Why was Michael Jackson stigmatised so harshly?

[GrandizerII]

Like Losty, I don't know whether MJ was guilty or not of child molestation. I am agnostic. That said, I don't think this is that good of an argument against Mike potential being guilty. After all, what kind of parents would let their child sleep on the same bed with Mike in the first place? The same kind of parents who would just settle for the money even if in reality their child was molested.

If you listen to Macaulay you'll understand that much is a misunderstanding. MJ let children sleep in "his bed" and he went and slept in the guest bed (that's from the 2003 Living with Michael Jackson).

You sure this is a misunderstanding? Michael himself said he slept with some of the kids in the same bed. What part did I misunderstand?

[Aractus]

You sure this is a misunderstanding? Michael himself said he slept with some of the kids in the same bed. What part did I misunderstand?

Yes I see what you mean, but Macaulay directly refuted that. Why would he of all people lie?

[SofaKingHigh]

There are those in world far more deserving of pity than Michael Jackson.

[Aractus]

Right but that's not the topic, in fact it's the opposite of the topic, which is was he deserving of social stigma?

[Mechaghostman2]

Mostly due to the allegations of him being a child fucker.

[Homeless Nutter]

So let's look at the stigmas that society attached to MJ. For brevity I won't bother discussing the child sexual assault allegations in the OP, but feel free to discuss them in the thread.

I'll start with what he wasn't stigmatised for. MJ was balding and had cosmetic work done to darken his scalp at the hairline as well as wore a wig woven into his hair (as revealed in his autopsy report).

So why was he stigmatised at all? [...]

"Stigmatized"? Lol... He was the King Of Pop, until the kid-fondling thing got out of control. Every celebrity of that stature has sh*t-tons of myths and rumors attached to them. It's part of what keeps them famous. And Jackson was clearly creating and/or fueling many of those rumors, because he must have been smart enough to know, how fame works and that - at the end of the day - almost nobody (and certainly not the general public) cares about music/art alone. He possibly also wanted to give the tabloids some outlandish sh*t to write about him, so that they didn't start digging into his ambiguous sexuality, lack of family-life, sleep-overs with children and "Jesus-juice", or whatever he was up to.

He's dead. Maybe few years down the line his kids will shed some more light on what Michael was up to, if the price is right. However - I don't believe he was entirely innocent, even though I doubt he was raping any underage rectums, catholic-style. If I was accused (however falsely) of child molestation, and paid millions of dollars to make the accusations go away - I sure as f*ck would make sure I wasn't in a similar situation again in the future. But apparently he absolutely HAD to have unaccompanied minors at his creepy theme-park, so either he couldn't control his sexuality, or he was very, very dumb, or simply mentally ill. Could have been all three.

[SofaKingHigh]

Right but that's not the topic, in fact it's the opposite of the topic, which is was he deserving of social stigma?

Well, it sort of is; you're trying to garner sympathy for him.

And, no offence or anything, but honestly mate, I couldn't really care less.

[chimp3]

Celebrity is very cultish. Nothing wrong with mocking or satirizing celebrities. Jackson sought out celebrity and benefited greatly from his eccentric public image. He was not a victim.

[phoenixrose03]

I think the stigma was mostly attached to his eccentric behavior and his ever changing looks just gave ppl something else to pick on him for. Plus, come to find out, he was a heavy drug user. So that explains his erratic behavior during interviews. What society failed to realize is MJ was one of the most famous people in the world and he has been famous since he was 5 years old. Some might even say society was responsible for how he turned out. With their ridicule and accusations. As for the child molestation accusations. I don't think he did it.

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[c172]

I think the stigma was mostly attached to his eccentric behavior and his ever changing looks just gave ppl something else to pick on him for. Plus, come to find out, he was a heavy drug user. So that explains his erratic behavior during interviews. What society failed to realize is MJ was one of the most famous people in the world and he has been famous since he was 5 years old. Some might even say society was responsible for how he turned out. With their ridicule and accusations. As for the child molestation accusations. I don't think he did it.

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He sure got bizarrely close to kids, though, even if it isn't molestation. 

By the by, let me be the first (or fifth. I don't care) to welcome you! If that is your avatar, you are quite lovely. If not, you surround yourself with quite high quality company! Feel free to tell us a bit about you!