In November 2013, an article published by Healthy Magazine suddenly popped up in the Michael Jackson community. It was just a sneak peek. At that time, the whole article was released only through hard copy. Then, after a short while, the complete article appeared on the web. 
The title was astonishing, “Michael Jackson. Did He Need To Die?” and the content, even more so, to the great satisfaction of the MJ community. Under the pretext of talking about health, the writer made an impartial and stunning examination of MJ as a person, debasing the Media who cannibalized him in the name of ratings. One of those rare articles that, without beating about the bush, but the media in its place, for their misconduct towards him, and captured Michael Jackson aspects generally ignored. In short, it was a really nice job and definitely a surprising audience, considering we are talking of a monthly “niche” magazine with global readers, including about 5 million MJ fans.
A smart marketing move that surely resulted in a surge of online contacts and sales, all thanks to this article! Deserved, I may add. And it did not stop there.
The next month there was a new article titled Michael and Salieri. There was a small preamble at the beginning of the article to stay on the topic of health. Although it sounded pretty off-topic, I enjoyed reading it. I found the comparison with Salieri and the paradoxical style used, summed up the result of years of scandals and bad publicity built up by the international press at MJ’s expense, undoubtedly an intelligent and unconventional choice.
“Would you like a 40-year-old neighbor who works on a tree, dances like a dough mixer, screams like a monster, looks like a ghost, can suddenly start walking backward, plays with minors and snakes, and is visited by buses of poor and terminally ill children with their families, riding with them on his own carousel and train in his backyard?”
Is this not what the collective imagination has picked up about Michael Jackson during 20 plus years of tabloid “breaking news”? Is this not the message that Michael’s short film Ghost contains, evidencing that what was happening to his image was very clear to him?
Contrary to my opinion, other fans did not take this article well, interpreting the contents as an article done by someone who had not checked the facts and just assembled a few popular “truths” to take the opportunity to slander MJ’s name once again. In short, another attempt to use MJ’s image for purely commercial purposes and increased revenues.
I could really understand the sentiment. This is not an easy article to read: it’s articulated and extremely sophisticated. It is definitely worth reading it a few times more just to be aware of the society around us. Why does not give it a try before discarding and assuming it’s not good enough for you and MJ? As the writer points out, in the drama “Mozart and Salieri” written by Alexander Pushkin, the opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and also in the film “Amadeus”
by Miloš Forman, Salieri was an obsessed tormentor who drove Mozart to an early grave by poisoning him and convincing the Roman Emperor that his music was worthless.
That’s just the beauty of the comparison! Despite the fame, many aspects of the life of the great Mozart remain unknown, in part because of the extremely private nature of the musician, in part because of the flowering of legends and rumors which arose about him, making it difficult for biographers to extrapolate the truth from the lies to reconstruct his real human and moral physiognomy. However, recent studies and more detailed analysis of documentation allowed biographers to debunk two clichés that, for a couple of centuries, have weighed on the figure of Mozart: the rivalry with Salieri and the death by poisoning, alleged facts that were closely related and actually have never even existed!
Salieri was an Italian musician appreciated by the Viennese court, where he lived for most of his life and held the role of composer and choirmaster. According to a tradition of rumors originating from his contemporaries, Salieri was terribly envious of the young Mozart’s unparalleled genius, gradually poisoning him, causing Mozart’s premature death. To be precise, in fact, between the two, there were cordial contacts and mutual esteem. This was perhaps only a façade, but no improprieties have ever been documented. Mozart died at the age of 36, but it is not entirely true that his death took the people by surprise: his wife, the family, and the small circle of friends who assisted him until the end had long been concerned about the health conditions of the young musician. Do you not think the analogy is pretty accurate than the lies spread and still rampant about Michael Jackson?
That’s why the paradox “Michael and Salieri” works. This DRAMA is based on rumors with no foundation. Salieri, in this case, represents the lies, the media, the various “Sneddons” that brought MJ to his early grave. We should all support these articles to help more pieces about the truth, not lies or tabloids and fictional movies, like 2019 Dan Reed’s mockumentary. The community should help those rare journalists and volunteers delivering correct information and facts, keeping in mind that Michael Jackson was a wonderful human being. His soul was an exquisitely loving example of what a human being could and should be.
Although explaining is not hard, it is tough to change the misinformed’ opinions who refuse to take off the blinders and drive them to understand the BIG mistake and how Michael Jackson the human being has been hurt throughout most of his life!
As a conclusion to the first article, the writer entered a breakdown of her personal views on some of the controversies surrounding Michael Jackson. I liked it that she did. It clearly indicates that independently from the smart marketing move, she has written the article not to please the fans but to voice her beliefs.
I do not agree with all her views, but I respect her opinions, especially because some speculations will remain open for discussion for at least the next 100 years! Thus, not to play too much partisan and listen to other opinions, I interviewed a couple of MJ fans and asked them the writer’s same questions. Food for thought for some honest journalism related to opinions on Michael Jackson controversies:
Befriended families to be surrounded by children
- Poulsen: YES
- MJ fan: Agreed
Being around the megastar was intoxicating
- Poulsen: YES
- MJ fan: Agreed
Homosexual
- Poulsen: NO, asexual and none of my business
- MJ fan: I would have appreciated just “it’s none of my business.” There is no evidence of it. The reality is that he fathered 3 children, and for me, this is a fact (unless DNA will prove to the contrary)
- MJ fan n. 2 “If you say asexual, then can you explain why? Is he different from other humans? And… have you seen him dance?!! Damn!”
Does it mean molested children?
- Poulsen: NO
- MJ fan: Agreed
Angel
- Poulenc: NO
- MJ fan: I agree, but not everyone would on this
Skillful businessman
- Poulenc: NO
- MJ fan: I would love to discuss this to see where this opinion came from. We have seen plenty of successful business achievements by MJ, even outside the music business, and evidence of his involvement behind the scenes in IT and technologically successful projects.
Reckless prodigal
- Poulenc: YES
- MJ fan: Agreed
Humble
- Poulenc: NO and YES
- MJ fan: I understand what you mean, but we have a good amount of testimonies from people who have worked with him or spent a certain amount of time with him, declaring that MJ was one of the most humble men the world. It is also easy to document. So .. Humble? Why No?
Manipulative
- Poulenc: YES, but not much beyond survival needs
- MJ fan: Would you please elaborate on this?
Ran sophisticated PR, fascinating with eccentricities
- Poulenc: YES and NO
- MJ fan: Agreed
Media victim
- Poulenc: YES
- MJ fan: Agreed
Profited from the media frenzy
- Poulenc: YES
- MJ fan: Agreed
Medication junkie
- Poulenc: not so easy: there are doubts about using anesthetics for pleasure and no doubts of severe insomnia
- MJ fan: Are the doubts based on MJ’s use or on the use of prescription drugs in general? The comment sounds like you are saying there are doubts about MJ. I would like this to be clarified.
Used recreational drugs
- Poulenc: NO except some marijuana in later years
- MJ Fan: Why not say “NO” PERIOD? This is something he never said. This has never EVER even surfaced in tabloids and related “scam” news. It has just been mentioned in a book of a so-called friend, and only after his demise, making it impossible to hear his version. Truth is, some weed had been found stashed in his place. But we also know that it was “rotten” 😉 So…I do not see him having such a strong interest in being taken into notice in his biography.
Was increasingly dependent on meds since the first accusation in 1993
- Poulenc YES
- MJ fan: Agreed, but as per many of his health records disclosed during the AEG trial, we can conclude that increases happened during Lupus flarings, injuries (bridge collapse), and other such instances.
Marriage to Presley true
- Poulenc YES
- MJ fan: Agreed
Marriage to Rowe true
- Poulenc: NO
- MJ fan: Here we have all kinds of beliefs, so I will say mine: If the first marriage was real, why not this one? Unless we go into a useless conversation about love, which would be hypocritical and out of place, the fact is that, like it or not, marriage is a legal contract and may have nothing to do with love.
Forgave his father for abuse
- Poulenc: NO, despite trying and many professions of such
- MJ Fan: Did not forgive Joe? Why not? We have several declarations from MJ himself where he mentions his father as a genius and admits that if it was not for Joe, he might have ended up driving a truck around Indiana. So..why does not believe what the man directly said?
Good father
- Poulenc: better than many
- MJ fan: Agreed
Went too far with plastic surgeries
- Poulenc: was it different from everything else?
- MJ Fan: This is confusing. Why do you say “everything“ instead of “everyone“ else? What do you mean by “everything”?
Was threatened
- Poulenc: YES, by himself 25 years ago
- MJ Fan: Would you please explain this? How did he threaten himself 25 years ago? 25 years before 2009 was exactly when he had the Pepsi accident. Exactly 25 years before he died…
Responsible for his death
- Poulenc: YES, but shares this one with us, paying for his media bullying
- MJ Fan: How is he responsible for his death? Most people will say absolutely, NO.
Killed by Conrad Murray
- Poulenc: NO
- MJ FAN: Totally disagree with this. Murray was convicted and sentenced. MJ had so much propofol in his body, enough to kill an elephant, and in no way did he self administer…If not Murray, who killed him then? I would appreciate if you share your opinion or source with us 🙂
Murray was guilty of negligence.
- Poulenc: YES
- MJ fan: Agreed
“This Is It” would have been a disaster.
- Poulenc: YES
- MJ FAN: I do not agree, and in any case, it is food for speculation since, unfortunately, TII did not happen. Actually, this is my personal opinion. I know some fans feel the same but not everybody. If MJ had done these shows, it would have been wonderful. He just needed to show up and say “Hi” to make the world stand on its feet …just show up!
Source:
http://www.healthylivingmagazine.us/index.php