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By Jennifer Barrett
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By now, Michael Jackson has become as well-known for his erratic and eccentric behavior as for his music-maybe more so. The self-professed "King of Pop"-a title no one challenged when Jackson's "Thriller" album became the biggest-selling pop record of all time-has now been christened "Wacko Jacko" by the tabloids.
And few are disputing the new name. Last weekend, Jackson accused Tommy Mottola, head of Sony Music (Jackson's record company) of being "devilish" and a "racist" and even held up a sign outside Sony headquarters depicting Mottola with devil's horns.
Jackson's contention: that Sony failed to promote his latest CD, "Invincible," which sold a reported 6 million copies worldwide, and has failed to promote other black artists like Mariah Carey, as well. Press reports estimate Sony spent more than $50 million producing and promoting the CD. Sony has not released specific figures, saying only in a statement that it "spared no expense." Sony also called Jackson's charges "ludicrous, spiteful and hurtful." One Sony executive instead blamed Jackson's disappointing sales on questions about his past: the pop star was accused in a 1993 lawsuit of molesting a 13-year-old boy-a suit that was resolved in a multimillion-dollar settlement, according to press reports at the time. Jackson has repeatedly denied the allegations.
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A few days after his Sony protest last week, Jackson popped up in Harlem, joining activist Al Sharpton and lawyer Johnnie Cochran to reiterate his allegations of rampant racism in the record industry. He also charged that there is "a complete conspiracy" against him. "I was called a freak, a homosexual, a child molester. That I bleach my skin. Everything to turn the public against me."
Is Jackson paranoid, seeking justice or just looking for attention? NEWSWEEK's Jennifer Barrett put the question to Brent E. Turvey, a forensic scientist, criminal profiler, and author of "Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence and Analysis."
Brent E. Turvey: There are many who would argue that his behavior has always been eccentric and designed blatantly so as to get media attention. When he has a thought that's heartfelt, he calls a press conference. It's kind of odd. Then again, not only does he call a press conference, but people show up. He's a terribly shrewd businessman. I think we have underestimated this man at every level. He has lived the American Dream, earned his millions and held onto it. You have to keep that in mind when you examine his "erratic" behavior.
Sony says it put a lot of money into promoting the CD, and it looks like they didn't make a lot off of it. So, Jackson's comments seem irrational to the layman. His motivation is that he has to try and explain away his failures.
In his mind, this was an attempt to reconnect with that which he is not-he wants to be black again. He goes to the two blackest men out there, the two most outspoken people in the black community. But they are also known for bending the truth to suit their purposes. What you really have here are two black leaders who have no credibility. When they open their mouths, people assume they are spinning something. You have to wonder: will no legitimate person come forward and stand up for Jackson? If he just accepted the responsibility for his album's failure then people would have a lot more sympathy for him. But nobody gives sympathy to millionaires-or billionaires-who whine.
He says he has that skin condition [that lightens the skin color]. But the problem with him, really, is the radical surgery he's had to transform his face into one with Caucasian features. Maybe he's playing to his Asian audience because they are interested in the cartoon characters. It's a popular and well-accepted practice to imitate your favorite cartoon characters over there. He looks just like Akira-the main character in one of the most popular anime movies ever. We are judging Jackson with our own value system which makes him seem freaky, but in the Asian culture, they love that kind of stuff.
He's trying to live out what he never had: a real childhood. He's doing the things that let him live through the kids. He's got that estate, Neverland. He is trying to keep himself young and innocent. Unfortunately for him, his behavior draws attention and raises questions. That's what we are reacting to when we see him. Those of us in the criminal community are asking, who are his advisors that they are letting him do this to himself? His bizarre behavior is enough to convince parents that rumors and innuendoes about him might be true. Instead of focusing on his music, he continues to engage in his erratic behavior but goes around blaming other people for bad album sales.
I think this guy is so disconnected from reality that he is making some bad decisions. His behavior looks erratic to us because we don't live in his world. And it seems fine to him because he doesn't live in our world. The first thing I would do is fire all his publicists. I don't think he has anyone around him who likes him. What he needs is someone who does image repair. They come in, fix the problem and then they leave. That legal settlement could have been handled much better, too. It should not have gotten to that point where court action was necessary. But I will also make this statement: if you can make it go away with money, then money is probably what they were after in the first place. I am not accusing anybody, but we see it all the time. That really diminishes the weight of any complaint. But he's got to stop doing all that funny stuff. Get rid of the ranch, or move it and stop talking about it. Don't have any more children, or at least stop doing interviews about wanting more children or talking about children all the time. Just concentrate on the music. And for God's sake, stay out of politics.
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