epicurusaquinas
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Michael Jackson was a huge Weird Al Yankovic fan.
Not only did he let Al do parodies of ‘Bad’ and ‘Beat it’, he also let him use the actual ‘Bad’ subway set for the ‘Fat’ music video and helped convince other artists to let him use their songs, too.
I know some people have a huge problem with MJ because they believe his accusers. I remain undecided. Or at least it seems the jury said "Not Guilty" on all 10 felony counts and all 4 lesser counts. So many stories don't add up. I just know I love both of these men as artists. Thanks Al! Thanks MJ (RIP)!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic#Reactions_from_original_artists
Fredfinks
Snooj
His remakes of MJ songs rocketed him into overnight fame. He had a very niche fanbase until them. MJ basically helped create Weird Al.
NothingWorth
I'd consider rewatching the documentary about his accusers. It helped clarify and shift me from undecided.
Kbantar
His defense was that he only slept with children where their parents weren't allowed. You have to be insane to think he was innocent.
HeadJamistan
Sure, he had not guilty cases, but he also paid off a lot of other kids' families. Those ones never made it to court.
TheGhostofLionelHutz
Incredibly flawed people can make incredibly perfect music. Sometimes it's ok to separate the two IMO.
HeadJamistan
Paedophilia is where I draw the line.
GrooveJunkie
He also raped children
Hightower840
As a child in the 80's I never thought that one day Weird Al would still be a superstar, and Michael Jackson would be a pariah.
battery1979
MJ is the only person Corey Feldman said didn't abuse him.
awesomespeler
epicurusaquinas
komododave
byebuddyhopeyoufindyourdad
stoots24
He didn’t let him to Black or White as Snack All Night…
epicurusaquinas
MJ told Yankovic Black or White was too serious a topic to parody. He ok'd Weird Al to perform it live on stage but no recording/publishing.
redpandabanana
Not saying I don’t love common weird Al facts but did you know that in lord of the rings Viggo Mortensen broke his toe?
matako
I’m impressed that you still have that level of naivety. Almost like a child. Oh…actually that makes sense…
ILikeBlondDudesAndICanNotLieButGingersWillDoJustFine
Hfs imgur, the same people here defending Jackson believe that the rich abuse kids but Jackson was never proven? The people he's suspect #1
Fredfinks
FromTheBeyond
Too bad Michael was a pedophile
RealNamesAreNotGreatUsernames
MJ also bought up the rights to a bunch of the Beatles music specifically as a "fuck you" to Paul McCartney.
tastydeth
Michael Jackson was a pedophile.
Mordy9
simonsaysabunchofstuff
"fat" hee hee hee
DeborahMullen
Don’t care. He was a kiddy fiddler.
yellwfever
Game recognizes game.
lookatmeimmrmeeseeks
I really don’t know how I feel about MJ. Knowing he was suspected for pedophilia but then reading the “victims claims” just confused me more
epicurusaquinas
Us looking/reading is small VS jury w/ ALL so-called evidence & witness' eyes. Weeks of trial, then "not guilty" after 32 hrs over 7 days. +
epicurusaquinas
My conclusion is IDK. I do NOT have facts. IDK how one can say "probably guilty". Inference & media shit & accusations are not FACTS. +
epicurusaquinas
How people can say such horrible things are definitively true is so unfair. Terrible. IDK and I will probably never know.
farberstyle
Please watch the documentary "finding neverland" if your mind isn't made up about MJ and child molestation
earlymutation
It was a very convincing documentary. I kept watching it from my Women’s Center experience lens, very matching behaviors from the victims.
Fredfinks
I think some kids found it at the bottom of a cup of wine, at the end of a bedtime tickle session during a parents free stayover
jeremHitSmuggler
You're thinking of Leaving Neverland. Finding Neverland is a biopic about the author of Peter Pan
kutkospare42
A lot of artists make "did weird Al do a cover of my shit" as a benchmark for if they've made it
SuperSaiyanSasquatch
Madonna actually came up with the title "Like a Surgeon" Al didn't want to use it but he liked it too much.
codenamecozy
In comparison, I always say that someone isn’t truly famous until they’re a character on the simpsons.
Glibson
Until they were on the top gear couch … but that was in the before times
GuttaPercha
Lady Gaga’s manager originally said no to publishing “perform this way” but when she found out she approved it. It was “A rite of passage”
cptunderpants
More than that, Al went backstage before one of her concertd so she could listen to the recording, she approved on the spot.
HeadJamistan
Kurt Cobain, most notably.
AlmostClever
"it's not gonna be about food is it?" "no, it's about how nobody can understand your lyrics"
kutkospare42
Hell, weird Al himself knew he made it when Paul McCartney was like "holy shit weird Al's here" at a party
getguds
also said Al can't do chicken pot pie (live and let die) cause paul's vegan. but at one live showhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siZMgywImXY
Monkeyshit2
Jenna Maroney
EmCeeMiNacion
Does that mean Prince never made it?
WARHAMMER405
And Paul McCartney.
Mewmus
Prince was a bit of a bitch when it came to Al
kutkospare42
Prince was very adamant and the definition of a wet blanket when it came to weird Al asking him to do a cover. Al calls the person directly
kutkospare42
Prince didn't care for that
TheNewYellowZealot
Coolio too, if I’m not mistaken.
flashedjunkmind
Oh yeah he was pissed
Buchp
He has said being upset over that was one of his worst career decisions
gdex86
Prince took himself very seriously. Like he did a foo fighters cover because he didn't approve of them doing a live cover of one of his.
gdex86
But all Dave Grohl could do was be excited since Prince knew his band and did a cover of his song.
kutkospare42
Yes. He was talented enough to deserve to treat himself like that, but you can't help finding it a little annoying
gdex86
Oh yeah. But he's more quirky uncle then total ass.
timGiraffeBeast
Mikey fucked kids
MissDeeMeanor
Al no longer performs any MJ stuff, believes he was in fact a pedophile.
Sigge1981
I saw Weird Al live a handful of years ago and he performed both Eat it, and Fat. He even wore the fat suit.
daromander
How long ago? Had Leaving Neverland been released by then?
Sigge1981
2015
daromander
Leaving Neverland came out in 2019. He may not have changed till after that
epicurusaquinas
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/weird-al-yankovic-explains-decision-to-drop-michael-jackson-parodies-from-set-list.2517279/
epicurusaquinas
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/07/01/weird-al-stops-performing-michael-jackson/
epicurusaquinas
That is a lie. "Weird Al" has always avoided controversy. He held out as long as he could, but after HBO's "Leaving Neverland", he thought +
iAlwaysUpvoteMN
Jesus @OP you are a kid diddler apologist aren’t you? Yikes.
[deleted]
[deleted]
ILikeBlondDudesAndICanNotLieButGingersWillDoJustFine
who tf care about imaginary points were talking about having a conversation about holding a pedophile accountable
epicurusaquinas
Too many people would be uncomfortable regardless of whether things were true or not. Do you have any quotes from Al saying "guilty"? No. +
daromander
Do you have a quote about him saying "too many people would be uncomfortable"?
epicurusaquinas
I attached two links to the original comment because I wanted more people to see it.
daromander
Got it
epicurusaquinas
Al doesnt even know if the removal of "Fat" and "Eat It" is permanent or not. He says he may put them back some day !!
TeslaSupreme
Damn. I think i know who is a jackson-follower..
epicurusaquinas
I don't like ppl saying "guilty just because it looks guilty". So easy to Google Al's statements. After I read 5 sources, I just summarized.
GravyEducation
Prince on the other hand...
daromander
Prince doesn't have to say yes when Weird Al askes. It's his music, it's ok for him to not want it parodied though legally he can't stop it
GravyEducation
Which is why I love and respect them both. They're both dedicated to their craft
GravyEducation
I don't know why ya'll downvoting me. Prince famously snubbed Weird Al. Go find a Prince parody, I'll wait
minzeyman
Breakfast can wait.
epicurusaquinas
There is no rhyme or reason to voting here. You just have to accept it. If you post or comment, you're going to be downvoted.
GravyEducation
I reserve the right to bitch. This is America God damn it! I'm gonna keep drinking and make leftover spaghetti!
epicurusaquinas
OH definitely. You can bitch. Just know they can downvote the bitching too, that's all. It's all just internet points. Cheers!!
GravyEducation
Freedooom!
NibblonianNibbler
You're not wrong, and it strange he let chapelle parody him and not weird al
BrotherEstapol
I don't think he asked did he? Also Prince got back by using Dave's photo on his album: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_Can_Wait
Asteroidrules
Technically you don't need permission to make a parody, it's just Al's personal policy to not do it without the original creator's blessing.
epicurusaquinas
Dave's was more of a re-telling with a comedic twist. Those things (like the basketball game) actually happened. Prince was a realist.
IWasGoingToMakeEspresso
And he also said that he loved it.
JStengah
The thing about the justice system is that it is very poor at actually getting justice for rape and sexual abuse victims. Out of 1000
[deleted]
[deleted]
Larktonguesinadicecup
What we know for sure he did do is still child sexual abuse and unacceptable, even if we can't prove that he touched them sexually or was
Larktonguesinadicecup
touched. He was a predator; whether or not he himself was childlike and misunderstood, or knew exactly what he was doing.
Ruhig
*The thing about the justice system is that it is very poor at actually getting justice
Ruhig
Fixed it for you
jekath
Both are terrible crimes for many reasons. First of all, it's heartbreaking and awful that it happens and the malice of rape boggles the 1/
jekath
mind. But how do you prove it beyond doubt? People are horny bastards and they fuck all the time. It is very hard to prove when it's just 2/
jekath
love or fun and when it's under threat. It's a horrible crime for any system too. I'm not saying it's ok as is, but if we don't want 3/
jekath
innocent people convicted, guilty people are going to walk. It's a horrible crime
JStengah
Innocent until proven guilty is a good standard for the courts, not for people. If someone says someone else is raped them, I'm going to
JStengah
instances of sexual abuse, only 28 will lead to a conviction. It's very important to remember that just because a reported case does not
JStengah
result in a conviction, it does not mean the allegation was false. https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system
PubstarHero
Doesn't mean they are true as well. Also the ratio of reports to convictions seems higher than both the other crimes listed. >
PubstarHero
> So I think taking the "Out of 1000" is incorrect here if people aren't reporting them, and more people should be encouraged to report >
PubstarHero
> And have the stigma of reporting removed.
strangelyaddicting
If the allegation is EVER false, it jeopardizes every legitimate case. That's the worst part about crying rape...
catrov
AMEN. Because every rape-minded individual will seize on it to say "women lie". That's why absolute truth, without amplification is needed.
JStengah
False rape claims are only 2-10%, & likely much closer to 2% because police often categorize claims with insufficient evidence as false
JStengah
False rape claims are an insignificant problem compared to the much larger problem of men actually raping women and lying about it.
AtmaDarkwolf
Aie, but in MJ's case, I feel he was just deeply underdeveloped mentally, and was just being a child. Case in point, look at (in depth) his
AtmaDarkwolf
relationship with Lisa Marie Presley, and his later marriage with Debbie Rowe, and add to that, his mostly 'innocent but not wise' actions
AtmaDarkwolf
with his own kids. I am somewhat convinced he was, if anything, a-sexual, and was only attempting to reclaim his childhood(Which as everyone
AtmaDarkwolf
knows, was stolen from him at an extremely young age) - The fact he was rich/famous and 'vulnerable' allowed his 'accusers' (If which I mean
EnokMolkeHansson
the "stolen childhood" story. i have never heard anyone else than mj use that excuse, even people whose childhood was actually bad. but ¹
AtmaDarkwolf
the parents NOT the actual 'victims') purposely put their own children into compromising situations with MJ to just 'profit' later.
Unclescam
Was he a creepy fae manchild around kids? Probably. Doesn't mean I think he fucked kids.
JHawkInc
Even if he did, there were a lot of other things in life he did right, and did well. People are more complex than a single action/behavior
nbrown613
Like supreme court judges?
ThatsMrReverseBlumkin2U
Yo have you seen the documentary? This will not age well. You don’t have to like MJ to like his music. Just like lovecraft
PooPculture
Idk man. It's all weird as shit and I would certainly not want my kid within 300 feet of MJ.
eiger3970
The FBI fully investigated him twice, including viewing his naked body and doodle for alleged marks. Found innocent on all 13 allegations.
SoraHjort
There is a theory that the controversy was concocted to boost his sales, to get him back in the news. I'm not sure if I believe it.
SoraHjort
But considering some of the shit we've seen, I also wouldn't be surprised if it was true.
SoraHjort
Eitherway, I'll stand with the accusers.
ispentwaytoolongthinkingaboutthis
He didn’t pay tens of millions of dollars in settlements to family’s for no reason
TrueNorthernLights
To stop destroying his career, maybe? I'm not saying he's innocent. I'm saying we can't say for certain.
RyogaVee
Interesting note. Evan Chandler the father of the first accuser. Was caught on tape boasting about how much money he was going to get.
RyogaVee
The money he received from the settlement was immediately used to fund the movie Robin Hood men in tights. After MJ refused to load the cash
RyogaVee
Jordy Chandler has always denied that Michael Jackson did anything to him. Even in his adulthood.
ciriausly
I always gave a pass too but that hbo documentary really grossed me out. Ew. Just ew
FelineFatal
This skit always has me rolling https://youtu.be/XXc3O6GMZt0
LifesLittleLunatic
Sometimes those who never had the opportunity to have a childhood revisit it as an adult. He literally became a big kid
iAlwaysUpvoteMN
If you don’t think that his super religious upbringing + psycho abusive dad + mega fame at an early age lead to a situation where a grown
iAlwaysUpvoteMN
man had grown man feelings but for kids because of his peculiar trauma and extreme life experience then you’re choosing to bury your head in
iAlwaysUpvoteMN
the sand bc you like his music.
OhNoDontTouch
I dislike his music, but it's easy to see that we'll never definitively understand the exact nature of his relationship with boys.
ElviraQueenOfDarkness
On the contrary I believe he had the emotional age of a child. It's a lot like giving a 10 yo the rule of a kingdom. Are rhe sexual 1/
ElviraQueenOfDarkness
Allegations true. Idk. But just like a rape victim I stand with the victims. Even if in my heart something feels off.
iAlwaysUpvoteMN
They ARE rape victims. Not LIKE rape victims… FFS
iAlwaysUpvoteMN
Listen. He diddled kids. Because he was fucked in the head. Stop trying to twist it like he didn’t. There is testimony.
OptimusPantry
1. Those dude's in finding neverland and their families seemed very credible to me. 2. His sister publicly accused him before retracting.
LyraTheLycan
Yeah just because he was a paedophile doesn't mean he fucked them
Duraxis
He was denied his own childhood, so he tried to experience it through others.
AStreetcarNamedDeezNuts
You should watch Finding Neverland
CassJo
You mean the movie where money grabbers make up anecdotes for 4 hours?
strongbot
*Leaving Neverland
strongbot
*Leaving Neverland
AStreetcarNamedDeezNuts
Thx
epicurusaquinas
Yes. I think he was too naive to realize how strange his kid-like relationship to kids was. He was a grown man trying to retain childhood.
OptimusPantry
I used to be open to that possibility, then I watched finding neverland. That dude is so guilty. Even the undisputed stuff is so fucked, (1)
OptimusPantry
like how he would pick kids up and then drop them when he was bored of them. Kids literally going to school saying "MJ's coming to my (2)
OptimusPantry
house for tea", and it being true, and then it just all being over when he was bored. It's wrong to mess with kids like that. Not to (3)
OptimusPantry
mention all the opportunities for abuse he created for himself. Whether u think he took them or not (I defo do), there are norms against (4)
filiuspelei
The mind of a child with hormones of a grown man does not sound like a safe combination
Lulabel73
Have you watched finding neverland?
jeremHitSmuggler
A really lovely performance by Johnny Depp as the author of Peter Pan. But I assume you meant Leaving Neverland, the MJ doc?
Lulabel73
Lol. Yes that one.
IusedtobeSnowWhitebutIdrifted
In a world where all the adults ever did to you, all your life was to abuse you for their own financial gain, I can see how you would grow >
IusedtobeSnowWhitebutIdrifted
up to think that you can feel safe only around children, as they don't care about money and fame. I am team MJ 4 life
brobinson2001
If the stories are true, he was a hormonally stunted chemically castrated child trying to pass as an adult.
PartTimeHobbit
If 1/2 of stories of his childhood are true, its not surprising that his emotional development was stunted. He thought of himself as a kid.
brobinson2001
Emotionally, hormonally, and physically stunted by acne meds, IIRC.
Daskiel91
And abused by his Dad, which sold out his kids for money and stage presence
Soufange
One of the hardest stories as 15yo Michael being locked in a room with prostitutes by his dad and when his brothers came for him he was-
xmaneds
when a person (MJ) has $200,000,000 in the bank, they suddenly become a target for all kinds of accusations.
Kittyswitch
Money aside, I feel like any adult man who has young boys sleep in the bed with him will be under scrutiny.
icantspellsrry
Adult man? It's ok if it's a woman with girls? Asking, not assuming.
MosesSupposesHisToesesAreRosesButMosesSupposesErroneously
First if all it was his bedroom. Second of all that "bedroom" was a two-storey wing of his mansion. The kids were on another floor.
brobinson2001
In 8 yrs with my ex & her kids, we slept in the same bed ONCE. The furnace went out w/a cracked heat exchanger during a -20°F windchill 1/?
brobinson2001
blizzard & ice storm & furnace couldn't be fixed til morning. It was survival mode w/hot bottled water & sharing body heat. Not cuddles, 2/?
epicurusaquinas
It was a very stupid thing to do. But his family, friends and staff said "He would not listen and thought he's doing good". What can you do?
deaddogsmuggler
I mean...regardless of my past, be fucken weird if i slept in bed with other peoples kids. Maybe some better therapists coulda done wonders.
Kittyswitch
The parents could have said no. Who lets their child sleep in the bed with an adult man they barely know? Lots of MJ fans apparently.
Larktonguesinadicecup
We DO know children saw his penis, that he exposed them to pornography, gave them alcohol, and slept in bed with them over
LyraTheLycan
iAlwaysUpvoteMN
Ding ding ding
lostoutside
... Dong
Larktonguesinadicecup
an extended period, with high levels of security preventing anyone, even his own staff, from approaching unseen during that time.
volunteervancouver
The only alarm on the property was the long hallway to his bedroom that could only be heard by him in his bedroom. Come on maaaan
Larktonguesinadicecup
Does that mean he fucked kids? *probably*.
iktome99
PostMoThoin
If he was just a man child who loved kids equally why are there no girls ever? Because he's not attracted to girls. The only time he
PostMoThoin
Invited girls to his house was if they were the sister of someone he was grooming
rooik14
Sorry I didn't want to believe it either, but with the amount of allegations as well as his behavior I have to accept the fact he 1/2
rooik14
2/2 probably did do it. If I believe Cosby's victims and Kavanaugh's victims I should believe these victims.
TrueNorthernLights
Well, two were men who used their power to force people into sex. MJ didn't follow ANY of the "normal" actions for a pedophile (1
TrueNorthernLights
- (attempting to appear normal by having a strong relationship (publically) with a woman or dating several), plus he was given hormones(2
TrueNorthernLights
- to keep his voice high as a child, quite possibly stunting him sexually. Plus his victims recounted, and then re-recounted (3
iAlwaysUpvoteMN
He 100% crossed lines with kids multiple times. There’s nothing to debate. He literally built a castle devoted to it.
ILikeBlondDudesAndICanNotLieButGingersWillDoJustFine
100% the shit people say to help him slide is disgusting. Dont make excuses for him there's MULTIPLE kids making accusations and him even
ILikeBlondDudesAndICanNotLieButGingersWillDoJustFine
trying to scilence a kid at an interview!
DoughSlayer
Whatever i think about what he did or didn't do, there's no denying; he was a great artist. We'll never know if he did it for sure anyhow.
iAlwaysUpvoteMN
He did it. Believe victims.
Mctato
The fact you are getting downvoted is disgusting.
TheN8
There were none. Just greedy parents who out their children in the situation with the explicit intent to extort.
TrueNorthernLights
Not when they're being coached by parents, recount afterwards, and then re-recount under pressure. I'm sorry, but there was too much shady(1
TrueNorthernLights
- shit on all sides in this circumstance.
DoughSlayer
I'm not saying that I don't. Just saying he was a great artist nevertheless. However I think it's problematic that he might have harmed them
DoughSlayer
But noone believes and want to believe because he was loaded, was a big star etc etc