The end came with a sudden swiftness. Late in 1993, some months after a rare prime-time interview with Oprah, Jackson was accused of sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy during a sleepover. The world was stunned, but Jackson’s eccentricities made him an easy target, and the public turned on him. For the little boy who had only tried to experience childhood by surrounding himself with children, the accusations were devastating. Although Jackson had devoted countless hours and millions of dollars to helping children through his Heal the World foundation, the media was quick to condemn him. Neither was his family much comfort to him. Earlier, his brother Jermaine had released a single titled “Word to the Badd” that was a scathing denunciation of the freak he felt Michael had become. And the controversial LaToya Jackson made numerous unsubstantiated claims that the King had in fact been guilty of child molestation. The criminal case was eventually dismissed and Jackson vindicated, though many took his out-of-court settlement in the civil case as an admission of guilt.
GQ ran a cover story in their October 1994 edition entitled “Was Michael Jackson Framed?” The article claimed that Evan Chandler, the estranged father of the victim in question, had forced their friendship upon Jackson and had used tactics that included drugging his own son in order to blackmail the performer. In turn, the King’s public reputation was destroyed.
The damage was done. Despite all the proclamations of innocence and the dismissal of the criminal case, where Jackson once drew adulation and love from the world, there was now revulsion. Jackson was no longer the King, he was the butt of countless jokes. While his fame still persisted around the world, he was a pariah in the land of his birth. In an effort to combat this, Jackson spent an unprecedented sum of money to force open the arms of the world to receive him again. 1995 saw the biggest publicity campaign ever mounted, Jackson’s deep-seated insecurities once again driving him to create an over-the-top lavish spectacle. A statue of Jackson was floated down the Thames, while the artist himself donned military garb and led troopers in advertisements to promote HIStory: Past Present & Future—Book 1, a two-CD set of his greatest hits and new material. The first single, “Scream”, marked the first-ever collaboration between Jackson and his younger sister Janet. The music video, still unsurpassed as the most expensive in history, featured the angry Jacksons venting their rage and expressing their unity on a monochrome spaceship. The lyrics were unusually open and angry for the pop king, a tone that characterized most of the new material on HIStory. Controversy erupted again over anti-Semitic lyrics in “They Don’t Care About Us.” When the storm of publicity died down, HIStory managed to sell only a paltry 15 million worldwide. The 1997 follow-up, Blood On The Dance Floor—HIStory In The Mix, faltered miserably, selling a mere 1 million copies to date, despite some peppy dance numbers and imaginative ballads.
Once again in the name of his affection and concern for children, Jackson held concerts in Seoul and in Munich to raise money for charity. Entitled “Michael Jackson and Friends,” the superstar was joined by Mariah Carey, Chinese popstars Andy Lau and Leon Lai, Andrea Bocelli, Ringo Starr, Boyz II Men and many other music stars in the extravaganza which raised over $3.3 million for the Red Cross, UNESCO, and the Nelson Mandela Childrens’ Fund.
But if Jackson’s worldwide popularity seemed as strong as ever, he was estranged from his own country. In his rare interviews, he often cited his desire to leave America behind forever. After Princess Diana’s untimely death in 1997, he appeared on 20/20 with Barbara Walters to discuss life under intense media scrutiny. Moved to tears, he pleaded in his characteristic soft tones to be treated with the decency due any normal human being. “I’m not a Jacko. I’m Jackson....Wacko Jacko, where did that come from? I have a heart and I have feelings. Did they ever think...that I have a heart?”
He seems ever more determined to prove that he does. The recent destruction of the World Trade Center has moved him to begin the composition of a new song, “What More Can I Give,” to raise funds for the survivors and the families of the victims lost in the tragedy. Music celebrities are already lining up to contribute to the song, reminiscent of Jackson’s similar 1985 effort, “We Are The World,” which has raised over $65 million for victims of starvation in Africa. As the King stated in a related interview:
We have demonstrated time and again that music can touch our souls. It is time we used that power to help us begin the process of healing immediately.
It is a gesture almost to be expected from a celebrity who has done so much in the name of charity. And it coincides with the return of a pop superstar to center stage. Devoted fans have waited for years for Jackson to work his magic on a generation that knows him more as a punchline than a popstar.
The wait is almost over. And Michael Jackson is ready to prove the naysayers wrong. The boy in the man is back in the spotlight, with increasingly unconventional promotional events. On his 43rd birthday, Jackson was on hand to open NASDAQ trading. Jackson’s surprise appearance at the 2001 VMAs drew wild applause, and his recent tribute concerts in Madison Square Garden featured an array of celebrities and the much-hyped reunion of the Jackson Five (although his sister Janet, currently on tour, was notably absent). MTV has been airing Jackson’s past hits, while VH1 has shown special after special about the King of Pop. Invincible will be released domestically on October 30. His previous recordings are being remastered and readied for re-release; Jackson’s new single, “You Rock My World,” featuring comedian Chris Tucker, is an upbeat, catchy dance tune that has already reached #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and is climbing to the top around the world. Alien Ant Farm has rocketed to popularity on the strength of their “Smooth Criminal” cover, while collaborators Destiny’s Child, N’Sync, Britney Spears, and countless other artists have gushed about him as both an idol and role model. Nor have the people forgotten him: Restless grumbling was the order of the day at the recent Madison Square Garden concerts despite the performance/presence of a pantheon of musical and cinematic superstars. Only one performer could bring the masses to the heights of screaming frenzy—Michael Jackson. Further success appears to await him in the wings; one Associated Press headline about the event read: “Michael Jackson Erases All Doubts.” More than that, Michael Jackson has proven that he is still loved. And perhaps that more than anything else is the most important thing to him.