# When and why did Michael Jackson go nuts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382 "2012-07-25T21:50:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/21 "2012-07-26T17:03:48Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Has it ever been proven that his kids were adopted? Not that I doubt it; anyone who paid attention in high school biology knows that this is probably true. I genuinely disagree with this. I have plenty of mixed friends who look more white than black-- it’s not like there’s some “mixed kid” formula that automatically pops out kinky haired kids if there’s one black parent. Do you think Quincy Jones adopted Rashida, too? Did Mariah Carey’s parents adopt her? Was Wentworth Miller also adopted? What I took away from my high school and college science classes is that genetics can be a funny thing sometimes, not that there’s a one size fits all formula that pops out clones. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/22 "2012-07-26T17:06:08Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Has it ever been proven that his kids were adopted? Not that I doubt it; anyone who paid attention in high school biology knows that this is probably true. I heard Alice Cooper bit of Michael’s penis. After he passed out on stage they pumped his stomach, and sure enough, Ozzy Osbourne’s and Frank Zappa’s penises were in there too. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/23 "2012-07-26T17:21:17Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I heard Alice Cooper bit of Michael’s penis. After he passed out on stage they pumped his stomach, and sure enough, Ozzy Osbourne’s and Frank Zappa’s penises were in there too. …doing little penis backstrokes in a gallon of Rod Stewart’s semen. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/24 "2012-07-26T17:21:55Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I genuinely disagree with this. I have plenty of mixed friends who look more white than black-- it’s not like there’s some “mixed kid” formula that automatically pops out kinky haired kids if there’s one black parent. Do you think Quincy Jones adopted Rashida, too? Did Mariah Carey’s parents adopt her? Was Wentworth Miller also adopted? What I took away from my high school and college science classes is that genetics can be a funny thing sometimes, not that there’s a one size fits all formula that pops out clones. Yeah, there’s no standard look for mixed kids, even in the same family. I’m black and Mexican, but I look like I’m a mix of white and middle-eastern. My brothers all look Black, but with straight hair. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/25 "2012-07-26T17:31:22Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I genuinely disagree with this. I have plenty of mixed friends who look more white than black-- it’s not like there’s some “mixed kid” formula that automatically pops out kinky haired kids if there’s one black parent. Do you think Quincy Jones adopted Rashida, too? Did Mariah Carey’s parents adopt her? Was Wentworth Miller also adopted? What I took away from my high school and college science classes is that genetics can be a funny thing sometimes, not that there’s a one size fits all formula that pops out clones. Maybe so, but I don’t see the least physical resemblance between Michael (or the other Jacksons) and any of the kids. I’d be quite surprised if he’s the father of any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/26 "2012-07-26T18:14:50Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Maybe so, but I don’t see the least physical resemblance between Michael (or the other Jacksons) and any of the kids. I’d be quite surprised if he’s the father of any of them. The youngest one, “Blanket”, looks a lot like Michael. Does anyone know if that’s his legal name? Isn’t it something like Prince II? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/27 "2012-07-26T18:20:26Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Maybe so, but I don’t see the least physical resemblance between Michael (or the other Jacksons) and any of the kids. I’d be quite surprised if he’s the father of any of them. Really? [Paris and LaToya](http://i.imgur.com/YLKAv.jpg) [Prince and his cousin Jaffar](http://i31.tinypic.com/dwc7ec.jpg) [Blanket and Michael](http://i062.radikal.ru/1001/5f/e9b19f281ee7.jpg) [Blanket and Michael again](http://i52.tinypic.com/255ujy8.jpg) [Prince and Michael](http://i47.tinypic.com/3518paf.jpg) [Prince and Michael’s grandfather (Prince’s great grandfather)](http://i45.tinypic.com/125ntdl.jpg) [A split screen of Michael and Blanket](http://s61.radikal.ru/i171/1001/04/7535ccef11a9.jpg) [Michael and Prince](http://s19.radikal.ru/i192/1001/9c/8a55dfba6258.jpg) The thing is, the kids all of that (original) Jackson nose, just scaled down a bit, which makes sense since they all appear to have white or hispanic mothers. Plus, [Paris definitely looks much more like her mother](http://s03.radikal.ru/i176/1001/9b/e173a8824506.jpg) than even her brother. > [@Sateryn76](#): > > Does anyone know if that’s his legal name? Isn’t it something like Prince II? The eldest son is legally named Michael Joseph Jackson Jr but Michael always called him Prince (which I think was the name of one of Michael’s grandfathers or something), the youngest one is legally Prince Michael, but they call him Blanket. On some interview, Michael said “Blanket” comes from a saying in their family about blanketing people with love blah blah. I guess it was a nickname they used within the Jackson family for years before the kid even existed. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/28 "2012-07-26T18:44:53Z")
You’re clearly a fan Diosa but you’re looking at everything in the best possible light. He bleached his skin for reasons other that the disease. His kids don’t really look like him at least IMHO (my wife is mixed white and black and she does not feel that they are his). Each to his own but he was an odd, sad man who hopefully didn’t rape children. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/29 "2012-07-26T18:46:39Z")
I don’t disagree that obviously my opinion is colored, but I try to be as reasonable as possible. Do you have any proof that he bleached his skin for reasons other than the disease he had his entire adult life? I’d be genuinely curious to see such evidence. Remember, right up until his autopsy confirmed it, nobody believed he actually had vitiligo either. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/30 "2012-07-26T21:42:16Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > iirc it was some French tabletop books. Sophisticated porn, hardbound glossy pages for Michael. The books were evidence in the trial. I don’t think they were illegal. That’s actually kinda reassuring. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/31 "2012-07-26T21:57:56Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > That’s actually kinda reassuring. My understanding is that while the art books with kids were actual art books, completely seperate from his porn room. The contents of the porn room are [detailed here](http://lacienegasmiled.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/michael-jacksons-porn/)– I’m pretty sure “Double Dicking Caroline” and “Sloppy Dogs Presents: Fuck Me, I’m a Bad Girl” are not art, neither book or movie, though I suppose I haven’t been to a modern art museum in a minute. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/32 "2012-07-26T22:01:51Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > My understanding is that while the art books with kids were actual art books, completely seperate from his porn room. The contents of the porn room are [detailed here](http://lacienegasmiled.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/michael-jacksons-porn/)– I can imagine almost no greater a hell than to have my hardcore porn collection itemized on the Internet. That poor, poor man. ---
**Author:** ![Vicullum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/6de8d8/32.png) [@Vicullum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicullum)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/33 "2012-07-26T22:09:58Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I can imagine almost no greater a hell than to have my hardcore porn collection itemized on the Internet. > That poor, poor man. Ditto, although mostly because it would take multiple web pages to catalog it all…:o ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/34 "2012-07-26T22:50:42Z")
I often wonder with people like Michael Jackson and Howard Hughes, and many many more on the lesser (but still rich) level, whether they would have more quality of life or more productive if they _weren’t_ so bloody rich that they could tailor reality to them (albeit falsely). I think sometimes that if they were reliant enough upon others for money that they _had_ to comply with the norms and couldn’t indulge in every whim they’d probably actually be the happier person for it. Excessive money makes them keep pushing boundaries and refusing to hear “no”, but not in the good way and more in the Caligula way, and Caligulas usually step too far over and don’t tend to end well (Hughes sitting naked in a room filled with urine jars, Michael and his industrial strength anesthesia and danging noseflap, Phil Spector and his dead dates, Elvis bloated and on the toilet, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/35 "2012-07-26T23:42:57Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > My understanding is that while the art books with kids were actual art books, completely seperate from his porn room. The contents of the porn room are [detailed here](http://lacienegasmiled.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/michael-jacksons-porn/)– I’m pretty sure “Double Dicking Caroline” and “Sloppy Dogs Presents: Fuck Me, I’m a Bad Girl” are not art, neither book or movie, though I suppose I haven’t been to a modern art museum in a minute. I don’t know what it says about me, but somehow my esteem for Michael Jackson (which was completely absent before) just went up a notch. I mean really: Hustler, Oui, Penthouse, Playboy, Juggs, Plumpers? Sounds like a nice collection, really. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/36 "2012-07-26T23:53:20Z")
I always felt sorry for him. He got pretty weird towards the end and it even sounds like he might have been a child molester on occassion (or at the very least had some boundary issues). But I always got the impression he was at heart a really nice guy that got royally fucked up by people wanting to exploit his talent and money and a crazy assed family. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/37 "2012-07-27T04:22:32Z")
I don’t think he was a child molester. I think he was a child. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/38 "2012-07-27T04:44:26Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I don’t think he was a child molester. I think he was a child. If a poor man had done even half the things Jackson admits he did, he would be in prison for child molestation period. Whether any inappropriate contact actually occured or not doesn’t really matter, you get enough tickle sleepovers and showering with other people’s kids in your mansion and giving them wine, you reach a point where the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. Why would anyone continue to create these questionable situations? ---
**Author:** ![eman77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f04885/32.png) [@eman77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eman77)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/39 "2012-07-27T05:03:12Z")
After seeing the Vitiligo link in Diosa’s post (which everyone reading this should look at), I see an otherwise extremely talented and charismatic man plagued by a skin disease which he went to great lengths trying to hide. To be that famous, to ALWAYS being looked at, but having to hide blotchy skin on your face will make a man go crazy. The pressure and stress must have been intense. He probably just wanted it to go away so he got so fed up he went to whatever lengths he could to get rid of it. I feel for him now. I don’t know what happened with the children, but I feel for what he experienced when he was younger. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382/40 "2012-07-27T05:03:33Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t know what it says about me, but somehow my esteem for Michael Jackson (which was completely absent before) just went up a notch. > > I mean really: Hustler, Oui, Penthouse, Playboy, Juggs, Plumpers? Sounds like a nice collection, really. Yeah… I’m a MJ fan (hey **DiosaBellissima**!) and his porn stash actually humanizes him to me. Sure there’s some out there stuff, but hell, that’s about the most normal porn stash I’ve ever heard of. If you’re Michael freakin Jackson you could have your own porn produced, with everyone in Mickey Mouse heads getting enemas and squirting it in the mouths of Goofy. It’s a pretty damn vanilla stash of porn. **Sampiro** is right: I think MJ was a different cat from jump, even from childhood. He had the potential to have been an eccentric guy if he had been a plumber or a guy working in an office, but having the cash he did - and the later years, the ability to surround himself with a bunch of sycophants and kooks (remember Dr. Tohme Tohme) - meant that his quirks could be indulged. I mean, wouldn’t we all do some weird shit if we had the money to do it? I think he had a persecution complex, and as much as I think the media hounded him, all of the Jacksons have this adversarial relationship with the media that they desperately needed to keep them in the public eye. They also have a propensity to surround themselves with individuals obviously attempting to derive their self-worth from their association with the family. Louis Theroux did a show when he attempted to meet Michael and it is equally amusing and sad to encounter the characters that he needed to impress (or outright pay) to get to him. (Worth watching, and not that I’d want to give it away, but he does get to talk to Joe.) There was also a show that aired in the UK called “The Jacksons are Coming” about how several of the Jacksons, led by Tito, toyed with the idea of moving to rural England. Their “friend” (who also taught Tito martial arts) is about the scummiest, most transparent user imaginable - he just needs a pencil thin mustache to twirl to complete the caricature. Through the documentary it becomes more and more evident that he’s a liar and a charlatan, and Tito is able to semi-realize this. Anyway - I’m digressing somewhat, but the point is, being somewhat sensitive from an early age, insane work schedule, tyrannical dad, body dysmorphic disorder, users and sycophants - that would make anyone somewhat out of touch with reality. I think he was also incredibly unlucky, considering these factors, that he: [ul] [li]Had severe acne as a teen[/li][li]Broke his nose necessitating plastic surgery[/li][li]Had vitiligo appearing on his hands and face[/li][li]Suffered the serious burns and disfigurement from the Pepsi commercial accident[/li][/ul] The latter, I think, set him on a path that ultimately led to his death. It’s evident that the accident was far more serious than anyone let on at the time. It’s a popular trope that post-_Thriller_, Michael was “washed up,” but his next three albums, _Bad, Dangerous,_ and _HIStory_, were commercial and critical successes - not _Thriller_ (how could they be) but impressive by any standard. Most artists would have killed to have had the level of success that any of those albums had. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-michael-jackson-go-nuts/629382.md?page=3)