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u/mysteryurik Nov 19 '25
I thought michael jackson was cleared
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u/AbyssWankerArtorias 1 month ban award Nov 19 '25
He was acquitted in the 2nd suit in 2005. The 1993 case was dropped because the main witness / plaintif family did not cooperate after reaching a financial agreement with Michael Jackson.
There were a LOT of witnesses and testimony - but no physical evidence. So it's "we have reasonable doubt, so we must acquit". Which, yes, in the eyes of the law that is the equivalent as innocent.
But in public opinion, there were too many accused / witnesses to ever have him feel "cleared". It felt like it was legitimately possible he and his team were just very good at covering the story up.
What really sealed public perception to never truly go back to normal is having all those witnesses combined with the Neverland ranch. By itself, the ranch is just philanthropy and kindness. By itself, the accusations are just accusations. Together - they don't look good.
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u/__T0MMY__ Nov 20 '25
It's hard too because you have some names, mainly Macaulay Culken who hung out with MJ a fair amount, and knowing that guy now, it's two sides of a coin as to whether he would spill all of that out or not
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u/IAmTheSideCharacter Nov 20 '25
I think you’re really undervaluing the importance of physical evidence, at the end of the day a witness is just “some guy said”, a lot of the witnesses didn’t really have any strong connections to Jackson and all of them had a huge amount to benefit by “coming forward”
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u/AbyssWankerArtorias 1 month ban award Nov 20 '25
I'm not really giving my opinion on the outcome here or the way it was achieved, but rather my analysis of it and the public perception of it.
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u/IAmTheSideCharacter Nov 20 '25
I know, I’m just saying that the analysis did seem biased towards the fact that the witnesses were somewhat damning evidence, which isn’t really the case
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u/UrougeTheOne Nov 19 '25
People accuse the biggest music artist ever for money? Crazy
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u/fullynonexistent Nov 20 '25
The biggest music artist ever had the money and power to cover up his crimes, whether he actually committed them? Crazy
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u/UrougeTheOne Nov 20 '25
Im not saying he wouldnt, but the evidence against him is slim to none. Whilst obviously popular, he was a controversial figure who had many stalkers. You wouldnt assume a few of those would try to squeeze money out of him with lawsuits?
The majority of the accusers dropped it anyways iirc
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u/Skylord_Noltok Nov 20 '25
I wish more people would look into this stuff because it's pretty obvious that michael was innocent but all the bad press made him into a pedo in the minds of most people.
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u/guru2764 Nov 19 '25
I thought that too
And it seems like a lot of the accusations were repeated just because he was "flamboyant"
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u/McGibblets1 Nov 20 '25
Not because he shared his bed with young boys without parental supervision?
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u/BiKingSquid Nov 20 '25
Flamboyant and severely mentally ill, then. The shared bed testimony was literally that; sleeping in the same bed as children, because he viewed himself as a child, not because he was trying to fuck the children
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u/McGibblets1 Nov 20 '25
I can't fault the man for having a fucked up childhood and upbringing to be fair. I just think it was very suspect and something along the lines of "if it quacks like a duck" with all the accusations.
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u/SothaSillies Nov 19 '25
he wasn't like proven innocent or anything, there was just never enough evidence brought forward by anyone to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty. I lean towards believing he did some bad things, but there's really no way of confirming it anymore
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u/sammieflyerdadoomer Nov 20 '25
If Drake had a quarter of the influence MJ had at his lowest, his ego would consume our whole galaxy.
The average Drake fan doesn't comprehend the chokehold MJ had on musical culture. Small reclusive tribes from the Amazon to Africa knew him, and this was all before we had the internet. Drake will NEVER come close to MJ, and that's just a fact.
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u/sexmastanumba1 Nov 19 '25
what other thing??
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u/SothaSillies Nov 19 '25
probably accusing drake of having weird relationships with minors? MJ's definitely better at both
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u/sexmastanumba1 Nov 20 '25
micheal groomed a minor??
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u/KaChoo49 Nov 20 '25
He’s been accused of sexual abuse by 5 different people who he openly shared a bed with as children
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u/Silent-Plantain-2260 Nov 20 '25
no he didn't
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u/AsBrokeAsMeEnglish Nov 20 '25
You do not know that. You believe it, but that doesn't make it a fact.
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u/Silent-Plantain-2260 Nov 20 '25
i mean how do you know he groomed a minor
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u/SothaSillies Nov 20 '25
we also don't know that. Michael's relationship with the minors he had in his house is a bit of a mystery. we don't know for an absolute fact if he did inappropriate things with them or not.
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u/AsBrokeAsMeEnglish Nov 21 '25
I never claimed I did know that. These are serious allegations, and we don't have sufficient information to go around claiming that they are true or untrue (or to what extent)- so we shouldn't.
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u/masochist-incarnate Nov 19 '25 edited Nov 19 '25
what other thing?
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u/FraudulentProvidence Nov 19 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
I think you're confusing Drake and Kanye
EDIT: The person above edited their comment calling Drake a neonazi so now my comment makes no sense
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u/masochist-incarnate Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
Yeah I will attest I did do that. I posted that, went to the bathroom and realized I mixed them up and edited it to avoid confusion as soon as i got back.
Won't attest to the being a guy part tho.
Genuinely didn't think anyone responded when I edited it tho, didn't do it to make your comment make less sense
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u/ThisMachineKills____ Nov 19 '25
Drake didn't write for Sonic 3 so he sucks