In the early evening of June 25, a small headline in the news read that former Charlie’s Angels actress and hairstyle icon Farrah Fawcett had died. Her death was not particularly surprising, as she was after all 62 and had been struggling with cancer for some time. An hour later when I went to the computer, a much bigger headline stated, “Is the King of Pop dead?” with a huge picture of Michael Jackson in the background. The question was answered shortly afterwards: Jackson had indeed passed away in unknown circumstances, and fans were already gathering outside the hospital to which he had been taken.
While Michael Jackson was a celebrity who received an enormous amount of media attention, it has been said that nobody truly knew him. Indeed, questions about the man linger on. For example, did he or did he not sexually molest the young boys with whom he kept company? He was accused of doing so on two separate occasions, but in the first case he reached an out-of-court settlement with the purported victim’s family and in the second he was acquitted. The jury’s decision was somewhat equivocal: though they could not exclude the possibility that he might have sexually abused children in the past, in this particular instance he did not. I strongly suspect that the accusations against Michael Jackson were part of the wave of child sexual abuse hysteria that swept through the United States and that led to many people being charged on dubious grounds.* However, the real truth will probably never be known.
Even before that Jackson’s sexual identity was always the subject of much speculation. It was sometimes hard to tell by his appearance whether he was a woman or a man. A rumour in the 1980s had it that he was intending to undergo a sex change operation because he could no longer silence the “woman in me,” but either the rumour was untrue or Michael Jackson changed plans because nothing became of it. Similarly his sexual orientation was unclear in the minds of many. In his youth he was said to have romantic relationships with actress Brooke Shields and his co-star in the Thriller video Ola Ray. A number of observers suggested that these publicized romances were just for show and that these women served as a so-called “cover” for his true sexual orientation. No media report, though, was ever able to pinpoint any relationship he may have had with another man. He did marry women twice and father two children, but comments about his actual sexual proclivities continued.
Michael Jackson’s greatest ambiguity lay in his racial identity. To quote one of his most popular songs, was he black or white? Pictures of him as a child and young man show him with clearcut African features: a large Afro hairdo and a typical “Black” nose. By the time Thriller rolled around, however, he had obviously undergone a nose job, and his hair was curly rather than kinky. At the time of his death his hair was completely straight. But the biggest question had to do with his skin colour, which became progressively lighter over the years. Jackson himself claimed that the lightening was the result of a medical condition that made his skin lose colour. Such conditions do exist (the mother of an African-American friend of mine had one), but given Michael’s apparent attempts to “Caucasianize” himself (the nose operation, the hair straightening), doubts on the veracity of his explanation will persist.
Of course like many American Blacks Michael Jackson had non-African ancestry as well. One of his ancestors was a White man, another an American Indian. Nonetheless, according to America’s “one-drop rule” Jackson and his family would definitely be considered Black. Some Black activists lamented his various “Whitening” endeavours, seeing them as a sign of racial self-hatred. Jackson, though, never claimed to speak for the African-American community. Indeed, his music was loved by people of all colours throughout the world, so he might have feared losing or alienating some of his fans by embracing a particular ethnic identity. In his song “Black or White,” he appears to disavow any racial allegiance – although many observers noted that for a man who proclaimed it didn’t matter whether you were Black or White he seemed to do everything in his power to be White himself.
An autopsy done on Jackson’s remains was inconclusive. As of now (June 28) the cause of his demise has yet to be determined. In death, as in life, the man remains an enigma. And perhaps that is how he would have wanted it to be.
* Here I do not mean to imply that the sexual abuse of children does not exist or that it is not a serious crime. However, starting in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s there was a trend of attributing seemingly unusual behaviour in children to sexual abuse and fingering adults with whom they had come in contact with molesting them.
I dont know about all that sexual orientation stuff. I do know he had some serious issues and was childlike due to his lack of a chance to grow up. That and some very foolish decisions landed him in court with what I am guessing are some money hungry parents looking to get some cash off the one of the richest men around at the time. I dont think he had any common sense in having sleep overs with kids…but dont think he molested any.
As for race…its foolish to even speculate. No one drop rule required…trace that family tree and you will find a white person or native here and there…but if mom, dad, grand parents are all black….its nonsense to suggest otherwise. We aint talking about an Obama here…thats a case where labeling is debatable….even though in reality it is up to an individual to assign them self a place.
It is quite sad and pathetic however that he chose to turn himself into what he thought society wanted….especially considering as of Thrillers release all he had done is get his hair straightened. People loved him since the late 60s and yet he went and morphed his self into basically a white woman by the time Bad came out.
All that aside. I dont think people should spend so much time picking him apart…thats all anyone has done in the last 15 years so what really is left to speak on besides the actual death?
Interesting article though.
B
Dear B,
Thank you for your response. Yes, as I mentioned in the piece, I strongly suspect the accusations were part of the child sexual hysteria that seemed to take over America – and as you say, an attempt to cash in on his fame and fortune.
About race, I believe that for all intents and purposes he was Black, regardless of any White or Native ancestry he might have had. It’s a bit analogous to how my boyfriend, who is from Nicaragua, identifies as White even though he does have American Indian ancestry (so much so that people have remarked that our daughter looks “completely Indian”). It makes sense that he (and most other Latin Americans) identify as White because culturally they have nothing in common with any Indian ancestors they may have other than genetic material. So yes, I would say Michael Jackson was Black.
About “morphing himself into a White woman,” I’m not sure he did that because society wanted him to do so. I know in the 1950s and ’60s some Black entertainers straightened their hair, but Michael Jackson went far beyond that. It’s hard to know what was going through his head, but I dare to say that his “transformation” might have benefited from a bit of psychological therapy. Let’s just say he was a strange man.
On the other hand, I always enjoyed his music, and I believe he did a lot of good things in his life (like inviting Ryan White, the young boy in Indiana who got AIDS from a blood transfusion, to his ranch), so we can only hope he rests in peace.
“Tell them this” is Human Nature
Michael Jackson said “four walls won’t hold him tonight”, and he was right because he was able to reach across the Universe and take a huge bite. He left his mark forever!
In his childhood, he was unveiled to be an indigenous talent that appeared from meager begging’s and then he started to develop into a Star, and then a Superstar.
Creating Music and dance in a superior fashion that surpassed all others because Michael’s was marked by his own distinction.
He was “blessed by God with many gifts” and he “gave many gifts” generously and although we obviously seen his “gifts” we still all tasted and fed upon the misinformation that we received about him. While the “sham” that was housed by the Judicial System rolled in, we his “fans” who loved him dearly sat back and watched the “charade” meanwhile the person suffering the most was Michael. We watched not once but twice as one diabolical plan after another befell upon him. We his “Now Grieving Fans” easily sold him out in the past. While buying into the “negative” we were outright applauding for the more “ignorant things in life” more than we applauded for him. In doing this we let him down and now We, Really Are Real Sorry?
And just Like he said “tell him that is” Human Nature”.
Except God had another plan and it didn’t include a man being Able to put in him in a jail cell because GOD had his hand on him always. Michael Jackson suffered because of that contrived “Farce”. So now God said for him to “come and Rest”. The point is if you see that something is good, then Say it’s good, and if you see that something is Great, then treat IT GOOD.
Live forever yes, you will “Michael Joe Jackson” why because of all the “Great and Good Things That You Accomplished”!
Dear ETB OObanga,
Thank you for the comment. Yes, Michael Jackson was a very talent musician and accomplished much in his career. I always liked his music. I actually was replaying Thriller, and I noticed on the comments section there were well wishes from it seems like every country in the world. You should add yours.
Emilia
Emilia
I’ve been curious to see what everyday people have to say about Michael right now (because I think everything in the media right now is garbage). I found your post a very interesting commentary on his life. He was a mysterious, strange man. Despite it all, he made some incredible music that had a powerful uniting influence on people all across the globe. Despite his imperfections (of which we all have many) I think Michael did a lot of good. Hopefully he’ll be remembered for that.
Dear Bernina,
Thank you for your comment. Yes, Michael Jackson did make some great music. And unlike some other acts that lasted for a few years at best and then were quickly forgotten, he made music continuously. And he wrote his own songs. I also think he kind of pioneered the music video with Thriller. He certainly put a lot of thought into it, having Vincent Price do the voice-over and the dancing ghouls. And he always made his videos memorable, like having Macauley Culkin in “Black or White.”
I suppose you could say he had music for everyone. For example, he had romantic ballads, like You Are Not Alone, and more fast-paced songs. I agree that he’ll be remembered for his music.
Emilia
Judging from all the supportive and lovable comments worldwide about Michael Jackson, his eccentric personality and lifestyle did not matter in the end – may creativity in any form live on, all of us are different and should be allowed to be so, and thus be able to leave our mark on the world as we were destined to. May he Rest in Peace, this Prince of Peace and Love, we need more of this sort of person in the world in order to make it a better place – not warmongering politicians with the power over life and death of many of the world’s people who abuse this power.
Dear Alfreda,
Thank you for the comment. I agree: whatever his eccentricities, it is his music that will last forever. Even before his death, I always listened to his music and watched his videos, which were very well made and featured good dance moves. I think he will leave a legacy for all members of the music world.
Emilia
According to Michael Jackson’s original accuser, he is white above the waist and black from the waist down. The vitiligo explanation doesn’t wash – he just plain bleached himself, possibly for commercial purposes and more likely for personal reasons.
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I’ve always been sceptical of the vitiligo explanation, not that the disease doesn’t exist, but the fact that Jackson “Caucasianized” himself in almost every other possible way (nose job, hair, etc.) casts that explanation in doubt.
What I don’t understand that is that before he “morphed himself into a White woman,” as our commenter B noted above, Michael Jackson was a very good-looking man. At least my girlfriends and I thought so. Maybe attraction on the part of his fans wasn’t a concern to him, but in my view he ceased to hold any attraction for me and I suspect for many of his other female admirers. Of course I liked him primarily for his music rather than his physical appearance, but I wonder why he didn’t realize that he might lose some fans as a result of this.
Emilia
Why does anyone do anything? Because we are all different. No one living thing is the same. Individualism is not a very understood subject on this planet. Its just that the those in the public eye get noticed much more than ordinary mortals!
Well, Michael Jackson was quite a unique individual! In some ways he was one of a kind, but some people have compared him to the 19th century German king Ludwig II, who commissioned a castle that was used as a model for the Disneyland castle. Ludwig was an eccentric man who, like Michael Jackson, lived in his own fantasy world and died in mysterious circumstances. One difference was that Ludwig was definitely gay, while Michael Jackson’s sexual proclivities still remain unknown in the end.
Millions of black women straighten their hair? do they do it because they want to be white? *rollseyes*
The jehri curl was very popular in the 80s everyone had one, why is it when Michael has one it’s him not wanting to be black? As you know he suffered burns to his scalp so had to wear extensions, do you really expect him to walk around with a bald patch? get some perspective
I don’t think straightening one’s hair per se means one wants to be White (after all, are White women who get a perm trying to be Black?), but I think in Jackson’s case, that combined with the skin lightening, the nose job strongly suggests something of that nature. Also, while many Black women straighten their hair, few Black men do. Of course I couldn’t read into Jackson’s mind, but all the above-mentioned put together do raise the question of how Jackson was trying to fashion his racial identity.
I agree with lola. I personally dont think he was trying to be white (sorry if im to blind to see). My explanation{which is very reasonable and based off of facts} is that Michael had a bad case of Body Dysmorphic which has nothing to do with race. It often can come from abuse (his father whooped him,his father and others made fun of his nose). So the feature that everyone made fun of will look ugly in his/her eyes so HE changed it. I think he had vitiligo and the burn from the pepsi commercial caused a big bald spot in michaels head so he started wearing extensions hence stress can cause vitiligo to spread. Lets not forget straightening your hair back then was a style so Michael did the same. So why when he straighten his hair like every one else means he was trying/wanted to be another race? Why does this straightening your hair thing stand for self hatred? Not to be rude im just asking i just want to know why. Because i straighten my hair and i love my race and who i am. Rip mj
Michael rules. He is and was heaven sent. He was a heterosexual man who treated women with respect. He was proud of his heritage and loved all people. He never did anything to a child other than help and protect. Everyone who believes otherwise does not know him like I do. I love you Michael.
Dear Ashley,
Thank you for your response. I admit I always sit up and take notice when they play Michael Jackson’s music on the radio. He certainly left an artistic legacy, no doubt about that.
I think most rational people have concluded that in all probability Michael Jackson did NOT molest the children who claimed – or whose parents claimed – he did. Some ask why if he were innocent why did he pay the child’s family (in the first case back in 1990s) rather than take the matter to court. Some sources say that he actually wanted to continue the case in the criminal rather than civil court but his lawyers advised him not to. One might however turn the question back on the child’s father: if the father were truly convinced his son was the victim of a terrible crime (which child sexual abuse undeniably is) why didn’t he want to see the perpetrator in jail? I will admit that if someone molested my daughter or one of my nieces I would want that person in jail – if I didn’t kill him first. Letting them get off with a payment would seem to almost be an insult to my daughter or nieces. So being a parent myself, the father’s rationale doesn’t seem to be very “parently,” in my view.
I will be upfront and say however that Michael Jackson did not exhibit great judgement in holding these parties for young boys, especially after he was acquitted the first time. The fact is that often men who seem to take an interest in spending time with are often suspected of being sexual predators. It brings to mind this story that happend to me the other day. I was walking home from taking my daughter to preschool and had let’s say overconsumed liquids that morning. But I still had at least fifteen minutes to go before I got home, so I ran into an elementary school and asked if I could use the washroom. The secretary said no problem; she showed me where it was and simply let me go. Then she left, and when I went out (it must have been recess time) none of the teachers or other adults in the hall gave me a second glance even though they had never seen me before. It struck me later that if a man had done the same thing I had, the secretary might not have even let him use their facilities, let alone just showed him where they were and let him go on his way afterwards. So the moral of the story is that by being in such close proximity to children Jackson kind of set himself up for suspicion. Which I admit is often tinged with hysteria but is something he should have kept in mind.
Anyway, I have to say that he was a talented artist and in all probability not a criminal.
Michael Jackson Tribute on Dancing With The Stars
People
Do you really think that his kinky afro hair is his natural hair? It was only his hairstyle. Before that he had curly soft hair.
Was Mahalia Jackson, the great gospel singer, related to Michael Jackson, the pop singer? My fifth grade class has asked this question repeatedly as there is a story in the reading book about Mahalia Jackson.
First to Swarner, I’ve never heard anything about Michael Jackson being related to Mahalia Jackson.
To Lena, there was a picture of Michael Jackson as a young child having a large Afro. In any case, I can’t believe that the straight hair he ended up with was his natural hair.
It was the insurance company that paid the Chandler settlement. There is much credible testimony in favor of MJ’s innocence. And we know that Jordan Chandler successfully sued for emancipation from his parents after his father, who was the accuser in 1993, assaulted him with a 12 pound weight! Who was the child abuser, after all? Geraldo Rivera and Aphrodite Jones are both journalists who examined all the evidence and believe MJ was innocent. Search on YouTube for The Untold Story of Neverland, by the man who filmed the whole trial for the defense team, and also believes Jackson was framed.
Yes, around that time there was a wave of hysteria around child sexual abuse. I concur that child sexual abuse does occur – and it’s a terrible thing. But for example there was the case of Kelly Michaels, a day care teacher in New Jersey, who was accused of sexually molesting the children in her care on no evidence at all (I believe it started when a child told the doctor that Kelly took his temperature). So in my view Michael Jackson just happened to get caught up in this frenzy.
Anyone who knew anything about Michael’s character and personality would know that he would never ever ever hurt a cihld.
I really dont understand why people would think he was gay. He dated Brooke Shields, Tatum O Neal and some other people (not including Ola Ray), he just never slept with them. Then he married Lisa Marie, who openly admitted that they had sex, as married people do. He also grew up and was a Jehovah’s witness for the first thirty years of his life, so that explains that.
Michael had vitligo, and anyone bothered to say that he bleached his skin and hated being white should also be bothered to search “Michael Jackson vitiligo” into bloody google. It’s not hard.
As to “whitening himself”, how is straightening your hair trying to be white? So when white people curl their hair are they trying to be black?
Dear Katrina,
Thank you for your comments.
I strongly doubt that the accusations of child abuse against Michael Jackson had any basis in fact (though I’ll reiterate that his insistence on holding “sleepover parties,” especially after the first accusation, didn’t show good judgement on his part). I think the accusations were a.) an attempt by the children’s parents to get money and b.) part of the wave of child abuse hysteria that seemed to sweep through the States – and Canada to a lesser extent – at the time.
About being gay, I would say he probably was not (and even if he were, that’s not a character flaw; I have no problem with homosexuality). So I’m willing to say he was heterosexual.
Now on the subject of him wanting to be white, I really can’t dismiss this possibility. Even if he did have vitiligo, the hair straightening and nose job do suggest it. Again, we can’t be 100% sure of his motives, but I don’t think we should exclude the chance it may have been a form of trying to look more Caucasian.
I don’t say trying to look White is wrong, and maybe Michael Jackson wasn’t trying to look White on purpose. I know a former boyfriend of mine who was of mixed Spanish and Filipino descent once dyed his hair an auburn colour because, in his own words, it looked “more Caucasian” (though he wasn’t particularly dark-skinned – he could have passed easily as Hispanic and perhaps even Southern Italian – I told him the auburn really didn’t go with him). Well, Jackson’s dead, so we’ll probably never know the answer, but his hair/nose feats might SUGGEST he was trying to look White.
I’ve read almost all the comments on this page. For those who believe that Michael wanted to be white, I can only say that Michael in an interview said that he was proud to be black – therefore why would he want to be white? In a very full autopsy report which can be obtained on the internet which is distressing to read, to say the least, where it points out that Mj’s brain was partially removed for testing, his tongue removed etc. In that report it says categorically that Michael suffered from Vitiligo and that he had both white and dark patches on his body. Apparently, according to his make-up artist, when he started to have more white patchers than dark the decision was made to use make up to hide them and then eventually that led to him having to bleach his skin. I really don’t know what the fuss is about. If someone is born with a red patch on their face that is usually covered by make up so on and so forth. The fact is Michael lived in LA and like so many STARS plastic surgery is rather the norm. Cher, for example, is almost 70 but does she look it? Does anyone go on about her? Her daughter is a self-confessed lesbian – do you hear anything??? No. I say this, leave him be – he has been through enough. RIP Mike.
I’m not saying he wasn’t proud to be Black – but I was wondering then he straightened his hair, had nose jobs. By themselves they probably wouldn’t be very telling, but together they raise suspicion.
What suspicion does it raise because someone straighens there hair and has a nose job – LOL! Cher had a nose job. Being MJ’s age, I remember Cher when she had a rather large nose to say the least! Curly-haired white people straighen their hair – my daughter used to do it!! Does that make you weird or crazy – of course not!
Why is it that no one ever comments on Michael’s skin going darker during the 70′s and early 80′s, when it is said his problem with Vitiligo became more severe? As a lifelong fan it was obvious to me that he was wearing heavy dark make-up yet no one comments on that. His publicity shots for the Thriller album looks much darker than shots from his Forever Michael and earlier albums. Why is it that we are so obssessed with “whiteness?” I imagine that after receiving 2nd degree burns to his face and head it made much more sense to lighten the dark patches rather than darken the lighter/whiter patches. If I made my living with my appearance I imagine I’d have done the same. It is clear that he agonized about it until finally he felt liberated as evidenced by the statement “I’m not gonna spend my life being a color.” As for the molestation accusations we can thank Oprah for that one. She was the one who was obssessed with child sexual molestation, and made many erroneous statements on her talk show. In particular she claimed that children of abuse are most likely to abuse other children; without qualifying the type of abuse, thus Michael’s verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his father made him a likely candidate for sexual abuse of a minor. It made the accusations of sexual abuse by an opportunist like Evan Chandler much more believable. I get some satisfaction knowing that all Michael’s millions couldn’t buy him happiness and only alienated him from his son; I imagine a scene from the movie Ghost when I think of him in that New Jersey hotel room after he blew his brains out last November.
Evan Chandler was a despicable piece of work. I mean if Evan Chandler were really so outraged about what Michael Jackson supposedly did to his son, why didn’t he demand that Jackson be put in jail? The asking for (and accepting) money seems more than a little suspicious.
Also, I don’t know if the blame for what happened to Michael Jackson and other people accused of child molestation under suspicious circumstances can be entirely laid at the feet of Oprah Winfrey. I think it was part of the hysteria about child sexual abuse which overtook the United States (and other countries) during the 1980s. That’s not to say that real child sexual abuse is a disgusting crime when it does occur, but the hysteria hurt a lot of people, not only the accused themselves but some of the children who were basically forced to lie by their parents (like Jordan Chandler).
http://racism.suite101.com/article.cfm/michael_jacksons_white_skin
http://popmusic.suite101.com/article.cfm/freak_accidents_changed_michael_jacksons_face
It’s really hard to know what was going on in Michael Jackson’s head in terms of colour. One thing for sure, though, I think Jackson was determined not to limit himself to one ethnic community in terms of his fan base. That’s I believe the main message of the song “Black or White.” And here I have to commend him for reaching out beyond his own ethnic group. And in some ways that’s not so different from, for example, Celine Dion’s decision to sing in English, because she knew she’d get more people listening to her music than if she had continued singing in French.