Michael Jackson and the Sneaky 31-Year-Old Scam That Time Forgot

The late popstar’s marketing machine makes it hard to recall what was real and what wasn’t

Keith Dias
Thoughts And Ideas

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Photo via Wikipedia Commons/Artwork by Author

The king of pop is dead, long live the king

Over the weekend, I watched Will Smith’s Oscar-winning slap-inducing performance in King Richard, the story of Serena and Venus Williams’ dad.

But something bothered me about it.

I had the sneaking suspicion that some of the uglier facts in his life were glossed over or omitted. Sure enough, the entire Williams family was involved in the filmmaking process, and while it made for a good movie, I have my doubts about its truthfulness.

And that’s the trouble with legacies. People tell you what they want you to believe. If they market themselves well enough, they can sell you a lie.

If a lie is told enough times, there will be people who believe it. So I’m always skeptical when a celebrity is involved in crafting their own narratives.

Consider legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, for example. Before a title bout with Sonny Liston in 1964, he boasted that he was ‘the greatest’, and he repeated that bold statement throughout his career. Decades later, people still refer to Ali…

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Keith Dias
Thoughts And Ideas

Travel geek. Productivity nerd. Husband, father, son, brother, friend, joker. I once met Stevie Wonder. I’ve played competitive ball hockey for 30 years.