MICHAEL JACKSON – THE UNTRIBUTE

You can’t take away the talent. It was always there. He danced with the ease of Gene Kelly and Fred Aistare. You can’t take away the longevity of a career. Nearly 40 years and several generations, he managed to captivate and cultivate audiences of every generation across the country and across the world. 13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career, and the sale of 750 million records worldwide. To this day, “Thriller” is the number one selling album of all time. He revolutionized music videos and is simply the undisputed champion of entertainers of all time. There are only 7 people in the world whose death would be a more dominant media story (Barack Obama, Both Bushes, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Osama Bin Laden and The Pope). Yet, I’d like to be the contrarian that says that Michael Jackson was not the greatest soul that ever lived. He had his faults.

I recognize that it’s tough to beat a man when he is already down (or in this particular case never getting back up) but there was something real about Michael Jackson…Real Creepy. Michael Jackson was many things. Among them, a drug abuser, an irresponsible money handler who feverishly outspent his cash flows on things such as fake fatherhoods (more on that later in the blog). Most disturbing, he was a child molester, which to those of us without money means we do jail time. I recognize that he was acquitted of the charges but in this case of Michael Jackson, it doesn’t mean he wasn’t guilty of the charges. Where there is smoke, there is fire and his reputation for little boys was blazing hot for many years.

When he was accused of molestation charges in 1993, I remember thinking that it was a ploy to extort money from a very wealthy entertainer. But my thoughts quickly changed as my logic told me that an innocent man doesn’t pay $22 million dollars to someone unless he feels he isn’t guilty of something. The accusations continued in 2003 after Jackson admitted in a television interview that he sometimes sleeps in the bed of children who are not his own. This was followed by 7 more counts of child abuse charges being filed against him. A trial ensued and after lots of antics, fanfare and a bizarreness that can’t even be scripted by the most creative writers in Hollywood, Michael Jackson once again beat the charges and moved to Bahrain where he was carefully protected by members of Islam security team. He spent much of the last few years living as a recluse avoiding any media contact.

In between these earlier inappropriate acts of loving children a little too much, he tried to soften his image by getting married…twice. The first to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of the original “King.” The whole thing stunk of publicity stunt. From the fact that the marriage took place in a foreign country, where records can not be verified, to the timeliness of it around his child molestation charges, to the blatantly scripted kiss on the MTV Movie Awards show. My guess is that it was a quixotic marriage filled with a platonic understanding. Had it been a marriage filled with passion and romance, babies would have been born. After two years, the farce marriage ended but the friendship remained.

In 1997, Jackson married again. This time to his longtime dermatologist, Debbie Rowe. She bore two children for him but as we now learned, neither of the children are his or Debbies. It was an anonymous sperm donor and egg donor (sometimes known as test tube babies). Rowe served as surrogate, at which she was compensated very handsomely for her efforts of labor. When they divorced, she had no problem relinquishing her parental rights to Jackson. Why would she, there is no DNA of hers whatsoever in those kids. In essence, Michael purchased these children. He could have easily adopted but he chose to lead the public in believing he loved his wife and that they procreated together. What other explanation can there be? He later mysteriously had another child with another woman. Who knows who she is and whether Michael actually used his own sperm this time. My guess is that the mother will step forward and try to claim this child when she finds out how much the child is worth.

Some people may be disturbed with Michaels spending habits. The man died with $400 million dollars in debt. I couldn’t spend that much money even if I tried. It is estimated that it cost $55,000 a day to keep the Neverland Ranch active for the many boys and girls hoping to be…hmm…touched by Michael Jacksons amusement experience. The truth is that he does have a lot of financial liabilities but he also has a lot of assets. He ruthlessly outbid Paul McCartney for the publishing rights to the Beatles, he owned several homes and the residuals on his own music put his wealth in the billions. I’m not one to point fingers at spending as I’m constantly struggling to keep my own debts to a manageable levels but I’m also not out buying monkeys, ferris wheels or childrens’ silence. According to Jackson’s former financial advisor, the singer spent $8 million annually on plane charters, antiques, paintings, hotel rooms, travel and other personal expenses.

Then there is the drug usage. You know that thing that ultimately took his life at age 50. There is tremendous speculation on what he took, when he took it and how often he took it but the bottom-line is that he did take something, took them often and it ultimately killed him. Blame it on the stress of celebrity, maybe give some blame to the abuse he took as child from Papa Jackson or blame it on his addictive personality. The truth is Jackson was addicted to many types of prescribed drugs and his doctors / friends ultimately were his enablers. I will never know what its like to have that sort of addiction but one thing I’m pretty sure about is that I have a family and support of friends that would have intervened and saved me before imminent death.

Lastly, let’s discuss these “friends of Michael Jackson.” Seems as though many of these people are coming forward after his death. Wait till they start writing books. Where were they when he really needed their help? The irony is not one single friend wants to recognize Jackson’s history of child molestation, nor recognize his illegitimate marriages or illegitimate children. To them, Jackson is not only the greatest entertainer to ever live (something I can’t dispute or discredit) but Jackson was also the greatest person to ever live. How could Jackson who was so lonely in his own skin, a man so eccentric, a man who possessed the most idiosyncratic behavior while abusing himself and others not surround himself with people many people who wouldn't direct him to safer grounds. These friends are now coming out of the woodwork but not one of them cared enough to save him from his missteps.

Michael Jackson is one of a kind figure. There is no one better and maybe no one who will ever be better in entertaining the masses. His music is truly a treasure. I am also a fan of his career. But we must not forget that just because someone dies, we should not recognize that their life wasn't just one simple equation but rather it should be measured by the sum of all parts. In Jacksons case it was filled with shame, torture and demons that eventually led to the death of a true American icon.