Public opinion of Michael Jackson is at an all-time low right now, so much so that radio stations around the world have decided to stop playing his music. The Leaving Neverland documentary aired on HBO recently, which was quickly followed by Oprah’s interview with the movie’s subjects, during which one of them said that Jackson referred to his alleged abuse as “love.” Despite all the backlash, though, there have been a few people who have decided to stand up for Jackson, and now T.I. is among that group.
T.I. took to Instagram and shared audio clips from a 1999 interview Piers Morgan conducted with Jackson, in which Jackson talked about his love of children and how he believed the media treated him unfairly. In the caption, he wrote that part of the current disdain towards Jackson is racially fueled, because Jackson is a “strong black historical LEGEND” and because “there’s an agenda to destroy OUR CULTURE”:
“Pierce Morgan a real one for this. Let this man speak for himself to defend his legacy. Don’t just listen to one side and expect to find truth. Oh that’s right…Dead men can’t speak. So what was the point again? Destroy another strong black historical LEGEND?!?! It’s several examples of pedophilia in American History… if y’all pulling up all our old shit… we gotta examine ELVIS PRESLEY, HUGH HEPHNER, and a whole slew of others guilty of the same if not more!!! BUT WHY US all the time? There’s an agenda to destroy OUR CULTURE. #KingsThoughts”
Meanwhile, T.I. also recently called for a boycott of Gucci after the clothing company released a sweater that many believed resembled blackface.
Read our interview with Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed here.
