Why is Michael Jackson still so respected/loved?

[Breathe On Moi]

8 minutes ago, Slap said:

He was a cult leader and when you really listen to his lyrics of the songs that he wrote - he has absolutely nothing to say aside from a bunch of useless ramblings like "save the kids" which is ironic considering he was investigated for child abuse from as early as the 1980s by the FBI. His remaining fans are the type of people who still stan Chris Brown, they're welcome to their delusions but I'm not going to engage with people like that. 

I know this has to be a joke, attack Michael on anything but his music, because what is this? 

[king_queen]

He set the very high standard of what it means to be a GREAT pop star. A standard that, despite how much mediocrity is accepted now a days, is still respected to this day.

 

Yes, his music is that good.

Yes, his videos are that good.

Yes, his concerts were that good.

[BraveNewSeth]

Probably because he died before "cancel culture" actually became a thing. 

[RobynYoBank]

Because he had a tragic early death. Public opinion of him was in the trash when he died.

[Rotunda]

1 hour ago, dumbsparce said:

 

Hmmm.. I don't remember that but I have no reason to doubt you. Cancel culture wasn't a thing back then I guess. Was he ever taken to court though? Maybe that's why he was never taken down.

No shade but it takes effort to be this stupid in an era where all the answers are at your literal fingertips.

[Carla Rosón]

He's a man

[Slap]

8 minutes ago, Breathe On Moi said:

I know this has to be a joke, attack Michael on anything but his music, because what is this? 

I commented on his songwriting.
 

(the below part isn't directed at you personally but my general opinion of people who downvote me and others for calling him out for who he was. I don't expect you to agree with me and respect your right to an opinion.)

 

His best music was made with legendary producers and songwriters which is why later in his career his output became unintelligible garbage that flopped critically and commercially because he was too busy with his opiate addictions, escaping to Bahrain and living in disgrace before a last minute cash grab tour that he wasn't even capable of delivering.  
 

He was very clearly a pdf.file who admitted to sleeping with children who weren't even his, spent his free time with random young boys (always boys) from families (always poor, dysfunctional ones) and spent more money than he even had (despite being a millionaire) on an amusement park to spend more time with said children. We've all been told how to feel about him by the media constantly saying "King of Pop" and "Best Dancer of All Time" but that hype doesn't make it true - there are countless African American male singers who were far more talented in the 70s-90s who didn't abuse children. 
 

To the people who always downvote comments that literally call him out for his extremely suspect behavior which he admitted to on the record proudly - to those people, go ahead and downvote me all you want, I just hope you would actually care if somebody, child or adult, in your life came forward as a victim of child sexual abuse or if you think it's okay to leave your child in the hands of a man who had been accused of sexual abuse many times, the first of which was an FBI investigation in the late 1980s, then I worry for the welfare of any children in your vicinity because some things are more important than music and dance moves - no matter how talented an individual is, he doesn't deserve a special pass. 
 

I get it. I was a fan too. But I grew up and realized that he was a liar, a narcissist and a pdf.file.

[Bloo]

Because he's dead, indescribably famous, and sexual abuse allegations from men are not taken as seriously as they are from women.

 

Frankly, there's too much evidence against Jackson for him to credibly be seen as innocent. Any random person would be locked in prison with half as much hanging over their head.

[dumbsparce]

5 minutes ago, Rotunda said:

No shade but it takes effort to be this stupid in an era where all the answers are at your literal fingertips.

I don't have the time to make a deep dive and I trust my fellow atrlers to give me a quick and unbiased answer, which they did. Why are you so aggressive?

[Rotunda]

4 minutes ago, dumbsparce said:

I don't have the time to make a deep dive and I trust my fellow atrlers to give me a quick and unbiased answer, which they did. Why are you so aggressive?

"Michael Jackson court case" is a four word google search.

[dumbsparce]

Just now, Rotunda said:

"Michael Jackson court case" is a four word google search.

So is "mind your ******* business"

[Rotunda]

1 minute ago, dumbsparce said:

So is "mind your ******* business"

At least we've established you can count to four 

[MatiRod]

It's because of the trial where he was declared 'not guilty'. If you lived through that time you remember, it was the biggest news in the world. It means that a big section of the public believe he's innocent. And now that he's dead, it's harder for the public to 'cancel' him, despite new allegations. 

 

If he had been convicted the way R. Kelly was, we'd be having a totally different conversation. I do think he would've been cancelled for good in that case, no Cirque du Soleil tribute, no biopic (or one that focused on him as a monster), no awards named after him, no appearances on greatest of all time lists. Although 'Thriller' tracks would probably still be popular. 

[Iyanla, Fix Me]

Cause the music is that good and the evidence against him was always circumstantial at best and completely silly at worst. 

[mylicious]

3 hours ago, dumbsparce said:

I don't have the time to make a deep dive and I trust my fellow atrlers to give me a quick and unbiased answer, which they did. Why are you so aggressive?

Maybe because how can you not be aware of this? It was HUGE HUGE, all over television, everywhere. Everything about his life, also the big documentary a couple of years ago. 
 

But we are living in a different era and I guess you are very young and not from the states. 

[Prisoner]

He is a man

[LittleStarmen]

He also died before #Metoo and Woke culture took over so the skeletons remained in the closet

[longjohn9898]

He's a legend with more talent than arguably anyone else in the history of pop music. His impact on culture is incomparable. His legacy isn't defined by allegations because what he's amassed musically and culturally globally surpasses any of that. If you weren't alive to witness it, it's truly sad knowing you'll never experience his impact in real time. 

[glitch]

Well I mean he's not really taken seriously by younger generations. Even back when I was in school everyone used to make jokes about him being a pedo. Michael Jackson was synonymous with Catholic priests 

 

Unfortunately a lot of people a) refuse to believe their idol did anything wrong and b) simply don't take sexual assault and abuse seriously. I don't care what anyone says about legal cases or w/e, that man shared a bed with young boys, he was sick in the head.

[ontherocks]

 

 

[Feanor]

Man + early death + undeniably classic music

[genio]

He left a huge impact and legacy with not only his music, but also his personality, actions, good-will and whether you want to admit it or not as a fan, the scandals and change in physical appearance both played a factor that shaped his legacy and made him even more famous, for the better or worse.

 

Musically, he was already ahead of everyone else in the mid 80's and Thriller set him apart from the rest, becoming the King Of Pop early in his career. Culturally, he set standards that no one was eve to replicate to this day, i.e. MJ was the first Africa-American act to have his music video played on MTV (Billie Jean), Thriller being the best selling album of all time (34x Platinum in the US and officially reported 70m WW sales for ONE album ). 

 

During the late 80's between Bad and Dangerous, he became even more widely known to the world as people found it interesting to see the complete change in his skin color and then also the first child-abuse allegations started to emerge in 1993, gathering all of the media attention and press in the world. Commercial wise, both Bad and Dangerous also followed Thrillers footsteps in becoming one of the best selling albums of all time (WW sales: Bad 35m / Dangerous 32m). 

 

At this point, MJ had 4 of the best selling albums of all time. Off The Wall (1979) also sold 20m copies. 

 

In the mid to late 90's, his image and reputation was already tarnished by the media, but he still had millions eating out the palm of his hands. HIstory (1995) would go on and become one of his most successful albums. Bringing the tally of best selling albums WW to five, as HIstory sold 22m copies. 

 

His career took a commercial dip in the early 2000's (which was about to happen anyways, with or without the bad rep and abuse allegations). Since he was already over 40 and had a 30+ year long career at that point, it was just a natural progress to decline. Still, his only 2000's studio album and overall his finale one, Invincible, would still have been considered a success for anyone that isn't named King Of Pop. It opened with 300k+, sold over 2m copies in the US (10m WW), and the lead You Rock My World was a Top 10 hit. 

 

After his last album in 2001 and his last trial in 2003, it became very quiet around him. You didn't hear a thing from him from 2004 to 2009, however was the target of stupid jokes and was seen as a pedophile by a lot. His music and discography wasn't the focus at all anymore. 

 

Then in 2009 his tragic death happened. His whole Catalogue started to explode on the day he died and suddenly everyone was appreciating his music. As sad as it is, his death definitely boosted his career and status to new heights. He completely ruled the charts and media in 2009 for months. Everyone remembers when they heard the news. It was literally everywhere. His music became completely inescapable. 

 

 

 

[Komet]

Honestly the music is that good