PR Straight Talk

Michael Jackson was an artistic genius - and like many artistic geniuses of his calibre - he had a very sensitive inner child which in his case had become wounded by an abusive father, and the absence of a normal childhood.  Michael was used and manipulated by many barracuda types in his life - managers and financial advisors who were not only interested in cashing in on his mega-success - but people who did not truly care for him as a person.  He was surrounded by people who feigned caring about him, but they were disingenous - whether we’re talking about plastic surgeons, M.D.’s who overmedicated him, or close consultants including publicists.

Michael did have the wisdom to occasionally turn to spiritual teachers like Deepak Chopra and Rabbi Shmuley - but he did not have a close inner circle of centered, caring people who cared more about HIM than his image.  These were people who feigned concern, but their real motivation was monetary self-enrichment.

In authentic public relations, the “image” is an extension of the true person - the true being.  Michael’s image was tarnished by the failure of close confidantes who might have helped him work on his demons with expert counseling, and help him disassociate his conflicts from his true artistic self, allowing him to see himself for the great, caring and artistic person he truly was.

Instead, Michael’s conflicted self and unconscious desire for punishment - since the punishment he endured from his father as a child was the “price” he was made to believe was necessary for success - allowed terrible people to later come into his life, which exacerbated the poor choices he made, and his image.  Even this may have been exacerbated by an on-stage incident that burned his hair and scalp, and set in motion antidotes for the excruciating pain he experienced, as well as plastic surgeries that went too far.  It is also my belief that Michael was not a child molester, as echoed by his friends Deepak Chopra and Chopra’s son, and Donald Trump. 

If a wise public relations practitioner had come into his life, understanding his personal struggle and physical pain, and had become a true friend of Michael’s, working with him to gain permission to bring wise and caring people into his inner circle, this kind of support might have changed Michael’s course, may have prevented the myriad of crises Michael confronted, and supported an image that would have been truer to the extremely talented artist, shining being and spirit-filled, uplifting entertainer Michael Jackson surely was.