Michael Jackson faced the storm before Twitter was born. Sixteen years later, his music still wins. June 25, 2009. Michael Jackson

dies. The world cries. But not everyone mourned. Some said he was a predator. Some said he was a victim. And some said he was both. This wasn’t just the death of a superstar. It was the end of a man who had been put on trial in the court of public opinion decades before hashtags and cancel culture became mainstream.

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Before “Cancel Culture,” There Was Michael Jackson

In 1993, the first allegations hit. A 13-year-old boy accused Jackson of sexual abuse. The story exploded. Media hounds circled Neverland. Tabloids printed headlines like “Wacko Jacko.” Late-night comics joked mercilessly. There were no Instagram lives. No Twitter spaces. No Reddit AMAs. Just tabloid front pages and cable news. Jackson denied the claims. The case was settled out of court for a reported $23 million. No criminal charges were filed. The damage, however, had begun. Then came the 2005 trial. Accusations again. This time, the stakes were higher. Cameras swarmed the courthouse. Jackson showed up in pajamas one day, visibly frail and tired. He looked broken. But the jury found him not guilty on all 14 counts. Still, the stain lingered. Michael wasn’t just criticized. He was culturally exiled. Radio stations dropped his songs. Award shows snubbed him. Celebrities distanced themselves. Even as he planned his comeback tour, This Is It, he was surrounded by silence, not support.

The Fan Defense: “#MJInnocent Before There Were Hashtags”

Through it all, Jackson had an army. A quiet, global, determined army: his fans. From Lagos to London, Manila to Minneapolis, they defended him. They dug through court documents, analyzed media bias, and kept his music alive. They never stopped believing. “Michael was tried in a real court and won. But the media never let him live it down,” said @Justice4MJ, a fan-run account with over 500,000 followers.

Then Came Death and a Digital Resurrection

In death, something shifted. His funeral was watched by more than 2.5 billion people. His music shot to the top of global charts. Suddenly, he was The King of Pop again, not Wacko Jacko. Even critics who had ridiculed him for years now called him a “once-in-a-generation talent.” But the peace wouldn’t last.

“Leaving Neverland” and the Second Cancellation

In 2019, HBO dropped Leaving Neverland, a four-hour documentary featuring two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who alleged Jackson molested them as children. The internet exploded. #CancelMJ trended. Radio stations in Canada and Australia pulled his music. Oprah did a sit-down with the accusers. Think pieces filled the feeds. But then, a plot twist. Fans and legal experts dug deep. They pointed out inconsistencies in the accusers’ stories. That they had previously testified in Jackson’s defense. That timelines didn’t match architectural records of Neverland. Lawsuits were dismissed in court. Jackson’s estate sued HBO for $100 million, citing a breach of a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 contract. The war for his legacy raged again.

The Cultural Reassessment

Something strange happened after the dust settled. Michael Jackson didn’t disappear. He became more streamed. More sampled. More loved. In 2023, Spotify confirmed Jackson’s catalog had passed 5 billion streams. TikTok teens discovered Smooth Criminal. Gen Z learned the Thriller dance. YouTubers created hour-long documentaries defending him. Influencers quoted his lyrics as life mottos. Even former haters started saying: “Maybe we judged him too quickly.”

Celebs Who Backed Him

Many in Hollywood stood by Jackson: Akon: “That man was too pure for this world.” Whoopi Goldberg: “He was tried. He was found not guilty. That’s where it should’ve ended.” Madonna, in 2009: “The world has lost one of the greatest artists. A tragic injustice was done to him.” Meanwhile, artists like Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, and Chris Brown openly credit MJ as their biggest inspiration. Even Kanye West, never short on controversy himself, once said: “If they can take down Michael, they can take down anyone.”

The Estate Fought Back

Jackson’s estate, led by John Branca and John McClain, didn’t sit back. They cleared $500 million in debt. Then they built an empire of licensing, Cirque du Soleil shows, and Broadway musicals. They took legal action to protect his name. In court and in business, they helped reclaim his narrative. And the numbers don’t lie: $825 million in earnings in 2016 (after Sony/ATV sale). Over $3.3 billion earned posthumously to date. Still topping Forbes’ highest-paid dead celebrities list. That’s not a cancellation. That’s a resurrection.

The Paradox of Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was the first global pop star to be cancelled. And maybe the first to survive it. He was never really “uncancelled.” He was simply too big to erase. Too beloved to forget. Too complex to fit into one narrative. MJ was cancelled by the media, but canonized by the people. A walking contradiction. A haunted genius. A misunderstood man. A moonwalking mystery.

Sixteen Years Later: Where Do We Stand?

We still don’t have all the answers, we still argue, we still feel uneasy. But one thing is clear: Michael Jackson remains a cultural force. His music still fills weddings, parties, documentaries, TikToks, commercials, and hearts. MJ was cancelled before cancel culture. He survived without social media. He thrived beyond death. Because talent this rare doesn’t get cancelled. It echoes. Forever.

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Before Cancel Culture