MICHAEL JACKSON:- MAN-CHILD OR PREDATOR?

Michael Jackson was born on the 29th of August, 1958. He was the eighth child in a family with a total of 10 children. He became a solo artist in 1971 by forming an identity of his own after performing a few hits including “I Want You Back” with his band, the Jackson 5, which comprised of him and his four elder brothers. After hitting success, he used his global platform to break racial barriers. Not only was he a great singer, but he was also an incredible dancer who invented famous steps such as “ the moon walk” and “the robot.” Apart from that, his music videos were always very interesting, featuring very unique concepts and cinematography for that time. Through the duration of his career, he won 13 Grammy awards and 24 American Music Awards, after which people started referring to him as the “Artist of the Century.”

But did all this mean that he had a happy life? No.

MICHAEL JACKSON’S DISTURBING CHILDHOOD:-

Jackson has commonly been said to have a feminine voice, making him even more unique (apart from his distinctive music style and amazing choreography). For a long time, people didn’t really look deep into the secret behind his feminine voice, because they suspected that it had something to do with his genetics. Singing in that childlike manner had been ingrained in Michael. His father often whipped him if he sang incorrectly and was too strict where Michael was concerned. His father was similar with his brothers also but he was nowhere near as harsh on them as he was on Michael since he was the youngest member of the band - Jackson 5. According to his father, being strict is what prevented his children from ending up behind bars and Michael got this "special treatment" because he was the youngest, and hence easier to manipulate. Michael stated in an interview that his mother used to sit in the room as he was being whipped and yet, she never said a word against what was going on. He also said that he would get beaten up even more if he tried to get back at his father.

WHAT DID ALL THE YEARS OF ABUSE LEAD TO?

Through Michael’s adult life, he remained a very emotionally unstable and dissatisfied person. Physicians speculated that he suffered from Body Dismorphic Disorder. He was also diagnosed with vitiligo which caused several white patches on his skin after which he also admitted to be using make up to even out his skin tone. However, many people predicted that he had undergone many cosmetic surgeries to change his complexion and the shape of his face, especially his nose. He had also suffered second and third degree burns while filming on the set for a Pepsi commercial after which he got hooked onto his prescription medications. Apart from that, problems still resided between him and his father as Michael refused to see his father unless someone else was also in the room. He also used to have multiple nightmares of being kidnapped by someone through his bedroom window after his father snuck up on him wearing a fright mask in order to teach him a lesson of not leaving the bedroom window open.

However, it can be argued that this pitiful childhood is balanced by the incident of him sexually abusing a child in 2003. In fact, the first allegation against him came to be heard in 1994. There was just one case in the court records that we have more commonly heard of (the case of 2003) however many people say that he would sneak young boys into his bedroom very often (all the more reason to have a kid’s theme park in your home right?) According to Stan Katz, Michael Jackson had turned into a regressed 10 year old.

MICHAEL JACKSON:- A PREDATOR

There were multiple controversies regarding his sexuality despite his relationship with women. He was labelled as gay since he was a teenager, as well as being labelled asexual after a while. He grew up in a conservative family where homosexuality was considered to be a sin. He was also considered to be somewhat paedophilic because of multiple pending cases that include: four counts of molesting a minor, four counts of intoxicating a minor, one count of abduction and one instance of conspiring to hold a boy and his family captive at Neverland Ranch.

In 2013, Wade Robson also filed a civil lawsuit against Jackson’s estate for child sexual abuse. During this trial, Jackson’s former housekeeper, Blanca Francia claimed that she had witnessed Michael shower with Wade when he was just 7 years old. Wade stated that he was sexually abused my Michael till he was 14. In 2014, Jimmy Safechuck also filed a lawsuit against Jackson’s estate, claiming that he was abused by him between the age of 10-15 during Michael’s Pepsi commercial production.

IN CONCLUSION:-

All the years of being abused and abusing others came to an end because of Michael’s drug overdose on prescription and pain medications including, but not limited to Xanax and benzodiazepines. Ultimately, he has, and will always continue to be a controversial figure.

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Written by Yami Malhotra

Edited by Nandini Nalam