I remember being in a classroom in which everyone was talking about how much Fall Out Boy sucks, are sell-outs, etc. The teacher had Fall Out Boy stickers that he was offering because the company gave it to our school for some promotional thing, and literally no one wanted one. Someone said they'll use it for firewood.
Moral of story: does this mean Fall Out Boy isn't one of the biggest bands in the United States today? Does a classroom calling MJ a freak and a molester mean he still wouldn't be huge with a new album? Ask the average young male what he thinks of Justin Timberlake. Chances are you'll hear the word "fag" a lot. Is Justin Timberlake not one of the biggest stars in the country? Ask the average ANYONE what they think about Zac Effron and you'll probably hear that. Is Zac Effron not one of the biggest teeny bopper sensations today?
Maybe the poster who brought this up should listen to herself and other fans rather than students who she presumably should be smarter than. Michael Jackson had a re-release of a 25 year old album, which outsold his sister's NEW album. To imply that young people calling him a freak equates to lack of awesome career possibilities is ridiculous.
Hypothetical scenario: Michael Jackson's new CD is #1 all over the world, breaks everyone's expectations, and includes the most played singles on the radio; he is the #1 current recording artist in the world, again. He'll get dissed even more BECAUSE of that. Popularity is not popular, if you get what that means.
P.S. the firewood comment was from me. Even though it made no sense, but high schoolers are easy to impress, so I got a laugh.