Beat It: Jackson and Sharpton, a new pop duo. But who'll listen?

Opinion Journal ^ | 07/12/2002 | COLLIN LEVEY

[Pokey78]

What if they held a race rally and nobody came?

That's not quite what happened in New York this week, but close enough. On Saturday, news surfaced that pop star Michael Jackson was accusing Tommy Mottola, the Sony Music chieftain, of the dreaded r-word--racism. Al Sharpton joined Mr. Jackson for a series of "spontaneous" rallies in Manhattan, where Mr. Jackson waved a poster of the "devilish" Mr. Mottola with horns sprouting from his head. Later in the week, Mr. Jackson appeared at Mr. Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem, speaking out against the "oppression of black artists."

[Paul Atreides]

Isn't it interesting that Michael never spoke up about any sort of racism in the music industry when he was at the height of his career.....back when he was still black. Now that he's going broke, he's a has-been, and he's made himself into a white woman, he wants to become Martin Luther King.

[billhilly]

It appears there are only two white black people in the country, and both of them are famous for their sexcapades. Both are exploited by Sharpton, with their blessings.

Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson deserve everything they get.

[Charles Henrickson]

Now that Michael Jackson has hooked up with Al Sharpton, I expect Michael to claim that Tommy Mottola kidnapped him and spread bleach all over his skin to lighten it.

[SeeRushToldU_So]

This a case of two people saying stuff and know one cares.

[blondee123]

Michael lost his fan base when he turned into an alien!! This boy has issues that need extended treatment & i don't mean skin treatment, i mean mental!

[goldstategop]

Uh huh.... and Michael Jackson hasn't had a hit in like... 20 years??? If you can't be hot on the free market, no one's going to put up money for you if you can't make it for them. Sony knows what its doing. And Jacko and Al Sharpton haven't a clue as to what makes America work.

[Wondervixen]

>>Michael Jackson hasn't had a hit in like... 20 years???

What kind of hit has Sharpton ever had? Nobody ever heard of him till he started singing "Tawanaa Hold Your Hand", and THAT was a hoax.