Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Reflections On the Latest Tabloid Stories


I have been thinking about the uproar taking place in the Michael Jackson fan community the last few days. The fans have been outraged by the appearance in the UK tabloids of Matt Fiddes, a known liar and opportunist, who once held an umbrella for Michael Jackson for a weekend in 2001. When Michael died, Fiddes claimed a great friendship with Michael Jackson that lasted a decade. He even said that Michael asked him to donate sperm for Michael’s child and claims to be Blanket’s father. I don’t want to go into details here as there are other places where Fiddes claims have been soundly debunked.

Another source of outrage has been the re-appearance of Scott Thorson, Liberace’s ex-lover, on Entertainment Tonight this week. In 2004, he claimed to have had a very brief fling with Michael Jackson back in 1979 that was “inappropriate.” It turns out that while ET touted the segment in trailers to entice people to watch, it was basically a non-story as it was back in 2004. Thorson is a convicted felon on drug charges and burglary and has never been a credible source for the story. He claimed that he and Michael “broke up” because of Michael’s interest in porn depicting young boys. Now we all know that Michael had a large interest in heterosexual porn which was proven at his 2005 trial. While many have wished to portray Michael as gay, it just wasn’t Michael’s way. Again, we have an opportunist trying to make money at Michael’s expense.

The fans have been called to action to make comments on the various tabloid sites that picked up the Fiddes story. For the record, the National Enquirer felt the story was too incredulous to be believable and declined to pick it up. In addition, fans have been asked to complain to Entertainment Tonight and Kraft as their major sponsor. I have done neither and I have been asking myself why I have not. That is the main reason that I been thinking about this so much the last few days. I am trying to figure out how my own mind is working on this particular issue when I quickly respond to all other calls to action.

I have never read tabloids nor watched tabloid shows. I will not dignify them with my dollars in the form of my eyes watching or my computer clicking on their sites. I did not really know about Michael’s crucifixion in the press until after he died because tabloid related journalism just does not register on my radar. I now work very hard to get the truth of who Michael was out to the public by attacking what might be considered “legitimate” sources although that should be taken with a “grain of salt” too. What registers for me are the untrue allegations of criminal activity and being tried, although not convicted of those crimes legally, and convicted in the press and the eyes of the public with no real evidence at all. I feel that this is the true crime and I will work my hardest to dispel that cloud.

These two idiots, Fiddes and Thorson, have zero credibility and their stories are ridiculous. If Michael had responded to every tabloid story about him he would never have created the art he left behind. Michael was portrayed multiple times of being gay, fathering multiple illegitimate children, being a pedophile, asexual, sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber, and as a voodoo worshiper. The part that is always the most curious to me is how Michael could be gay, heterosexual, asexual and a pedophile all at once. Michael was a private man and was not a typical rock star man-whore bragging about all the bimbos he had conquered. Therefore, with the endless curiosity about this man, people just made up stories that weren't there.

What all this really says is that for 40 years, Michael Jackson has been the object of great interest to the public, even nearly 3 years after his death. His name will be invoked for years to come to sell the story….anything for money. In some ways, as sad as all of this is, it has become a bit humorous especially when you hear the stories of Fiddes and Thorson, for they mean so little in the legacy of Michael Jackson. They can’t prove their claims and in the case of Fiddes, he is really too cowardly to actually make good on his DNA testing threat even if he legally could. His claims are all the more ludicrous when the world is definitely starting to realize that Michael’s kids are his biologically. One look at Blanket, who Fiddes claims to have fathered, and one knows that he is Michael’s child. The Sun probably paid this guy lots of money and while they should be ashamed of themselves, it makes them look more stupid than ever. They just wasted good money on a liar.

Michael’s art and the evidence of his loving heart will be here long after the scum like Fiddes and Thorson are gone. And, for some reason, I can’t take this as seriously as other things. It certainly won’t get me to watch Entertainment Tonight, read the Sun, nor click on contactmusic.com or radaronline.com. If I do, then shame on me for feeding the beast.