial on TV or online.

Jackson's death resulted in an outpouring of public grief and sympathy. Memorials were erected around the world, including one at the arena where he was set to perform and another at his childhood home in Gary, Indiana.

The Jackson family held a private funeral on September 3, 2009, at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, for immediate family members and 200 guests. Celebrity mourners included Jackson's ex-wife Presley and actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit

In 2013, the Jackson family launched a wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live, the entertainment company that promoted Jackson's planned comeback series in 2009. They believed that the company had failed to effectively protect the singer while he was under Conrad Murray's care.

One of their lawyers, Brian Panish, discussed AEG's alleged wrongdoing in the trial's opening statements on April 29, 2013: "They wanted to be No. 1 at all costs," he said. "We're not looking for any sympathy ... we're looking for truth and justice."

Jackson family lawyers sought up to $1.5 billion - an estimation of what Jackson could have earned to that point - but in October 2013, a jury determined that AEG wasn't responsible for the singer's death. "Although Michael Jackson's death was a terrible tragedy, it was not a tragedy of AEG Live's making," said company lawyer Marvin S. Putnam.

Legacy

Since his death, Jackson has been profiled in multiple biographies and inspired the creation of two Cirque du Soleil shows. He was posthumously honored with the 2018 Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation Legacy Award for Humanitarian Service, with children Paris and Prince Michael accepting on his behalf.

Posthumous Wealth

Jackson's debts have been settled thanks to his earlier investment in the Sony/ATV Music catalog, which includes the publishing rights for songs of such industry heavyweights as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift. The Jackson estate sold its share of Sony/ATV in 2016 for $750 million, and two years later the estate received another $287.5 million for its stake in EMI Music Publishing.

Additionally, the King of Pop proved to have earning power that lasted well past his final days. In October 2017, Forbes announced that Jackson had topped the publication's list of top-earning dead celebrities for the fifth straight year, racking in a whopping $75 million.

'This Is It' Documentary

A documentary of Jackson's preparations for his final tour, entitled This Is It, was released in October 2009. The film, which features a compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of its star, made $23 million in its opening weekend and skyrocketed to No. 1 at the box office. This Is It would go on to make $261 million worldwide.

'Curtain Call'

On June 25, 2018, A&E commemorated the ninth anniversary of the artist's shocking death by airing Michael Jackson's Final Curtain Call. That day, numerous fans took to social media to pay tribute to the King of Pop, with Brooke Shields and Naomi Campbell among the celebrities who remembered their old friend.

'Michael Jackson: One' in Las Vegas

In August 2018, fans celebrated the Michael Jackson Diamond Celebration at Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, which featured a performance of Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson: One.

'Leaving Neverland' Documentary

Accusations of sexual abuse against Jackson resurfaced in early 2019 with the airing of Leaving Neverland at the Sundance Film Festival and then on HBO. The four-hour documentary explores the recollections of two men who describe how the pop star lured them into his orbit as boys, gaining the trust of their parents, before coercing them into sexual activities in hotel rooms and at his Neverland Ranch.

The documentary drew harsh criticism from Jackson's supporters, who pointed out that both men had previously testified that no abuse ever happened. The Jackson estate, meanwhile, called the two accusers "serial perjurers" and launched a $100 million lawsuit against HBO.
Watch Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland on Lifetime Movie Club

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Michael Jackson was a multi-talented musical entertainer who enjoyed a chart-topping career both with the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist. He released one of the best-selling albums in history, 'Thriller,' in 1982, and had other number-one hits on 'Bad' and 'Off the Wall.'

# data[].attributes.body
Despite all of the allegations and stories of odd behavior, MJ decided to have one final performing series.  He remained a figure of great interest, as all the tour tickets were sold out in the first four hour of their release. However, MJ could not enjoy that last comeback as he passed away before the tour started.

# data[].attributes.body
In the aftermath of his child molestation allegations and trials, MJ's reputation took a big hit and was effectively being destroyed, along wit his financial status.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Updated on March 15 at 1 p.m. ET
The two-part documentary Leaving Neverland, which began airing on HBO on Sunday night, tells the story of two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who accuse Michael Jackson of having sexually abused them for years, beginning when they were respectively about seven and 10 years old.

Michael Jackson's estate continues to deny all allegations, as the entertainer did in his lifetime. His estate has sued HBO for distributing the Dan Reed-directed documentary, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January; in its filings, the estate called Leaving Neverland a "posthumous character assassination."

It's no secret that, before and even after his death in 2009, Jackson was the subject of multiple sexual abuse accusations and police investigations as well as civil and criminal lawsuits. This timeline lays out key dates, known allegations and the main accusations the artist and his estate have faced, going back more than a quarter century.

December 1986: James Safechuck meets Michael Jackson on a Pepsi ad set

A 10-year-old California boy, James (Jimmy) Safechuck, is hired to appear in a Pepsi commercial alongside Michael Jackson. In Leaving Neverland, Safechuck says that Jackson befriended him and his family after the ad began airing, that the singer was immediately generous to him and allegedly began lavishing him with gifts - including, Safechuck says, his jacket from the "Thriller" video. Safechuck and his family also say that Jackson began flying them for visits and on vacations.

On one such trip to Hawaii, Safechuck alleges, Michael Jackson first asked the boy to sleep with him in his bed.

August 1993: Los Angeles police begin investigating Jackson

The Los Angeles Times reports that the LAPD has begun investigating Jackson based on allegations that he possibly molested four children, including a 13-year-old boy. (The boy is mentioned by name and in photos in Leaving Neverland.)

The police find no incriminating evidence at Jackson's Neverland ranch, nor at his Los Angeles condominium.

In a lengthy report published the following January, Vanity Fair - calling the boy "Jamie" - publishes the 13-year-old and his family's allegations. The boy's lawyer tells the magazine, "Michael was in love with the boy."

The family says that Jackson argued with Jamie's mother about sleeping in the same bed with him, saying, according to Vanity Fair, "Why don't you trust me? If we're a family, you've got to think of me as a brother. Why make me feel so bad? This is a bond. It's not about sex. This is something special." From that point onwards, the family claims, Jamie slept with Jackson nearly every night for the next several months.

September 1993: One family files suit against Jackson

In the filing, a family - whose child is ostensibly the 13-year-old boy referred to as "Jamie" by Vanity Fair - alleges that Jackson had "repeatedly committed sexual battery" on their son.

Jackson's team maintains that the suit is part of an attempt to extort the star for $20 million. More than a decade later, however, Court TV reveals in a 2004 report that Jackson settled the suit for even more than that. As part of the settlement, the singer denied any "wrongful acts."

In September 1994, prosecutors announce that they are not filing criminal charges against Jackson involving three boys - because the "primary alleged victim" declined to testify.

In the course of the investigation and ensuing civil case, Jackson and his team put various young boys on the witness stand and in front of cameras.

One is 10-year-old Wade Robson, an Australian boy who first met the megastar five years earlier, when he won a Michael Jackson dance contest in Brisbane. Within a few years, Robson had moved with his mother to Los Angeles with Jackson's encouragement.

In 1993, Robson's mother talked to CNN about her child's "slumber parties" with the singer.

"They play so hard, they fall asleep, they're exhausted," she tells the interviewer. "There's nothing more to it than that."

In Leaving Neverland, Robson says: "I was excited by the idea of being able to defend him. And being able to save him."

December 1993: La Toya Jackson says that abuse allegations are true

On Dec. 8, at a press conference held while on tour in Tel Aviv, Jackson's estranged sister La Toya alleges that the abuse accusations against Michael are true.

"This is very difficult for me," she says. "Michael is my brother. ... But I cannot, and I will not, be a silent collaborator of his crimes against small, innocent children." She claims that their mother, Katherine Jackson, has shown her checks that Michael allegedly made out to the families of some very young boys, at least one allegedly as young as nine years old. She says that the amounts paid out were substantial, though she doesn't specify any sums.

LaToya Jackson also repeats her claim that she and her siblings were abused, including sexually abused, by their parents. It's an assertion she first made at least two years earlier in her 1991 autobiography La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family.

Other members of the family, including Katherine Jackson, rally to Michael's defense. The Washington Post quotes Katherine as saying, "La Toya is lying and I'll tell her to her face she's lying," adding that her daughter was "trying to make money off of [Michael's] downfall."

In a follow-up interview with the Today show's Katie Couric, La Toya Jackson claims that their mother had shown her such checks as early as "around '84." However, she tells Couric she can't prove that the alleged checks were meant as hush money, nor has she ever seen him in bed with a boy herself.

In 2011, in a second autobiography called Starting Over, La Toya Jackson retracted her allegations against both her brother Michael and her father Joe, saying that she was forced to make them by her husband at the time, whom she accused of being abusive.

"My family and Michael knew that wasn't really me talking," the Daily Beast quotes her as saying in an interview. "I never believed for a minute my brother was guilty of anything like that."

February 2003: Living with Michael Jackson documentary airs in the U.K. and U.S.

The documentary, reported by journalist Martin Bashir, includes footage of Jackson holding hands with and cradling a young teenager, then identified as a cancer survivor, and says that they share a bed. Both Jackson and the boy deny that anything untoward is going on. "My greatest inspiration comes from kids," Jackson says to Bashir indignantly, while holding onto the child. "It's all inspired from that level of innocence, that consciousness of purity."

After the documentary airs, Jackson issues a statement denying any wrongdoing, and says that he is "devastated" by Bashir's portrayal of him. Nevertheless, Living with Michael Jackson sparks a criminal investigation.

November 20, 2003: Police book Jackson on child molestation charges

Two days after raiding Neverland, Jackson's famous ranch in Santa Barbara County, Calif., the sheriff's office arrests Jackson on charges of child molestation, but does not immediately disclose details of the charges or identify the victim.

Jackson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, calls the charges "a big lie." After posting $3 million in bail the same day and surrendering his passport, Jackson is allowed to go free as he awaits trial.

Jackson is eventually indicted on 10 criminal counts, including child molestation, abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

February 28, 2005: Jackson's criminal case goes to trial

After being charged in late 2003 and then given additional charges the following April, Jackson is put on trial. The victim is identified as Gavin Arvizo, the young man who appeared in the Bashir documentary; he is among those who testify at the trial.

Among those testifying in Jackson's defense are actor Macaulay Culkin and Wade Robson. (By 2005, Robson is a noted choreographer and songwriter, who has created dance routines for the likes of Britney Spears and 'NSYNC, and who has already had his own show on MTV.)

They are described as "special friends" of Jackson who have slept with the singer in his bed. The men deny that Jackson has touched them or otherwise acted inappropriately. According to The Washington Post, Robson's mother, Joy, says of the singer: "Unless you know him, it's hard to understand him. ... He's not the boy next door."

Gavin Arvizo is now aged 14, and says on the stand that Jackson masturbated him; Gavin's brother corroborates his claim, and says that Jackson gave them alcohol and showed them pornography. Gavin's mother, Janet Arvizo, also appears as a witness; the BBC describes her testimony as " combative and rambling." A former member of Jackson's household staff, Blanca Francia, testifies that she saw the singer taking a shower with Robson. Francia's son also alleges that Jackson has molested him.

Years later, Robson claims he lied at the 2005 trial. According to a 2014 Daily Beast article, prosecutors wanted to name Safechuck - who had provided a witness statement defending Jackson in the 1993 suit - as one of the singer's alleged victims. However, Safechuck declined to participate in the 2005 trial, and the prosecution excluded him as a potential victim. Safechuck claims later that he had lied in the statement he gave to prosecutors in the 1993 investigation.

June 13, 2005: Jackson is acquitted of all criminal charges

After a trial that had a circus-like atmosphere and whose proceedings seemed to sometimes be upstaged by Jackson's antics (including showing up late in pajamas on one occasion), the singer is acquitted of all charges. At least some of the jurors seem to place the onus on the alleged victim's mother, Janet Arvizo. according to NPR. Allowing a child to sleep with any non-family member, one of the female jurors asks, according to NPR, "What mother in her right mind would allow that to happen?"

Within months, prosecutors charge Janet Arvizo with fraud and perjury related to statements made at the Jackson trial; she accepts a plea agreement the following year.

June 25, 2009: Michael Jackson dies, age 50

The singer is found unresponsive at his home in Holmby Hills, Calif. At the time of his death, his family releases a statement saying that it is believed that he died of cardiac arrest.

On Nov. 11, 2011, a doctor, Conrad Murray, is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death for having administered a deadly dose of the anesthetic propofol.

During the trial, the New York Times reports that Murray, who had been hired as Jackson's personal physician, "had stayed with Jackson at least six nights a week and was regularly asked - and sometimes begged - by the insomniac singer to give him drugs powerful enough to put him to sleep."

2013-2014: Wade Robson and James Safechuck file suits against the Jackson estate and his companies

The Daily Beast reports in 2013 that after very publicly and repeatedly defending Jackson, Robson now says that Jackson sexually molested him for seven years.

Two years later, in May 2015, a judge in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Mitchell L. Beckloff, dismisses Robson's suit against the estate, saying that he waited too long to file his claim. In December 2017, the same judge dismisses the rest of Robson's suit, filed against Jackson's two companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, because the two corporations could not be found liable for Jackson's alleged behavior. Notably, neither of these judgments address the credibility of Robson's accusations.

James Safechuck files a similar suit against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures in 2014, alleging that Jackson abused him on "hundreds" of occasions between 1988 and 1992. Beckloff, who is also the presiding judge in this suit, rejects Safechuck's suit in June 2017 on the same grounds he gave Robson.

March 3, 2019: Leaving Neverland begins airing on HBO

After debuting at Sundance in late January, the two-part, four-hour documentary begins airing. Jackson's estate has already filed suit against the network, claiming that damages could exceed $100 million. Its petition begins: "Michael Jackson is innocent. Period."

The estate also argues that HBO has violated a non-disparagement agreement that it made with the singer in order to air a concert special, Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour, back in 1992. (That program was a megahit when it aired, scoring HBO its highest-rated special ever at that time.) In a bid for positive counter-programming, Jackson's estate releases the 1992 film on YouTube at the same time as Leaving Neverland's broadcast premiere.

"In producing this fictional work," the suit continues, "HBO ignored its contractual obligations to Michael and his companies by disparaging both him and the Dangerous World Tour that HBO had previously profited from immensely." The estate also calls Robson and Safechuck "two admitted perjurers," and accuses them of "practicing their stories and rehearsing their lines ... for years now."

In an interview on All Things Considered, filmmaker Dan Reed says that two different threads drew him to telling the two men's stories.

"It's the complexity that drew me into wanting to really tell the story," Reed says, "which is that in an abusive pedophile relationship there is both love, affection, mentoring, friendship, caring - and there is sexual abuse. Those two things coexist."

March 14, 2019: Louis Vuitton backs off its Michael Jackson-inspired designs

Less than two weeks after Leaving Neverland airs on HBO, the luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton seeks distance from the late pop icon, whose signature looks had helped inspire much of its fall 2019 menswear collection.

The company had showcased the collection at a show on Jan. 17, or just over a week before the documentary was screened publicly for the first time at the Sundance Film Festival. In a statement shared exclusively with WWD, the company's top executives said they were unaware of the documentary - and its "deeply troubling and disturbing" allegations - at the time of their own show.

"I am aware that in light of this documentary the show has caused emotional reactions," Virgil Abloh, the artistic director of menswear at the company, said in the statement. "I strictly condemn any form of child abuse, violence or infringement against any human rights."

The company also told WWD that it would not produce anything that "directly features Michael Jackson elements," and that its final collection will "purely reflect the true values of the brand and of our artistic director."

Additional reporting by NPR's Elizabeth Blair and Colin Dwyer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Michael Jackson: A Quarter-Century Of Sexual Abuse Allegations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The documentary Leaving Neverland has revived allegations of sexual abuse against Michael Jackson. As early as 1993, young boys and their families were accusing the megastar.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The King of Pop is dead, long live the king, chant Michael Jackson's die-hard fans. The king is dead, may he and his music end up in the dustbin of history, taunt his critics.

It's been 10 years since Jackson died and his legacy, reinvigorated in the wake of his demise, is once again being challenged as fans and critics alike grapple with conflicting feelings about the late superstar. ( He died June 25, 2009, at his home in Los Angeles of a drug overdose administered by his doctor. He was 50.)

So which is it going to be? Is it possible to love and listen to (and buy) Jackson's remarkable body of music - and also believe he molested little boys, as the recent HBO film "Leaving Neverland" alleged?

"It's the challenge of holding two opposing ideas in your head at the same time," says Mark Feldstein, a University of Maryland journalism professor who teaches about the Jackson case in his popular "Scandals" class.

Or will we always view Jackson through an extreme either/or lens: He's either an innocent naif and musical genius - or he was a wicked predator and let's burn all his records.

Ten years may not be enough time yet to work this out, what with Jackson fans and critics occupying hostile camps and lobbing toxic tweets at each other.

USA TODAY reached out to the Jackson estate (which labeled the "Neverland" film a "public lynching" and has sued HBO) to ask if it planned to mark the anniversary. Spokeswoman Diana Baron says she does not believe people are conflicted about Jackson, citing statistics she says prove he's still a superstar.

As an example, she says, Jackson's Facebook page has more than 72 million followers, "up 2 million from a year ago," and his Instagram account now has 3.2 million followers, which she says represents "20% growth over the last six months."

Maybe more to the point in the social-media era is that nobody is pushing a successful campaign to get Jackson and his music banned from the public square. Gregory Tate, a writer ("Flyboy in the Buttermilk") and cultural critic, says he still hears Jackson's music everywhere.

"It's being proven every day that his music legacy will survive," Tate says. "The public has already made its stand because (the music) comes on in all kinds of public places and no one is saying turn that off."

The most significant backlash possibly traced to "Neverland" is that a Jackson family film on the 50th anniversary of The Jackson 5 is in limbo. A network backed out after the HBO film aired, according to producer Jodi Gomes, who worked on TV's "The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty" and "The Jacksons: An American Dream," in an interview with The Associated Press.

Baron also cites other entertainers who have recently expressed support for Jackson or acknowledged his influence, including Madonna, who told British Vogue that "people are innocent until proven guilty," and Chance the Rapper, who told NME that Jackson is his biggest inspiration in blending music with philanthropy.

Jackson's youngest sister, pop star Janet Jackson, said in a rare interview that she believes his legacy will live on.

"It will continue," she told The Sunday Times of London. "I love it when I see kids emulating him, when adults still listen to his music. It just lets you know the impact that my family has had on the world. I hope I'm not sounding arrogant in any way - I'm just stating what is."

But some people have been conflicted about Jackson ever since he was tried and acquitted on separate molestation charges in 2005, four years before his death. The "Neverland" film only raised the ugly questions again.

"I am not sure people will ever really resolve their feelings," says Allan Mayer,co-CEO of 42West, a major entertainment public-relations firm in Los Angeles and New York, who is a former journalist-turned-crisis management expert. (Years ago, he briefly represented one of the two accusers of Jackson in the "Neverland" film.)

"At the end of the day, people believe what they want to believe," Mayer says. "And there are enough facts (available) so they can pick and choose what they want to believe. It's what psychologists call 'confirmation bias,' and we're all guilty of that to a greater or lesser extent."

Even a confirmed fan like Margo Jefferson, author of the biography/cultural study "On Michael Jackson," a former New York Times critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning book reviewer, told the Times she is working on a new introduction to her book inspired by "Neverland."

She doesn't believe fans can separate his music from the allegations, but she believes people could "get wiser" about holding conflicting opinions, feelings and sets of facts simultaneously.

She says Jackson's death "allowed the (music) canon simultaneously to re-acknowledge the greatness of his art and to look at him as a damaged, harmed and harming person," Jefferson told The Guardian in 2018. "I have to live with and keep analyzing this contradiction. In deciding I love Michael Jackson, I take it all in - his music, the crimes he may have committed, his inner turmoil. I need the pleasure and the complications he gives me."
'Just let the man rest':So now what? Michael Jackson estate slams 'Leaving Neverland':Here's what we learned from watching 'Leaving Neverland' alleges sickening crimes by Michael Jackson 'Leaving Neverland' is panned by Michael Jackson's die-hard fans
Meanwhile, the power of the internet and social media give anyone a chance to comment, to spread and to pick and choose what to believe, Mayer says.

"In previous eras, there were scattered, disparate groups with (views not widely shared) but they had no impact on society as a whole and were easily dismissed, thought of as outliers," Mayer says. "Now, because of social media and the internet, they can come together and they're not outliers anymore. ... If you are a Michael Jackson fan looking for reasons not to abandon your idol, you're getting psychological ammunition" to stick with him.

On the other hand, one scandal may quickly replace another - because another scandal always comes along, says Feldstein.

"These tsunamis of scandal spread instantly, globally and vociferously because everyone has a chance to comment and spread it, and that tends to make these things bigger," Feldstein says. "But it also tends to make them shorter because there are so many of these scandals erupting that we can't sustain the outrage for so long."

Opinions about Jackson are especially intense, Mayer believes, in part because pop-music stars worm their way into hearts and minds when their audience is young.

"They tend to hit us emotionally when we're still forming personalities, so they take outsized space in our psyches," he says. "If we've put a lot of psychological or emotional investment in someone and then we find out years later he's not who we thought, it's asking a lot of someone to reject that investment."

Tate says that "music just works in a way that has nothing to do with the person and persona of the artist - you associate it with some of the best times in your life and you're immediately caught up in the rapture of the songs."

Thus, Mayer says, there are plenty of smart, sophisticated people who refuse to believe Jackson (or other accused entertainers and political figures) ever did anything wrong - to the enraged bafflement of accusers who can't understand why their testimony is being rejected.

"That is, for better or worse, human nature," he says. "There are narratives we create to get through life and it's not just a matter of weighing up the facts on a scale and going in the direction that falls heavily on the facts."

British filmmaker Dan Reed, who directed "Neverland," told Vulture in January that he set out to change public perceptions about Jackson "because of his presence in the fabric of American life and people's lives worldwide." He acknowledged that one consequence of things like the film is "the lights have gone out" in the cultural space for many music fans.

"And it's part of this era where we're suddenly having our eyes opened about all sorts of people to whom we looked up," he said. "Institutions that we thought would always be there to protect us are being challenged. It's a time of re-evaluation."

But will cultural historians of the future, near or far, re-evaluate Jackson's music?

Feldstein thinks that all of the current furious debate about Jackson will eventually fade "but the music will endure."

He believes the latest surge of "historical revisionism" about Jackson might have more to do with the needs of the moment, especially the influence of the #MeToo movement when so much in the culture is being re-evaluated and "refracted" through a lens of calling out alleged sexual misconduct.

"But this moment will pass and (sexual misconduct) will not be as unique a litmus test the way it is in the moment," Feldstein says. "Ultimately, (Jackson) will be remembered mostly for the music, with a little bit of awareness of the allegations."

He bases this prediction in part on the college-age students in his "Scandals" classes, who have different perceptions of Jackson based on whether they saw the "Neverland" film (which aired in March) and whether the #MeToo movement had personally affected them.

"Most of them didn't know about the molestation allegations before the film and before #MeToo; they knew only his music," Feldstein says.

Now when Feldstein asks how Jackson will be remembered, most say he'll be remembered primarily for the music, but maybe a third think he'll be remembered for the allegations as well.

Recall that history is packed with tales of artists behaving badly. For example, 19th-century composer Richard Wagner was an anti-Semite and 16th-century painter Michelangelo Caravaggio was likely a murderer. Yet audiences still thrill to Wagner's overwrought operas, and any museum would kill for a Caravaggio.

But it takes distance in time to get to that point, says Mayer, made more difficult by the widespread availability of film and video recordings of our idols and heroes.

"(Painter Pablo) Picasso by all accounts was an awful human being but his personality falls away the more distant we get from him," Mayer says. In fact, we know more than ever before about Picasso's questionable behavior but he remains one of the most admired and coveted artists of all time.

"Picasso lived into the beginnings of the recorded age (he died in 1973), so there's film and video of him - more so than, say, of Renoir or Rembrandt," Mayer says. "Now we're in a time when's there's a more complete and vivid record of (artists and celebrities) and it's impossible to get the same kind of distance."

Regardless, Jackson's family isn't about to concede anything to the critics, or haters as they call them. Jackson is dead but not defenseless.

"My uncle's legacy will never go away," Jackson's nephew Sigmund "Siggy" Jackson told AP. "Our family will make sure of that."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
We may never resolve our conflicted feelings about Michael Jackson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The King of Pop is dead, long live the king, chant Michael Jackson's die-hard fans. The king is dead, may he and his music end up in the dustbin of history, taunt his critics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Years after first being accused of sexual abuse, Michael Jackson faced a 2005 criminal trial for child molestation, which ended with the pop star being acquitted on all charges.

Following the release of 2003 documentary, Living with Michael Jackson - which centered on the singer's relationship with a boy named Gavin Arvizo, who met the pop star while battling cancer - police reopened their investigations into Jackson's behavior, according to Global News. Two days after the star's Neverland Ranch was searched by police that November, Jackson was arrested on child molestation charges.

In the documentary, which sparked outrage, Jackson and the boy were shown holding hands, and Jackson also defended letting children sleep in his bedroom, describing it as "loving," CNN reported.

Shortly after being released on a $3 million bail, Jackson was formally charged seven counts of child molestation and two counts administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of committing a felony, according to Global News. The singer pleaded not guilty to all charges.

During the 14-week trial, the prosecution's case centered around Gavin, then 15, who claimed Jackson had gotten him drunk and molested him on several occasions, the New York Times reported. The boy's younger brother also testified having seen Jackson molest his brother.

Additionally, the boy's mother, Janet Arvizo, testified against Jackson, alleging the singer had held her family captive at Neverland Ranch, although the jury found her unlikable and combative, the outlet reported.

Jackson's lawyers were able to poke holes in the family's testimonies, and were also able to convince the jury, who already found Janet unlikeable, that she was a "con artist" who had made her children lie on the stand, according to Global News.

"As a mother, the values she has taught them, it's hard for me to comprehend," one Santa Monica juror said after the verdict was delivered, according to the Times. "I wouldn't want any of my children to lie for their own gain."

Although Jackson did not testify during the trial, his lawyers portrayed the family as trying to scheme money out of the singer, according to CNN.

Also among those who testified on the singers behalf were former child actor Macaulay Culkin and Australian choreographer Wade Robson, one of two Jackson accusers featured in the documentary Leaving Neverland.

According to The Guardian, Robson, who had spent the night at Neverland Ranch over 20 times, testified during the trial that he had never been molested by Jackson.

"It's not true," he told jurors, the outlet reported at the time, adding that he was "very mad" about allegations to the contrary.

RELATED VIDEO: Michael Jackson Estate Criticized for Releasing Concert as New Abuse Documentary Premieres

Before delivering their not guilty verdict on June 13, 2005, the jury deliberated for 30 hours, according to the New York Times. Should Jackson have been found guilty, he could have faced up to 20 years in prison.

"In a case like this, you're hoping that maybe you can find a smoking gun or something that you can grab onto that says absolutely one way or another. In this case, we had difficulty in finding that," one juror told the Times after the verdict was delivered.

Ahead of the release of Finding Neverland, Robson, now 36, opened up about his decision to testify on Jackson's behalf during the trial.

"Michael's training of me to testify began the first night that he started abusing me," Robson alleged during an interview with CBS This Morning. "He started telling me that, 'If anybody else ever finds out, we'll both go to jail, both of our lives will be over.' "

"I wish that I was ready," Robson continued. "I wish ... that I could've played a role in, at that point, stopping Michael from abusing however many other kids he did after that."

Robson first sued in 2013, claiming that Jackson abused him for nearly a decade. He later said in an amended complaint to his 2013 lawsuit that MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures were operations "specifically designed to locate, attract, lure and seduce child sexual abuse victims." A probate court in 2015 rejected his claim against the estate itself, which left the two business entities as defendants.

At the time of the ruling, Jackson's estate said in a statement, "In my opinion Mr. Robson's allegations, made 20 plus years after they supposedly occurred and years after Mr. Robson testified twice under oath - including in front of a jury - that Michael Jackson had never done anything wrong to him were always about the money rather than a search for the truth."

Robson said he first met Jackson when he was 5 years old after winning a competition run by MJJ Productions in his native Australia. Two years later, his family was invited to stay at Jackson's Neverland Ranch home in California, where he claims he slept in Jackson's bed and said he was first sexually abused by him.

He claimed the abuse continued for seven years and ended only when he "began showing signs of puberty" and Jackson was "no longer as interested in him sexually."

In 2017, a California judge dismissed Robson's case against Jackson's estate and two companies it controls, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, and ruled that it is not liable for Jackson's alleged childhood sexual abuse of the celebrity choreographer.

In Leaving Neverland, Robson and James Safechuck, now 40, allege Jackson repeatedly molested them as boys. The documentary garnered significant buzz upon its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and is being broadcast on HBO in two parts airing on Sunday and Monday. (The Jackson family has filed a lawsuit against HBO and in a CBS This Morning interview with Gayle King, which aired last week, the singer's brothers, Tito, Marlon, and Jackie Jackson, as well as Jackson's nephew, Taj Jackson - denounced the film and Robson and Safechuck's claims.)

Jackson died in 2009 at age 50, leaving behind three children: Prince Michael, 22, Paris, 20, and "Blanket," 17, who now goes by Bigi.

Leaving Neverland airs Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m. EST on HBO.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inside Michael Jackson's 2005 Child Molestation Trial - and Why He Was Found Not Guilty

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Michael Jackson was found not guilty of all charges by a Santa Monica jury following a 14-week-long sexual abuse trial in 2005

# data[].attributes.body
"I've had no plastic surgery on my face," Jackson said. "Just my nose. It helped me breathe better so I can hit higher notes." -MJ

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
July 3, 2009 -- For all his towering influence as a recording artist, Michael Jackson lives in the popular consciousness not only as a huge talent but as a shadowy figure of intense self-conflict, a man who spent his career in flight from his audience, the world, himself.

"Man in the Mirror" was more than a hit song for Jackson. It was a reflection of a bizarre and enthralling series of identities, all of them written -- and rewritten, and rewritten -- on the star's face. The question of what drove Jackson to so radically alter his appearance gradually came to rival, if not overshadow, his brilliance as a performer.

"He didn't want to be Michael Joseph Jackson," said J. Randy Taraborrelli, who has followed Jackson's career for three decades and wrote an unauthorized biography. "He just wanted to be something else. And he went about the business of doing that."

Indeed, there are no shortage of theories from plastic surgery experts and biographers like Taraborrelli about the possible nature and number of surgeries behind Jackson's changing appearance -- and the reasons they believe the star did it.

In the 1970s, as the youngest member of the Jackson 5, Michael was the cherub-faced wunderkind no audience could resist. But even before he began to alter his features, Jackson was wearing a mask, concealing a feeling of unbearable pressure to succeed, brother Jackie Jackson said in a 1993 interview.

"I used to go to Michael's room and I see on his wall he's writing, 'I will sell 20 million records' on his mirror," Jackie Jackson said.

Margo Jefferson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and the author of "On Michael Jackson," said, "I think he longed for some kind of peace of mind. ... He longed for what he could never possibly have back, which was some vision of a childhood. ... The little Michael Jackson, you know, who grew up struggling and suffering and ... thinking, 'I am worthless ... except when I can set this crowd going.' I think he wanted to flee that Michael Jackson completely."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Did Michael Jackson Go So Far to Alter His Appearance?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Plastic surgeons estimate that the number of surgeries Michael Jackson had to his face could run to dozens. Why did the King of Pop feel the need to change his appearance? How did the metamorphosis unfold?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On February 10, 1993, Oprah sat down with Michael Jackson for what would be the most-watched interview in television history. Michael, a fiercely private entertainer, had refused to give an interview for 14 years. The unprecedented live event, which took place before any allegations were made about sexual abuse, drew a worldwide audience of 90 million people. "It was the most exciting interview I had ever done," Oprah says. "It certainly was going to be the most watched interview I had ever done."

Sixteen years after that memorable special, and just a few months after Michael's untimely death, Oprah opens up about what she really thought of the candid discussion.

Oprah's done thousands of interviews since she sat down with Michael, but she can still remember her excitement at going to the King of Pop's home. "We are coming in the gates of Neverland, and it's like a moment in The Wizard of Oz," she says. "It was literally like going to see the wizard. We couldn't believe it. I felt like a kid."

During their interview, Michael spoke to Oprah about missing out on a normal childhood. "I remember going to the recording studio, and there was a park across the street, and I'd see all the children playing and I would cry. It would make me sad that I would have to go to work instead," he said. "People wonder why I always have children around. It's because I find the thing that I never had through them. Disneyland, amusement parks, arcade games-I adore all that stuff because when I was little, it was always work, work, work."

Looking back, Oprah says she realized in that moment that she had a fondness for Michael. "He's very likable there, and I can tell you I really, really liked him," she says. "After this interview, I thought I could be his friend, because I felt that he was really honest."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
michael jackson moonwalk moonwalker interview special live skin disease vitiligo joe joseph jackson king of pop neverland children kids thriller gone too soon dead died drugs white black pale bleach brooke shields virgin virginity sex

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Michael Jackson Interview: Oprah Reflects

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On February 10, 1993, Oprah sat down with Michael Jackson for what would be the most-watched interview in television history. Michael, a fiercely private entertainer, had refused to give an interview for 14 years. The unprecedented live event, which took place before any allegations were made about sexual abuse, drew a worldwide audience of 90 million people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Michael Jackson in 1984 (left) and 1993 (right)
Theodoros II
One such scandal was the obvious change in his appearance, especially his skin color, which started from the mid-eighties to slowly but surely turn from dark to white.

By the mid-nineties when Jackson released his album History (1995), it was more than obvious even to his most dedicated fans that the man of Thriller (1982) looked nothing like the man who had recently married Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie. By this time, Michael Jackson was milky white; a skin-color transition that started almost a decade earlier was more or less complete. So what happened?

According to his family and Jackson himself, the 'King of Pop' had vitiligo, a condition that causes depigmentation of parts of the skin, which usually results in white spots on the patient's body; these are even more noticeable if the person has a dark complexion as in Jackson's case.

The 1 in 250 or so people who have this condition typically first start seeing signs of it beginning between 10 and 30 years old. Approximately 30% of the people who have it also have it run in their family, which is true of Jackson.

In addition to this skin disorder, Jackson also reportedly suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus, which besides potentially being a very serious condition can also cause loss of skin pigmentation.

When the controversy about his changing skin color hit its zenith, Jackson spoke openly about his vitiligo for the first time in an interview he gave to Oprah in 1993. He said among other things,

It is something I cannot help. When people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me. It's a problem for me. I can't control it. But what about all the millions of people who sit in the sun to become darker, to become other than what they are. Nobody says nothing about that.

In the days after, at Jackson's request, his condition was publicly confirmed by his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, who also stated Jackson was first diagnosed with the condition in 1984. It was also confirmed that he had lupus erythematosus, but that it was in remission.

Conspiracy theorists propose that there was much more to it than this. That in fact, Jackson had no such disease and that he, instead, systematically bleached his skin using Benoquin cream and other medical cocktails in his quest to look like a white person.

The obvious and extensive cosmetic surgeries he had on his eyebrows, eyelashes, lips, and nose only served to enforce the theory that he was simply purposefully tweaking his appearance even more by bleaching his skin.

So is there any truth to this? Dr. Christopher Rogers, deputy medical examiner at the Los Angeles Coroner's Office and the man who conducted Michael Jackson's autopsy, chimed in on this after performing the autopsy on Jackson. Dr. Rogers confirmed that Jackson indeed suffered from vitiligo, most noticeably with patches around his face, chest, abdomen, and arms.

According to dermatologist Dr. Hanish Babu, Jackson did; this is sometimes a treatment used for those with vitiligo.

When these white patches first started appearing, you can see from certain of Jackson's concert footage that he was trying to mask them with makeup matching his original skin color. Once the patches became too numerous to easily hide with makeup (and he supposedly became tired of the extensive time needed to apply the makeup every day), he switched strategies and began the process of bleaching his skin, supposedly under the care of his dermatologist and using 20% monobenzyl ether of hydroquinone (Benoquin Cream).

Much later, in June of 2009 after his death, tubes of Benoquin and hydroquinone were found in Jackson's home. As Dr. David Sawcer said, "some patients with vitiligo get to the point where it makes more sense to remove the brown bits because so much of the skin is pale."

Besides giving him a white complexion, this also results in being prone to sunburns, which is why in later years he often kept himself nearly completely covered when outside in the sun.

In the end, only Jackson knew his true motivation for ultimately choosing to bleach his skin, whether as a treatment for his vitiligo to even out his skin color as reported, or as the conspiracy theorists claim, to further change his appearance to more of a Caucasian look, though one would think the latter would be an odd move for the co-author of the line (with Bill Bottrell), 'It don't matter if you're black or white.'

Bonus Facts

Thanks to his vitiligo and needing frequent care from a dermatologist, Jackson met Debbie Rowe, a nurse of his dermatologist. The two became fast friends and over a decade after they first met, they married in 1996. They divorced three years later, but reportedly remained friends for the rest of his life.

The autopsy also found that Jackson's lips were tattooed pink, while his eyebrows were tattooed a dark hue. The front of his scalp was also tattooed black, apparently to blend his hairline in with the wigs he wore (he was balding).

Also according to the autopsy, Michael Jackson was 5´9˝ and 136 lbs at the time of his death.
The article was originally published by Today I Found Out. People can also follow them on their YouTube channel here:
Stay updated with all the insights.
Navigate news, 1 email day.
Subscribe to Qrius

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Michael Jackson's skin turned white as he got older | Qrius

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Michael Jackson in 1984 (left) and 1993 (right) Theodoros II One such scandal was the obvious change in his appearance, especially his skin color, which started from the mid-eighties to slowly but surely turn from dark to white.

# data[].attributes.body
"To give in the best way I can through song and through dance and through music," Michael said. "I believe that all art has as its ultimate goal the union between the material and the spiritual, the spiritual and the divine. I believe that that's the reason for the very existence of art, and I feel I was chosen as an instrument to give music and love and harmony to the world." - MJ

# data[].attributes.headline
Oprah Interview 1993 - first time MJ speaks openly about his vitiligo condition 

# data[].attributes.subject
Oprah Interview 1993 - first time MJ speaks openly about his vitiligo condition 

# data[].attributes.body
"It is something I can not help. When people make up stories that I don’t want to be who I am, it hurts me. It’s a problem for me. I can’t control it. But what about all the millions of people who sit in the sun to become darker, to become other than what they are. Nobody says nothing about that." - Michael Jackson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Michael Jackson talking about his skin disorder to Oprah

# data[].attributes.body
By the late 1980s, there were many speculations about Jackson's personal life, health and physical appearance. He had undergone a number of plastic surgeries to alter his nose and add a chin dimple. His skin colour began to lighten during that time, which he claims was brought on by a rare skin pigment disorder, vitiligo, but it didn't stop a whirl of speculative press reports that he was bleaching his skin colour.

# data[].attributes.body
Here's the thing, MJ was never found guilty during any child molestation trials. However, people were split into two groups, they either thought of him as an innocent, a childlike man-boy who simply enjoyed hanging out with young boys and that some of these children decided – in collusion with their money-grabbing parents – to take Jackson to the cleaners. Or Jackson was an active, predatory child molester.

# data[].attributes.body
The scandals around MJ's personal life started overshadowing his remarkable music career.

# data[].attributes.body
In 2000, Guinness World Records honored Michael for supporting 39 charities, a record for the most supported by a pop star, with hundreds of millions of dollars estimated to have been raised by his efforts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Of all the honors and achievements in Michael Jackson's incredible career, one particularly shows his generous commitment to charitable causes. In 2000, Guinness World Records honored Michael for supporting 39 charities, a record for the most supported by a pop star, with hundreds of millions of dollars estimated to have been raised by his efforts.

Throughout his lifetime, Michael donated significant amounts to a vast number of charitable organizations. In 1984, he donated his entire share of the proceeds from The Victory Tour (his last full tour with The Jacksons) all to charity-an estimated $3 million to $5 million. A year later, he donated $1.5 million to establish the Michael Jackson Burn Center at Los Angeles' Brotman Medical Center, and also helped organize USA For Africa, a multi-artist famine relief project. Their charity single, "We Are The World," which Michael co-wrote with Lionel Richie, was the year's best-selling single, raising millions more for poor communities on the continent.

Michael's humanitarian efforts continued throughout the decades, with organizations including Make A Wish, the United Negro College Fund, Camp Ronald McDonald For Good Times (a haven for cancer patients and their families) receiving both his time and money. In 1992, he established the Heal The World Foundation, named after the worldwide hit single from Dangerous. In its decade-long tenure, Heal The World paid for everything from drug abuse education programs to the airlifting of 46 tons of supplies to war-torn Sarajevo. In addition, his humanitarian efforts were also reflected in his will which provided for a portion of his estate to be used to benefit charitable efforts to help children around the world.

Indeed, the artist who implored us to "make that change" in the lyrics to "Man In The Mirror" was tirelessly committed to doing the same himself.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Michael Jackson Charity Work Honored By Guinness World Records

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Of all the honors and achievements in Michael Jackson's incredible career, one particularly shows his generous commitment to charitable causes. In 2000, Guinness World Records honored Michael for supporting 39 charities, a record for the most supported by a pop star, with hundreds of millions of dollars estimated to have been raised by his efforts.

# data[].attributes.body
Michael's persona among his fans and the world, was portrayed as the charitable, genuine and kind guy. A noble soul who used art as a medium to promote peace, compassion and love.

# data[].attributes.body
In 1985, Jackson showed his altruistic side by co-writing "We Are the World," a charity single for USA for Africa. A veritable who's who of music stars participated in the project, including Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen and Tina Turner.

# data[].attributes.body
Throughout his career, MJ constantly tried to tackle social and global issues, to inspire people and raise awareness. For example, his song 'Earth song' was made to inspire people to care for the Earth. He also made songs that challenged racial stigma like ‘Black or White’.

# data[].attributes.headline
Health problems: Arising questions and rumours; Does MJ have Vitiligo or is he ashamed of his African-American background? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Health problems: Arising questions and rumours; Does MJ have Vitiligo or is he ashamed of his African-American background? 

# data[].attributes.body
Michael built a fan empire in a very short time. His kind and loveable personality along with his signature dance moves and unique vocals, made fans obsess over him. Fans would jump on stage during his shows just to hug or kiss him. Some fans fainted by just seeing him. He had power over the people like no other pop star.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Michael Jackson standing still and the crowd goes wild. Picture: YouTube/Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was the ultimate popstar. He was one of the greatest dancers, he could write timeless songs, and he made fans around the world go totally bonkers when he performed live.

The King of Pop will be remembered for many iconic moments, from the 'Thriller' zombie dance, to his 'Smooth Criminal' lean to his 'Billie Jean' moonwalk.

But there's another tool Michael Jackson used in his armoury to make the most of his stage presence.

On several occasions while on tour in the 1990s, Michael found a stunning way to kick off his live shows...

He just stood still.

As the footage below shows, during his Dangerous tour, Michael would begin his live show by suddenly jumping onto the stage from below, while pyrotechnics would be set off.

While wearing his trademark gold jacket and dark sunglasses, Michael would then simply stay in position for a full minute and a half, all while sparks would rain down behind him, and the crowd would be chanting his name.

Only then did he quickly jerk his head to one side, prompting further screams from his adoring fans, before slowly taking off his sunglasses. He then burst into a performance of his hit 'Jam'.

Such was the power of his fandom, several people could be seen fainting and being carried off by security while Michael did this routine at various concerts around the world.

He repeated the trick at his Super Bowl halftime performance in 1993, where he began the annual tradition of staging a big-budget showcase during America's biggest sporting moment.

Michael's famous pose would later be immortalised in a 10-foot sculpture of the "warrior-like" pose, created in 1994 by Diana Walczak, which featured on the front cover of his 1995 album HIStory.

To promote that album's tour, record label Epic placed ten 30-foot replicas of the statue in locations around the world, including the River Thames in London, Alexanderplatz in Berlin, Eindhoven in the Netherlands, and the pedestal of the destroyed Stalin Monument in Prague.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Michael Jackson made fans go wild and faint purely by standing still for several minutes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Michael Jackson was the ultimate popstar. He was one of the greatest dancers, he could write timeless songs, and he made fans around the world go totally bonkers when he performed live. The King of Pop will be remembered for many iconic moments, from the 'Thriller' zombie dance, to his 'Smooth Criminal' lean to his 'Billie Jean' moonwalk.

# data[].attributes.body
In 1980, Michael earned his first career GRAMMY when "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" won for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a male artist.
Later in 1984, Michael became the first artist to ever win eight GRAMMYs in one night.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer.

# data[].attributes.body
Michael starts his solo career in 1971 when 3 of his singles storm the charts. Later he goes into acting and makes his first film debut as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, an urban retelling of the classic film The Wizard Of Oz.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Follow a chronology of the singer’s life — highlighted by breathtaking commercial success, intense public scrutiny and odd lifestyle choices:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Michael Jackson Biography - Life and Career (REDUX)

# data[].attributes.body
Michael Joseph Jackson - first got into music in 1964 when he joined his brother's band, the Jackson 5. With Michael's natural talent, unique vocals and dance moves he quickly became the Jackson 5's main draw. Shortly after Michael joined the band they signed with Motown Records and released four number-one singles on the label.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Pop sensation Michael Jackson is born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana.

Jackson began performing with his four brothers in the pop group the Jackson 5 when he was a child. The group scored its first No. 1 single in 1969, with "I Want You Back." By age 11, Jackson was appearing on TV, and by age 14 he had released his first solo album. A Jackson 5 TV cartoon series appeared in the early '70s, and in 1976 the Jackson family, including sister Janet Jackson, launched a TV variety show called The Jacksons that ran for one season. Throughout the 70s, media attention focused on Michael, who piped vocals in his high voice for "ABC," "I'll Be There," and many other Top 20 hits.

Jackson released several solo albums in the '70s, but his great breakthrough came in 1979 with Off the Wall. He became the first solo artist to score four Top 10 hits from one album, including "She's Out of My Life" and "Rock with You." His next album, Thriller (1983), became the biggest selling album up to that time, selling some 45 million copies around the world. This time, he scored seven Top 10 singles, and the album won eight Grammies. Although his next album, Bad (1987), sold only about half as many copies as Thriller, it was still a tremendous best-seller. In 1991, Jackson signed an unprecedented $65 million record deal with Sony. That year, he released Dangerous.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Jackson developed a reputation as an eccentric recluse. He moved to a 2,700-acre ranch called Neverland, which he outfitted with wild animals and a Ferris wheel. He underwent a facelift and nose job and was rumored to have lightened his skin through chemical treatment, though he claimed his increasing pallor was due to a skin disease. In 1993, scandal broke when Jackson was publicly accused of child molestation and underwent investigation. The case settled out of court. In 1994, Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley; the couple later divorced. Jackson married Deborah Rowe in 1996, and the couple had two children, Prince and Paris, before divorcing in 1999.

On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted of sexual molestation of a young boy, Gavin Arvizo, in criminal court.

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, in Los Angeles, California, just weeks before a planned concert tour billed as his "comeback." He was 50 years old.

A 2019 documentary, Leaving Neverland, raised two more credible allegations of sexual abuse from when Jackson was alive. Jackson's family and estate continue to deny the claims.
READ MORE: The Final Days of Michael Jackson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pop sensation Michael Jackson is born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana. Jackson began performing with his four brothers in the pop group the Jackson 5 when he was a child. The group scored its first No. 1 single in 1969, with "I Want You Back."