Was it fair for the news media to enter Michael’s last home after he died?

[StarlightXX]

After Michael Jackson passed away, there was all this public interest in his private life (where he lived, his children, etc). Some news companies even got access to his Los Angeles home and the room where he died - they weren’t police or detectives, but news reporters and journalists aiming to get anything known.

To be honest, I didn’t think it was fair or ethical how the media went into Michael’s home and took photos of his private residence. There was a saying in the 1800s that “even the defunct has some right to privacy”. And it was likely disruptive to his children - imagine their confusion.

 

[AdhesiveAaron]

I do think it was disruptive to his privacy and his family's. But at the end of the day, it's just a house. Other people are going to live in it.

 

[wendijane]

Truly was not. There is a thing called time and place, and privacy.. (but not with the media ...i get it)

 

[R1chard]

After Michael Jackson passed away, there was all this public interest in his private life (where he lived, his children, etc)

To be honest, I don't think there was. Nobody actually said "I really wanna see Micheal Jackson's bathroom!" It's just that most people are as thick as pigshit and they simply watch whatever is put in front of them.

I don't think you can blame the public on this one.

Especially with the kids. Nobody cared who they were until the kids themselves decided they wanted to be on TV all the time.

 

[apple🍎]

No, but it was a murder scene and you know how people act with murder. And the murder of a super high profile person.

To be honest, I don't think there was. Nobody actually said "I really wanna see Micheal Jackson's bathroom!" It's just that most people are as thick as pigshit and they simply watch whatever is put in front of them.

I don't think you can blame the public on this one.

Especially with the kids. Nobody cared who they were until the kids themselves decided they wanted to be on TV all the time.

People absolutely cared. I remember the headlines and articles and news reports back in the day, people wanted to know everything about his death, the circumstance and people in the media were pushing his kids to the spotlight (especially Paris). I remember the language they used on all that. And it was a pandemonium, it truly broke the internet and the whole world was shocked for months, the likes we've never seen again, so yes a lot of people cared.

 

[R1chard]

People absolutely cared. I remember the headlines and articles and news reports back in the day

Nah.

Of course TV broadcasters are gonna make headlines about what people wanted - because they were going to show a documentary on MJ later that day!!

It's just showbusiness. Newspapers and TV will tell you that everybody wanted to watch what they're showing. That doesn't make it true.

The claim was "interest in his private life (where he lived, his children". This is what I refute. People might have watched that stuff, but they didn't actively want it.

Prince has been alive for 12 years when MJ died. Beyond maybe the first year or two of his life, nobody cared who he was. That's a whole decade of anonymity. Even when he died, people just said "that must be sad for the children", and then they immediately carried on with what they were doing. There simply wasn't any genuine interest in MJ's children or where he lived.

2009 was very different to today, no reality TV or social media interaction every few hours. People just had different priorities than to be obsessed with the private lives of people they'd never met.

 

[Maxym]

2009 was very different to today, no reality TV or social media interaction every few hours. People just had different priorities than to be obsessed with the private lives of people they'd never met.

I think that you got 2009 wrong on the time scale. If I remember well reality TV exploded at the end of the 1990s (Google says it started in 1948.)
And people have always been obsessed with private lives of famous people.

 

[R1chard]

The part I was getting at was the interaction every few hours. I remember the first series of Big Brother in about 2000, but back then it was just something that was on for one hour each night, with nothing in between. Edited highlights, not live. You didn't have continuous coverage 24/7.

And again, I'm not saying people don't watch or read it. I'm saying they don't really want to watch/read it. They just watch it because it's on, and they're too lazy and/or stupid to change the channel. They're not actively seeking it out. It's just a habit to consume this stuff.

Essentially, once people realised that MJ was keeping his kids out of the public eye, they simply ignored them. They weren't interested in seeking out the info or pictures.

Really it's the same with mainstream evening news. Something like 10% of the British population watch the News At Ten as part of their routine. But that does not mean 10% of the population are political activists, lol.

 

[StarlightXX]

To be honest, I don't think there was. Nobody actually said "I really wanna see Micheal Jackson's bathroom!" It's just that most people are as thick as pigshit and they simply watch whatever is put in front of them.

I don't think you can blame the public on this one.

Especially with the kids. Nobody cared who they were until the kids themselves decided they wanted to be on TV all the time.

I don’t think the kids really wanted to be in the spotlight. Paris did/ does have big dreams but the Jackson family weren’t being responsible adults and pushed the underaged kids into the spotlight and profited off their exposures.

 

[R1chard]

Yeah, you're right. It was disgusting what they made Paris do at the funeral. Maybe that was the start of it, and what made them want to go down that route.