tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post8539838858509538388..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Leaving Neverland (and then showering) By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75032898634438464562019-03-14T21:36:30.259-07:002019-03-14T21:36:30.259-07:00"Anonymous Peter said...
I've looked up w...<i>"Anonymous Peter said...<br />I've looked up what Ken and readers posted on the day Wacko died"</i>?<br /><br />Peter, thanks for saving me the trouble of looking up what I posted when MJ died. I stand by my words of that day,D McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70625300236860229622019-03-14T21:21:21.229-07:002019-03-14T21:21:21.229-07:00Part two is very well worth seeing. The mothers...Part two is very well worth seeing. The mothers' two very different reactions to MJ's death, one was celebratory, the other was still drinking the Kool-Aid, should be seen, for one thing.<br /><br />It's worth all of it to get to the scene when Wade Robson finally breaks down, at a taco truck of all places, and unexpectedly confesses all to his brother, his sister, and his wife. I blubbered like a baby. Their father had committed suicide, for unrelated reasons, and they were all afraid to tell the truth to their mother for fear she too would kill herself. And the mothers do confess their own guilt ("How could I have been so blind?") eventually. <br /><br />Both men found their past overwhelming their present when they became fathers themselves. One tells of vivid nightmares in which he saw MJ do to his baby all he had done to him, and speaks of how, "I wanted to dig him up and kill him again."<br /><br />Yeah, it's worth it. The story ain't over in part one. It's not even over when MJ dies.D McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9705338861422515022019-03-12T18:08:04.423-07:002019-03-12T18:08:04.423-07:00so finally watched and it is really upsetting. Bu...so finally watched and it is really upsetting. But. I think people are missing the point. As Ken says, this is mostly old news, but I think putting everything together in one place has value for young men and women gong foward. specifically, to all you who find it so easy to judge these men and especially these women, how dare you? The people coming forward here and now have nothing to gain except the hope that future generations won't fall victim to these kinds of shenanigans. God bless them for it. It can't have been easy, especially for the mothers, knowing what kinds of abuse they would be subjected to for the rest of their lives. Think about it: What if the most popular kingmaker in the universe signaled out your child as a rare talent? We all want to believe the best in people is what I'm saying, and how much stronger is that impulse when there is so much to gain?<br /><br />If anyone is interested, I think it's valuable to watch this in conjunction with "THE TALE" also on HBO and starring Laura Dern to see just how insidious this kind of behavior is to all levels of society. It's an absolutely fearless portrayal of sexual grooming and it's a crime Laura wasn't nominated for her performance. lauramcchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03441870091619187267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59707655530343378662019-03-12T17:13:20.765-07:002019-03-12T17:13:20.765-07:00It was fitting that Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jac...It was fitting that Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson went together. How many young boys whacked it for the first time in front of them?"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Toddler)"noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58648163908442163232019-03-12T09:52:19.629-07:002019-03-12T09:52:19.629-07:00McAlvie
Cronkite died in July of that year. It w...McAlvie <br /><br />Cronkite died in July of that year. It was Farrah Fawcett who died the same day as wacko and whose death was overshadowed by the gloved paedophile.Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64311244918988746662019-03-12T09:01:24.758-07:002019-03-12T09:01:24.758-07:00Janet Ybarra: I'm so far removed from pop musi...Janet Ybarra: I'm so far removed from pop music that I wouldn't be able to identify a Michael Jackson song, so I didn't watch much of the documentary. However, what seemed compelling about the evidence presented to me as I skipped to random spots and read a summary was the detail - not of the sex, but of the protections against being caught. The series of alarm bells, the parents being kept further and further away from MJ's bedroom, etc. <br /><br />Peter: Good on the HARRY POTTER director, though I doubt Daniel Radcliffe was in the same kind of danger. The famous kids like Macauley Culkin etc. seem to have gotten very different treatment, possibly because since they were already famous themselves their parents weren't so easily seduced.<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37516991604946249852019-03-12T08:34:30.274-07:002019-03-12T08:34:30.274-07:00I can understand the outrage and even people's...I can understand the outrage and even people's personal decisions to avoid consuming anything that's even indirectly related to Jackson, even though I believe there is a separation between artist and product. Personally, I'll still listen to Jackson songs. Other people put real work and effort to make these, and they deserve to have their work stand the test of time.<br /><br />What I don't agree with is when corporations decide to ban such material. Fox and Gracie's decision to erase the SIMPSONS episode Stark Raving Dad from the show's history is nothing short of a mess. Jackson isn't even credited on the actual episode (despite providing the voice of the guest character). He doesn't even sing (a Jackson impersonator does). You can't erase an episode from a long running TV show. This is McCarthyism, no two ways about it.<br /><br />I still own the season 3 DVD boxset with the Jackson episode (and which also has Ken's second episode, SATURDAYS OF THUNDER). I'm holding on to it and preserving it.Eduardo Jencarellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16873808287070632108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57813570991057006692019-03-12T08:18:57.135-07:002019-03-12T08:18:57.135-07:00What I remember most about the day he died? Being...What I remember most about the day he died? Being upset because he upstaged Walter Cronkite, who was much more deserving of recognition. McAlvienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74148354536625914662019-03-12T06:19:06.176-07:002019-03-12T06:19:06.176-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Garynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31946303249787193822019-03-12T01:59:27.935-07:002019-03-12T01:59:27.935-07:00Peter, I was making Michael Jackson jokes BEFORE h...Peter, I was making Michael Jackson jokes BEFORE he was dead and well before he was weird!YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12646570350102375622019-03-12T00:53:31.580-07:002019-03-12T00:53:31.580-07:00Part 2 is worth watching, difficult as the subject...Part 2 is worth watching, difficult as the subject matter is. There is a cumulative effect, narratively. You feel why 4 hours was probably the right length for the filmmaker to tell these two stories that are tragically yet unsurprisingly similar. But there is a certain catharsis, however slight, that comes with watching to the end. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19435449415763585812019-03-11T21:11:42.584-07:002019-03-11T21:11:42.584-07:00No interest in watching. No need to confirm what I...No interest in watching. No need to confirm what I already knew.<br /><br />An open secret in the legal profession, in which I work, is when Johnnie Cochran negotiated the first settlement involving accusations against Jackson, Cochran told him in no uncertain terms he better not ask him to represent him a second time because he wasn't going to help him buy his way out again. Sure enough, when it happened again, Jackson went to Cochran and was told to well, f off. Even Cochran had his limits.<br /><br />Another actual little known fact. When Jackson died, he really wasn't in that coffin during the splashy service and in fact wasn't entombed for months. The coffin was never paid for. Forest Lawn carted his carcass from Forest Lawn to Forest Lawn, usually in the back of a flower delivery truck. The family refused to pay Forest Lawn. They (Joe Jackson) told Forest Lawn they should feel honored to be the cemetery to have him and do it gratis. Since they had other "customers" to deal with, they would shuttle the body from place to place, wherever they had room. He spent quite a lot of time stored at Forest Lawn Sunnyside in Long Beach. He was one slowly rotting pin cushion (needlemarks everywhere, truly everywhere) when Berry Gordy finally said enough and allowed him to be put in an unused crypt he owned. Eventually the family paid up.DWCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21666027328815225372019-03-11T18:34:31.356-07:002019-03-11T18:34:31.356-07:00I watched both, no documentary has scared me more ...I watched both, no documentary has scared me more than this one...a true horror tale! Yeah and those mothers should've been put in jail. They'd have better care from "Bubbles", the chimp than from those two idiots!!Kleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14306497851609490015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27638684160764779012019-03-11T18:18:43.230-07:002019-03-11T18:18:43.230-07:00These Michael Jackson molester rumors or allegatio...These Michael Jackson molester rumors or allegations or stories (whichever you prefer to call them) have really been around for decades. <br /><br />Why are we believing them now where they weren't treated with the same weight as the past?<br /><br />Just for the record I have long believed him guilty, for pretty much everything Ken says in his article.<br /><br />I haven't seen the documentary yet...is that the power that grants new weight to it?<br /><br />Or is it that Jackson is 10 years gone that allows for people to consider anew?<br /><br />What would have happened with this documentary if Jackson were still alive?<br /><br />And then of course there is the question, can we still enjoy the music if Jackson was a pedophile?<br /><br />Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16136856533329478197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58882551785973987852019-03-11T17:39:26.097-07:002019-03-11T17:39:26.097-07:00I've looked up what Ken and readers posted on ...I've looked up what Ken and readers posted on the day Wacko died. There were some real gems.<br /><br />Ken wrote:<br /><br />"Fans are also gathering at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But it's the wrong Michael Jackson. They're paying tribute to the radio talkshow host, Michael Jackson."<br /><br />"One fan said the world’s going to unite, just like they did with Obama. She said his death was on a par with Martin Luther King and Gandhi. And this fan went on to predict, “You’re going to see a paradigm shift in the consciousness of what one man did.” I’m not sure what that means but I’m using it my next eulogy."<br /><br />LOL!!<br /><br />Comment by Yekimi:<br />"I heard that since he's like 90% plastic now, they're going to have him melted down and turned into Legos so the kids can play with him for a change."<br /><br />Comment by D. McEwan:<br />"Tonight, the kids of the world will sleep a little safer. I know he was a huge influence on 20th Century pop music and entertainment, but for me that doesn't even approach justifying the monster he became. His passing is, like it or not, the best thing that could have happened for his kids. While they will never know normal lives, at least he's finished screwing them up personally."Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68240525771284892762019-03-11T17:12:50.403-07:002019-03-11T17:12:50.403-07:00Michael Jackson and Donald Trump: Experts at commi...Michael Jackson and Donald Trump: Experts at commiting crime in plain sight.blinkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04284135060900752329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91524934866247274862019-03-11T17:12:49.322-07:002019-03-11T17:12:49.322-07:00Mike
He was an adult man sleeping in a bed night ...Mike<br /><br />He was an adult man sleeping in a bed night after night with little boys.Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88050220837974326322019-03-11T16:04:12.957-07:002019-03-11T16:04:12.957-07:00A million years ago, my friend, Rick, who happened...A million years ago, my friend, Rick, who happened to be a music executive, invited me to a private screening at Universal of a little movie called, E.T.. The movie over, he and I walked out of the theater heading for his car parked on the lot. On the way, we found a slim fellow huddled against a wall of a sound stage. He was alone, and he was sobbing uncontrollably. He was Michael Jackson. <br /><br />Rick knew Michael and was very surprised and concerned by what we were witnessing. We walked up, Rick greeted him and asked if he was alright. With tears streaming down his face, he turned to say in a falsetto voice, “Ohhh Rick, wasn’t that the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” Rick complimented the film and introduced me. Shaking my hand, he said: "Hellooooo, soooo nice to meet you. That was the most beautiful movie I’ve ever seen.” We chatted for another minute and politely left him to his wall.<br /><br />I teared up in the screening, but here was a grown man, touched to his core, sobbing over E.T. like a little boy. Shaking hands with him was like shaking hands (if one had hands) with a butterfly. He was razor thin, wispy, ephemeral, but I will never forget his presence.<br /><br />I was never really a Jackson fan, but no one can ignore his talent and ability to ignite the world. My heart goes out to those impacted by his behavior. What a waste.Jeff Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01708037522976667642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52347796956622405592019-03-11T15:56:11.856-07:002019-03-11T15:56:11.856-07:00Amazingly, CBS ran a new Michael Jackson animated ... Amazingly, CBS ran a new Michael Jackson animated Halloween special less than 18 months ago. Even without years of disturbing rumors, the fact the guy died as a sad, aging junkie should have given someone at the network a second thought. <br /> Also interesting to me is the slavish nature of his media coverage and his fan base. For the longest time (and sadly, even now if you took a poll), Michael Jackson was presented as the greatest entertainer in history. In truth, he produced very little new music for the last 15 years of his career. That's a long fallow period. When Blood on the Dance Floor (a collection of new and old songs) was released in 1997, the record label did zero promotion in the US since no one in America was buying his album anymore. <br />Shrill1https://www.blogger.com/profile/15267503850378393807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1229736562474380502019-03-11T15:38:48.163-07:002019-03-11T15:38:48.163-07:00I've been wondering a lot later: who's cul...I've been wondering a lot later: who's cult is stronger, Trump's or Jackson's? They both seem the same to me. I wonder if MJ could shoot a 7 year old kid on 5th Ave. and not lose a fan? Well, that's a silly thing to write, but I bet he wouldn't lose EVERY fan.<br />Astroboynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13519728736754984592019-03-11T14:21:28.022-07:002019-03-11T14:21:28.022-07:00This was an easy documentary to make. The man is d...This was an easy documentary to make. The man is dead. Lots of lawsuits and settlements preceded him. The one that would take a lot more courage to produce, and probably would never air, is about the still living pedophiles. Those current or fired in the TV and movie industry and why execs chose to look the other way, other than the obvious -- they were moneymakers. I'm really surprised Ronan Farrow hasn't jumped on that story. MikeKPa.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44788237441528511602019-03-11T14:16:47.424-07:002019-03-11T14:16:47.424-07:00Willa M says,
@VincentS "Yes, I blame the pa...Willa M says,<br /><br />@VincentS "Yes, I blame the parents more than anyone else, but I also blame the public... To quote Alan Ball's AMERICAN BEAUTY screenplay: Never underestimate the power of denial."<br /><br />Vincent, you make a great point but miss another one. The parents, the public and the entertainment industry as a business is to blame. In other words. we all share the blame.<br /><br />It's easy to sit back and condemn others now, but how about everyone all over the world who adored Michael Jackson like some kind of God, some kind of genius, even when his strange behavior was staring them in the face? We were being fed this by Entertainment Tonight, his record labels, his fellow show business peers who extolled him. We were being told how great he was. We were almost crazy if we didn't get it.<br /><br />Ken, you are too close to celebrities to be dazzled by them. You've been in the business too long. If Jackson was indeed guilty of courting the parents before victimizing the children, weren't they getting the stamp of approval from the public and the media about his wonderful charities and his love of magical childhood? <br /><br />He had an 3D movie at Disneyland! The lines were miles long! Those people are all saying how disgusted they are now, and some of them are denying the stories, because the power of publicity and peer pressure, once it digs inside, is sometimes lifelong. <br /><br />When the Jackson accusations came out, he was a pariah for a while among his peers and the media. Then he was cleared, and they warmed up again. Then he died and everyone loved him and he was a genius again. Now this movie comes out and we can talk about how stupid other people are for buying into his deceptions.<br /><br />But aren't we all easily led by stardom? Let's go back a few years to several Oscar telecasts where Kevin Spacey was revered, everyone fell all over themselves to adore him and the press picked up on his every wise word.<br /><br />The parents were wrong, but who really did the convincing? Jackson had a lot of endorsements.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89459883368576190962019-03-11T13:47:12.561-07:002019-03-11T13:47:12.561-07:00Ken, can you please remove the comment from 9:02 a...Ken, can you please remove the comment from 9:02 am on this thread this morning. I did not mean to post it under my name, Blogger did it without my knowledge. I am sorry for the inconvenience, I will be super-extra careful next time just to use my handle. But I really don't want a lot of crazy Jackson and/or Trump fans on my ass.<br /><br />It won't happen again!<br /><br />Please, please remove it. ThanksFrank Beansnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15930926313310791362019-03-11T13:41:08.704-07:002019-03-11T13:41:08.704-07:00I'm just glad he's dead.I'm just glad he's dead.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-92089064969950261442019-03-11T12:57:33.414-07:002019-03-11T12:57:33.414-07:00I have no interest in seeing the documentary-I rea...I have no interest in seeing the documentary-I realized that it is important that this gets documented, but that doesn't mean I want to watch it. <br /><br />I second the comments about Michael Jackson's obvious bizarre descent . Just look at photos of him from the time of Thriller and then look at photos taken in the early 90's. I mean Phil Spector was making jokes about Jackson's appearance...<br /><br />I never had any of his songs on my I-POD but I understood his importance. I have no problem listening to his songs on satellite radio-I just think "this was before he weirded out." <br /><br />I do have a problem with Woody Allen's 70's films- have no interest in seeing them again. I keep thinking of Ronan Farrow's observation that Woody is both his father and brother-in-law and it destroys that likable nebbish character Woody played. I know it was just a character, but back then he didn't do much to discourage the idea that he was like that in real life. <br /><br /> Jeff Boicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14600946876122022978noreply@blogger.com