When Martin Bashir’s extraordinary documentary about the ‘real’ Michael Jackson first aired in 2003, it of course caused a storm of controversy which in turn was a catalyst for the many commonly held opinions of Michael Jackson, which are, or were, primarily negative ones.

Of course Bashir had no way of knowing that just six years later, Jackson would be dead in circumstances that have seen no let up in the mystery and controversy that surrounded the man in life too. Would he have treated him any differently I wonder had he known his life was to be so short?

There were some new bits of footage last night but overall, the majority of the show was as it was back then and showed Jackson as being a man who was deeply disturbed and whose grasp of reality was a tenuous one.

But actually, reality is only ever an objective thing; what was real and everyday to him was of course not even close to the reality of you and I, but there again, have any of us ever been members of one of the youngest and most popular bands of all time? No, we haven’t, so any judgement on what he believed to be normal and real can’t in truth be passed by anyone else. Read more & comment »

The Daily Mail has revealed that ITV are to air Martin Bashir’s infamous film, ‘Living With Michael Jackson’ again in the wake of the star’s death, and apparently, previously unseen footage will be included in the new run of the documentary.

The original film drew 15 million viewers when it first aired and stirred up a storm of controversy as Jackson talked openly about sharing his bed with children, his cosmetic surgery and how his father bullied him and his siblings when they were children.

An ITV source told the paper, “It feels like now would be a good time to revisit the documentary in some form… Read more & comment »