Michael Jackson’s repulsive legacy should carry the same condemnation as Jeffrey Epstein’s

Somebody finally had to say it.

Dan Reed, the director of the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, compared Michael Jackson to Jeffrey Epstein and, when it came to Jackson, bluntly said, “people just don’t care.”

He is right. And the moment those words were posted, I knew that the arrows would likely start flying at Reed.

They flew at me years ago when I wrote a column for the New York Daily News about watching Leaving Neverland as an abuse survivor myself. That column was eventually taken down, likely because the comments weren’t expressions of sorrow or solidarity. They were death threats. Threats to find out where I live. Accusations of being racist. Vile, ugly attacks over my audacity to say anything critical about the pop icon.

Related: Michael Jackson Still on the Airwaves Despite Leaving Neverland

I’m saying it again anyway. And I’m bracing for more, because only those of us who have been through hell and back, tormented by memories of our predators, truly understand why Jackson and Epstein’s names deserve to share a sentence. The accusations against Jackson (Rolling Stone listed them late last month), repeated over decades by dozens of people with nothing to gain and everything to lose, are not coincidences. They are not money grabs. They are not the fantasies of starstruck children.

They are the truth.

I know this because I recognize what truth looks like when I see it in their eyes, the quiver in their voices, and the shared fear that comes with telling it. I know it because I am one of those people.

After the Pennsylvania grand jury investigation into clergy abuse in 2018, I wrote my first column for The Advocate about discovering that one of the priests named in the report was the man who groomed and tried to sexually assault me shortly after my father died.

It remains the hardest thing I have ever written, even harder than writing about suicide attempts, harder than writing about a years-long battle with severe depression, because what that priest did partly triggered mental health struggles that lay dormant inside me for years.

Related: The Consequences of a Priest's Abuse

And when I finally put it on paper, the tears would not stop. The pain was immeasurable. It still is.

That is the same pain I see in the eyes of Michael Jackson’s accusers. And this week, fresh testimony from the Cascio family on 60 Minutes Australia, long considered Jackson’s “second family,” only deepened what many of us have known for years, that Jackson was a predator. A groomer. A destroyer of childhoods.

He and Epstein belong in the same breath, the same sentence, and the same fire pit in hell.

Both men wielded their wealth to get what they wanted. Jackson also carried the added power of global superstardom. Both cultivated access to children through elaborate systems of trust, generosity, isolation, and manipulation. And gross deception. Very gross.

Both left behind survivors whose pain is real, ongoing, and deserving of belief. Yet their voices are routinely drowned out by people more interested in protecting a legacy of a deviant than protecting a child. I’m not mincing words when I say that, because that is exactly what I believe. If you can listen to “Billie Jean” while refusing to listen to Jackson’s accusers, then I have no room for you.

The survivors of Jackson and Epstein’s crimes have spoken and will continue to speak. Tragically, more may still come forward, because there are always more. Always. Those of us who have lived through abuse recognize the fear in the faces of victims telling the truth and the unbearable effort it takes to relive what was done to them.

And yet, a Michael Jackson biopic passed $500 million worldwide in just three weeks. Lines around the block. Record-setting numbers. Standing ovations for a man credibly accused of unspeakable crimes against children.

When that happens, when you watch someone like Jackson get celebrated, canonized, and turned into a legend, it feels like he is getting away with it. Like he is laughing from wherever he is. Like the children, the hurt he caused mattered less than the music he left behind.

That’s the problem I have.

When one of his songs pops up on Spotify, I skip it as fast as I can. He doesn’t deserve even a fraction of a cent from me for listening to his grotesque music. This is why I believe every honor Jackson ever received should be revisited, where there are many. The Grammy Awards, the American Music Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Those two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Presidential recognition from Reagan and Bush. And perhaps most galling of all, MTV’s highest honor still bears his name: the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

These honors are reminders to his accusers that he’s still getting away with it. They are statements about who we, as a culture, choose to protect and celebrate. They should be withdrawn. Canceled. Buildings and locations bearing his name should be renamed, too.

I know what’s coming next. Jackson’s most devoted fans will see this headline and rush to the keyboard before reading a word. They will call me a liar, a fame-seeker, a hater. They will call me a racist. I’ve seen every insult before. They will insist his music is his legacy and tell me to separate the art from the artist. That is an abominable reason to give him a pass. If you were abused by a priest, would you want him to remain a priest? Absolutely not.

Related: Marlon Brando, Michael Jackson Discuss Alleged Abuse in New Recording

What they will not do is sit with the pain described here. They will not ask themselves what it feels like to be a child violated by someone you trusted, only to spend the rest of your life watching the world celebrate your abuser.

If you have never experienced that, consider yourself extraordinarily lucky. If you have, and there are far more of us than most people realize, because survivors so often stay silent out of fear, shame, and the agony of reliving it, then you already know what I know.

Michael Jackson was a monster. Jeffrey Epstein was a monster. There is no other way to describe what they did.

And the fact that one is still glorified around the world is an insult to the people who carry the wounds he caused in silence.

Opinion is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit Advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.