Square One

This is not the first film to debunk the many lies and myths about the sexuality of Michael Jackson, but it does an excellent job. The man behind it, Danny Wu, adduces what he claims is another witness. In fact, this woman is not really a witness as such, rather she is someone who knew Jordan Chandler. However, the other witnesses and their evidence are more compelling.

It is very easy for anyone hearing the basics – Michael Jackson invited young boys into his bedroom, etc – to conclude he was indeed a paedophile. The reality is that he was simply extremely gullible, and, it might be argued, crassly stupid, to have continued with such “improper” associations after the 1993 case was resolved. If nothing else, his lawyers, friends and family would have been screaming in his ear to keep a professional distance from his young fans.

In addition to Jackson supporters, Wu shows footage of a then FBI agent who infiltrated NAMBLA, one of the most odious organisations ever established. NAMBLA member Victor Gutierrez published a book called Michael Jackson Was My Lover, a colossal piece of fiction. None of this is new, but Wu and his team do an excellent job putting these lies into their proper context.

The reality is that no one person or group of people can be held responsible for how the lies about Jackson grew and will very likely keep on growing. With the explosion of social media, any troll, malicious person or idiot can post anything he or equally often she likes, claim it is a verified fact, and how many of us know how to fact-check it? Celebrities alive and dead are constantly portrayed as monsters. The dead cannot defend themselves, but along with Wu, there are many people who are willing to defend Jackson a decade after his death. The prosaic truth is out there, for those who want to know it.

[The above is my review of Square One: Michael Jackson, originally titled simply Square One; it was rejected by IMDb, not the first time I have had a review of a Michael Jackson documentary rejected. Go figure.]