In 2003, British journalist [Martin Bashir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Bashir) released a documentary called [*Living with Michael Jackson*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_with_Michael_Jackson), filmed over roughly 8 months of access to Jackson. The documentary portrayed Jackson in an extremely controversial light, particularly a segment where MJ discussed sharing his bedroom with children. The fallout was immediate and devastating where it directly triggered a police investigation that led to the [2003 criminal trial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Michael_Jackson) where Jackson was charged with child molestation. He was acquitted on all counts in 2005, but his public image never fully recovered.
Bashir himself was no stranger to this kind of controversy. In 1995, he conducted the now-infamous [*Panorama interview with Princess Diana*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Interview_with_HRH_The_Princess_of_Wales) for the BBC, in which she opened up about her failed marriage to Prince Charles, her struggles with mental health, and her famous line “there were three of us in this marriage.” However, a 2021 independent inquiry led by Lord Dyson later found that Bashir had [used forged bank documents to gain the trust of Diana’s brother](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/19/princess-diana-interview-probe-find-bbcs-martin-bashir-guilty/), Earl Spencer, in order to secure access to her. Prince William publicly condemned Bashir, stating the interview had contributed to his mother’s paranoia and isolation in her final years.
MJ’s fan base, known sometimes as *Moonwalkers*, has long maintained that Bashir manipulated the footage and context, and that Jackson naively trusted him which has essentially turned into a PR catastrophe. To this day, many moonwalkers cite that interview as the single worst decision of his life.
Salty_Strain3313 on
settling for 20 million dollars in 1993 then having another trial for the same thing makes me believe there is more to this story then we all know. It was not normal the way he acted around children and should be judged properly for it regardless if you think he was guilty or not.
edit: also this photo does not exist for normal men
Seems to me there might be a lot of things they could go back in time and tell Mike not to do.
Otherwise-Front-1093 on
That guy got michael too? I know his name from his Diana interview and the dirtyness he employed to get it.
He might as well have killed her himself! Shame on him.
flyinggazelletg on
Michael Jackson acted inappropriately around children, regardless of how Bashir portrayed him. What the fuck is this revisionism?
OneAd9580 on
You can say Martin Bashir was an opportunistic SOB who was more interested in his own fame and fortune than genuine journalistic biography and I will concur.
But painting MJ as just a victim is also naivety at best, if not genuine disingenuousness.
Pavlock on
Yes, the interview was the problem.
Troon10 on
Yeah maybe he just should not have diddled little kids…..
kingkong381 on
Really? Not, “Mike, don’t fuck those kids!”
MixedMediaModok on
People are really still out here defending Michael huh?
Laecer21 on
Normal people: „If only MJ hadn’t done weird things with kids.“
MJ fans: „If only MJ had been more secretive about doing weird things with kids.“
ssWyvern on
Probably should tell him not to do that Pepsi commercial instead.
enragedjuror on
Michael Jackson was a child predator
Appropriate-Log8506 on
Michael, don’t diddle kids.
Flimsy_Category_9369 on
Michael Jackson fans are by far the worst fanbase in all of music. Swiftie and the BTS army arent even close to how trash that fanbase is
Sea-Reveal5025 on
Oh that’s just ignorant
TorudParis on
Maybe protect the kids.
jackofslayers on
Personally I would have told him not to sleep with dozens of children, but you do you, OP.
18 Comments
In 2003, British journalist [Martin Bashir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Bashir) released a documentary called [*Living with Michael Jackson*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_with_Michael_Jackson), filmed over roughly 8 months of access to Jackson. The documentary portrayed Jackson in an extremely controversial light, particularly a segment where MJ discussed sharing his bedroom with children. The fallout was immediate and devastating where it directly triggered a police investigation that led to the [2003 criminal trial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Michael_Jackson) where Jackson was charged with child molestation. He was acquitted on all counts in 2005, but his public image never fully recovered.
Bashir himself was no stranger to this kind of controversy. In 1995, he conducted the now-infamous [*Panorama interview with Princess Diana*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Interview_with_HRH_The_Princess_of_Wales) for the BBC, in which she opened up about her failed marriage to Prince Charles, her struggles with mental health, and her famous line “there were three of us in this marriage.” However, a 2021 independent inquiry led by Lord Dyson later found that Bashir had [used forged bank documents to gain the trust of Diana’s brother](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/19/princess-diana-interview-probe-find-bbcs-martin-bashir-guilty/), Earl Spencer, in order to secure access to her. Prince William publicly condemned Bashir, stating the interview had contributed to his mother’s paranoia and isolation in her final years.
MJ’s fan base, known sometimes as *Moonwalkers*, has long maintained that Bashir manipulated the footage and context, and that Jackson naively trusted him which has essentially turned into a PR catastrophe. To this day, many moonwalkers cite that interview as the single worst decision of his life.
settling for 20 million dollars in 1993 then having another trial for the same thing makes me believe there is more to this story then we all know. It was not normal the way he acted around children and should be judged properly for it regardless if you think he was guilty or not.
edit: also this photo does not exist for normal men
[https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoricalCapsule/comments/1sira70/michael_jackson_show_visible_signs_of_vitiligo_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoricalCapsule/comments/1sira70/michael_jackson_show_visible_signs_of_vitiligo_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Seems to me there might be a lot of things they could go back in time and tell Mike not to do.
That guy got michael too? I know his name from his Diana interview and the dirtyness he employed to get it.
He might as well have killed her himself! Shame on him.
Michael Jackson acted inappropriately around children, regardless of how Bashir portrayed him. What the fuck is this revisionism?
You can say Martin Bashir was an opportunistic SOB who was more interested in his own fame and fortune than genuine journalistic biography and I will concur.
But painting MJ as just a victim is also naivety at best, if not genuine disingenuousness.
Yes, the interview was the problem.
Yeah maybe he just should not have diddled little kids…..
Really? Not, “Mike, don’t fuck those kids!”
People are really still out here defending Michael huh?
Normal people: „If only MJ hadn’t done weird things with kids.“
MJ fans: „If only MJ had been more secretive about doing weird things with kids.“
Probably should tell him not to do that Pepsi commercial instead.
Michael Jackson was a child predator
Michael, don’t diddle kids.
Michael Jackson fans are by far the worst fanbase in all of music. Swiftie and the BTS army arent even close to how trash that fanbase is
Oh that’s just ignorant
Maybe protect the kids.
Personally I would have told him not to sleep with dozens of children, but you do you, OP.