Who was Michael Jackson to you?

Contributor: SoloJoe SoloJoe
he was a great singer
10/23/2012
Contributor: BlooJay BlooJay
Thriller and Beat It
10/23/2012
Contributor: LoveYouLikeThat LoveYouLikeThat
Quote:
Originally posted by sexyintexas
Really the first thing that pops to mind is pedophile.
^^This.

It's sad, but its true that it's the first thing to pop in my head
10/23/2012
Contributor: Rory Rory
He was a great entertainer and artist!
11/03/2012
Contributor: iabicpl09 iabicpl09
A mentally disturbed person
12/10/2012
Contributor: lolagray21 lolagray21
Michael Jackson was very troubled!!! and i didnt/dont care for him or his music!!
01/01/2013
Contributor: lolagray21 lolagray21
Quote:
Originally posted by sexyintexas
Really the first thing that pops to mind is pedophile.
i agree!!!!!!
01/01/2013
Contributor: Bleu Bleu
The last option made me laugh for some reasons.
01/10/2013
Contributor: LoooveMonkey LoooveMonkey
You may disagree with me, but I don't think he was a bad person. I think he was a good person and the media was very unfair to him because of his issues.
01/10/2013
Contributor: TrenchcoatHunters TrenchcoatHunters
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
Michael Jackson. From the amazing young front man for the Jackson 5 to the paparazzi hounded tabloid star, MJ was always news. With is death yesterday at the age of 50 he's the number one trending topic, the number one news story, his life and ... more
Great singer
01/10/2013
Contributor: falalena falalena
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
Michael Jackson. From the amazing young front man for the Jackson 5 to the paparazzi hounded tabloid star, MJ was always news. With is death yesterday at the age of 50 he's the number one trending topic, the number one news story, his life and ... more
i remember being five or six, and my parents were watching vh1 and thriller came on. first music video i can remember seeing.
01/11/2013
Contributor: fizzygato fizzygato
I think I only ever knew and liked the song "Smooth Criminal" after hearing the Alien Ant Farm cover. From what I saw of him dancing, he danced well. I feel like I wish I knew him better, like on a personal level, and could ask him anything and have him answer honestly, but really I didn't care when he died because I didn't know much about him.

I feel like he seemed so interesting, though, that I wish I could have known him personally
01/11/2013
Contributor: KinkyNicki92 KinkyNicki92
all of the above. he was a great entertainer to me. when you saw him perform you had to watch. when you heard his voice you had to sing along
01/14/2013
Contributor: tami tami
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
Michael Jackson. From the amazing young front man for the Jackson 5 to the paparazzi hounded tabloid star, MJ was always news. With is death yesterday at the age of 50 he's the number one trending topic, the number one news story, his life and ... more
I had a huge crush on him before he started bleaching himself and all the plastic surgery... he still made great music no matter who or what he had become
01/14/2013
Contributor: Hummingbird Hummingbird
A very troubled and talented star. His voice was wonderous, love songs timeless, I especially enjoyed and still enjoyed the ounces he partnered with Paul McCartney.
01/14/2013
Contributor: Pia Jouet Pia Jouet
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
Michael Jackson. From the amazing young front man for the Jackson 5 to the paparazzi hounded tabloid star, MJ was always news. With is death yesterday at the age of 50 he's the number one trending topic, the number one news story, his life and ... more
I've been poking around here for a while and was ecstatic when I came across this thread. I see this thread was published the day after his passing; I have the perspective of several years with which to answer. I am a HUGE Michael Jackson fan and have been since childhood. His music is the soundtrack to the 80's and 90's.

To me, Michael Jackson is the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen. Many people don't know that he not only wrote most of his lyrics, he wrote and arranged much of the musical accompaniment to his songs and even played instruments on his albums. He choreographed the dances and came up with the concepts for his short films and live shows as well as many of the costumes. He was a visual artist. Have you seen his drawings and paintings? They are incredible. He was a phenomenal dancer and has influenced music, dance, music video, and live show entertaining across musical genres.

He was a humanitarian and an environmentalist before it was cool. He wrote many songs to highlight the plight of the poor, downtrodden, children, those who suffer abuse, etc. He also put his money where his mouth is by donating much of his fortune to causes he believed in: hospitals, poor communities, college scholarships, diabetes research, schools, I could go on and on, but instead, have a look at MJIL: the Michael Jackson International Legion at MJIL.net. They explain much of it there.

I know it is popular to bash Michael, and I see many mean-spirited and misguided responses here. I'll address a few of them.

1. Michael didn't bleach his skin. He had vitiligo, a condition in which the pigment cells lose their ability to produce pigment. He revealed this years ago, it was confirmed by his physician, and confirmed again by the coroner who did his autopsy. His condition embarrassed him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
2. Michael didn't wish to become a woman. This is a ridiculous assertion and a troubling one in a space that is supposed to be welcoming and supportive for all people. He was very much a man in every sense of the word, and a sexy one, too.
3. Michael was NOT a pedophile! This is the most serious fallacy. Did you know that the FBI investigated Michael for 17 years? They sent agents to the farthest ends of the Earth to interview people and collect evidence for almost 2 decades. Bottom line is they found absolutely nothing. They released their files on him a few years ago and reaffirmed they unearthed nothing in their quest. Michael was acquitted on all counts in his last molestation trial and the family in the first trial is on tape plotting to blackmail him for money. His insurance company settled because it was cheaper than a long drawn out trial and Michael's health was suffering.

I know this is a long response, but hopefully it will cause a few people to reconsider. For more information, visit MJIL.net. I'm a Legionnaire for MJIL!
MJIL:  the Michael Jackson International Legion
01/22/2013
Contributor: collegegirl21 collegegirl21
before my time, never understood why he was so idealized
01/22/2013
Contributor: kkybf kkybf
he was a great singer and i loved "thriller"
01/24/2013
Contributor: Scythe Scythe
Quote:
Originally posted by Wrecked-Czech
I'm glad you gave the option of voting for several options since he was many different things to people. For me, he was one of the greatest entertainers and artists in my lifetime. His lifestyle in the past few years may have been a bit strange ... more
Pedophile should have been added to that list.
04/12/2013
Contributor: karenm karenm
He was talented and had a few great songs a long time ago, but honestly that's all he means to me. I knew a lot of people who became obsessed with him when he died and it got irritating.
04/19/2013
Contributor: BrittaniMaree BrittaniMaree
Neverland was never a fan of him
04/30/2013
Contributor: WestTexasBarbie WestTexasBarbie
A musical genius, but a very disturbed person who I don't think eevn HE knew who he really was.
05/08/2013