Anonymous wrote:Also, his estate has paid close to $50M in settlements. They wouldn’t have paid near this amount if there wasn’t evidence of his guilt. I guarantee these settlement agreements have confidentiality clauses.

Because I think some allegations are entirely true, like sleeping in the same bed as minor children. While that's not sexual abuse, it's hard to convince the public that there isn't something else he did with these kids. So he chose to settle instead of fighting, which I can understand.

What I do not know is whether there was actual abuse going on.

I feel like you're totally trolling here.

No, he's very guilty paid off at least 3 boys that we know of and a few boys were able to describe his messed up genitalia. Why would that be OP?

Anonymous wrote:Also, his estate has paid close to $50M in settlements. They wouldn’t have paid near this amount if there wasn’t evidence of his guilt. I guarantee these settlement agreements have confidentiality clauses.

Wasn't the story that Michael wanted to go to trial but his management advised him to settle and make it go away?

Anonymous wrote:Seriously? You must not have read much about the allegations. A kid was able to draw a picture of the Vitilago markings on his penis. I don’t think he was evil but mentally ill. He was abused physically, mentally and sexually as a child and as a result didn’t know what being normal is.

See, this is where I think there's some credence to the allegations. Sexual abuse is cyclical; most child molesters were victims themselves.

He and Tatum O'Neal have both given various versions of this story, but allegedly, when they were dating as teenagers, they were making out, Tatum started to make moves to have sex, and he ran out of the room crying and vomiting. That sounds like a trauma response of some kind, so I absolutely think he was sexually abused himself.

Also, his estate has paid close to $50M in settlements. They wouldn’t have paid near this amount if there wasn’t evidence of his guilt. I guarantee these settlement agreements have confidentiality clauses.

Most people I know seem utterly convinced of his guilt but I have to say I’m persuaded otherwise by Macauley Culkin’s defense of him. Macauley DGAF and would have no reason to lie.

Seriously? You must not have read much about the allegations. A kid was able to draw a picture of the Vitilago markings on his penis. I don’t think he was evil but mentally ill. He was abused physically, mentally and sexually as a child and as a result didn’t know what being normal is.

Anonymous wrote:
I don't know. What are the allegations, specifically? How many families have come forward? It seems that after his death, we'd have a bit more clarity on what crimes were actually committed.

The most recent family to come forward testified under oath for his defense in the 2005 trial and waited until the weekend the movie came out to file the lawsuit, which frankly, is extremely weird. I know there's no such thing as a perfect victim but waiting ten years after someone's death to sue their estate and then doing so when you know there will be positive press is odd. I'm surprised their attorney didn't advise them against it.

Also I couldn't remember what year the trial was so I just googled. On the wikipedia page for People v. Jackson they have his mugshot. He was 5'11" and 120 pounds? Jesus. No wonder he died five years later.

I also think he's innocent

I don't know. What are the allegations, specifically? How many families have come forward? It seems that after his death, we'd have a bit more clarity on what crimes were actually committed.

Anonymous wrote:I think he was odd and had mental health struggles. I do not believe in my heart he was a pedophile. ( I am 53)

Same. He doesn’t give me evil vibes. He has severe mental health issues and was behaving opposite to social norms but he was not actively harming children.

Don't they say you stay frozen in time at the age where you got famous? I'm a Taylor Swift fan and people say this about her all the time. I like her music but I'm inclined to agree that she does seem permanently 16/17 years old.

So it would make sense that someone who got famous when he was barely double digits in age would act like a child.

I think he was odd and had mental health struggles. I do not believe in my heart he was a pedophile. ( I am 53)

I don't know. I was a kid when the trial in the early 2000s went down and my dad said the same thing, but my dad is a typical boomer male and said similarly about Woody Allen. I only remember this instance bc we were having dinner at my grandparents' house and they were convinced he did it and were absolutely gobsmacked my dad didn't agree with them.

I said in the other thread, MJ is a little before my time. When did he get weird? There are a lot of old interviews with him resurfacing bc of the movie and he seems normal through most of the 80s and then by the clips from the early 90s he's positively freakish. When did he start talking in that creepy little boy voice and decide that it was normal for little kids to be his best friends.

I’m inclined to believe so. Being an oddball doesn’t make you a predator.