Would you say Michael Jackson was sexist, at least to some extent? As much as I love songs like Dirty Diana, I can't help but wonder if that's how he really felt about women, or at least fans, and get a little uncomfortable.
He did say some rather cruel things about Madonna too and I don't like the way he pretty much used and discarded both Lisa and Debie when they wouldn't give him kids.
I don't think he was all bad, some women he was close to seem to speak very highly of him, just wondering if this is another area in which he was more flawed than people first assumed
1 - Madonna sexually harrassed him. OF COURSE he had some harsh words for her. Anyone would. He was still respectful whenever they met in public, and while he did say she was jealous of his success, he DID acknowledge that being a woman in the industry had to be frustrating because "women don't cheer for other women and guys think they're too cool for that"
2 - Songs like Dirty Diana and Billie Jean are based on a particular kind of fan: groupies that stalk, harrass and lie about the stars they're obsessed with. Of course they don't come across as good people... but neither do the characters Michael is playing. I
t's heavily implied the narrator of Billie Jean is lying about the kid not being his, the ones in Dirty Diana and Dangerous cheat on their partners (the one in Dangerous flat out admits he LIKES the bullshit mindgames of this evil seductress), and the one in Blood On The Dance Floor was the one who used and discarded the girl that is now out for revenge ("Since you seduced her, how does it feel to know the woman is out to kill?") Michael didn't like groupies. He also didn't like stars that abused said groupies.
3 - He didn't use either of his wives. He got a bit pushy with Lisa to have kids at the end of their marriage, but that was because BEFORE the crisis in their relationship started they had been actively trying for a baby. He wasn't trying to force a woman who didn't want kids to become a mom, he was frustrated that there was a sudden halt to their plans to have a family together. Lisa Marie literally said that, in hindsight, she wishes she had appreciated his attempts of making an effort with the relationship, even if he didn't always go about it the right way.
As for Debbie Rowe, being his surrogate was literally her idea, and through the years she never mentioned having any regret or feeling used, quite the contrary, so lets not put words in her mouth or infantilize her. Michael supported her finantially and emotionally during the pregnancies, but actually being a united family was never in the plans, and they only got married because his mother insisted. Debbie was well aware that once Michael decided he had enough kids, or once she was no longer up for it, their "marriage" would end, and she always drew a very clear boundary with the media saying "They are HIS kids" and that she was Michael's FRIEND, and that if he and Lisa wanted to get back together, she'd gladly step aside.
For a guy born in 1958 and raised as a Jehova's Witness, Michael Jackson was REALLY progressive.
He didn't stop criticising how normalized it was for famous men to mistreat, and downright abuse, fans just because said fans dared to want to sleep with them - not even when his own brothers were on the list of guys he was talking shit about, and not even when his disgust for that kind of behavior led to people ridiculing him.
He was 1000% supportive of his mother when she filed for divorce from his dad after years of non-stop infidelity, and was disappointed when she backdown. And he might have had a lot of empathy for his brothers when they were going through relationship issues, but also constantly praise his sisters-in-law for trying to make it work - and several of the former partners of his brothers repeatedly said Michael was the only decent man in that family.
That kind empathy wasn't absent in his music either - "Little Susie" is about a little girl that dies due to being neglected by her family, "Do You Know Where Your Children Are?" tells the story of a girl that runs away from home do to being abused by her step-father and ends up falling victim to more predators (including those who are promising her fame, like in the song "Hollywood Tonight"), and "Slave To The Rhythm" is about a woman that is being overworked and underappreciated both by her boss and by her (dowrnight abusive) husband.
He also had close friendships with, and showed public support to, several women who were constantly done dirty by the media, were mistreated by famous (and powerful) men, and/or were at the center of controversies due to scandals regarding their love lives - Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Brooke Shields, Liza Minneli, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Princess Diana, Britney Spears, and, of course, his own sister Janet.
He worked with tons of talented women that have only said positive things about him through the decades, and remember the whole "men think they're above cheering for women" thing? HE sure as fuck wasn't above it as he'd just casually do things like publically fanboy over Björk.
Finally, he clearly didn't care about things like being the "provider" or the more successful person when he was in a relationship, hence him deliberately going for someone like Lisa Marie Presley, who was rich and famous from the moment she was born and wouldn't ever, ever need a damn thing from him. He also had no problem with women being lesbians or bi, something his very-much-not-straight daughter confirmed multiple times.
Michael Jackson was one of the few famous men (especially on the list of those born in the late 50s) that could actually be normal about women. He's one of the few super rich and powerful men that were NOT revealed to have ties to either Diddy or Epstein. Put some respect on his name.
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