Over the last two weeks, I promised myself and the spirit of MJ that out of the respect for his death, I would not disrespect him or his legacy by speaking out or accusing him and those around him like the media has been doing since his passing. However, I do now, have my own theory and would like to take a different approach....As a superstar, celebrities understand that with fame comes a lot of obstacles. With fame, there is no longer privacy. With fame, there is no longer trust. With fame, big fame, international fame like MJ had, there is lonliness. Some accept this as just coming with the territory, some bask in the glory, and others want no part of it. But, I'm always positive, that no human being in their right mind, could ever expect to grow to the heights of fame MJ grew to and live to tell about it. I mean what human being do you know that would come out of that situation "normal"?
For example, put yourself in Mike's shoes. Imagine if you will, having to live in complete seclusion because you have the most famous face in the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD. This means all of the leisure activies we as normal people enjoy like going to the mall or the movies, or the gym, the grocery store or even simply walking down the street would all be taken away. You'd become a prisoner in your own home. Can you imagine? Now add to that the pressure of having to please this world, not to mention all the leeches or "friends" surrounding you. And of course we still haven't factored in the troubled past that left physical, psychological and mental
impressions on you throughout your life. And the media?! Ha! We'll get to that later, but Can you imagine?
When an audience first responds to a budding star, it is usually out of pure admiration. But that admiration in recent years, have since given way to obsession and it's sick! These last two weeks following Michael Jackson's death has showed me a lot about my country and the direction we're headed. America's pathological behavior has been portrayed across the globe for years since the birth of the television, and now the internet. But it wasn't up until now that I really felt the pressure of it all. Our culture is obssessed with celebrity, with fame, with
hollywood, with the glitz n the glamour and of course, with the money. But this obssession is tearing lives apart; Lives, who in any other circumstances would otherwise be normal....probably.
The problem I guess, is the fact that once a celebrity, you are thought of and PORTRAYED as something more than human. The more success you have, and the larger your fame grows, the more inhumane you, the celebrity, are perceived (because of this PORTRAYAL) and we, the audience become. In Michael Jackson's case, somewhere along the line, the world forgot he was human. The world forgot that he had a beating heart, and blood running through his veins that WOULD one day actually come to an end. I think that may be why his death has been and will remain since June 25th, a shocker. But who's fault was it?
Us as fans bear some of the responsibility. It was us as fans, that never allowed Michael to live close to a normal life...EVER. It was us, in all of our selfishness, that demanded constant touring, constant recording, and constant contact somehow with our beloved Michael, be it thru video, or tabloid mag. Now of course Michael could have said no, but he was a true entertainer, he loved what he did, and he loved to please those who loved him back. A constant theme in Michael's life that continues to pop up is LOVE. All Michael wanted all his life was to be Loved, and we, Loved him to DEATH.
Now, because Michael was a PR GENIUS, he has always been very misunderstood also making him a godsend for the entertainment industry. He outsmarted the media many times over, but it was ultimately the media who got the last laugh, and turned him and his "creations" into a circus act. The media attacked, bullied and butchered that man with no retribution. In my opinion, it was also the media that killed MICHAEL JACKSON.
Not surprisingly, the media is now portraying Michael Jackson as a drug addict who basically died from a drug overdose like MANY other BIG stars in American history (Coincidence?). They report him as having collapsed veins and track marks on his arms. They have minimized the GREATEST ENTERTAINER OF ALL TIME, to a damn Junkie :(
If Michael was using drugs, it is understandable to use them for pain. He was a performer, an athelete with many injuries over the years. Thus probably building a tolerance and an unfortunate but unintentional addiction. Now, if Michael was using drugs to cope with the life he was PERMITTED (I say 'permitted' for a reason), that was understandable as well. Because people know drugs are used as an escape or coping mechanism. And because Michael was never in control, has never been in control, and has basically been a PRISONER of fame all his life, drugs may have been his only escape. Remember, Michael was only HUMAN. But those are big "Ifs", and we don't know what happened. And that's what we must remember.
I say all of that to say this. As the audience, we have a lot of power. As long as we keep ourselves in check, and not feed into the gossip websites, gossip mags, and stay true to our celebrities as artists and as people, we can change things, and keep what happend to MJ from happening again. I mean, if you look at the current state of entertainment, preferably tv, it is run by reality shows. These shows take common people, and thrust them into the limelight, unprepared for all possible outcomes. How are they supposed to deal with that? It used to be that you had to have a talent to become a celebrity. Now, you just have to have 8 babies, want to lose weight or want to find love to be a celebrity, and us an audience still flock to these shows and these people, as if they are ACTUAL celebrities. In doing so, we continue to VICIOUSLY invade their lives, and Michael's end was evidence that there are very real repercussions. It needs to stop!
We should be embarrassed. We don't have to support this craziness. By not supporting, we are demanding what we want, and what we expect from not only our country, but our media outlets as well. Maybe they're should be some kind of legislation for the rights of privacy that the media would have to obey. (TAKE NOTE: There is no ACTUAL right of privacy in the US constitution) Because if we don't get it together and get it together soon, who knows who the next fallen victim will be? And I tell you what, if Michael Jackson can die at 50yrs old, I'm afraid to see who the next fallen victim will be, because seeing his tragic life end the way it did, i'm sure many wouldn't even want his fame nor would they wish his fame on their worst enemy....
I had the pleasure of meeting Dolla last year while working at the BET Awards. As a matter of fact, I was assigned to escort Dolla through the radio room, thus allowing me to spend practically the whole day with him.