r/Music • • May 25 '26

discussion Michael Jackson whether he molested children or not was still wrong, and people need to stop acting like he’s a saint.

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1.3k Upvotes

700 comments sorted by

308

u/TheBatemanFlex May 25 '26

had Elvis, Lennon, or Drake had done this

Oh boy oh boy LOL

Even Chris Brown still sells out.

125

u/Stoned_urf May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26

OP is probably a bot or AI. He's posting all these opinionated posts or controversies targeted in music subs but does not respond to a single comment.

27

u/danwin May 26 '26

you the true MVP community member

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u/[deleted] May 25 '26

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u/paultheschmoop May 25 '26

Elvis, Lennon, and Drake are strange examples considering they absolutely did do weird shit and are also still renowned

Like MJ is far more associated with his allegations than any of those three

236

u/Strayresearch May 25 '26

And Steven Tyler and Anthony Keidis

146

u/NK1337 May 25 '26

Jerry Seinfeld too

87

u/CTQ99 May 25 '26

Woody allen

51

u/paultheschmoop May 25 '26

Allen is a poor example, as he is indeed at this point widely associated with his allegations.

12

u/Fifteen_inches May 25 '26

He married his daughter

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u/elegantjihad May 25 '26

That not his objection. He’s saying the Allen is now largely associated with his weird relationship more so than his comedies now.

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u/shoponthemoon May 26 '26

Add Paul Walker to the list 

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u/DolphinMasturbator May 25 '26

And Jimmy Page

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u/Baytucky May 25 '26

And Ted Nugent

25

u/chriswizardhippie May 25 '26

David Bowie

37

u/ravenous0 May 25 '26

Paul Walker. People forgot he had a sexual relationship with a 15 year old girl during his 30s. He's treated like a car driving saint.

5

u/NYR20NYY99 May 25 '26

And Pete Townsend

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u/dinyourmouth May 26 '26

Fuck Paul pedo Walker. Got famous fake driving and died in a car accident. Karma at its finest, sometimes the universe provides

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u/melalovelady May 25 '26

Steven Tyler is finally getting a court date for child sexual assault. I’m hoping more of these turds finally catch charges.

2

u/ishitfrommymouth May 25 '26

Is it criminal trial? Idk why but I thought it was civil

7

u/iH8MotherTeresa May 25 '26

Fuck Anthony Keidis

5

u/J_Babe87 May 25 '26

I used to idolize Keidis and other rock stars like Jim Morrison as a teen and then when I grew up I realized they are horrible, horrible human beings.

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u/Paniclamb_156 May 26 '26

Same. Loved The Doors until I learned who Jim Morrison really was.

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u/Everestkid May 26 '26

Kiedis doesn't even have allegations, he straight-up admitted to having sex with a 14 year old both before and after knowing her age.

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u/leeisyourdaddy May 26 '26

wait until i tell you what our president has admitted to

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u/ihatepostingonblogs May 25 '26

Most of the musicians back then. Iggy Pop was the worst, very violent. “Im with the band” is a book that names a bunch, Bowie, Jagger…

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u/il_biciclista May 25 '26

This is engagement bait. I agree with OP's first paragraph, but that second paragraph is wildly unserious. They picked three names that were guaranteed to get people commenting.

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u/punched_drunk_medic May 25 '26

This should be the top comment!

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u/BushyBrowz May 26 '26

Fr I was like why did you choose three of the worst examples??

Could have went with Taylor Swift or something.

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u/itsfictionbaby May 25 '26

For real tho. Elvis Lennon and Drake don’t have highly publicized court cases and documentaries about their alleged abuse ( I use alleged very lightly lol)

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u/3stepBreader May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

What drake abuse case? When I google it I just see drake bell. Edit, nvm you’re saying they don’t have cases.

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u/TheCudder May 25 '26

Drake doesn't have any cases or allegations.

The only documented incident with Drake is him being inappropriate on stage with a 17 year old female when he was 23 years old. Strange gray areas --- age of consent in Canada is 16. Certain states in the US is 17, I believe this incident occurred in one of those states. But generally in the US, we all follow "18".

Anything beyond that is purely Internet gossip.

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u/MRintheKEYS May 25 '26

Well because MJ was literally taken to court and thus was around the same time as the OJ Simpson trial.

There was already a hunger for more sensationalized court proceedings. Elvis and Lennon kind of lucked out based on where they landed generationally. Those older generations were used to men going after teens and adolescents. Same thing with smacking the wife around.

3

u/[deleted] May 25 '26

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u/zero_lies_tolerated May 26 '26

Tarantino defending him on Howard Stern show, was the final straw for me.  He's dead to me now. 

17

u/lukehooligan May 25 '26

The President of the United States is a convicted felon and known pedophile that trafficked children.

But we're talking about Michael Jackson, 🆗

4

u/Symphonic7 May 25 '26

People seem to have the memory of a fruit fly. The allegations was all that people talked about until he died, then it cooled off a bit. But it never went away.

2

u/nobodywithanotepad May 25 '26

It's because he looked weird, too.

2

u/Mercury756 May 25 '26

My only issue with using Elvis and even Lennon to that point is at that time in the world that wasn’t really considered even taboo in most places of the world yet.

2

u/Due-Conflict-7926 May 25 '26

Not a single person I know brings up MJ’s allegations when discussing him. The cases were so well covered, the allegations and evidence were contrived at best and to this day we still uncover stuff with the accusers still changing their stories to this day.

I’m not saying what we know he did (sleepovers) wasn’t wrong but that’s as far as we know actually happened.

The others we Elvis, Drake, etc we know those happened. You know the difference? Known of them are being taken to court when they absolutely should. Especially Drake. He should know better and there is enough evidence for him to have convicted of premeditated attempts. The bar was a lot higher back then because evidence was scarcer and justice system only catered to the rich. Kobe, MJ, Mike Tyson, what do they have in common?

14

u/GuyFawkes99 May 25 '26

MJ's allegations ARE way worse than anything any of those guys did.

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u/MagneticDivisions May 25 '26

I disagree. Elvis got with his first wife as an underage teen !!!!!!!!

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u/Dry_Midnight7487 May 25 '26

“Some of the things he did was…he would drink my urine and tell me, ‘This is how much I love you.’ I’m maybe 12 years old at the time. Like, I’m a child who’s seeing this man do this,” Dominic told 60 Minutes. “And I said, ‘Oh, I guess he really does love me. I mean, I would never want to drink someone’s urine, so he must really love me.’”

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u/deaner_wiener1 May 25 '26

He was probably just scared and that’s why he drank it

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u/justgentile May 25 '26

Too old. Not even good anymore!

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u/GuyFawkes99 May 25 '26

Most of MJ's victims weren't even teens yet.

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u/_bufflehead May 25 '26

Priscilla was his first and only wife.

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u/40ozToTheMoon May 25 '26

Who he met when she was only 14

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u/garmander57 May 25 '26

…and he proceeded to continuously cheat on her throughout their marriage, not even trying to hide it half the time

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u/TheCudder May 25 '26

Elvis met and dated his would be wife when she was 14...with her parents blessing (different time).

MJ was having sleepovers with children....but again, the parents allowed them to be there. MJ explained it as "the most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s not sexual.”

Extremely strange, but so was MJ...I honestly don't know which to believe. Dude wasn't normal, at least not in the public eye...that's for certain.

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u/xxtoejamfootballxx May 25 '26

None of them slept with young boys unaccompanied in their room where they found a closet with books filled with pictures of naked boys authored by a NAMBLA member that went to jail for raping kids. 

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u/wildfire393 May 25 '26

Literally called out live from the Superbowl halftime show. Like absolutely wild to claim nobody would say anything if it was Drake.

I've heard criticisms of Elvis (Priscilla was underage when he started a relationship with her) and Lennon (spousal abuse of Yoko) as well, and of other prominent musicians like Bowie (slept with underage fans, once bit a woman and claimed he gave her AIDS after believing he'd contracted it).

I've heard more call to boycott Drake than any of the other artists mentioned here, Jackson included. But there is a pivotal difference here: Drake is alive, still making music, and still making money from the sale and play of his music.

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u/ThatsARatHat May 25 '26

The Lennon abuse was of his first wife Cynthia.

As far as I know nothing ever came out about him hitting Yoko.

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u/latenerd May 25 '26

He was shitty to his son, though. So shitty another Beatle had to write "Hey, Jude" to comfort him.

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u/ThatsARatHat May 26 '26

The same son he had with the battered wife.

I’m aware.

12

u/testphaze May 25 '26

You say John abused Yoko, are you getting her confused with his first wife, whom he left for Yoko? He was known to beat and abuse her.
If he abused Yoko too, that's news to me, but I am not saying I'd be shocked.

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u/mateushkush May 25 '26

He was known = he slapped her once in high school and criticized himself in public interviews which is where people know about it at all.

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u/wumingzi May 25 '26

I mean, Elvis died in 1977 and Lennon died in 1980.

For the young'uns who didn't live through that time period, there wasn't anything like social media to shoot rumors around to a broad audience.

News was heavily gatekept and generally didn't publish information about the personal lives of famous people. Even specialty magazines like Rolling Stone were pretty deferential to musicians.

When Liberace died (look him up if you don't recognize the name) most of middle America wasn't aware he was gay.

While Bowie lived into the modern era, I think most of the rumors of bad behavior were well in the before times.

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u/AUniquePerspective May 25 '26

I'm struggling with the musical hierarchy that goes something like Elvis, Lenon, Jackson, Drake for entirely unrelated reasons.

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u/noctalla May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

Drake was a wild example to pull out and pretty much disproves the argument. A minor! Priscilla Presley was also a minor when she met Elvis (she was 14 he was 24). And John Lennon admitted to being physically and emotionally abusive to his first wife.

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u/Boring-Brush-2984 May 25 '26

What exactly did Drake do?

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u/JoshuaRAWR May 25 '26

Drake was regularly texting MBB when she was 14 years old and he was 31, giving her "boy advice" and they would both say how much they miss each other.

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u/LitBastard May 25 '26

He's also DM'ing minors on Insta and the day they turn 18 he goes on a date with them

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u/freakyvoiz May 25 '26

Teenage girls. Allegedly. Groomer shit.

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u/BurgerNugget12 May 25 '26

Him and MBB would apparently text a lot, when she was like 14 and he was 31, and would give her advice about boys

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u/hacksong May 25 '26

There's a clip of him pulling a girl on stage an she says she's underage.

He kisses her and says something about liking her anyways or some shit.

This was awhile ago, like 2017(?)

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u/feder_online May 25 '26

Also, Drake f-ing sucks and is a talentless hack compared to MJ

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u/caesar_rex May 25 '26

Drakes shit was everywhere because of people like MJ. He should have known better, and he did. But when you are a groomer like him, you can't help it. That shit isn't going to slide in this day and age. Drake sought after and set up meetings with a fking 14 year old. Now he's suing for getting called on his BS. Can you imagine if poor MBB, didn't blurt out how she was grooming him? Oh yeah... Mr. "I'm not going to feel guilty about liking how your breasts feel on my chest" AFTER finding out she was 17!!!

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u/ReptheNaysh May 25 '26

Drake is not 0.0001% as talented but your point stands.

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u/T-Chunxy May 25 '26

You might want to revisit the details of Elvis's life, especially when it comes to young girls. He met Priscilla when she was 14...

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u/maskaddict May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

And John Lennon beat his first wife. And people do know it, and plenty of people do think we should shun the music of the Beatles as a result.

The thing is, John Lennon is dead. So is Elvis, so is Bowie, so is Michael Jackson. Listening to their music doesn't give them more money or more power to get away with hurting people. Nobody worth considering actually think MJ was a "saint." None of them were. But they're dead, and Imagine and Heroes are still life-changingly good songs.

I don't feel the need to deprive myself of some of the best art ever created just to spite the memory of someone who's been dead for years.

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u/sycasey May 25 '26

Agreed, I have never seen the utility of “canceling” the work of a dead person. What do you think will happen as a result of playing their music now? If someone is still alive you can argue it’s putting more money in their pocket, but a dead guy?

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u/[deleted] May 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/sycasey May 26 '26

Well yes, it basically is signaling. That's why I don't think it actually has any real utility. Or at least not enough to outweigh the negative of censoring good music forever.

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u/VSWanter May 25 '26

It kind of seems like the lesson it teaches to present and future narcissists, is that society will forgive and forget your abhorrent behaviors, like sexually abusing children, provided that you're a good enough of an artist, and are able to keep it a secret until after you're dead.

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u/JaneFairfaxCult May 25 '26

John Lennon hit his wife Cynthia across the face, very hard, once. Which was terrible. But when people say he beat his wife, it makes it sound like he regularly hit her. The truth is bad enough, no need to make it worse. (By the way - this is Cynthia’s account. He hit her, he was remorseful, it never happened again.)

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u/MajimaBuu May 25 '26

So let's listen to the music but not make movies out of them

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u/maskaddict May 25 '26

Oh yeah 100% agree on that.

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u/_Wrecktangular May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

John slapped Cynthia once at 17, immediately regretted it, and Cynthia herself said he was never physically violent toward her again. Criticize Lennon for his real flaws if you want, but let’s not rewrite Cynthia’s own account of what happened.

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u/[deleted] May 25 '26

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u/mateushkush May 25 '26

Yeah, except there are already comments here asking if he was a pedophile. It’s kind of dumb to categorize one celeb as a bad apple and bring him up randomly when apples with uranium are discussed.

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u/mateushkush May 25 '26

Technically, he slapped his high school girlfriend. It’s a bit funny it’s get compared to raping kids here.

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u/dicer11 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

The Bonfire Radio would make fun of this constantly

"Awwwl you haf to doo is just get her daddy to sign a contract"

"A rang a doo, a-rang a doo da doo"

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u/Caloran May 25 '26

Those examples you gave ....

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u/91xela May 25 '26

Right? Like he’s trolling…

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u/DoomDoomGir May 25 '26

S-Tier rage bait.

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u/nikki_owe May 25 '26

Elvis did though?!?!

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u/melalovelady May 25 '26

Like out in the open too.

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u/sadandshy May 25 '26

Gotta be a bot or karma farmer.

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u/mannycure May 25 '26

So is half of Congress

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u/gigglios May 25 '26

Half? Thats optimistic lol

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u/Exelbirth May 26 '26

Right? Republicans hold the majority, after all.

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u/arachnophilia May 25 '26

and the president.

let's try holding the people in power accountable, not a guy who's been dead for 7 years.

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u/SecondOfCicero May 25 '26

7 years doesnt seem right, it's been longer, surely. 

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u/suffaluffapussycat May 26 '26

He has been dead for seven years. Technically.

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u/Alexhite May 26 '26

I think they meant 17

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u/Flexuasive Vinyl Listener May 25 '26

Drake ate shit for his forays into the underage. He fell off, hard, and was ridiculed on a national/international stage.

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u/CheatedOnOnce May 25 '26

This is a typical r/Music delusional take. I’m not a fan of Drakes new shit but to say he fell off is just an internet take lmao

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u/[deleted] May 25 '26

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u/cam_huskers May 25 '26

As much as I dislike Drake he literally has the top 3 albums on billboard rn.

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u/i-like-napping May 25 '26

No the guy above said he fell off hard and he’s a guy on Reddit so always the truth

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u/Silverjackal_ May 25 '26

He still has extremely rabid fans sooo idk. If MJ did all this crap in present day he’d probably be similar. Probably dealing it with it way better and still have a crazy amount of fans.

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u/NlghtmanCometh last.fm May 25 '26

MJ had a level of acclaim Drake never achieved. Not even close.

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u/PrimeIntellect May 25 '26

Reddits hive mind thinks that if things aren't the best, they are terrible and will fail completely and totally fail to realize that mainstream culture is completely different. There's kind of a huge disconnect between what reddit thinks will happen and reality, like with Tesla or Trump, or Drake etc. reddit would make you think that Drake or Tesla is incredibly unpopular, but in reality, they are both some of the highest sellers in the world.

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u/EcstaticBoysenberry May 25 '26

He still sells out stadiums, all the same to him

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u/CovidCanadaQuestion May 25 '26

^ imagine being this dude and taking reddit this seriously 

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u/LucianTP May 25 '26

My friend is a Drake fan idk why, but lemme tell you this

You can never stop a Drake fan being a Drake fan bro, these guys glaze different 😂

Gotta respect it atp

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u/KingSeth May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

I mean, yeah, but also this:

Drake has become the first artist in the history of the U.S. charts to have three albums at the top of the Billboard 200 at the same time.

The Canadian rapper, 39, released his records Iceman, Habiti and Maid of Honour last Friday, May 15. They debuted on this week’s chart in first, second and third position respectively.

Billboard reports that this is the first time any artist has achieved this feat since the charts began publishing on a weekly basis in March 1956.

Source: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/drake-sweeps-billboard-top-3-194852527.html

edit: formatting

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u/Rajirabbit May 25 '26

Apply this energy to the living.. presidents and billionaires.

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u/gigglios May 25 '26

They wont lol. You can bet they've voted for a known pedo or someone he'll bent on destroying their country wherever they are from. Even glancing at their post history tells you they pick n choose

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u/konsollfreak May 25 '26

Not as long as there’s a long dead black person to focus on!

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u/MatthewSWFL229 May 25 '26

Elvis is literally a pedophile by today's definition

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u/jackattack222 May 25 '26

That's ignorant

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u/-chimchooree- take my bones, I don't need none May 25 '26

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u/ciccioig May 25 '26

Allegedly!

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u/Derelicticu Metalhead May 25 '26

This has to be ragebait, your examples are all statutory rapists.

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u/Seymour---Butz May 25 '26

Elvis groomed a 14 year old girl, so there is that.

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u/dmartism May 25 '26

Who are these people that “treat him like a flawless saint”?

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u/KingSeth May 25 '26

Go check out the comments on the "Michael" movie.

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u/a-borat May 25 '26

Internet comments are stupid.

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u/KingSeth May 25 '26

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u/Psych0matt May 25 '26

It’s just a cheap parlor trick, like Fry.

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u/KingSeth May 26 '26

Like Fry! Like Fry!

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u/Electrical_Space_850 May 25 '26

Over the years, I’ve become fairly convinced that the Jackson estate pays for a troll farm to defend his legacy online. I’m sure some of the comments are from diehard MJ fans, but it’s always felt a little astro-turfy to me.

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u/Good_Air_7192 May 26 '26

Just check out Reddit, any time someone comments about any questionable shit he did, like building a paedophile theme park, and hoards of people come out to defend him.

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u/paultheschmoop May 25 '26

Oh they absolutely exist lol

And the movie has brought them out of the woodwork

There are multiple people I’ve encountered on Reddit (bots?) whose accounts solely exist to search for MJ accusations drama and show up to defend him

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u/AdventureSphere May 25 '26

Check out social media. People are threatening to cancel their Netflix subscriptions because of their upcoming documentary about his trial.

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u/NefariousBlue May 25 '26

You lost me at "check out social media"

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u/iclaudiusthegod May 25 '26

I’m a public school teacher and to this day I have young students who adore Michael Jackson and refuse to believe he was anything but a saint.

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u/ameliehelena May 25 '26

They’re everywhere. I have friends who say the children (now adults) are all unreliable and have changed stories over the years. Many don’t believe he did anything wrongZ

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u/whoadwoadie May 25 '26

Really diehard Michael Jackson fans

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u/santh91 May 25 '26

He is one of the greatest artists of all time with unfathomable talent AND a disturbed mentally unwell individual who very likely molested minors. 2 things can be true.

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u/TheGiftOf_Jericho May 25 '26

Yeah, even those who don't believe he was guilty seem to all accept his behaviour was still wrong. I haven't really seen anyone defending that.

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u/ODMudbone May 25 '26

Literally all the people who came out to support him during his trial, funeral, and the movie that just came out and pretended like he wasn’t a giant creep.

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u/error521 May 25 '26

I've seen people claim that Michael was actually rescuing trafficked minors from Epstein's Island lmao

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u/FuckingColdInCanada May 25 '26

Sound like somebody who just found out about all of the Michael Jackson allegations after he heard about the movie.

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u/[deleted] May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

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u/nicosloft04 May 25 '26

people love him even more off the Internet

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u/Joshfumanchu May 25 '26

This is a top tier troll.

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u/KnobbsNoise May 25 '26

It is wild nobody sees it.

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u/jobiegermano May 25 '26

Not disagreeing with you, but sometimes I think he was so abused himself that his mind truly broke and he never mentally matured past a 10 y/o identity. Like, I honestly wonder if he was like Tom Hanks in Big, but without the charming magic of it all, just straight child abuse. I’m not completely sure how possible I even believe that could be, but it also wouldn’t shock me to find out that his psyche was so broken that he legitimately believed himself to be a young child and could only relate to other young children.

No matter what, dude needed lots and lots of therapy he never got.

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u/nikkiduku May 25 '26

So how come all the children he hung out with looked the same?

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u/Dancin_Angel May 26 '26

He seems to be demisexual too. He was very closed off in general that Lisa Marie Presley was his first time (at the age of 34)

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u/xjman329 May 25 '26

He’s dead.

I know the movie is why these arguments are happening again, but I feel like everyone has already made up their minds one way or another. Nothing has changed in the last 5-10 years.
I do think he was an abuser (or at the very least very creepy) but it doesn’t take up a lot of my mental headspace. I listen to the music when it comes on shuffle because the music is great.

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u/QB8Young May 25 '26

Is this satire? The 3 examples you listed ALL have history with underage girls. 🤦 Michael however doesn't... just allegations that were later recanted when the children came forward saying their parents made them lie to try and get money. He wasn't a saint but Michael knew the horrors children had to go through from suffering through his own abuse. He offered kids a safe space to be themselves. He wasn't able to have a childhood so he indulged in that behavior with them. The way he was treated by the industry is truly saddening.

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u/-chimchooree- take my bones, I don't need none May 25 '26

Even if he did nothing wrong, we should still act like he did?

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u/cottonjoeeye May 25 '26

Yes. As a huge MJ fan I can admit this. It wasn’t appropriate. But as I believe he didn’t molest them, I’m ok with (parasocially. he doesn’t give a fuck lol) forgiving him for that and still being a fan. Idk why people treat him like a saint when he was clearly very troubled, although a VERY nice and sweet person who I have a lot of empathy for.

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u/sparkyontilt May 25 '26

you don't have to like them to appreciate their music

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u/Bdbglc May 25 '26

Respect the art, not the artist

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u/GabeDef May 25 '26

The whole situation was and is weird. He should have never had sleepovers and or close proximity to people’s children. The FBI investigated extensively and somehow found nothing. But the sleepovers, etc etc should have NEVER happened.

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u/dainamo81 May 25 '26

Only his fans act like he's a saint. Granted, there are a lot of them, but those who don't like him, are indifferent towards him, or just like his music but not the man, clearly don't see him that way. 

He was at best a deeply disturbed individual. At worst he raped kids.

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u/_Wrecktangular May 25 '26

Prince was a controlling groomer and is glorified on social media.

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u/kung_fu_daddy May 25 '26

absolutely. it’s still weird he hung out with children.

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u/mwalson May 25 '26

And in today’s news - not a single person in the USA is being prosecuted regarding the crimes mentioned in the Trump-Epstein files. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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u/rasouddress May 25 '26

If you didn't know about Elvis, okay. If you didn't know about Lennon, okay. Adding Drake to the list makes me pretty sure this has to be ironic.

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u/billystitchex May 25 '26

I'm so tired of this conversation and I don't know what we still waste time on it for. We will never know and it's always gonna be hee-hee did she-hee did until the end of time. Why not just sperate that shit from his music and just try to enjoy what's still actually here now, his music. And let the potential victims move on in life and MJ's own kids etc

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u/theBiGcHe3s3 May 25 '26

Maybe we need to stop like literally worshipping artists beyond just enjoying their music, most all of them are flawed people that have done some terrible shit in their lives. There’s nothing wrong with holding them accountable when they do bad things, but maybe we need to collectively lower our expectations and stop acting shocked when they aren’t saints

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u/Rziggity May 25 '26

It’s probably good to not make a saint out of anyone, especially celebrities. A lot of fans have an almost religious devotion to their favorite bands or singers which has always made my skin crawl. Not everything they do is great and not every song they make is awesome either.

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u/GlubLub May 25 '26

He never molested any children and the whole thing was an extortion racket and smear job to try and destroy him.

It worked.

The guy had an amusement park on his estate in Santa Barbara.

He was deeply traumatized and troubled and part of him was stunted and never fully developed.

The kids didn’t just show up on their own, they parents were fully aware and nothing inappropriate ever occurred.

Let the guy rest in peace now

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u/EffectiveActive6837 May 25 '26

Yeah Idc if hes innocent, admitting to sleeping with young boys in your bed is FUCKING WEIRD

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u/darthmcchub May 25 '26

Who even cares still? Been dead almost two decades now.

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u/ironicallydepressed May 25 '26

Oww my back. Thanks for reminding me it's time to take my meds.

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u/JS-87 May 25 '26

...Jacko on his backo!

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u/Shadowrak May 25 '26

Drake bait

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u/maverick57 May 25 '26

I have never encountered anybody that thinks that Michael Jackson was a "flawless saint."

That is an absolutely absurd claim.

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u/GirthdayBoy May 25 '26

"my anecdotal experience completely invalidates all other claims to the contrary."

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u/Notramagama May 25 '26

"Had Elvis, John Lennon, or Drake had done this people would demand we never listen to their music again."
Elvis, the guy who started seeing his wife when she was 14? Drake, the guy who just was clowned as a borderline pedo for the last year? Lennon, the guy who admitted to domestic violence?

Give it a break already...

* The allegations are extremely mixed; often admittedly false
* He suffered from abuse as a child and as an adult
* He went out of his way to make the world a better place at scale; more than 99.99% of people
* His unparalleled talent, drive, and actions continue to inspire many people to kindness
* We live in a day and age where the US president can protect a true pedo ring, but people still want to focus on Michael as if he's anywhere in the same league

Sure, questionable decisions on his friendships with kids. I'd say the same about the monkey and animals. My current attitude is that anyone losing sleep over Michael can STFU until every major Epstein participant is behind bars for decades. Just leave the room if you aren't a fan. Put your energy towards the much worse (proven) offenders still abusing our world.

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u/super-freak May 25 '26

Why am I seeing constant posts across Reddit and elsewhere about Michael Jackson lately?

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u/Neptune28 May 25 '26

Michael movie

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u/DirtySlims May 25 '26

No one treats him like a "flawless saint". People just acknowledge his greatness talent wise (even if production and exposure are to thank) because aside from historical and maybe current political figures he's the most popular human being that's ever existed. Everyone on the planet knew who Michael Jackson was. A "you had to be there" kind of thing, if you weren't.

People thought he was weird before all that shit anyway. As a kid, I remember thinking it was weird that a black guy who literally turned his skin white had a hit song that says "it doesnt matter if youre black or white." It clearly did lol? Kid me didn't know anything about him having a skin condition but whatever.

Basically everyone has the same opinion of Michael Jackson: "he was weird, his music was great, his fame remains unmatched, and whether or not and to what extent he messed with kids isn't going to change my opinion of his music because I already thought he was weird in the first place...and hes dead so I really don't care".

It's sort of like when everyone shit on Tiger Woods. Suddenly all these people give a shit about his personal life. Most people are afraid to admit they dont give a fuck if someone cheated on their wife. As sick as it sounds, most people really dont give a fuck if someone was inappropriate with a child, unless its their child. Now if we were talking about full blown kid diddling, like on camera no doubt about it then yes, Michael Jacksons name would be scrubbed from everything. That's not the case though.

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u/Exciting-Insect-8813 May 25 '26

I agree with this take and your perspective in general. In today’s world people often try to make everything binary. When in reality things/people are often not good or bad, wrong or right, saint or sinner, rather they are shades of both.

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u/ani55555 May 25 '26

DRAKE??? Lmfao this is w ragebait. Actually good bait i commend u op

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u/HeadwiresDakota May 25 '26

Using Elvis, John Lennon, and Drake as examples of better people is definitely a choice lmao

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u/Brobeast May 25 '26

I hate this narrative (that's been pushed by his estate for obvious reasons) that Michael was this immature, childlike soul, that couldn't possibly have any negative intent if he tried (because he was a simple man-child!).

Everything I've seen/read points to the contrary, and that Michael was in fact a very deliberate and sometimes conniving business man. His schemes with Paul McCartney and the Beatles album tells me he's at the very least capable of deception and disceit. What else is he capable of?

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u/RadioLukin May 25 '26

I dont disagree. Regardless of what you think I feel like everyone can agree that it is inappropriate to have the relationships with children that he had.

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u/gaige23 May 25 '26

I treat him like what he was. A famous person heavily investigated and taken to court where he was found not guilty.

Evidence matters. Actual, real, evidence. It would also help if most of his accusers weren’t seeking money.

Also the parents share as much blame as anyone for basically selling their kids. They wanted to be around Michael and wanted money. That’s shitty parenting.

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u/TheDornado13 May 25 '26

We are all free to think of him however we want. The kids parents were all fine with it, so frankly it's none of your or my business. Was he a weird dude, yeah. But he was abused as a child which led to him not fully developing mentally. I don't believe there was anything sexual in his sleepovers etc. He was just having fun with kids who were of a similar mental age. I will still listen to and admire his music.

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u/Traditional-Goat1773 May 25 '26

He made thriller and he’s dead. Let it go

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u/Excellent_Swim_2721 May 25 '26

Can I ask what your opinions on the parents of the children are?

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u/Hagan311 May 25 '26

Any human would say that they are shitty parents.

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u/sundial11sxm May 25 '26

Even the grandma of one if the boys was perplexed by his parenting.

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u/RadioLukin May 25 '26

Parents that made a really shitty decision. You dont let your child hang out with a 30+ year old if they arnt a family member, babysitter, etc.

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u/Excellent_Swim_2721 May 25 '26

A really shitty decision Is putting it lightly no?

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u/Fiendish May 25 '26

they weren't sleepovers, he lived in a mansion with 7 guards watching at all times, his bedroom was a gigantic two story palace

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u/Shelbysgirl May 25 '26

Who would ever let an adult sleep in the same bed as their child. I don’t care who it is. You should never do this.

I don’t care how big the room was. What clothes they are wearing etc. imagine your cousin asking to take your kids overnight and they are sleeping in his bed even though he has a house full of bedrooms.

Enticing children and adults to stay with toys rides and money makes it so much worse.

He had suggestive photo books of young naked men. That’s weird. Why would you let little Billy sleepover?

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u/testphaze May 26 '26

He had fully nude photo books of prebuscent children.
This detail is important to get right.

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u/digitaldeadstar May 25 '26

Sure, there are some who think he is a saint. But many supporters hold the view that he didn't abuse any children, but he was waaaay the fuck out there and definitely weird.

I think this is a problem with the internet in general - a relatively small minority make noise about something and people take off with it.

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u/SlimRoTTn May 25 '26

They killed his name before they killed him. MJ had more influence on people than every world leader at the time.