# Can you still enjoy Michael Jackson’s music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 2, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638 "2024-07-02T15:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/21 "2024-07-02T19:17:08Z")
MJs specific (as far as any of us know what they were) mental illnesses obviously led to criminal behavior with children. He should have been locked up, and never around kids again. He bought(fathered and paid for willing uteruses) 3 kids, I’d not be surprised what he did to them. I do not lump him in with others. I am most _empathetic_ to those who are mentally ill, up and until they hurt others, children especially. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/22 "2024-07-02T19:27:48Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Once they’re dead, and enough time has passed (my calculus fails if it’s too recent), I can usually enjoy good art for its own sake. I think when they’re alive, consuming their art feels like you’re actively supporting their terrible actions. MJ is dead, my money isn’t going to help him abuse children. Then it becomes the question of whether or not I can separate the art from the artist. I generally can, I also believe that many artists I like have or had dark corners of their lives I will never know about. I love _ **Insert Classic Rock Band of Your Choice** _ and who knows how many drugged up underage girls they slept with over the years? Think those guys were checking ID? ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/23 "2024-07-02T19:27:57Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his music became worse around the same time that he “got weird”. It is remarkable how many musicians and creative types becomes worse when they become big enough stars to have complete creative control over their work ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/24 "2024-07-02T19:34:59Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > He should have been locked up, and never around kids again. I agree, with the caveat that I would hope he received help as well, because he himself was an abuse victim. But you know the old saying, the difference between being crazy and being eccentric is the eccentric has money. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/25 "2024-07-02T20:26:56Z")
A shit-stirrer coworker remarked loudly the other day while his music was playing something like “How can anyone not like his music?” I did not take the bait there but man, it was such a bad attitude. I’m not asking her to justify still listening to a creeper’s music so I’m not wasting my breath explaining that it makes my skin crawl now. We all have different lines and if someone isn’t giving you a hard time, stfu and don’t cause trouble at work for your enjoyment. So no, I don’t enjoy his music but I try to give people a pass. Again, we all have different lines or we’d all be listening to nothing but Mr Rogers singing. I can’t fully enjoy his music even though Jackson’s dead because I feel that too many people might be getting that 1/1000th of a spotify penny that enabled his abuse. They’re almost as bad as him and could still be helping covering up someone else’s nonsense. So if you crank up some stuff in your own home, I’d probably side eye your post admitting it, but I’m not going to completely lose respect for you, call you out on it. I just would ask in return people to be thoughtful about their playlists when other people are around because it can be truly traumatic for some people. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/26 "2024-07-02T20:51:35Z")
I can enjoy his music, but watching _Ghosts_ is…hmmm…extra-creepy. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/27 "2024-07-02T21:05:17Z")
He’s dead, so whether I listen to his music or not will not affect him in any way. So I feel fine listening to it if I feel like it. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/28 "2024-07-02T21:10:03Z")
I’m regularly a massive hypocrite, turning a blind eye to swathes of human suffering just to feel incrementally more content, so don’t have a problem listening to the odd MJ tune. I just don’t think he’s that good, so find him easy to ‘boycott’. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/29 "2024-07-02T21:12:26Z")
I empathize with and appreciate your viewpoint, and it largely reflects my own. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/30 "2024-07-02T21:59:31Z")
I loved him when he was a kid. I was still sort of a kid myself. I couldn’t watch him back in the 80’s and 90’s, even though I liked several of his songs well enough. It just made me cry. I just felt sorry for him. This was before the stories started to sound more true than a made up money grab to me. I can listen to his music and appreciate the immense talent, but not without thinking about the bad stuff. So, I can listen to it, but not with the pure joy the talent itself deserves. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/31 "2024-07-02T22:04:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I cannot imagine giving two shits about whether he was a saint or a devil. FWIW there was a debate about this 18 months or so ago on the SDMB. Some here might be interested. Roughly the same question as the OP but more broadly applied: > [@Should people avoid consuming art they enjoy from an artist who they dislike or disagree with on a personal level?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-avoid-consuming-art-they-enjoy-from-an-artist-who-they-dislike-or-disagree-with-on-a-personal-level/979721): > > I recently watched [this video](https://youtu.be/uNKyQVsgKLg?t=179) by Jim Sterling (Warning: transphobic content used to illustrate the point) regarding the recent release of the video game Hogwarts Legacy. Sterling is a trans woman and is open about it and speaks to it often on her channel (which has been running many years) which is mostly PC game journalism. The Tl;Dw version is Sterling is no fan of J.K. Rowling and Rowling’s antagonism towards the trans community. During the video Sterling says that, while she is not saying n… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/32 "2024-07-02T22:37:46Z")
I think MJ was a pedophile. I’ve never really enjoyed his music, it all seems the same - bland. However, my wife loves him so I hear it a lot. The songs I do like (Billy Jean, for example), I like despite my beliefs about his penchant for little boys. In his case, I don’t let my beliefs cloud my appreciation… such as it is. Oddly, though my magnanimi​ty doesn’t extent to Ted Nugent. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/33 "2024-07-02T22:42:37Z")
> [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > A shit-stirrer coworker remarked loudly the other day while his music was playing something like “How can anyone not like his music?” I did not take the bait there but man, it was such a bad attitude. Musical tastes vary considerably. I can understand someone liking his music, but it’s certainly not my thing. He could be a saint in his personal life, and I couldn’t stand to listen to his music or watch him dance around. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/34 "2024-07-02T22:44:05Z")
Any thing with Swayze creeps me out. Gah!! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/35 "2024-07-02T23:03:57Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > > > A shit-stirrer coworker remarked loudly the other day while his music was playing something like “How can anyone not like his music?” I did not take the bait there but man, it was such a bad attitude. > > Musical tastes vary considerably. I can understand someone liking his music, but it’s certainly not my thing. He could be a saint in his personal life, and I couldn’t stand to listen to his music or watch him dance around. ~~Years~~ Decades ago when I worked in an open plan office I had a small “boombox” and a CD of Chinese Opera that I would fire up if there was any musical shit-stirring going on. It has a way of silencing arguments before they get started. Just sayin’ ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/36 "2024-07-03T02:05:22Z")
I hope this was a whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/37 "2024-07-03T02:26:05Z")
I don’t know. “What Baby wants, Baby gets” kinda creeped me out in _Dirty Dancing_. Sorry. Don’t like him. (Maybe it was “nobody puts Baby in a corner …”) Either way. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/38 "2024-07-03T02:30:18Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > What about you? If you’re a fan of his music, has it been spoiled by learning the lurid details of what he did? My favorite Michael Jackson songs were from when he was a kid. I keep a ‘best of the Jackson 5’ CD in my car. I never really liked the songs that came out in my lifetime (90s). Also my appreciation of beauty is in no way affected by how horrible the person behind it was. Totally separate compartments of my mind. At least the songs I listen to, are not in any way about pedophelia. I can understand not purchasing something because you don’t want to give money to a horrible person, but in this case, Michael Jackson is dead. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/39 "2024-07-03T02:31:00Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I don’t know. “What Baby wants, Baby gets” kinda creeped me out in _Dirty Dancing_. Bear in mind that “Baby” was the (nick)name of Jennifer Grey’s character, apparently because she was the baby of the family. The character was, AIUI, 17 in the film. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638/40 "2024-07-03T02:33:41Z")
I know. It just sounds smarmy. To me. But, please if anyone loves the movie or wants to watch, go for it. Don’t listen to me. It’s just an opinion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-enjoy-michael-jackson-s-music/1003638.md?page=3)