RIP Michael Jackson

Miss Janey is surprised at how deeply affected she feels by Michael Jackson's death. She'd kind of given up on him right around the time of the second child molestation charges. All the quirks, the surgeries, the oddball behaviors- seemingly devised to attract media attention- it had just all gotten to be too much. The second allegations of abuse were the final straw.

Like a lot of people, Miss J would have been quite content to hold on forever to little Michael Jackson, the innocent and adorable singer of the Jackson Five who melted our hearts and astounded us with his grown-up talent.


Likewise, the sexy Michael Jackson of “Off the Wall” and Thriller” was a favorite. A graceful dancer, talented singer and cock-sure performer, he seemed on top of his game and the entire world. The release of “Thriller” coincided with Miss J finally feeling comfortable enough to dance in public and she couldn’t begin to count the number of times she danced the night away that album. She LOVED him! Looking back over her life, the songs of the Jackson Five and Michael Jackson have had radio and TV play throughout most of it. No wonder people feel so strongly about Jackson- he’s been in our home via TV and radio so long it’s almost as if he is family. We have watched him grow up. His impact on the entertainment industry is inestimable. Every boy-band since The Jacksons has lifted something from Michael Jackson.

When Miss J was learning to ride a bicycle, Michael Jackson was being prepped for superstardom. And not in a loving, nurturing manner. The stories of Joseph Jackson’s physical and mental abuse are well-known. Take a sensitive child, afflict him with an abusive parent and the results are going to be messy. Add world superstardom and anything is possible- good and bad: generous donations to charities, and allegations of child molestation. Both are part of his legacy.

Miss J has long suspected Jackson was guilty. No doubt the fact that Miss J was molested as a child colors her view.

Yet when she sees photographs as Jackson as a child, and remembers him how he was, she has all the compassion in the world for him and weeps for the inner strife that drove the plastic surgeries and well-documented eccentricities. He was an extremely gifted person and hardly the first or last child star to discover being a grown up celebrity has a lot of pitfalls.

May he find peace. It’s profoundly sad to think he is gone.