Radio stations stop playing Michael Jackson
Several local radio stations have stopped playing Michael Jackson songs following a documentary alleging Jackson molested kids. Le Devoir and the Gazette both devote column‑inches to the question whether this is a good thing.
dwgs 10:53 on 2019-03-06 Permalink
Wait, am I the only one who was aware of MJ’s nasty behaviour for the last couple of decades?
Blork 11:09 on 2019-03-06 Permalink
The difference is that previously it was all “alleged” and the details were not very clear. But with this new HBO documentary it is still technically “alleged” but it is otherwise very, very clear and very visceral. There really can be no doubt among the unbiased. As a result, it’s being talked about a lot, and there is naturally a bandwagon effect.
Ephraim 11:49 on 2019-03-06 Permalink
Did these same stations stop playing Jerry Lee Lewis’ music? R. Kelly? Gary Glitter? And that’s just the list of people who have had child abuse allegations. If we add all sexual abuse allegations, we are really going to have a much longer list…. including never hearing the doors on the radio (though pardoned, but it’s still an allegation…)
Blork 13:49 on 2019-03-06 Permalink
I’m guessing they did stop playing R Kelly recently.
There seems to be an invisible line somewhere that causes these things to tip from “allegations” to “widely believed” and then again to “widely believed and publicly reviled.” For example, things that happened with Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis (etc.) happened a long time ago so they are less visceral.
Also, there’s a matter of degree and perceived harm done. So, for example, Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old cousin but AFAIK there isn’t any testimony from that cousin pointing to harm done. (I’m not saying that such a “relationship” does no harm; I’m just saying there is no actual testimony in that particular case; at least nothing that people can grab on to). Similarly, Elvis is rumoured to have slept with a number of teenagers, but those are allegations and there is no body of evidence from those teenage girls where they vividly describe what happened and what harm was done.
As for Gary Glitter, the axe fell on him long ago, when he was busted in Thailand pursuing his nasty predilection, and I do recall many stations saying they were taking him off their playlists.
The Michael Jackson case, on the other hand, is newly revived and made very vivid. It not only alleges (very graphically) pedophilia, but it shows a long pattern of “grooming” and multiple (alleged) victims, and it also shows very specific harm done (unlike those old cases where we can only assume harm was done).
The main thing is this: stations removing disgraced artists from their playlists isn’t a legal requirement, and it’s not part of some judgement laid down by a court. It is simply a station CHOOSING to not fan the flames on a highly volatile issue. There are survivors of such abuse out there (and their friends and relatives) who are a bit raw right now because of this new documentary, so if a station plays Michael Jackson right now that can be felt as a slap in the face to them. Radio stations are not in the habit of slapping their listeners.
My point is this: it is folly to invoke other cases of creepy singers at a time like this because those stations who are boycotting are doing so as a matter of their own free choice to do so. It would be different if a legal decree came down that said “thou shalt not play Michael Jackson music because of this.” But there is no such decree. Stations are just exercising their right to refuse to play the current hot button artist.
Bert 13:56 on 2019-03-06 Permalink
Will we ever hear Ike and Tina again? James Brown?
walkerp 14:19 on 2019-03-06 Permalink
Good argument, Blork.
I think also in the MJ case, his estate is still denying and fighting the allegations instead of accepting them, which I think would be a starting point for healing and moving on. Cutting into their royalties may be a way to push them in that direction.
Still, it’s weird that Gary Glitter is played regularily at sports arenas.
Ian 14:52 on 2019-03-06 Permalink
Via the Beaverton:
Nation in shock as documentary confirms everything they already knew about Michael Jackson