http://www.vh1.com/shows/...bout.jhtml
Michael Jackson's life is on the line in front a California judge. But no matter the outcome of his trial on child molestation charges, the gap between how the world views Michael and how he sees himself has never been wider. In this special, VH1 News explains how the beloved child entertainer became such a bizarre public figure.

The answers lie in Michael Jackson's Secret Childhood. VH1 News has examined the singer's upbringing and found a life filled with abuse, hard labor, relentless ambition, and conflict between his religious upbringing and growing fame. Beginning with Jackson's birth in 1958 to the record-breaking success of his Thriller album in 1984, the special delves deep into Jackson's past, such as the mental and physical abuse he endured from his father, Joe Jackson (e.g., incessant rehearsals, whippings, calling Michael "big nose"); Joe exorcised his frustrations over his own failed musical career by exploiting his musically gifted children - especially Michael - by forcing them to perform in seedy bars and strip joints from Indiana to Ohio. At the same time, the proselytizing of his mother Katherine - a devout Jehovah's Witness - confused Michael about singing, sex and family secrets.

This show opens the doors to the Jackson family homes in Gary, Indiana and Encino, CA, to uncover bizarre, never-before-seen home movies of Michael dancing with Emmanuel Lewis and cavorting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. In exclusive interviews, viewers are introduced to Michael's first "little friend" the child actor Rodney Allen Rippey. Other interviews include former CBS Records music mogul Walter Yetnikoff, the man responsible for Michael pursuing a solo music career, but knew him since his childhood years as a member of the Jackson 5, Tatiana Thumbtzen, Michael's co-star from "The Way you Make Me Feel" video who tells her tale of unrequited love for the shy pop star, and Teresa J. Gonsalves, a childhood pen pal who got to see a side of Michael that very few were privileged to see. These people, along with celebrity family therapists, biographers and religion experts, all offer their theories about the man whose public antics have become a national obsession.

"The answers lie in Michael Jackson's Secret Childhood. VH1 News has examined the singer's upbringing and found a life filled with abuse, hard labor, relentless ambition, and conflict between his religious upbringing and growing fame."

This shit is old news. I mean really old news. Do we really need a doco from pompous morons who think it's a SECRET that Joe was complete asshole?

VoicesCarry said:

you know they're just trying to capitalize on the upcoming trial.

SquarePeg said:

Shame on Michael for not being with her! She's absolutly gorgeous

She once said that she tried her best to get Michael to love her,but he clearly wasn't interested

what a waste! Just think of all the beautiful women that Mike could have been with.So so sad...

DavidEye said:

no his love is solely for the children

jayaredee said:

I know and that's why it's so sad

Oh my...

Im going to try to catch this one.

jayaredee said:

and white women ... lol

Luv4oneanotha said:

You know thats right

BTW I thought Olga Smith was really attractive(The chic from Thriller) but that heffa is a ffrrreeeaak My brotha used to hide her Playboy issues,,

Whateva happend to her? She & Vanity were the rage back then,,,

Remember Michael and child star of the 80's Corey feldman? Corey even dressed like Jacko. If u know ur corey movies, he even dances like him with the hat and everything in "dream a little dream".....classic moment in the film.....I guess at the time them 2 were pretty close?


http://aboutmichaeljackso...5049b.html

thesexofit said:

I only know him from the movie "Stand By Me".

Yeah, he looked different then. Look at the black jacket pic? Sorta like Michaels "bad" image no?

thesexofit said:

Nah,,,he looks like a nerdier version of Elvis

I hope that MJ gets the help that he needs.

dreamfactory313 said:

oh my god, now this the MJ that i know and remember!!!! i loved this era of MJ!!!!

Just saw the special...


learned alot of new things...

but im pondering whether its true or not...

Joe couldn't have been that much of an asshole...

Could he...?

The special sucked... because it was a cliff hanger... lol

I can't wait for the Michael Jackson Movie thats coming 10 years from now lol
hopefully it would be better written and better casted..
then...
mmm
i won't even mention it

I thought the special was very engaging.

I hadn't heard Tatianya talk about the trauma of heeding Katherine's desire for her to seduce Michael and then crying outside his trailer post-kiss ... while rick schroeder and alfonso ribero were inside with the man she wanted.


And the pen pal whose kiss with Michael was interrupted by Latoya ... interesting that Michael confessed to her that some horrifying sexual experience had happened that made it impossible for him to be intimate with her. I hadn't heard her say that before.


I liked the show. I thought it was a really fast moving piece that was well coordinated with psychological analysis.

SynthiaRose said:

Don't get me wrong, i thought it was well organized unlike the majority of VH1's jackson specials

but i think it would of been more convincing with a few more jacksons on the show, then a bunch of reporters and people who knew michael
The people that i wan't to see talk... are not going too
what upset was the part
when they analyzed the skin changing
but instead of focusing on a doctor point of you,
they asked of an experience he had with an epic associate?
C'mon now?
back then that was a family secret and he sure as hell wasn't gonna tell any business partners...
but im pretty much content with it...
it could've been alot better
only a 4 hour tell all interview that has all the details would satisfy me..
cause their are alot of holes
and the Story isn't finished yet...

plus thumbzets interview WAS HILARIOUS!
you gotta love people who will do anything to promote a book lol
[Edited 1/29/05 10:42am]

Here is a rundown of the of MJ tv specials that will be running in the States. Im sure that this list will need to be advanced soon.

VH1 News Presents:
Michael Jackson's Secret Childhood -airs on Saturday, Jan 29th @ 9pm edt on vh-1

48 Hours Mystery:
Michael Jackson: Critical Stage - airs on Saturday, Jan 29th @ 10 pm edt on CBS

The Early Show:
Michael Jackson Trial Coverage - airs on Monday, Jan 31st @ 7 am edt on CBS

Inside Michael Jackson's Mind - airs on Tuesday, Feb 1st @ 8 pm on Court TV

Parking Lot:
Michael Jackson - airs Monday, Jan 31st @ 9 pm edt on Trio

CNN People In The News:
Michael Jackson - airs Saturday, Feb 5th @ 11 am edt on CNN
[Edited 1/29/05 14:36pm]

SquarePeg said:

Yeah, I agree. It might be a good "business" move, but VH1's ethics leave something to be desired. Just by virtue of the subject matter and slant, this program implies Michael's guilt of charges that haven't even gone before the court. At the end of the day, Michael may have suffered abuse and be an eccentric with emotional problems, but that doesn't make him a pedophile. Anything can happen in a courtroom, so in spite of ALL this "analysis," Michael still has a chance believe it or not.The truly sad situation is that if and when Michael is found innocent of these charges, the general public has been so brainwashed by these "documentaries" and other speculation that it will NEVER accept a verdict other than guilty.

Isel said:

sad truth...

Luv4oneanotha said:

isn't it sad? i watched the special and it was really something to hear those close to him in the past talk about him. one thing is true, whether he's guilty or not, he's in serious need of help and i really hope he can get some.

Harlepolis said:

That S-Curl princess was known as Ola Ray.

Rodney Allen Rippy must be pushing 40! He was so cute in those Jack in the Box commercials. Man did that burger look huge in his little hands.

ok, now answer this fucking question...what the fuck is VH1 going to tell us that MJ fans don't already know about the troubled star? Absolutely nothing we haven't seen in the movie, other stories on the family, the corny VH1 produced movie,etc. It's a waste of time if U ask me. We know everything there is to know about his up bringing.

i could care less about all of these Jacko shows. They are not official, and its not like they are getting this info from the real source..jacko himself, other than that, how can ya'll believe anything else?

THe special was okak. It was of course biased to JW bashers and people who think that he is guilty.
First off you cannot judge an entire religion on the actions of one person or one family. Do you know what religion OJ Simpson is? or RObert Blake, or Scott Peterson or any other famous person in trouble with the law? of course you dont what religion they are but since the MJ happens to have ben a JW its a big deal!? And why dont they asked his mom or Rebbie or other JW he grew up with. But of course not controversy sells VH1 got an Ex-Witness that basically started his own religion. THis isn't the 1st time VH1 was so sloppy in research that MJ movies was just as inaccurate about religion not to mention the story itself (come on MJ wasnt still his Off the Wall color during the Bad days).

Aside from the Religious Bias It really helped you to see what kind of mindstate he is in. I really dont understand why he dosent like girls and it cant be religious reason just because you 'save' yourself doest mean your sex drive is non exsistant (might even make it stronger). He really has the mind of a child.

I watched the special on VH-1 last night and I think that they did a reasonably good job exposing his arrested development issues but I still have lots of questions. I suppose that the only way that we will find out the truth about things is if we hear it from Michael's own mouth.

I have a feeling that most networks will do specials throughout the trial because specials about MJ usually do very well in the ratings. I bet he wishes that he never did that Bashir interview. What a nightmare!?

I'm a Michael supporter, but for me, even though the views presented were pure speculation, I just didn’t see the VH1 as necessarily “damaging,” as I thought it would be. I agree that once again, this program depicted Michael as weird, but honestly most celebrities are able to live very different lives from the rest of us. I just read somewhere, for example, that Britney Spears has a bedroom for her dogs. Well, I have dog beds for my pets, and they are spoiled rotten, but I don’t have a bedroom for them; however, if I were a multi-millionaire, I might.

For me the very interesting idea that was emphasized over and over again was that from a very early age Michael suppressed his sexual-side due inherent shyness, his strict religious beliefs, and possibly his father’s heavy-handed discipline. In fact, many of the participants in that program denied the gay rumor coz the bottom line was that Michael was completely asexual. Consequently, the program actually reaffirmed my belief in his innocence because all in all I don’t believe Michael is sexual at all, with young boys or adults.

In fact, I believe that sexual suppression is one of the many underlying reasons that Michael surrounds himself with children: they do NOT threaten him or make demands of him sexually. As a result, with the world that he has created, Michael can forever be a child, emotionally speaking. That’s not to say that he can’t make adult decisions or should be any less respected as an adult. It’s more like in that aspect of his life, he has created a world where he can forever be innocent in the eyes of his God and never be tempted to dishonor his Lord.

So when I switched to the 20/20 program, I could finally understand why Katherine, Joe and other family members didn’t feel the need to intervene with Michael’s relationship with children. Truly, Michael doesn’t appear to have ANY sexual feelings for these children or possibly anyone. As I said, it’s as if he has created a sort of “utopia” for this aspect of his life. I know one of the counter arguments would be the alleged porn that was found, but those are inanimate and adult, and I’m not suggesting that Michael doesn’t have sexual needs. In fact, Michael probably DOES have sexual attraction to other adults, but he CAN’T act upon those feelings in “real life.”

Therefore, after viewing both of these shows, I honestly believe that Michael’s strict religious beliefs and his fear of God’s wrath could prevent him from have sexual relations with anyone, much less a child. With children, Michael ultimately feels safe and is at peace.

Isel said:

YOu have to understand that being religious doesnt make you asexual. Like I said before you cannot judge an entire religion on the actions of one individual or family. Plus MJ had plent of people around him says that "You didnt have christmas you were deprived!!" all the time and he started to believe it. He could buy what ever he wanted. Having a moral code and trying to follow Jesus and his Father doesnt make you not like women I'm sorry. It might make you like women even more and when you find the one its all good.

BTW: THat Tatianna was soo fine. What was he smoking!!