Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Michael Jackson.. A poor role model



Michael Jackson began his musical career at the age of seven as the lead singer of The Jackson 5 and grew up in the public eye ever since.

From 1988 to 2005, Jackson lived on his Neverland Ranch property, on which he built an amusement park and private zoo for economically disadvantaged and terminally ill children. His frequently held sleepover parties received disparaging media coverage after it was revealed children frequently shared his bed. These occurrences came to light first when he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. His sleepover parties were brought into the spotlight again in 2003 during the infamous Living with Michael Jackson TV Documentary.

Inspite of his phenomenal music talent and the much acclaimed success which led him to be called the "King of Pop," controversy was never far from him. His sleepovers came under scrutiny in 1993 when allegations of child molestation were brought against Jackson. He was accused of child abuse and though he claimed to be "totally innocent of any wrongdoing, Jackson settled out of court with the accuser for an undisclosed sum, reported to be $20 million, and the charge against him was drppoed.

In 2006, allegations of sexual assault were leveled against Jackson by a man who claims Michael Jackson molested him, intoxicated him with drugs and alcohol, and forced him to undergo unnecessary cosmetic surgery. Jackson hired the best lawyers and though he won this legal battle, it was a permanent dent on the 'kings' reputation.

After these troubles Jackson moved briefly to Bahrain. Now he claims to have discovered a conspiracy by his former employees to force him into bankruptcy.

Why would anyone want to put Jackson in bankruptcy? Maybe they want to get paid. Last week a judge granted some of Jackson's attorneys permission to withdraw from defending him in a law suit when they showed Jackson had been both uncommunicative and had refused to pay the fees he owed them. Bankruptcy could possibly force him to pay debts he owes by liquidating assets.

Michael's spokeswoman Raymone Bain said this "could be one of the biggest conspiracies in entertainment history." Raymone Bain could be wrong. As they say, "there is no smoke without fire." How Michael Jackson amassed huge wealth and managed to squander it into bankrupcy shows that he is a flawed musical genius.

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