The "Crime" That Destroyed Michael Jackson

Hi, this is Rabbi Shais Taub. Okay, this is a sensitive topic for many of us and that is if you're a sensitive soul who's ever been publicly humiliated as a punishment [music] for not reading unwritten social rules, then I want to talk to you about a topic you may not expect me to have any opinion about, which [music] is Michael Jackson's 44th birthday and the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. All right, I am not a pop culture commentator. This is not my point, but I do want to talk about the 2002 MTV Awards and Michael Jackson's 44th birthday. Okay. Not that this is my field of expertise, but I just want to share with you something. I don't remember it happening at the time, but you know with the internet everything that ever happened may as well have happened yesterday. So, let me tell you what happened. If you don't remember it just like I didn't remember. Um It was Michael Jackson's 44th birthday and MTV invited him to their awards, 2002, to present him Well, this is the contention. Did they tell him they were going to present him with an honor or not? So, there's uh a lot of debate about this. It seems that their messaging was sort of ambiguous, like deliberately perhaps ambiguous, because Michael's a big ratings draw and they wanted to get him. Obviously, if they can lure him there to perform there, it's good for ratings. So, it seems like they may have indicated to him they were presenting him with some type of an award. All right. Britney Spears comes out. She's the presenter. She reads from the teleprompter. She's not improvising and she says, "I consider Michael to be the artist of the millennium." Those are the words, okay? She's not making up these words. She's reading the words they're telling her to read, "Artist of the millennium." Michael comes out. She presents him with a cake. On the cake, there's the statuette of like, you know, that musical symbol that, you know, the treble clef at the beginning of like musical notation. So, like there's this treble clef statuette, figurine, whatever you want to call it, which is like kind of award size on top of the birthday cake, cuz it is his birthday. Michael sees it, takes it in his hand, walks up to the podium and he says, "Wow, this is such an honor to be called the artist of the millennium. Thank you for honoring." And he gives an acceptance speech like as you've seen in a formal award. When I was a little boy in Indiana, if someone had told me If someone had told me that one day I would be getting as a musician um the Artist of the Millennium Award, I wouldn't have believed it. He said, "What if I What if I knew as a little kid in In- Indiana I could If I I could never even dreamed as a little kid in In- Indiana that I'm going to grow up and I'm going to be the artist of uh the millennium." Okay. It was a misunderstanding. There was no such award called Artist of the Millennium. Now, it may have been that they purposely sort of misled him to make him think that possibly there was such an award. It could have been legitimately totally um uh an unfortunate mistake. Okay, but here's what was not a mistake. Immediately after, they started bashing him. On the program itself, Jimmy Fallon um like moments later, you can This is all on YouTube. You can watch this. Jimmy Fallon moments later holds the Either it's the same award or it's an identical award uh that Michael was holding, little, you know, figurine treble clef-shaped figure, and he says, "Oh, I was just awarded with Artist of the Millennium. I guess they're giving them out backstage to everybody." I'd like to uh accept the Artist of the Millennium Award myself. I guess they're giving them backstage. Everyone's getting them. And then he puts in a dig about Michael's appearance, something about plastic surgery. Um And then that night, the press starts bashing. And they're saying Michael's such a fool and he's such He's so clueless and he thought He thought they were giving him Artist of the Millennium. And then people were saying, "It's 2002. How could there even be an Artist of the Millennium? We're 2 years into the millennium." Okay. Now, MTV had a year to think about this and to decide that that was unnecessarily cruel. People close to Michael say that when he realized what happened, he went out to his car and he cried all night. MTV had a year to reframe the narrative. Instead, they doubled down. At the 2003 MTV Music Awards, they have Jack Black come out in full costume. Again, this is all on video. He's wearing the identical outfit of Michael Jackson from the previous year, which is not like a coincidence. Not like a regular outfit. It's like he He's wearing metallic shin guards, okay? It's clearly the same outfit and he comes out on stage and does a pratfall and, you know, he's like bumbling and, you know, physical comedy. And then he gets up and he's like, "Wow, as a little kid, I never would have dreamed that I'd be awarded with the Super Genius of the Century Award." If someone had told me when I was a little kid that I was going to win the Super Genius of the Universe Award, I would have said, "Man, you know way. You're crazy." AND I WON IT. Meaning a parody of Michael's misunderstanding from the previous year. Okay. Again, I'm not a pop culture commentator and I'm certainly not here to analyze something that happened 20 years ago. That's not my point. I'm talking about this because when I became aware of this incident, it felt so eerily familiar to me and I think if you're still watching, it may feel eerily familiar to you. And that is and I hope I don't get emotional when I talk about this. And that is there is a certain type of a personality that is a little bit offbeat, maybe a lot offbeat, and precisely because he or she is offbeat, he or she sees stuff that other people don't see, you know, they're creative, they're visionaries, all that stuff. And that brings them a lot of success, but also it makes them weirdos. And what's interesting is the way that society treats its marvelous oddballs. See, on one hand, society elevates such people to levels of admiration. They put them on a pedestal. I mean, with Michael, it was like the level of you could even call it, you know, worship, the way that people treated Michael, or at least many people, millions of people treated him. And at the same time, that same world will turn on that person whenever it's expedient. Or for no reason. For no reason at all. And this is what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the experience of what I call sensitive souls, people who are just a little bit too sensitive for this world, people who are wired a little bit differently, who feel things deeply, who are the artists and the visionaries and the creative types, although they don't have to be artists. There's different ways that this could express itself, but these are the people who are um you know, just they see things maybe more acutely or clearly and they have a lot of intuition and a lot of talent. And at the same time, not in spite of that, but as the flip side of the same exact coin, maybe they're kind of like socially inept or weird or they don't read social cues and stuff like that. So, basically, to me, this is writ large the experience of this type of person in life. Now, you can say to me, "Oh, Rabbi, you're talking about people who are neurodivergent." And I don't use that word. First of all, it's a clinical term and I'm a rabbi, so I try to try to avoid using clinical terms. And it's not like this ableist thing, like I don't want to use the term neurodivergent. I actually think that that's a useful term. It has These labels are useful in as much as they're shorthand. They help us to understand things more quickly. I I And maybe the Venn diagram of what I'm describing is almost like completely overlapping neurodivergent and this sensitive soul profile, but I choose to use like a more spiritual way to describe it, sensitive soul. And what I mean is people who, you know, they come to this world, they come to the container, to the vehicle and they're never sort of fully integrated into the world. They're always sort of feeling like I'm an alien. I'm from another realm. I'm never truly settled in the physical world. And that's what makes them sort of magical in some ways, but it's also what makes them weird and socially awkward in other ways. Um And maybe you're going to tell me, "Well, that's exactly neurodivergent." And people have speculated that Michael Jackson was on the spectrum and they talk about, you know, that his special interest was music and he was a perfectionist and he was so super super super focused and he would get into the zone and when he was when he was producing music and he was just like completely consumed with it. And they talk about his being socially awkward. And, you know, we can't avoid speaking about and I I think it has to be brought up. You know, let's talk about as far as being clueless his relationships with children, which were certainly um not normal, okay? And but I want to speak about that for a second. I'm not going to pretend to know what can ever be known. Um I'm not here to adjudicate this matter. What I'll say to you is this. Corey Feldman, who was very to Michael Jackson as a child, has been very very open about being abused in Hollywood, that he suffered abuse in the entertainment industry. He's been very open about that. And he said that Michael Jackson's relationship with him was completely innocent, childlike innocent. Macaulay Culkin also was close with Michael Jackson as a child. He said his relationship with Michael was completely innocent. What I'm saying is I can't know what can't be known. But what I am saying is this. That Michael could have ostensibly, I mean rather it's rather plausible that he was so socially clueless that he really did not know how bizarre his behavior with children appeared. And it does appear bizarre. And and somebody who had his back should have told him, "Michael, I get it. You were robbed of a childhood, but this is not normal behavior, right?" And I get it if he was like on the spectrum and he was like oblivious to that, but somebody should have been like "I'm sorry, you just you can't do it. Like you you can't. It's like it's not it's not normal, right?" Okay, but so some some people say that [clears throat] Michael was autistic. Some people say he had CPTSD. That's complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which, you know, obviously we can't diagnose the man. He's not here anymore. And but we it's very well documented that he had a terribly abusive childhood, which is also part of why people theorize that he had this fascination with living reliving his childhood or living a childhood that he never had because his father, Joe Jackson, was I mean this is documented. This is this is a known thing. Was was a very abusive father and uh robbed Michael of his childhood. So, you know, CPTSD is another some people consider it another type of neuro neuro divergent wiring cuz you know trauma, especially uh repeated trauma, especially as a child, does rewire the brain. So, at any rate, you know, there are theories about Michael. Maybe he was autistic. Maybe he had CPTSD. I don't need any of those like clinical labels in order for this to make sense to me. Although, like I said, sometimes it's a useful shorthand for speaking about these things. To me, what I think we can say safely that everyone can see is, you know, here's a guy who embodies paradoxes. Uh on one hand, he's genius. On the other hand, I don't want to call him a fool cuz I'm not trying to insult this guy, especially he's not here to defend himself. But like oblivious, clueless, totally out of step with the rest of reality. And yet because he's out of step with the rest of reality, that's why he's like so far ahead and he's able to be such an innovator in the artistic space. And I should mention, by the way, it wasn't just art. He was a music business genius. People don't realize that he was in his 20s and he quietly turned around and he bought up the entire Beatles catalog. He was he was collaborating with Paul McCartney and Paul McCartney was mentioning that that his catalog was for sale. And Michael's just like, "Oh, yeah, really?" He's [laughter] like acting all innocent. And he turned around and he found out how much it cost and he bought it. And Paul McCartney's head head was spinning. Michael went and he bought up the Beatles catalog, okay? So, talking about someone pretty savvy in certain areas. They say, by the way, that you know, whatever. I'm not going to get into conspiracy theories, but he made he made himself into a major enemy of the industry cuz the deal that he was able to broker with Sony where he basically outfoxed people who thought that he was uh you know, a rube that they could you know, they thought he was a pushover. They they thought they could pull one over on him. And he was very very savvy, very savvy in those areas. But then in other areas like this 2002 Music Awards he was clearly like missing something. And again, I'm not here to talk about Michael. I'm here to talk about the fact that you know, I think a lot of us relate to that. It's like >> [snorts] >> there's areas where I have this extra intuition and clarity and vision. And then there's like regular areas of day-to-day life where I'm such a fool. I'm so clueless. I'm just totally missing the book of life that everybody else seems to have been handed. They all know how you're supposed to behave in it. I don't know how you're supposed to behave in it. People are getting annoyed with me. And people people are are getting frustrated with me. I don't even know what I'm doing. What am I doing wrong? And especially, you know, I want to talk about the merciless nature of it that how the society of quote unquote normal people, which the majority defines what's normal, they turn on this person so harshly. It's almost like, you know, I was thinking about it. It's like, why did they roast him so bad for Okay, so let's say he was clueless. Let's say it was totally like a ridiculous thing to assume you were being given an award and to to sincerely accept Artist of the Millennium. Let's say that was a totally ridiculous assumption to make. But why go in on him like the like why why the the like the cruelty of it? And I realized, you know, this is just my theory. You might have your own theory. That in Now I will use a clinical term. I'll use the term neurotypical for a second, okay? Neurotypical society like the most important thing is the smoothness of social interactions to the point where um like they're okay with lying. Like deliberately saying mis truths if that will just make things flow better, okay? And and everyone accepts that that's what the unwritten contract is. Now, it's the oddball who doesn't know that he didn't get the memo. So, for him, he wants to say the truth, which is probably, you know, the biggest crime, right? Um you know, the emperor's wearing no clothes is like the biggest crime in the neurotypical society. So, it's almost like this. When the marvelous oddball, the genius, the visionary, when their weirdness comes off in a way that's pleasant to consume, like they dance nicely and they sing nicely, then you put them up on a pedestal. But the minute that weirdness comes off in any way that causes so much as a the faintest glimmer of second-hand cringe, that is a capital offense in society at large. And that's why they punish it so mercilessly. And I'm not talking about Michael anymore. That's not the point. I'm talking about those of us who have been in those positions. That the biggest crime in normal society is causing second-hand cringe by not knowing what the social norms are. And it's punished severely. It's interesting, by the way, you know, Britney Spears is the one who presented Michael with the award. And again, I'm not a pop culture commentator a commentator and it's not like I followed I I can't claim to have followed either Michael or Britney's careers. But I live in this world, you know, I'm I'm aware of you know, certainly when talking about iconic celebrities. You know, I know I know who Elvis is. I know who Charlie Chaplin is. So, I know who Michael Jackson and Britney Spears are. I mean, you know who these people are. Um >> [clears throat] >> it seems that Oh, and you know, with Michael, it's only speculation whether he was neurodivergent. Britney said she had ADHD. She was diagnosed. What's interesting to me is a very similar like hauntingly similar um arc that happened to her later. Like she was like adored for like this innocence. And then the minute that she was no longer I guess, you know, you could say she started to become aware of how she was being exploited and she was resisting that. Or you can even just say that her her her her her her magic was no longer pleasant to consume um as an object. Uh but it became uh cringey. Made other people embarrassed. And I like I said, that's the biggest crime in neurotypical society is to make anyone um socially uncomfortable for a moment. And then at that point, I mean, she was punished worse than Michael if if I if I can say so myself. I mean, she she she had her autonomy taken away. And again, I'm not here to talk about celebrities. This is not TMZ. That's not my point. Okay, really. And if if you're into celebrity gossip, please look look at my look Don't subscribe to this channel because you're here for celebrity gossip. I will probably never speak about celebrities again. So, please that's not my point. My point is that many of us sensitive souls are revered and loved and adored and put on a pedestal for this magic that we have like these otherworldly talents. But what people don't realize is the other side of that same coin is the cluelessness, being socially oblivious, maybe being a little bit weird, a little bit emotionally immature. And it's like society or much of society is so angry about that. It's like, "How dare you? How dare you? We wanted you to be one thing that was pleasant for us to consume. Then we found out you're a complete full person with another aspect to you which is unpleasant for us to consume. It It It makes us embarrassed. And now instead of just, you know, being neutral about it, no, we're going to have to attack you. We're going to have to We're going to have to bully you. We have to bully you. Those are the rules. We have to bully you. Um I'm sorry. I didn't make the rules. These are the rules. We have to bully you mercilessly. Now, what is a sensitive soul supposed to do in such a setup? Should you make yourself less sensitive? Many of us try. Drugs and alcohol is a big one. Other types of numbing distractions and escapes. And Michael, obviously, was a drug addict and he died of a drug overdose. Um no, I do not recommend numbing. I don't I don't recommend drugs and alcohol or any other type of uh fantasy or escapism to take the edge off of your sensitivity. No, not at all. What I do recommend is this. If you're a sensitive soul, please be careful about putting yourself out there. I say this as I'm speaking on a YouTube channel with, you know, over 100,000 subscribers which I'm cognizant of. But I guess maybe that's my point. Be careful when you put yourself out there. Here's the thing. For a lot of sensitive souls Why are so many of these people like in the public eye? Well, there's a reason for it. For a lot of people who are like this like us, I guess I consider myself like this as well. The stage is It can be The stage can be more comfortable than one-on-one. In other words, one-on-one, I don't know, you could want me to like engage in small talk. You could ask me, "How's the weather?" And it's confusing and I don't know what you want from me. But on a stage, you know, like I know how to do that. I Like I'll just be personal. I I can experience in many cases, I can have a much more fulfilling experience of human connection um on a stage. And not just one direction where I'm the one talking, but even feeling cuz when I'm like on a stage and I'm lecturing it's a two-way conversation. Even though I'm saying all the words, I'm taking in the energy from everyone in the room. And I'm reading, you know, the facial expressions and every I mean I mean I mean I'm I'm really experiencing what's happening in the room. And in some ways that lectern uh gives me the safety to experience human connection in a way that like if I'm sitting across the dinner table [snorts] from you, maybe I'm not so good at that. Maybe I'm not so good at the small talk dinner table conversation and I get sort of tongue-tied. Um Right. So, a lot of us sensitive souls will gravitate toward the public forum. And also because if you have talents, talents need to be used, so eventually sort of brings you out into the public space. But here's what I want you to understand. That being in the public and public doesn't have to mean you know, posting videos on YouTube, although that could mean that. Um you know, public can mean anything where people other than your immediate family get access to you. That I call public. When you are in the public, please understand something. You are giving access to you to people You're giving people access to you who don't know what to don't always know what to do with that access and don't know how to honor it. So, I'm not telling you to go low profile and you know, become a hermit and never create and never do anything ambitious. And I'm not telling you that. What I am telling you is don't be emotionally entangled in it. Definitely don't get your sense of validation from it. Um don't Really, actually, don't get anything from it. Use it as a tool. Use it as a tool to do your mission, meaning to contribute to give your gift. Right? They say the talents you have are God's gift to you. What you do with your talents are your gifts to the world or maybe even your gifts back to God. So, use the public forum as a tool to carry out your mission. But be I I would say as as emotionally divorced from it as possible because it's a fickle place. It's not a safe place cuz it's full of all types of people, many of whom don't really care for you. They're using you for whatever entertainment value you're offering. And I use the word entertainment broadly. Entertainment doesn't just have to be song and dance. I mean, really a lot of things can be entertainment. Even inspiring people can be entertainment. Um you know, and people they they want you for what you're doing for them. But they don't want you. So, and you know, that's Does Does that sound harsh? It's a little heartbreaking. It It It It It's Perhaps it's a rude awakening, but it's a necessary rude awakening. Um Keep yourself safe, energetically safe. Um you know, continue to create, continue to put stuff out there. And just remember that there are very few people, but there are such people who are ready to respect the privilege of getting to really know you. And those are the people that you should you should work on connecting with more. I guess that's what I'm trying to say. >> [sighs] >> Keep shining your light. Don't stop shining your light. That's the main thing. Keep shining your light and take care of yourself.