Lupe Fiasco used very specific reasoning when he gave his take on the child molestation allegations surrounding Michael Jackson that resurfaced after the documentary “Leaving Neverland” aired March 3–4 on HBO.
Since then, many have given their take on whether the late singer should be canceled or if his music should still be played, and it seems most have stood on one side or the other, but Fiasco placed himself right in the middle.
On Thursday, March 7, the “Kick Push” rapper posted his thoughts on Instagram and said, ye,s Jackson was more than flawed, but that doesn’t take away from his achievements in music and entertainment.
“Every hero has a flaw. Every hero has their time in sun,” he wrote. “We’ve applauded the films of rapists. Danced to the music of drug dealers and drug addicts, possibly one in the same. We’ve marched under the leadership of adulterers. Designed our lives around the wisdom of racists.”
“Michael was/is my hero. He’s not my God,” Fiasco continued. “Michael was/is larger than life but he was not life itself. Michael represented creative excellence but he was not excellent. Michael wowed us with Moonwalks and anti-gravity leans but he wasn’t an alien or some supernatural being.”
The Chicago rapper then said it’s possible for a person to have admiration and contempt for someone at the same time, so one doesn’t have to feel just one way.
“Take the parts that inspire and let them inspire, take the parts that disgust and make sure that we apply the pressure and grace to make sure our heroes never put us in this position again,” he wrote. “Championing Michael’s good doesn’t mean you also are championing Michael’s bad. Listening to his songs doesn’t mean you are supporting pedophilia or rape. But let’s call him to task.”
Unlike Fiasco, Wendy Williams flat out defended Jackson on Monday and called his accusers liars, although she admitted there were some parts of their claims that were believable.
“I do believe a shower in the nude. I don’t believe there was any sexual touching,” she stated. “I do believe sleepovers in the same bed. I do believe that if mother nature takes its course you get a hard penis. I don’t believe touching and I don’t believe sex.”
Fiasco’s post caused a nice size debate afterwards, and there seemed to be almost an equal number of people who agreed and disagreed with him.
“Please print this out and have it distributed NATIONALLY!!!!!!!!!” one person commented.
“Very disappointed in this caption of yours @lupefiasco,” someone else wrote. “By reading your responses below I feel you acknowledge that he did something fishy. So your lessons from this is that the parents are f–ked up but raping children is a flaw in a hero?”
