Man of the moment: Michael’s dad Joe
I was going to write about Michael Jackson’s passing, but that topic seems fairly well covered so instead I’ll address the man who made it all possible: his father Joe. This last week has seen Joe officially establish himself as the ultimate stage parent. He raised a boy so famous he crashed the Internet. Surely this is the dream of every mother or father forcing their child to go through that choreography just one more time so it’s perfect. Yes, Joe was tough on Michael and his brothers (indeed, some might say abusive), but in the end it was all worth it because his little boy turned out just…
Can we all agree once and for all that putting kids into show biz is a really really really horrendously bad idea? The arguments against stage parenting are that most children sacrifice their childhoods for a few underwhelming paydays and even the ones who find stardom tend to wind up bitter addicts. The argument for? Jodie Foster, who so far as I can tell remains as delightful today as she was as a child prostitute in Taxi Driver. (If all kids could wind up Jodies, I’d fully endorse stage parenting; indeed, I might periodically yell at my mother for not forcing me to go on more Pampers ad cattle calls as an infant.) In professional terms, Michael Jackson was the ultimate child entertainer and, miraculously, became even more successful as a grownup. In personal terms, I’m convinced Michael Jackson was innocent of sexual abusing children only because I believe him to be so warped he didn’t know what sexuality was. I’m saddened by his passing, but more than that I’m terrified there are countless moms and dads out there thinking, “Our baby’s going to grow up just like him.”
Odds are, they’ll be half right.
Man of the Moment appears each Wednesday.
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So true about Jodie Foster. She’s always THE example when talking about child stars who turned out normal and without any trouble in their adult lives.