# Michael Jackson Dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988 "2009-06-25T21:15:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/221 "2009-06-26T02:55:34Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > \I will say this about him: he told the “Church” of Scientology to fuck off. They married Lisa Marie Presley to him in a bid to get his money and his fans, and when he just flat out refused to buy into the bullshit, she divorced him. As an aside, I recall watching an Oprah episode where Lisa Marie was being interviewed. The question was something like, “What were you thinking (when you married MJ)?” Her response was that she just did it to piss her mother off. She is a bit of a rebellious brat so I’m sure that had something to do with her choice of husband. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/222 "2009-06-26T02:56:50Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > An odd point is nagging me. For all the time I was aware of him, I’d heard that Michael Jackson was a mere 5 years old when he had his first top 40 hit (along with his brothers) in…1970? But the reports that I’m reading state that Michael was 50, which would have made him \*11 \* years old in '70. So which is it? > > Course, even being 11 years old and having a major hit record is impressive, but still this seems incongruous to me. I’m fairly certain that he was _performing_ at 5 but that his first hit record was later. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/223 "2009-06-26T02:58:26Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > An odd point is nagging me. For all the time I was aware of him, I’d heard that Michael Jackson was a mere 5 years old when he had his first top 40 hit (along with his brothers) in…1970? But the reports that I’m reading state that Michael was 50, which would have made him \*11 \* years old in '70. So which is it? > > Course, even being 11 years old and having a major hit record is impressive, but still this seems incongruous to me. Michael Jackson was born in August 1958. I know this off the top of my head because it was the same month and year that I was born. Damn, I feel old now. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/224 "2009-06-26T03:02:34Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Right, b/c rational behavior was his strong point. :rolleyes: > > Does Michael Jackson even understand the concept of limited resources? I seriously doubt it. I would guess that he valued his reputation and his privacy more than he did money. He’d had unlimited amounts of that for the vast majority of his life. I remember watching an interview about 10 years ago where they followed him around on a shopping spree. He was spending a ridiculous amount of money on “stuff”. It appeared as if he had no clue what money was and would eventually go broke because of it. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/225 "2009-06-26T03:06:49Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The coolest thing he ever did artistically was when he smashed up that car in the “Black or White” video – then he apologized and removed that scene from the video. That was too bad because it really was an extremely original, expressive and inventive piece of choreography. I was watching one of the MJ videos that MTV Jams was playing back to back today, and I saw a video where he smashed up a car with a tire iron or something. I don’t remember which song it was, but could this be the one of which you speak? Did they put the scene back in or something? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/226 "2009-06-26T03:08:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > (Shrug) An innocent man with millions of dollars honestly afraid he might get railroaded by the system might. How can you know? Yeah, after all, the police are always trying to frame rich black men. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/227 "2009-06-26T03:10:23Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I remember watching an interview about 10 years ago where they followed him around on a shopping spree. He was spending a ridiculous amount of money on “stuff”. It appeared as if he had no clue what money was and would eventually go broke because of it. To be fair, that was the Martin Bashir program, which was far from fair. Actually, I remember the scene/moment you mentioned. He did know how much everything cost and he kept mentioning how there would be a discount at the end. Of course, he was buying ridiculously useless stuff(vases and so forth); it was quite lame. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/228 "2009-06-26T03:12:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > To be fair, that was the Martin Bashir program, which was far from fair. > > Actually, I remember the scene/moment you mentioned. He did know how much everything cost and he kept mentioning how there would be a discount at the end. Of course, he was buying ridiculously useless stuff(vases and so forth); it was quite lame. The thing in that program that skeeved me the most was him holding hands with this teenage boy, like they were boyfriend-boyfriend. Sure, the program wasn’t fair, but no one made him do that. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/229 "2009-06-26T03:15:30Z")
Another bad joke (better spoken than written): Q: What did Jacko like about 28-year-olds? A: That there are twenty of them. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/230 "2009-06-26T03:16:56Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > I was watching one of the MJ videos that MTV Jams was playing back to back today, and I saw a video where he smashed up a car with a tire iron or something. I don’t remember which song it was, but could this be the one of which you speak? Did they put the scene back in or something? “Black and Whte” is the only video I’m aware of where he tore up a car, so that’s probably it. For some reason, the scene got criticized as too “violent” at the time, and he removed it. It’s certainly possible that the scene has since been restored. I’ve never followed his career any more than I couldn’t avoid, so I wouldn’t know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/231 "2009-06-26T03:21:40Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > “Black and Whte” is the only video I’m aware of where he tore up a car, so that’s probably it. For some reason, the scene got criticized as too “violent” at the time, and he removed it. It’s certainly possible that the scene has since been restored. I’ve never followed his career any more than I couldn’t avoid, so I wouldn’t know for sure. He grabbed his crotch WAY more than usual. And like moaned. I thought that’s what it was. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/232 "2009-06-26T03:26:18Z")
Naturally, you can find [the full 11 minute version of the Black or White video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UO_F3I9gJE&feature=related) on YouTube, complete with car-smashing. I remember watching it live when it debuted on TV. It was big deal. ETA: The linked video is a little choppy for me, [here’s another one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVoJ6OO6lR4), with slightly worse resolution. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/233 "2009-06-26T03:28:25Z")
OK, I’ll get the twisted Blurt out of my mind first: Mortician in charge of MJ’s body funeral preparations: “Lord, it’s gonna be a loooooonnnnggg night of work here…” But, I’m feeling a real sadness on Michael’s demise. He was one of the first Superstars of modern media, and working hard as a little tiny kid ,with so much talent. I loved the Jackson Five as a kid, too; they were wonderful, that’s the soundtrack of my childhood, knew all those songs by heart, and learned to dance some there too. In the young slick Michael on his own years, he was brilliant, and helped create the big production music video, and subsequent pan-media blitzkreig cult of personality. It wasn’t my music of choice at the time, but no doubt about his sheer ability and talent. How could anyone come out with a normally maturing mind after constant attention and demand for performance since four years old? Everyone makes choices, but, living in a bubble with those pressures sure seems like a big vat for warping the psyche. He seemed like a fragile person to begin with, unequipped to deal with the demands, and retreated into his own fantasy world. With the luxury of money to never have to deal with life otherwise. Yeah, I’m rambling, and not trying to make excuses for his eccentricities, but, I guess, at what price Fame. I really feel sorry for him, being a young Black man who came to fame when times were changing, who just couldn’t handle the demand. He got quite messed up. I do look forward to any forthcoming book that can try to explain it, when interviews with insight are given. What the hell happened? Sad, and remembering Michael as a boy, who was truly phenomenal. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/234 "2009-06-26T03:34:01Z")
I think we are going to see a media firestorm beyond what we’ve ever seen before. Madonna’s impact was at best a decade and a half, and her core fan base would be folks around my age (late 30s, 40s). MJ has been a global superstar from 1969 to 2000 or so - almost three decades. He of course was a celebrity all his life. So boomers, Gen Xers, Gen Y, millennials, etc. all connect to him. And of course there are plenty who hate him, think he’s unspeakingly weird, a freak, etc. If you were sick of MJ before, I recommend moving to Mars, or better yet, another galaxy. This is on the level of Elvis and Lennon and may even rival those deaths. **Nzinga** , that’s exactly how I feel about the allegations. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/235 "2009-06-26T03:39:54Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Any speculation that it was a suicide? I was wondering that too. I imagine that if there were fresh allegations of child sex abuse that we haven’t heard about yet that suicide may be a possibility. But that’s just speculation really. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/236 "2009-06-26T03:41:57Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > It’s gonna be Michael Jackson Night on my stereo tonight. I mean, I haven’t followed him since he started going crazy so long ago, but when I was young—man, I had that Thriller zombie dance MEMORIZED. I haven’t been able to enjoy his music since the child sex abuse allegations. It also creeps me out a bit to think that I’m listening to the voice of a dead man. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/237 "2009-06-26T03:48:14Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > I was wondering that too. > > I imagine that if there were fresh allegations of child sex abuse that we haven’t heard about yet that suicide may be a possibility. But that’s just speculation really. He was a habitual prescription drug abuser. I suspect it was simply an overdose. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/238 "2009-06-26T03:49:22Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > **Nzinga** , that’s exactly how I feel about the allegations. Put me down as another who agrees with your post, **Nzinga**. I just never have pegged him as a true pedophile, more like just an overgrown kid who enjoys the company of his emotional peers more than that of adults. Eventually though I grew to dislike Michael Jackson and to view him as a manipulative liar and ripoff artist, but there’s no doubting his incredible talent. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/239 "2009-06-26T03:50:45Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Like, in that interview where he admitted to sleeping with kids with so much innocence. He didn’t have to admit to that, but he did; because maybe he honestly didn’t find it dirty…maybe he honestly didn’t molest anyone. > > Some cultures think nothing of sleeping in the same bed with children. > > I made my daughter leave my bed because I knew it was expected of me by this society. I honestly had no problem with her, me and her dad in the same bed. I simply knew that it is not accepted in society. > > Maybe his reasoning was weird, or wrong. But I am not convinced he was a pedo. Other people’s kids though? And kids who on the whole tended to be not very well off financially? ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/240 "2009-06-26T03:53:44Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > I think he’s faking his death to avoid the concerts. I’m a bit amazed at the rather happy mood seen at the various gatherings being shown on TV. Maybe fans are thinking the same thing? That was my mother’s first thought as well. I wonder if there will be any fallout over the “last” Michael Jackson photo released to the press, courtesy of Inside Edition. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988.md?page=13)