Ban on Michael Jackson's music
In reaction to a TV documentary and listener comments, Norwegian and Canadian broadcasters have announced that they will stop playing Michael Jackson's music for the time being. The documentary Leaving Neverland was aired on US television a few days ago. In it two men tell how they were sexually abused by Jackson as children. Can we still listen to his music with a clear conscience?
He still has a firm hold on us fans
Oray Eğin, columnist at Habertürk and long-standing Michael Jackson fan is shocked at how much he wants to believe his idol is innocent:
“I don't know if the kids [now adult men] are telling the truth. MJ may have done all the things they are saying he has done. He may also be, as he said of himself, an innocent Peter Pan who, among these children, found the innocence he himself was never allowed to live. But since one of these parties is no longer alive, we will never find out the truth. But that's not what bothers me about this story. What bothers me is the incredible power that Michael Jackson still wields over us, and the control that this gives him over us. This man can control anyone and make them do things against their will. That's what I find so scary.”
Art is perfect, but not its creators
Politiken recommends taking a more nuanced view of the matter: Art is more perfect than artists, and it can never be seen as a simple reflection of its creators. This is why our choice of books, films and music is never simple. It is a moral issue that is for each individual to decide for themselves and for which we should not be judged by others, just as we do not call out others at the till for things they are buying. If people listen to Michael Jackson's music it should not only be read as an endorsement of a perverted individual. It also shows us that perfect things can be created by imperfect people. We must allow this space to exist in culture.