Michael Jackson: Unauthorized Christopher Anderson
Few celebrities have so captivated the public eye as
the Gloved One, the King of Pop... Wacko Jacko.
Christopher Anderson's Michael Jackson: Unauthorized
is, I think, the first time I've read a celebrity
biography written by someone other than the subject
themselves. This makes for some interesting fodder,
but ultimately this lends it a tinge of unreliability
that is difficult to accept as the novel progresses.
Understandably, Anderson couldn't get any sources
genuinely close to Jackson for quotes in the book.
Mostly culled from magazine articles and press
statements, there is a lot of supposition accompanied
by first hand accounts by former employees and
neighbours. A disgruntled ex-maid says one shocking
thing, a parent of a child who tried to extort money
from Jackson says another, and a bodyguard who
unsuccessfully tries to sue him says another. The
cumulative effect is a bunch of jaded people with a
lot to gain in trashing the celebrity's image and
little to lose.
It still begs the question of how much of the book is
true. Did Jackson really try to buy Marilyn Monroe's
and John Merrick's bones? Did Jackson have six
rhinoplasties and over a dozen other plastic surgery
enhancements on other parts of his body? Did he sleep
with and sexually molest the dozens and dozens of
young boys as the book suggests? The problem is, the
book offers no conclusive evidence on these nor on any
other rumours and theories. Most of Jackson's legal
and publicity teams have disclosed the matters out of
court or chosen not to respond to any of the gossip at
all. And while I personally don't believe he molested
forty some children, I don't believe him to be 100%
guiltless of having committed the crime with one or
two children. That's not to say that even one would be
acceptable in any way, shape or form -- but Anderson's
main attempt seems to be not necessarily convincing
the reader that Jackson was accused of being with one
boy (as is the only public or private allegation to
date), but that he is a mass pedophiliac who has
damaged dozens of children over the years. Armed only
with the spiteful words of former workers and
associates, the allegation is a bit of stretch, though
certainly not impossible.
Me? I think Unauthorized helped me realize that I
prefer books that focus less on media reports and more
on why the celebrity becomes famous in the first
place. Their mastery of their given art. The
inspirations for their lyrics. Their goals and
ambitions in life. Without actually speaking to
Jackson himself, Anderson is able to touch on and
gloss over these areas but can only hypothesize on his
accuracy. I found his writing style interesting, and I
appreciated the chronological methodology he uses to
allow his hypotheses to gain credibility, but in the
end I got the distinct feeling he was grasping at
straws. For example, he implies that Jackson had
corrective surgery done on his private parts just so
that the boy who was allegedly victimized would not
have been believed at the time that he supposedly
provided the police with a detailed description of
Michael's -- ahem -- "Neverland". Hmmm... on second
thought, I'll definitely let Anderson make that
particular supposition without providing the necessary
proof.
