MIAMI The outpouring of love for Michael Jacksons legacy has been epic. But where was the support when he faced child molestation allegations?
Death, it seems, has been the ultimate absolution for Jackson.
There is a tradition that people are acculturated to speak no ill of the dead, said Michael Schwartz, associate professor of psychiatry at Stony Brook University in New York. This has really brought people together. They feel good about being able to share their grief.
Some fans have been unwavering in their support of Jackson through the years, claiming they never believed allegations that he sexually molested two boys on two separate occasions.
It never crossed my mind that something like that would be true, said Georgia Pasvadi, 28, who lives in Athens, Greece, and is studying to be a film director.
But many others didnt stick by Jackson, abandoning the King of Pop after his behaviorand his appearanceseemed increasingly bizarre.
In 2002, he dangled his infant son over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below. During his 2005 molestation trial, he appeared gaunt and had recurring back problems that he attributed to stress. The trial was interrupted several times by hospital visits. Jackson once appeared late to court dressed in his pajamas after an emergency room visit.
But all this weirdness seems mostly forgotten now.
Great equalizer
For some who were turned off by Jackson a few years ago, its like the things he was accused of never happened, said Paul Levinson, professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University in New York.
Its because death is the great equalizer, he said, cleanly separating Jackson from people regarded as so terriblelike Adolf Hitlerthat their legacy never changes.
Instead, fans all over the world are choosing to focus on his music, with songs played endlessly on the radio and tributes on television reminding them of their love for such hits as Thriller and Beat It.
Five of Jacksons songs are currently top downloads at iTunes.
Michael is going to be remembered as a great entertainer and performer just as much as he will be remembered for his strange life, said Tim Newsome, 35, of Miami, a fan since Thriller came out in 1982.
Taken for granted
But Rabbi Shmuley Boteachwho claims he was Jacksons friend and rabbi from 1999 to 2001said the display of grief has little to do with Jacksons life offstage.
No one has focused on the death of a man. ... This is the death of a cartoon character, a caricature, Boteach said by telephone from Iceland.
Matt Blank, spokesperson for the fan club Michael Jackson World Network based in Britain, said the public may have taken Jackson for granted.
I think its the age-old tale of you dont know what youve got until its gone. I think its easier to remember the career of Michael Jackson than the personal life, he said. People realize the astonishing talent that he had.
