I know this is an incredibly old thread, but I feel like there is so much interesting stuff in here for anyone obsessed with the Bad era (like me) and enjoys archival materials...
There are some fantastic quotes and interesting commentary in here. But reading all of these newspaper clippings, it's really heartbreaking to me how bullied Michael was. He had a massive global fan base of people who absolutely adored him, who didn't think he was weird, or at least, weren't put off by thinking he was, and yet all the mainstream media did even then was act like everyone (the public) thought he was a total freak. Like it was common knowledge, somehow. An accepted fact. I don't get it. If people truly thought he was a freak, why would he have such massive appeal? Also, how has anyone ever deluded themselves into thinking someone could become as massive a star as Michael Jackson without having major sex appeal? It's naive to think anything else. So this is what has never added up to me. Who was/is benefiting from the hatred and cruelty slung his way when the public still actively adored him? I would argue that even today his fans FAR outweigh the people who think badly of him. But the mainstream media keeps pushing this narrative about him and just....why? Why then, especially, but why now still?
Another side thought I had when reading all this was that maybe it is just me, but like...even if all of the stuff about him buying skulls, John Merrick's bones, creating some weird museum on his property, etc were all true...umm...why would that be a problem? Lol. I mean, I would literally do all of that too haha. Like, I never understood why people made fun of the Bubbles thing. Whether or not you agree with exotic animals as pets is a separate issue. But who hasn't wanted to hang out with a chimp and would do so all the time if you could? Who TF wouldn't want to build the coolest ever home with an amusement park in their backyard? I guess I just think it's so strange that Michael was seen as so eccentric (whether these eccentricities were even based in reality or not, half the time) and yet I don't find a single thing off putting or strange. I would do all of that and then some. Beside, since when are eccentricities even a problem for rock stars and musicians??
Sigh. Is all of my rambling about this just proving how much racism played a part in tearing Michael apart? Or toxic masculinity? Or just the massive nature of his fame that made any mention of him flash dollar signs in the eyes of everyone who could venture to gain from him? I don't know. He was such a sweet person. So interesting and unique. Not trying to hurt anyone. What a messed up world.
This post sounds so depressing and it's not meant to. I loved reading these articles because of the context it afforded me. But if you decide to read them, just keep in mind that despite (overall) positive reviews of the music, most of the commentary on Michael personally is not very nice.
I will say there was one really great review of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" that I found fun:
Maybe it just seems strange to me that the media all seemed to, at the same time, decide that Michael was a freak, ugly, bizarre, etc. They all started calling him names, dehumanizing him, etc all at the same time and they continued to through the rest of his life as if it was just a common belief everyone shared, when clearly everyone did not share it. It's the treating it like it's a fact, rather than an opinion, that shocks me. 
