Michael Jackson is perhaps the biggest pop star that ever lived.
A decade after his death —on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50—, he is still considered an icon , while the ghost of accusations of abuse against minors continues to surround his figure.
In 2005, Jackson was found not guilty of sexually abusing a child under the age of 13. More than ten years earlier, in 1993, he had been investigated for the same crime and the case was settled out of court.
These scandals did not dramatically affect worldwide sales of Jackson’s classics or stop a massive tribute from his fans at Staples Center when he died in Los Angeles.
“At that time his music was everywhere , radio and television played it constantly,” recalled Matthew Price, a BBC journalist who covered the event.
“As journalists we talked about the legend, the king of pop, but we talked much less about the rumors of Michael Jackson’s alleged sexual relations with children. The word ‘pedophile’ was simply not used,” he said last March on the program of the BBC Beyond Today.
But this year — in light of the #MeToo movement that brought down celebrities like Kevin Spacey and Bill Cosby after being accused of sexual harassment and abuse — an HBO documentary raised new accusations against Jackson and opened the debate on the permanence of his musical legacy. facing the specter of abuse.
Jackson’s family declared that there is “not a single piece of evidence” to prove the allegations made in the film Leaving Neverland (“Leaving Neverland”) and sued HBO for $100 million.
The documentary caused some to stop listening to Jackson’s music and caused radio stations in countries like New Zealand and Canada to stop playing it. Others, however, felt that making her musical work disappear from her is not the solution.
“After the first two hours, I found it intense and quite exhausting. When I finished watching it, I noticed that I had about 15 or 16 songs by him on my cell phone . I deleted them and said to myself: ‘so far'”, said Scott Bryan, a BBC music journalist who had access to the documentary before its premiere on March 3.
A similar reaction was met by New York Times music critic Wesley Morris, who addressed the existential conflict he had in admiring Jackson’s work despite these accusations in an article titled “Michael Jackson casts a spell. Leaving Neverland breaks it.”
In the four-hour feature film, two men describe in explicit detail what they say Jackson did to them when they were children and loved and trusted him.
Wade Robson and James Safechuck allege they were sexually abused by the musician for seven and five years, respectively, during the 1990s.
Once the documentary was released, hundreds of users on social networks expressed their outrage and some decreed that they would never hear the music of their now “ex-idol”.
The purpose of the film, however, was not to promote rejection of the work of some of modern music’s brightest artists, director Dan Reed told the BBC.
“Jackson was a fantastic performer and we need to be able to continue to listen to his music while also realizing that he was a predatory pedophile ,” Reed said.
How widespread can the rejection be?
Reed’s claim that he was a “pedophile predator” is disputed and rejected by many of Jackson’s loyal fans, who often defend his innocence.
Peter Bowes covered the legal process against Jackson in 2005 for the BBC and remembers that his fans “were the most devoted” he had ever met and “believed 100% in him,” he tells BBC Mundo.
“The outcome of a trial has a lot to do with how people are remembered. And unlike Bill Cosby, Jackson was found not guilty ,” he adds.
Bowes explains that one of the key witnesses for Jackson’s defense at that trial was Wade Robson , one of the protagonists of the Leaving Neverland documentary.
“Robson was then 22 years old and consistently denied that Jackson had harmed or sexually abused him,” he recalls.
He himself has said in different interviews that at that time he did not want to admit that he had been abused for personal reasons and that he also wanted to protect the artist.
Can the music of someone so famous and recognized be made to disappear?
Some hoped the showing of the documentary would make a big impact and affect sales of Jackson’s music, but it hasn’t.
In fact, the combined sales of songs and albums increased by 10% in the days after the release of the film, according to the specialized firm Nielsen Music.
Likewise, streaming views of videos and songs also increased by 6%, to almost 20 million compared to 18.7 million the previous week.
Radio stations, by contrast, did see a 13% decline in airplay for their songs between March 3 and 5.
Similarly, the Jackson-centric Cirque du Soleil show has been upheld, as has a $250 million deal that representatives of the artist’s estate have with Sony Music to distribute his music for the next seven years.
After decades of accusations against him, one wonders what can change now.
“With the #MeToo movement, I think we’re experiencing a cultural shift in how people relate to celebrities,” said BBC music journalist Scott Bryan.
“It’s going to be very difficult to feel like you can just erase someone like him. But at the same time I don’t think there’s any need to celebrate it either,” he added.
For Bowes, it is more likely that in 20 years Jackson will still be remembered for his music and not for allegations of child abuse.
“Really shocking evidence would have to come out to change things. He will always be the king of pop and there will always be a shadow of suspicion about him,” he said.