All things MJ

Michael Jackson is dead. We've read the headlines for years in the National Enquirer and other tabloids and just attributed it to Michael's penchant for the dramatic or the insatiable need for adoration, attention, or fame. So the news of his passing is shocking and tragic news for several reasons.

Michael Jackson, as a human being, was as flawed as rest of us. The two trials that he endured on charges of child molestation will forever taint him and cast him as a sort of villain in the eyes of many of his critics. Sadly, Michael will never be able to ever get a chance to redeem himself in the court of public opinion. There are many out there who feel that Jackson was indeed guilty of inappropriate conduct with young children who visited his Neverland Ranch.

The real fact behind this whole tragic saga is that we, fans and detractors alike, will never get the opportunity to know what really happened. And that part of Michael Jackson's public life will never go away just because of who Michael Jackson was and is to people. So, as a consequence, his very public missteps will live on in infamy and coexist with the legacy he left behind.

Michael Jackson, the artist and humanitarian, left a rich legacy behind that very few before or after him could ever hope to match. On his artistic merits alone, Michael Jackson will forever been celebrated as a musical genius, an innovator, and one of the all-time great artists of our time.

Rest in peace, Michael Jackson. You will be forever remembered.