Following the release of the documentary
Following the release of the documentary « Leaving Neverland, » which alleges that pop icon Michael Jackson sexually abused two prepubescent boys for several years, the internet has exploded into two extremely divided camps: fans feverishly defending at whatever cost and former fans vowing to rid their ears of his music for good.
Writing at The Guardian, columnist Suzanne Moore admits to feeling so sickened by the documentary’s revelations that Michael Jackson’s « music is dead to me now. »
« Great art is often made by terrible people. These truths I have held to be self-evident, » Moore admits, later conceding that some terrible people cross indefensible lines. « Everyone still plays Michael Jackson and the songs he sung about being wronged, and my heart starts to beat a little too fast. »
« As more and more awful, awful details emerge of boys who claim he abused them from the age of seven, I don’t know what box to put his music in any more. It doesn’t matter, » Moore continued. « Sometimes we draw lines and it is way too late, but it has to be done. That is how cultural shifts happen. They happen when we say: no more. Enough. »
« In the scheme of things, not so sad, » she concludes. « There is so much magnificent music in the world; I won’t go without. He is properly dead to me now. »
Celebrities on Twitter simultaneously praised the documentary and HBO’s decision to air it in the face of mounting pressure from Jackson’s estate, which filed a lawsuit against the cable network to the tune of $100 million.
