In case you missed the news last week – Michael Jackson is dead.
 
I am not going to spend this time recapping the career and talents of Michael Jackson, no one will dispute what he did for pop music and the level of performer he was. Besides, every other news outlet has covered those topics to death (pardon the pun). But what has driven me insane this week is the lack of coverage of the giant elephant in the room – the part of Michael Jackson’s life that everyone associates with the man and has virtually been ignored since his passing and that is the endless rumors and debate surrounding Michael Jackson and his ‘relationships’ with those underage.
 
This is what I like to call ‘the celebrity pass’. This is when a celebrity is so famous, so beloved that they can do no wrong in the eyes of the public and when that iconic figure dies they grow to be even more popular. This leads to past discretions not only forgiven but ultimately forgotten by the mass public because they would rather cover their eyes and ears to the messy truth than tarnish the memories of these ‘heroes’.
 
Watching all of the tributes and specials on Michael Jackson this past week and see how the past 15-years of controversy has been ignored from molestation charges to the dangling his child off of a balcony is just bad journalism, with people in fear of offending the mourning public. Imagine if O.J Simpson were to die tomorrow and the next day all of the major newspapers and tabloid shows spent all of their time ‘remembering’ this outstanding football player, who won the Heisman Trophy and was one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.  Football doesn’t properly tell the ‘O.J Simpson Story’ and neither does pop music illustrate the life that Michael Jackson led.
 
Chris Benoit committed one of the most heinous crimes one could ever imagine where he murdered his wife and son and then hung himself. Benoit is still revered as a hero to many fans (most of which will reply to this on the comment board and further illustrate my point). If you don’t believe me just go type ‘Chris Benoit’ on YouTube and check out the tribute videos and those posting their own thoughts about why they DON’T BELIEVE that Benoit committed those acts. We all know the head trauma that Benoit received during his career along with his drug abuse but I’m sorry – there is no justification for the acts he committed and to look back at Chris Benoit and remove that weekend in June 2007 from his life is not possible for me. I don’t say this as some disenfranchised critic either – I spoke with Chris Benoit on a number of occasions, I interviewed him countless times and the man was a genuinely nice and courteous person every time I met him but I cannot put my blinders on and accept the murders of two innocent people because Chris Benoit treated me nicely.  
 
Mike Tyson was charged and convicted of rape and yet he is still one of the most popular figures in pop culture. Imagine walking down the street and Mike Tyson was at the street corner – would a large group of people be more apt to walk in the opposite direction from a convicted rapist or run up to the man and take their picture with him? To Tyson’s defense he is adamant that he never raped that woman and only two people know what happened in that hotel room in 1991 but one can certainly attest to the fact that Mike Tyson has done more to tarnish his legacy that prop it up since the early 90’s with one incident after another and still the public will pay to see this man.
 
Steve Austin is one of the most popular performers in the history of the WWE and treated as a hero despite a history of spousal abuse. Is this a case of the fans legitimately processing these acts committed by Austin and forgiving the man or rather choosing to ignore them and not allow real events outside of the ‘pro wrestling world’ to affect their entertainment and their heroes?
 
To label someone as a ‘good person’ or a ‘bad person’ is not right and I’m not encouraging you to label people but at the same time the public’s forgiveness of people who happen to be celebrities is dumbfounding. If you take away the role of pop music icon, football player, professional wrestler or boxer from the above mentioned people than they are just regular people with a 9-5 job and would the love and adulation despite these crimes still exist for the average person who committed that crime?
 
It’s not the job of the media to paint the picture of a person by the terms in which the public would mould it but rather present that person as they were and allow the public to judge. If you’re going to bury your head in the sand and throw out all the negatives of one person’s life than it’s simply naïve and just because millions of people know your name shouldn’t mean you get an automatic ‘pass’.