by I still love Philip Larkin, I have no interest in David Bowie and enjoy Kanye West’s music. I don’t like to cancel culture and I understand the need to separate the art from the artist. So why do I feel so uncomfortable thinking about the biggest opening in the West End this year?
Tomorrow, MJ The Musical will be moonwalking into Soho. Created by two-time Pulitzer-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and directed by renowned Royal Ballet choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, the Michael Jackson concert was a huge hit in the US, making £137 million at the box office with 1,204,693 enthusiastic fans. present.
Conveniently set in 1992, the year before the King of Pop was first publicly accused of abuse, the show focuses on Jackson as he prepares for his Dangerous World Tour. Despite its success, US critics were understandably unsettled by the fact that the show does not address any of the allegations against it. “No one is looking at the Man in the Mirror,” said the New York Times, “Very smooth, a little criminal,” declared the New York Stage Review.
Jackson’s achievements are outstanding. It is one of the most significant figures of the 20th century, the black Sinatra, Elvis and Madonna rolled into one. His achievements include 15 Grammys, six Brits, a Golden Globe and 39 Guinness World Records including “most successful entertainer of all time”. Iconic hits such as Thriller, Billie Jean, Beat It and Bad established him as a musical superstar and a truly innovative performer.
Robson alleges he was only seven years old when Jackson raped him, Safechuck says the abuse began at age 10.
He is historically significant for black Americans and is credited with overcoming numerous racial barriers, including becoming the first black artist to have a video in regular rotation on MTV and record sales of make and break throughout his career, not to mention his significant philanthropic efforts. His legacy is important.
But to say Jackson has a problem is an understatement.
In 1993, Jackson was accused of molesting 13-year-old Jordan Chandler in a case that was settled out of court for $23 million. Later, criminal charges were brought after 12-year-old former cancer patient Gavin Arviso reported abuse to police.
Dan Reed’s 2019 comedy documentary Leaving Neverland featured Wade Robson and James Safechuck describing in detail how they were molested as young children (Robson claims he was only seven when Jackson raped him, Safechuck says that abuse started at age 10). Their evidence – adamantly denied by the Jackson estate – is extremely convincing.
Their accounts serve as a master class on the grooming process and predator psychology – Safechuck’s mother says that as time went on, her room became further and further away from the one her son and Jackson shared . Safechuck loved jewelry, and Jackson allegedly forced him to perform sexual acts to earn it. Both say they were warned that if they told anyone what was really going on they would go to prison for the rest of their lives
Like the participants in R Kelly’s Surviving documentary, die-hard fans claim they are seeking compensation payments complicated by the pair testifying on behalf of Jackson in 2005 when the star was on trial for abuse sexual children. They argue that it took many years to be able to talk about what happened; One of the biggest takeaways from Leaving Neverland, R. Kelly’s Surviving and other similar works is to dispel assumptions about the “perfect victim”.
But even in the mainstream Jackson seems too big to dismiss. Michael, a biopic made by Oscar-winning producer Graham King with the co-executor of Jackson’s estate, will be released next year. Isn’t it amazing, in a world where Roald Dahl needs a trigger warning, that audiences are putting together movies that glorify a man who allegedly raped very young children?
It is a sad fact of life that historically criminal allegations have been treated very differently when the accused is a very famous and well-loved man. Miles Davis allegedly assaulted his wife, the late rapper XXXTentacion allegedly molested his ex-girlfriend when he was pregnant … When you listen to someone’s music, you are not supporting their morals, but in our new friendly society, woker, there should be red. lines?
Of course, Jackson was also a victim. The psychological hinterland that inspired Neverland is not difficult to work out. He suffered vicious abuse from his father, who horribly bullied all his children but inflicted a particularly cruel streak of psychological warfare on his youngest son, Michael. A kind interpretation of the sinister Neverland of course is that Jackson was just trying to recover a lost childhood that was stolen from him.
Criminal allegations have historically been treated very differently when the accused is a very famous and well-loved man
Another argument could be that we as a society are slaves to a sick celebrity culture where we make the winners sick. Check out Amy Winehouse’s highly anticipated biopic, which gives us another chance to pick at another damaged skeleton. It goes without saying that celebrities themselves are toxic to the carrier, and just as poisonous to anyone in their orbit.
Jackson’s “truthers” have a faith-based relationship with his heritage. Of course, it’s much nicer to live in a world where he was the genius, the trailblazer, the philanthropist and enjoy his music with carefree abandon.
But even if you don’t believe Jackson’s accusers, and you don’t care about police investigations and huge payouts to stop legal proceedings, and you don’t have a problem with Jackson openly admitting that he slept in the same room to young boys, the message for you. The bottom line is that if a pedophile is rich and powerful enough, society will still endorse him. Are you comfortable with that?
Anna van Praagh is the Evening Standard’s chief content officer
