STUDENT NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST
English 9/Mr. Davis
Los Alamos High School
Editor’s note: Each year, the Los Alamos Reporter publishes a series of op-eds written by students in Adam Davis’s 9th grade English class to highlight the students’ writing. This is one of those op-eds.
Michael Jackson was one of the biggest performers and superstars of all time. He was known for his music and his famous dance moves. He is known as the “King of Pop”. He won many Grammy and MTV Music Video awards. Michael was accused in 1993 of inappropriately touching kids. This was the start of many allegations against him that took place for the rest of his life. I believe that Michael Jackson was falsely accused and was accused as a way for people to make money. He is still one of the greatest musicians and performers of all time.
According to Found Records, a podcast, this all started when the son of a man named Evan Chandler started hanging out with Michael Jackson. They just hung out but this made Evan start to ask Michael for things. Michael would say yes as he could not say no. It got so bad Evan was asking for things every day. This made Michael screen his calls and tell his maid to tell them he is not home. This made Evan mad so he plotted a plan to ruin MJ’s life. He told MJ if you don’t give me $20 million I will black mail you. Michael said no and Evan started the allegations that Michael touched his kid. Due to there being no fact checkers at the time it reached headlines and blew up. It made headlines all over the world. Then other families came up making allegations against Michael Jackson. It was believed that these allegations were to get money.
There were many surprising events in the various allegations. One was that Michael’s sister Latoya Jackson came forward in 1993 saying the allegations were true according to “The Allegations Against Michael Jackson: A Timeline: NPR”. In 2011, Latoya took back her claim saying that it wasn’t true and that her abusive ex-husband made her say those things about her brother. In that article Latoya was quotes as saying, “My family and Michael knew that wasn’t really me talking.”
Because of the allegations, the cops even raided Neverland Ranch and found nothing. They would ask kids if Michael touched them and they would say no which made the parents mad because they would not get money. Michael was told to pay Evan Chandler the money so he could get along with his tour and album. Michael said in interviews that this was the biggest mistake he ever made. This opened the door for others to make allegations against Michael.
There was also a documentary that aired on HBO, called “Leaving Neverland” in 2019. The allegations in the documentary led to Michael’s estate to be sued and many companies stopped endorsing or collaborating with Michael Jackson. The two men in the documentary had just gone bankrupt be fore the documentary was released. According to, The Allegations Against Michael: A Timeline: NPR, it states, “Less than two weeks after Leaving Neverland airs on HBO, the luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton seeks distance from the late pop icon, whose signature looks had helped inspire much of its fall 2019 menswear collection.”
The allegations of inappropriate touching of children against Michael Jackson tainted how many viewed the “King of Pop”. But this proves Michael Jackson did not touch kids. There will always be people who believe the allegations. But now you know the truth. Some people still loved him and others think he was a pedofile. Love him or hate him he was still one of the greatest musicians/performers of all time.
In memory
Michael Joseph Jackson
August 29, 1958-June 25, 2009
Works Cited
Debunking Michael Jackson’s Allegations(only with evidence). https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hk7LUrbR9qI2XXq5YVSRd.
Tsioulcas, Anastasia. “The Allegations Against Michael Jackson: A Timeline.” NPR, 5 March 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/03/05/699995484/michael-jackson-a-quarter-century-of-sexual-abuse-allegations. Accessed 13 December 2024.