Here is what I've posted on a different board. It's basically to say that Slash's discourse on Michael is two dimensional.
The reason why he appears to be wishy washy is because, on one hand he certainly has nothing but praise and admiration for Michael Jackson, the artist, the record breaker, the legend etc. But on the other, when it comes to Michael Jackson the man, that's when his discourse becomes a little dubious. From what I've read and seen of him in interviews, it seems to me as if he doesn't necessarily defend Michael, but doesn't directly convict him either.
There's a big dichotomy here, in his perception of Michael Jackson the musical genius and Michael Jackson as an individual. So that's not being wishy washy per se, it's just making a difference between the two. He can only speak of what he knows for sure; what he has seen and heard first hand, that is Michael's music. There's a clear distinction here between two things, what he knows (the music and the genius behind it all) and what he doesn't know (the man himself, without the glam, without the stardom, but just the plain man).
I don't know whether these claims are true, but in general when you see or read an interview of Slash, he always speaks very highly of Michael. But you will always notice that he does so judging from Michael's unmatched artistry, talent, genius and that's that, because that's probably all he knows for sure of Michael. He has seen Michael's musical gift and stardom grow and evolve through the years, from his beginnings with the J5 to his very successful solo undertaking, and like every one he certainly was in awe of Michael Jackson.
http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtml?id=158...&vid=208548
He then had the privilege to work with Michael, which then allowed Slash to see Michael's creativity at play and he certainly grew even more convinced of Michael's musical genius.
However, when it comes to Michael the man, he probably doesn't know enough of it to judge, speak either positively or negatively of him. Slash probably knows Michael but only in a strictly professional sense. And just because they've worked together on several occasions, doesn't mean he knows knows Michael personally. So again, his comments about Michael can only be limited to what he knows.
I don't think there's anything personal against Michael in his statement. I've seen and heard Slash mention a few times that he is very mistrustful of people by nature ( and that was in a discussion not related to Michael). There are only very very few people, maybe 2 or 3 that he really trusts, and that's about it.
Child molestation charges are a big deal. Slash said it himself, innoncent until proven guilty, so he did give Michael the benefit of doubt. The hypothetical occurence when Slash withheld his son from Michael during a visit in London dates back to 2003; that's way before Michael was vindicated; so as a sensible parent it is his responsabilty to reserve himself the right to allow or forbid interaction between his son and someone suspected of child molestation, whether this person is Michael Jackson or not. In the end Michael was proven not guilty on all counts, so it's up to Slash to trust the verdict and let Michael see his son, at his sole discretion, if Shlash chooses so. Either way, you have to respect his decision.
