Michael Jackson Reacts To Gay Rumors
Back when the Jackson 5 first stormed music charts in the early 1970s, an 11-year-old Michael Jackson instantaneously became a heartthrob for the band’s legion of young female fans. As part of his newfound stardom, Michael’s childhood confidence and rambunctious stage presence attracted crowds of screaming fans wherever he went, as well as a continuous stream of fan mail from his many admirers. In order to maintain his highly marketable teen idol status, Michael was told by record executives to allow the fans to dream by remaining, at least in public, single and available to them.
However, as time went on and Michael Jackson grew into adolescence, his distinct lack of pursuits became increasingly a topic of discussion. While his brothers indulged in the female attention that came with fame and fortune, with all of them marrying young, Michael became increasingly reclusive and shied away from dating. Inevitably, given his lack of interest in women, speculations grew that Michael Jackson may have been developing other sexual interests.
Whispers spread across school playgrounds that seeped into various gossip columns and fan newsletters speculating on Michael’s sexual preferences. At the tender age of 19, a ridiculous rumour began to circulate that Michael Jackson was planning to have a sex-change in order to marry television actor and songwriter, Clifton Davis.
“I was in a Sears store buying some records when I first heard about it,” Michael Jackson said in an interview. “This one girl came up to me and said, ‘It isn’t true! It isn’t true!’ I said, ‘What isn’t true? and she said, ‘You’re not a girl!’”. She told Michael she had read it in a magazine, and he asked her to tell her friends it was just a “stupid rumour”.
“Just for the record, are you or are you not gay?” Michael was bluntly asked by an interviewer in 1979. “No, I am not gay,” Michael replied, “I am not a homo. I’m not going to have a nervous breakdown because people think I like having sex with men. But I don’t and that’s that.”.
Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and in a family in which homosexuality was considered sinful; nothing could be worse than his relatives, fans and the public to turn against him by believing he was gay. Although Michael Jackson was upfront about his own sexuality, he still felt the need to tread carefully so not to add more fuel to the speculations.
After his acting debut in ‘The Wiz’, Michael Jackson expressed his desire to pursue more film roles. One opportunity that was bought to him was playing the part of Sammy Williams in Universal’s translation of the musical ‘A Chorus Line’. A dancer who got his start in showbiz by performing as a female impersonator. Michael Jackson was candid in explaining why he had reservations about the role “I’m excited about it, but if I do it people will link me with the part because of my voice, some people already think I’m that way — homo. Though I’m actually not at all. It’s just a lot of gossip.”.
After his solo success with ‘Off the Wall’, Michael appeared publicly with the likes of Diana Ross. Tempering speculations by giving the public an insight into his more flirtatious nature, without threatening his availability for fans as a relationship was considered off the cards due to their age difference. However, the rumour mill started turning again when in 1982 Diana released a track written and produced by Michael called ‘Muscles’. In the same vein as Olivia Newton John’s smash hit ‘Physical’, the kinky song describes the desire for a muscle-bound lover and its erotic music video featured Ross in bed dreaming of muscular men. The sexually charged track was very much uncharacteristic of Jackson’s usual musical output, which ignited gossip that Michael was tapping into his own hidden desires as inspiration for the song.
Upon the release and spectacular success of his next record, ‘Thriller’, throughout 1983 and 1984 an unprecedented level of media attention was thrown in Michael Jackson’s direction. Press outlets were desperate to fill their pages with stories about the world’s biggest and most compelling stars, and as Michael-mania swept the nation, there was no one bigger or more elusive than Michael Jackson. However, unlike most pop/rock stars at the time, Michael’s shy, all-round good guy image as well as his refusal to do any interviews, didn’t come close to satisfying the explosion of tabloids hitting supermarket shelves.
Hence, more salacious stories began to circulate in trashier magazines that Jackson was, again, homosexual and hiding it from the public, or that he was using female hormones to elevate his voice to an unnaturally high pitch, or that he wished to transition into a woman and was even using plastic surgery to emulate the features of his Motown pal, Diana Ross.
Late-night comedians soon began passing comment on the mounting speculation, with Joan Rivers joking on television that “as we talk, Michael Jackson’s carrying Rex Reed’s baby” and commenting that “the man wears so much makeup that when he takes it off — he’s white.” Comedian Eddie Murphy would also portray an effeminate, limp wristed Michael Jackson on Saturday Night Live. Murphy was also paired with another comic to portray Jackson and Liberace together in a satirical interview segment in which the two comedians answered questions addressing the way “real men” live.
As Michael Jackson’s music filled radio airwaves across the country, so to were assumptions concerning his sexuality that now had become part of the national conversation. By early 1984, celebrity gossip columns were filled with its readers own take on Michael’s ambiguous gender and sexual identity, “He couldn’t be gay. I saw him with Brooke Shields at the Music Awards”, “I’ve heard a lot of decent men, like lawyers who have high voices without taking female hormone shots”, “with the amount of make-up he wears and how effeminate he appears, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was homo”. When ‘Walter Scott’s Personality Parade’, a popular column featuring celebrity gossip, were asked in 1984 what their most frequently inquired question was, they replied, “most definitely, the most frequently asked question: “Is whether Michael Jackson is gay or not?”.
For a star to be so popular and for his sexual orientation to be so up for debate, traditionalists, conservative as well as religious figures began a series of public attacks directed at Michael Jackson. Criticising the ‘Billie Jean’ singer for popularising sexual ambiguity and being at the forefront of the ‘gender bending’ movement taking hold of pop music. Warning parents of its moral implications and the negative influence it is having on the youth of today.
While other rock stars like Freddy Mercury, Boy George and Elton John had publicly discussed their experiences of bisexuality, for Michael Jackson to be at the centre of this moral controversy sweeping the nation was deeply unnerving for him. Especially as at the time, Jackson was committed to his Jehovah’s Witness faith, and considered himself upholding traditional values when it came to sex and relationships. Wishing to speak out and finally end the speculation with a public statement, for months Michael was strongly advised not to as he prepared to begin the Jacksons much anticipated Victory tour. Instead, family members were employed to defend Michael against these attacks. “Michael isn’t gay. It’s against his religion. It’s against God. The Bible speaks against it”, said Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, as quoted by Time magazine.
However, on September 5th, 1984, while in the midst of him and his brothers contentious tour, Michael Jackson’s manager, Frank Dileo, hosted a press conference in West Hollywood and read his client’s prepared statement. “No! I’ve never taken hormones to maintain my high voice. No! I’ve never had my cheekbones altered in any way. No! I’ve never had cosmetic surgery on my eyes. Yes! One day in the future, I plan to get married and have a family, any statements to the contrary are simply untrue”. In the statement Jackson also threatened to sue any publication that continue to spread false rumours and declared his dedication to the children, for whom he considered himself a role model for. “We all know kids are very impressionable and susceptible to such stories. In addition to their admiration, I would like to continue to keep their respect.”
The unprecedented move, that as a result, had Michael Jackson’s sexuality hit the headlines of every major publication the next day, had some saying “Big deal”. “The only thing sillier than Jackson’s scheduled news conference to proclaim his heterosexuality was the bloated coverage given to this major non-event in the world of entertainment” remarked Sam Moore in the Los Angeles Times.
While some considered the statement as overkill, other journalists perceived Michael Jackson’s declaration of heterosexuality as being deep rooted in prejudice. “With its self-righteousness assertion about his sexual orientation and the bigoted comments by the Jackson entourage, it will leave the same impression on young minds as the tabloids’ nasty headlines: Being gay is a terrible thing to be” stated Craig Lee in LA weekly. He continued “Jackson didn’t make any statement that validates an alternative lifestyle. He didn’t say anything along the lines of I have no prejudice against gays. I just don’t happen to be one myself. Does this seem like making too much out of a little issue? When someone is as famous and influential as Jackson, the role-model pop star, every gesture has far-reaching ramifications.”
When later asked explicitly about his gay fans, Michael replied, “I’m sure we must have plenty of fans who are gay. That doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but I’m not gay. You can print that.” What was made clear by the reaction of Michael Jackson’s statement is the narrow line a star of his stature had to toe; to appease religious communities and concerned parents, all a while satisfying more progressive industry people and newspaper columnists, and at the same time remain cool and relevant in the eyes of his fans. Although Michael Jackson’s public announcement made one thing clear, Clark DeLeon from the Philadelphia Inquirer still asked “So, Michael Jackson is not gay. We can cross “gay” off the list of possibilities. However, the question remains… What is he?”.