Dark Skin Michael And Racism In The Fan Community

NatureCriminal7896

Proud Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2019
Messages
10,262
Points
0
This has been a subject that been going in the community lately and i'm making this thread to talk about it because it is very important topic to talk about.

alot of fans lately been noticing racism in the community. for example alot fans been saying why thriller dark skinned Michael doesn't get alot of attention like dangerous, history, and invincible michael?


some fans been noticing that alot michael jackson impersonators are white or hispanic and latino which nothing wrong with that but alot fans feel they forgetting that michael was black man.

some fans feel that if michael never had vitiligo that some of them wouldn't have jobs impersonating michael in the first place.

also some fans been experiencing racism to some fans not letting them join groups etc because they dark skin.

Michael Trapson has talked about this and alot others and i agree.

we need more dark skinned Michael in the community also if any michael jackson fan being racist needs to be call out.

Michael was all about loving one another no matter what race you was or what your interests were.

this community need alot of that.
 
Last edited:
Wonderouzmj who is a member here is a wonderful Michael impersonator and well "black".

I don't know how much of a thing it is but it's true I see more white impersonators and the era pre bad is often forgotten in terms of clothing, dance style and looks

It makes me wonder are there perhaps J5 cover bands or impersonators around?
 
I agree that the MJ fan community could use more diverse representation.

A lot of the Michael Jackson impersonators incorporate his later, more iconic songs and routines. They mimic his dance style and mannerisms from later eras, and so much of the style of the Victory Tour Michael Jackson is not replicated. Most impersonators I have seen mimic a Dangerous/HIStory style of MJ.

It is an interesting question of whether or not white/Hispanic people would be able to so easily impersonate MJ if he had not had vitiligo. I believe he would have many impersonators regardless, but perhaps not as many non-dark skin impersonators.
 
Wonderouzmj who is a member here is a wonderful Michael impersonator and well "black".

I don't know how much of a thing it is but it's true I see more white impersonators and the era pre bad is often forgotten in terms of clothing, dance style and looks

It makes me wonder are there perhaps J5 cover bands or impersonators around?

I'm not sure they exist but one time i think were and they got called out for blackface. i'm not sure if there any black J5 impersonators. yes i agree it's sad to know many people don't know motown and victory michael. michael trapson said he didn't know about victory michael until later on in his life he's biracial. that's sad and really appreciate him doing victory and alittle bad michael. how can people forget about motwon and victory michael? he was well known in those eras. what the heck? :doh:
 
I understand that racism is a touchy and frustrating subject especially for those affected by it....
But turning this into a debate about MJ impersonators I think is going too far and borders to exposing racism of black people towards non-black.

So from the perspective of black people complaining about this... who is the blame on?
Michael Jackson, for having Vitiligo turning him light-skinned, and therefor making it somewhat easier for white people to impersonate him if they want to?

Who held back more black people to become MJ impersonators even after Michael underwent that change?

Had the two most known MJ impersonators, Navi and Ecasanova, who are both dark skinned, a problem to appear light-skinned via makeup, mimicking Michaels skin desease? Nope.

Was there ever a demand especially for white Michael Jackson impersonators?
It's not like MJ impersonation is an industry, it's just a few very dedicated people and you're lucky if you find a good one who can get the dance about half way right. So who really cares about the skin color?
 
Last edited:
I don't think people are forgetting that Michael was black. Many fans just like the albums that came after Thriller more. Also we have more live videos from later tours so they get more attention.
 
Last edited:
I’d definitely like to see more Black people in this field, and I hope that will change a little when MJ the musical is out. I’m generally not a fan of people trying to copy MJ’s look. They almost always end up looking like a parody. Who I really enjoy watching, though, are people who take what MJ did, and develop their own thing based on that.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="pt" dir="ltr">Ensemble ou r <a href="https://t.co/oVavVepfxW">pic.twitter.com/oVavVepfxW</a></p>&mdash; salif_crookboyz (@salif_crookboyz) <a href="https://twitter.com/salif_crookboyz/status/1270433423753084929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
White people for obvious reason can't be pre-Bad Era impersonators, but it's well accepted that some black impersonator make their faces white with make up to impersonate him after the Bad era.
I agree that we need more Thriller era impersonators etc. but if few black impersonators are interested into doing it, how can you blame Caucasians like they "whitewashed" the image of Michael Jackson?
 
How about this: Everyone who knows of a Black impersonator posts their videos in this thread, so we can take them and share on our social media to drive more attention to them? :)

I&#8217;m personally not much into impersonators, but I would be glad to help spreading the word.
 
Personally I don't care what colour skin an MJ tribute artist/impersonator has. I just enjoy seeing my favourite artist being loved and celebrated.
 
I think, when people get to see more Black impersonators or tribute artists, this would help combat the persistent misconception that MJ wanted to be white.

I saw a Tweet the other day where someone said MJ mainly had white fans. I know people don&#8217;t get out of the house much these days, but how on Earth would anyone come to this conclusion?

We need more Black representation in all fields, so if posting someone&#8217;s MJ tribute on my Twitter can help with that, I&#8217;m in. :)

Post them & I&#8217;ll share.
 
So because a lot of Michael Jackson impersonators are white, that means there is racism in the fan community? Why don't more black Michael Jackson fans impersonate his Thriller, Off The Wall eras then? Obviously the white MJ fans can't impersonate his pre Dangerous look for obvious reasons.

And from what I have noticed a lot of MJ impersonators are quite young. Most of them seem to be in their 20s and 30s, and they grew up in the 90s and 2000s during Dangerous, History & Invincible eras. So it's understandable that those three eras are more relatable and close to their hearts, which is why you see more impersonators impersonating Michael from those eras.

I know this thread is inspired by what that clown Michael Trapson said. He said in a few of his videos that anyone whose favourite Michael eras are Dangerous, History or Invincible could be a racist. What a fool. I unsubscribed from his channel the minute he said that gibberish.

Of course racism is a problem in our world, but there is no need to link something as sweet and innocent as Michael Jackson fans impersonating him to racism.
 
In this day and age the word ''racist'' gets thrown around so much that it's starting to lose meaning.

Yes, racism needs to be called out. No matter what side it's coming from. But calling someone ''racist'' for saying they prefer Michael's 90's albums for example just shows how ridiculous things have gotten.
 
Last edited:
So because a lot of Michael Jackson impersonators are white, that means there is racism in the fan community? Why don't more black Michael Jackson fans impersonate his Thriller, Off The Wall eras then? Obviously the white MJ fans can't impersonate his pre Dangerous look for obvious reasons.

And from what I have noticed a lot of MJ impersonators are quite young. Most of them seem to be in their 20s and 30s, and they grew up in the 90s and 2000s during Dangerous, History & Invincible eras. So it's understandable that those three eras are more relatable and close to their hearts, which is why you see more impersonators impersonating Michael from those eras.

I know this thread is inspired by what that clown Michael Trapson said. He said in a few of his videos that anyone whose favourite Michael eras are Dangerous, History or Invincible could be a racist. What a fool. I unsubscribed from his channel the minute he said that gibberish.

Of course racism is a problem in our world, but there is no need to link something as sweet and innocent as Michael Jackson fans impersonating him to racism.

Amen!

I like his art, but unfortunately Trapson isn't the brightest candle on the cake.
 
I have recently seen some questionable tweets from some people in the fandom, though. It goes from telling people that MJ wasn&#8217;t really Black because of his Native American ancestry, over asking people to not call him Black at all because that would be &#8220;divisive&#8221;, to outright proclaiming him &#8220;mixed&#8221; &#8211; even though he always self-identified as Black. These tweets usually come from Whites, of course, and most of them argue with the lyrics of Black or White.

So anything that can be done to reaffirm MJ&#8217;s Black identity in the public eye should be done, in my opinion.
 
Look, I detest racism, with all my heart, but in this case, I'm just happy Michael appealed to a wide range of people. I feel that is what should be the focus here. As the King himself has said, it don't matter of you're black or white. Race should not always be a factor when it comes to impersonators, or anything, people.
 
Unfortunately, though, in today&#8217;s reality it does matter a lot if you&#8217;re Black or white. That&#8217;s why we have the Black Lives Matter movement.
 
My favorite MJ "look":
33667-1532336922.jpg


Grew up in the 80's when Bad was released. Was glued to the TV when a new video came out. Went to the Bad tour when I was 12 :)
Of course I knew Thriller, Off The Wall and old Jackson stuff, but to me MJ is still the cool dude from the Bad Era.
Nothing to do with racism, just when you grew up and when you became a fan I guess.

Same with impersonators: they just try and match MJ in his prime. Sure Thriller sold better, but I think during the Bad/Dangerous/History era with the huge world tours and videos are times most people remember MJ for.
 
ScreenOrigami;4300965 said:
Unfortunately, though, in today&#8217;s reality it does matter a lot if you&#8217;re Black or white. That&#8217;s why we have the Black Lives Matter movement.
It does, but it shouldn't. The BLM movement shows that there is still unneeded and inhumane discrimination based on skin color.
 
Serious Effect;4300968 said:
It does, but it shouldn't. The BLM movement shows that there is still unneeded and inhumane discrimination based on skin color.

Exactly. And this is why it&#8217;s important that Black people get more and better representation across the board. If there are Black tribute artists that don&#8217;t currently get the attention they deserve, we should all support them by posting their videos. :)
 
At this point you can be called "racist" just because you don't like Off the Wall album.
 
So because a lot of Michael Jackson impersonators are white, that means there is racism in the fan community? Why don't more black Michael Jackson fans impersonate his Thriller, Off The Wall eras then? Obviously the white MJ fans can't impersonate his pre Dangerous look for obvious reasons.

And from what I have noticed a lot of MJ impersonators are quite young. Most of them seem to be in their 20s and 30s, and they grew up in the 90s and 2000s during Dangerous, History & Invincible eras. So it's understandable that those three eras are more relatable and close to their hearts, which is why you see more impersonators impersonating Michael from those eras.

I know this thread is inspired by what that clown Michael Trapson said. He said in a few of his videos that anyone whose favourite Michael eras are Dangerous, History or Invincible could be a racist. What a fool. I unsubscribed from his channel the minute he said that gibberish.

Of course racism is a problem in our world, but there is no need to link something as sweet and innocent as Michael Jackson fans impersonating him to racism.

I saw a twitter thread the other day that said that people who prefer the Bad Tour over the Victory tour are racists and are apart of the problem called colorism. It's such a bizzare statement to me.
 
I saw a twitter thread the other day that said that people who prefer the Bad Tour over the Victory tour are racists and are apart of the problem called colorism. It's such a bizzare statement to me.

Welcome to Twitter, another world.
 
after trying to avoid this thread all day, i'm just going say my 2 pence and go..

when Michael revolutionised the music video, dance, and had the biggest selling album of all time... he was brown skinned. the sequinned glove, red zipper jacket, fedora, white socks and penny loafers were already associated with his distinctive style. the lyrical themes of unity and anti violence, heartbreak and distrust in 'bad girls', loneliness, gossip, horror, and of course love, were already firmly established during this time. so were the vocal tics; from the squeals, to the grunts that decorated his smooth high tenor croon. he had already proven himself as a songwriter, composer, and producer. not only for himself, but other artists. the fact that it's the 'billie jean' video that has the most views on youtube, proves that it's the 'thriller' era that was his peak in many ways.

yet a majority of online fans want to claim that the stuff that came after was more iconic.. I've seen with my own eyes comments from them that claim his physical transformation was an 'improvement', and that he wouldn't be as popular in Europe if he hadn't undergone them. not only is this clearly false, but it's offensive. if it was true, it would just prove that the system is broken - which it is..

early impersonators such as e'casonova and alfonso Ribeiro began during 'thriller' and are brown skinned.

at the beginning of '83, Michael's race did hold him back when he was shut out of mtv. they only allowed him on their network because the boss of cbs threatened to remove the rest of the white artists on the label from their playlist if they didn't play Michael. 'billie jean' was the one that broke the colour barrier.

I say this because I don't think the struggle is respected. it's fine to have preferences, but nothing post '83 could have existed without the foundation that it was built upon. it's perfectly acceptable (here and elsewhere) to label the golden era of Michael's career as 'pop fluff' and 'bland', and to attack his black family. yet his children (who are no longer children) and everything after 'thriller' is off limits..

we still live in a world where people are being treated unjustly, and even killed because of the colour of their skin. by the very same people who swore to 'protect and serve'. this isn't a game. on top of that, we're dismissed as 'snowflakes' and 'sjws' for calling it out. being labelled racist is worst than actually *being* racist to some. instead of actually listening with the intention to learn and change, they'd rather get defensive, deny, and deflect. it starts with basic empathy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I saw a twitter thread the other day that said that people who prefer the Bad Tour over the Victory tour are racists and are apart of the problem called colorism. It's such a bizzare statement to me.

We live in a day and age, where people are snowflakes and get easily offended and they start throwing labels like racist, sexist etc so easily.
 
Back
Top