dethorro
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I’m torn on this issue.
on the one hand, michael’s race (at least in america) was an obstacle that prevented him from having the equal exposure as his white counterparts. this was even more evident during ‘thriller’, with mtv refusing to play ‘billie jean’. coke cola even hesitated on sponsoring the ‘victory’ tour because they felt that the jacksons had a limited appeal to ‘ethnics’ (their words). this was in 1984, the peak of ‘michael-mania’.
Technically, the whole negotiation with Coca-Cola would have taken place in mid-/late 1983. The Jacksons signed their deal with Don King on September 30, 1983 and the Pepsi contract was signed in November of the same year. And, not that it makes the situation better, but Coca-Cola did in fact propose a deal for $1 million, in comparison to e.g. Rolling Stone who directly declined having Michael on its cover in 1979.
But I do understand what you‘re saying. Racism was definitely a problem, even for Michael, and even in 1983, arguably the peak of his career. However, I feel like Michael was more lucky than others, even during the Off The Wall era and earlier, because he did cross over. Even during the Jackson 5 times he had plenty of white fans.