Even in death, Michael Jackson stokes controversy. Like millions of other people, I decided to see the recent film, Michael. Despite receiving abrasively brutal reviews, the film has broken the record for the biggest opening in biopic history and garnered more than $400m since its release, with a projected profit of over $900m by the end of its run. The film recounts Jackson’s life, from the inaugural pioneering days of the Jackson Five, terrorized by belt-wielding dad Joe, to his emergence as a stunningly original, globally adored solo act, culminating in the colossal Wembley Stadium concert in 1988, at which point he was entering his thirtieth year of life.

It was notable how segments of the audience recoiled when papa Joe Jackson, adroitly performed by Colman Domingo, beats a young Jackson despite delivering a successful performance. The initial reaction emerged when Juliano Valdi, who admirably plays ten-year-old Michael, records lyrics for the first time for Motown legend Berry Gordy. Director Antoine Fuqua substituted the music to spotlight raw vocals from Valdi, who is so dramatically similar to Jackson that several fellow attendees gasped with admiration of the young man’s vocal abilities. Reaction was duplicated when the adult version of Michael, superbly played by his real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson (Jermaine’s son), ominously sounded like and deftly captured his esteemed uncle’s dancing moves.

Michael is a specific narration of the singer’s life, and this is a fact that appeases more people than many of the film’s critics think. His business savvy was evident in how he shrewdly worked with studio executives and agents, making it clear he had no intention of being confined to being viewed solely as a “Black” artist; rather, he intended to be a universal artist who transcoded all cultures. Other actors enacting real-life people integral to Jackson’s life included Larenz Tate (who plays Motown record label founder Berry Gordy), Mike Meyers (who plays CBS Records magnate Walter Yetnikoff), and Nia Long (who plays Michael’s long-suffering, loving, and largely emotionally submissive mother Katherine). Notably, the film doesn’t refuse to expose how a young Michael acquired some of his odd behaviors in adulthood, including latent obsessions with the various trappings of childhood. Rather, the movie showcases them for laughs. I noticed that a number of audience members laughed at the antics of the animals he surrounds himself with, from giraffes to his longtime chimp friend Bubbles.

Okay. I will be honest and come clean; I will concede that I was a huge Michael Jackson fan! From the time I was a teenager, I rabidly purchased all of his albums. As I see it, even today as a late middle-aged man, he was one of the greatest entertainers to ever live. To this very day, I still harbor that assessment. In fact, on the very evening of his passing on June 25, 2009, I received a call from one of my siblings asking me how I was feeling. She knew how much I admired the King of Pop. Truth be told, I was very saddened to hear of his death. As I saw it, he was so young, so vibrant, and still had so much more to accomplish. Granted, his life history was far from serene, yet it certainly was nowhere near as “tragic” or “tormented” as some media pundits and entertainment correspondents argued at the time.

I had followed the late Mr. Jackson from his days as a member of the Jackson Five when I was in elementary school (my older siblings were also huge fans) to his solo efforts with his superb Off the Wall (which, along with his fabulous Dangerous, I believe were his best albums). Off the Wall went multiplatinum and made Jackson the first artist to have four songs from the same album reach the top 10!

As if this was not significant enough, his next album, “Thriller”, produced six No. 1 songs, sold 40 million copies, won at the time a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for “Beat It”), and earned Jackson a record-breaking eight American Music Awards. It was the best-selling album of 1983 worldwide, and in 1984 it became the first album to be the best-selling in the United States for two straight years. It had an enormous impact on the music industry. In addition, in 1983, Jackson was credited for single-handedly reviving the music industry, which prior to this point underwent a major crisis as artists were routinely being dropped by record labels. Think about it. Even if no other artist had released any album that year, Michael Jackson alone would have revived an industry that up until that time was in an economic funk! Such a record is phenomenal. No one, not even The Beatles, could attest to such a feat.

It was due to the phenomenal success of Michael Jackson that MTV, which up until this time catered to a predominantly eighteen to thirty-year-old White midwestern audience, slowly but surely began to give considerable airtime to Black artists, including Prince, Tina Turner, and Whitney Houston. Indeed, by the late 1980s, MTV was playing Black artists with frantic frequency, even going so far as to have a daily show titled, YO! MTV RAPS, that aired on the network from August 1988 to August 1995.

Most of us have heard the story (the film alludes to it as well) about how MTV was initially resistant to playing Jackson’s videos but relented due to pressure from Walter Yetnikoff, then-president of CBS records, who threatened to pull all of his artists from the music channel if they refused to comply with his demand. Whether such a narrative is valid or the stuff of urban legend, no one can dispute the fact that such a decision was a wise and lucrative one, both financially and globally for MTV.

Let’s face it, “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” and, needless to say, “Thriller,” were among the most innovative videos ever aired. Jackson’s famous moonwalk and phenomenal dancing prowess alone prompted mid-twentieth century dancing legend Fred Astaire to praise Jackson for his hoofing abilities. Whether anyone wants to acknowledge it or not, such consistent racial inclusion and transformation of a White-dominated industry was largely due to Michael Jackson.

Unfortunately, rather than focusing on such positive accomplishments as his donating millions of dollars to various charities and altruistic efforts, there are those - mostly detractors - who seem more content to ruminate on what they perceived as the negative aspects of Jackson’s life. They are the ones who take perverse comfort in espousing everything that was suspect or controversial about Jackson. Examples of such allegations include the following:

• He was a self-hating Black man;

• He was probably a pedophile;

• He was a drug addict; and

• His marriages were a sham.

And the list goes on and on.

For all of his supposed “reluctance” to embrace his racial heritage, unlike many Black entertainers (and some White ones for that matter) who are very influential and have substantial multiracial followings, Jackson did not hesitate to confront the issue of race. Such cultural impositions were evident in such songs as “Black or White” and “Heal the World.” This is in stark contrast to many of his supposedly “pro super Black” critics who frequently have no problem doing a number on White people in private, but whose militant, rhetorically racially conscious backbones become spineless marshmallows when in the presence of certain Whites. There are numerous examples of him shattering racial barriers, stealthily and brazenly promoting Black culture, and forcing his doubters to concede that he suffered from vitiligo.

The same can be said for many of Jackson’s White and other non-Black critics who would often turn a blind eye; adopt a “hear no evil, see no evil, fear no evil” mindset; or even wink at the deviant, in some cases, pathological behavior of celebrities of their own ethnic group, but who had no problems in denouncing Jackson as some “freak of nature.” While Jackson did settle out of court a lawsuit alleging (I stress the word allege) child molestation, he did not admit to guilt. In his 2005 trial, he was acquitted of all charges by an all-White jury. For decades, the public was fed endless talking points. In fact, Macaulay Culkin testified that Jackson never abused him and later reaffirmed that publicly. Emmanuel Lewis has defended Jackson repeatedly. Corey Feldman stated Jackson never acted inappropriately toward him personally, while also supporting alleged victims being heard.

Additionally, irrespective of numerous news accounts, all throughout his illustrious career, there was no hard evidence that Michael Jackson was a habitual user of drugs. In fact, it was because of his image as a drug-free celebrity (which was almost an oxymoron in Hollywood during the 1980s and mid-1990s) that he was invited to the White House in 1984 by then-president Ronald Reagan to receive an award and to serve as a spokesperson for former first lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” to drugs campaign.

There were others who argued that, in spite of his immense talents, his love life was nonexistent and fraudulent, as was evident in his divorces. It was very peculiar that such know-it-alls supposedly seemed to know more about the intimate details of Jackson’s private life than he did. Moreover, given a nation where the divorce rate is more than 50 percent (among Hollywood celebrities the percentage is much higher), Jackson was hardly an aberration. In fact, he was pretty consistent with the norm.

In essence, unlike many of his fans, many media critics and other personal detractors resented a pageantry of artistic accomplishments. They hungered and longed for scandal. They craved sordid allegations, tabloid drama, gut-wrenching courtroom tension, and fierce spectacle. But supporters from across the globe went to the theatre to embrace the music, the artist, the genius, the renaissance performer, and the ongoing legacy, coupled with the reminder that Michael Jackson remains one of the most distinctive celebrities in modern history.

Could Michael Jackson have handled some of his public relations better than he did? Certainly. I do not think too many people would argue about this. To be sure, like a number of people, Michael Jackson was eccentric. However, being nonconformist is not a crime, nor does it mean that he was the reprobate that many of his opponents made him out to be. The reality is that notable degree of criticism directed toward Jackson was due to racial hostility and resentment. Love him or hate him, there is no doubt that Michael Jackson was one of the most talented entertainers the world has ever seen, and it will be a long time, perhaps never, that we may see his likes again. As the Rev Al Sharpton commented at his memorial service in 2009, “Thank you, Michael.” I concur. May he continue to rest in peace.