I believe in freedom of speech and the press for sure but when they just make stuff up to sell papers then something has to be done. But on the papers side a lot of the weird and wacky stories that came out were supposedly leaked by Michael Jackson’s entourage and management, if so they clearly didnt have his best interests at heart. Again you could say that this is Michaels or his families fault by surrounding him with yes men instead of someone with their feet on the ground….should’ve employed a Scotsman!

I think calling him ‘Mad’ or ‘Crazy’ is a little strong, the guy obviously had issues, liked and disliked the attention, possibly played upto and with the media and by doing so probably made things worse.

However this doesnt excuse alot of the allegations made against him which were never proven but hey mud sticks right!!

It also doesnt excuse the way he was treated by the media and the average Joe soap. We place people on this pedestal let them enjoy it for a while and kick it from under them….and if it’ll sell more papers, TV shows, DVD’s and websites kick them until they are dead.

Well rest in peace Michael. Thanks for the music…its how I will remember you!

I truly believe that if the media hadn’t hounded Michael Jackson, he would still be with us today. I was a huge fan of his during the 80s and part of the 90s (basically until I’d outgrown that level of fandom) and everyday at school and college, people would give me newspaper clippings about MJ – some from UK, some from imported mags. I saw the media change almost overnight. He was saying that he didn’t want to give interviews because he was tired of being mis-quoted and he went from being portrayed as a sensitive and shy enigma to Wacko Jacko wearing masks, sleeping in oxygen chambers, and having extensive plastic surgery. And I’m ashamed to say it came from the British tabloids (the sniggering schoolboys that they are).

I feel that if that hadn’t happened and if the public hadn’t been so happy to join in kicking him, then individuals wouldn’t have felt there was enough public support to take him to court with false allegations, and he wouldn’t have spent the rest of his final years defending himself over and over again. Since his death, I’ve been looking at some of the coverage I’ve ‘missed’ over the last decade. What a horrible way to live. I’m surprised he made it this far. Once you call someone mad, you can get away with saying pretty much anything about them and people will think at the very least, “Hmm, well maybe. I mean he is crazy after all.” I’m really pleased to see here that there are some people who are questioning what they told and not just engaging in some bizarre public execution.