Michael Jackson - Guilty After All?

Michael Jackson, everyone's favourite pop idol, was famously acquitted of child molestation charges back in 2005. There just wasn't enough evidence to convict the pop singer, and I think most of us breathed a collective sigh of relief at the verdict - our childhood hero wasn't a monster after all. But I recently stumbled upon some new evidence that I think prosecutors in the trial may have missed, and which might actually shed new light on Jackson's more questionable behaviour with minors.

This particular piece of evidence goes way back to the early 1990s, when Jackson was still considered a musical prodigy, as opposed to an embarrassment of all humankind, and i should warn all upshake.com readers before continuing: it can be quite shocking viewing. So please proceed at your own discretion.

The evidence in question is an old videogame titled "Moonwalker", which was released both in the arcade, and later, on various Sega console systems. The plot, as far as I can divulge, is as simple as it is malevolent. You play as none other than Michael Jackson, and your aim is to kidnap crying children for use in your own diabolical ends. Allow me to demonstrate.

This is level 1 of the game. Here we have a crying child, and Jackson approaching in what appears to be an offer of friendship.

However, his friendly facade soon fades away, and Jackson's true intentions are momentarily revealed.

All this commotion startles the child, and she is awoken from her tantrum. But, upon realising the man next to her is Michael Jackson, she becomes completely overjoyed (remember, this is the early 90s, before children have become petrified of Jackson's white-man features and eerily confronting nostrils). The game's audio presents the girl's voice as crooning, "oh Michael...".

The girl then follows Jackson's instructions, and hops onto a blue, magical spaceship of some kind (which, depending on your point of view, resembles either a 1920's car horn, a tadpole, or, well, have a closer look). She is then whisked off to alleged "safety", and Jackson continues his hunt for more children.

But is this child really safe? Are the hundreds of other identical children in the game, known as "Katies", actually taken away to a place where they are free from harm? Unfortunately, we are never informed. But, perhaps tellingly, each level ends with Michael Jackson's own game audio declaring "I'm Bad!", and then we are presented with the following stark image:

Is this a face of innocence? I'll let you be the judge.