I think we need to ask ourselves some tough questions about Michael Jackson and his relationships with children over the years. For decades we have dismissed these relationships as Michael not having a childhood and being childlike. And I believe there is truth to that and he was childlike in many ways and did enjoy the company of children on a fun level.
Let's also be honest about one thing... if it were anybody else but Michael Jackson, we would find these relationships deeply disturbing. The sleeping in the same bed so many nights in a row, the going on tour together and staying in hotel rooms together. Like it or not... this IS the sort of behaviour that a regular adult would display with a lover of the same age. We dismiss this by saying "there was only one person that lived a life like Michael Jackson. You can't compare him to regular people." This is true. But at the end of the day... he was still HUMAN. He was still an adult male with the needs of any other adult male. How were these needs being fulfilled all those nights? We know of only one woman that he ever slept with for sure. Lisa. That's it? Where are all the other women? Was he that good at hiding them? Maybe. But they certainly weren't on the road with him all those nights. It's possible that there were some after Lisa. We know of some of those stories. We know of him continuing to see Lisa for years after their divorce. But before Lisa? Maybe Michael WAS sexually repressed. Maybe he WASN'T ready for a sexual relationship. Maybe all of these friendships with children WERE innocent. Possibly.
I'm not saying he was guilty. I'm saying we need to honestly ask ourselves these questions. For the first time in my life, I am seriously asking myself these questions and not dismissing them just because Michael had a different life to the rest of us. There is only so much of his life that we know, as much as all of us would like to think that we knew him so well. We knew parts of him. We didn't know all of him.
Yes, I know all of the facts from 93, 2003 and the Robson/Safechuck lawsuit. It is possible to be the victim of extortion and also be guilty of committing a crime. It is possible to be the victim of lies while there still being some truth to what is being said. One doesn't necessarily counteract the other unequivocally. It is also possible to truly care about the plight of children and the world and also have a sickness that you can't control.
I am still giving Michael the benefit of the doubt. I'm not saying I now believe he was a pedophile. Spence defended him, Mac defends him, Brett defends him, the Cascio's defend him, Omer defends him. But Wade and James also defended him. And then they filed a lawsuit for hundreds of millions of dollars. Money is always going to be a big red flag with these accusers. But in asking myself honestly these tough questions for the first time... there are also red flags in Michael's behaviour. People here know my history. Michael has felt like a family member to me my whole life. I've loved him since I was 2 years old. I've defended him through every allegation. His death was maybe the saddest thing I have ever had to deal with in my life up to this point. I do not write this lightly. And I hope you all don't condemn me for this post... though I know most of you will. I hope the fight continues and Michael's name is cleared.