Michael Jackson, known colloquially as the King of Pop, died in June 2009 at the age of 50. He’s left behind a complicated legacy, and his unmatched fame and cultural impact has been documented by Vanity Fair journalists for nearly five decades. Here, look back at his early years as a child prodigy in the Jackson 5, his groundbreaking releases that cemented him as a pop legend, and the scandals that followed him throughout his career.
Vanity Fair has spent decades covering Jackson’s controversial past, and Maureen Orth was one of the first journalists to investigate the allegations—namely the sexual-molestation charges brought forth by a 13-year-old boy. Jackson denied the charges, but the traumatic sequence of events permanently tarnished the pop idol’s image. He canceled the remainder of his tour and his career began to implode. The aftermath was untangled by Orth in VF’s 1994 issue and for years after.
In 2019, Leaving Neverland resurfaced the accusations when Wade Robson and James Safechuck alleged that Jackson groomed, manipulated, and sexually abused them for years at his ranch. The highly polarizing film again spurred a reevaluation of the late idol’s fame.
This year, the Michael biopic became a smash hit after its April release grossed over $200 million worldwide in its opening weekend. It chronicles the singer’s life and his rise to stardom, and it is set years before victims publicly spoke out against Jackson’s alleged abuse.
There’s no telling whether a Michael sequel is in the cards. Still, Michael Jackson remains one of the most influential entertainers of the late-20th and 21st centuries, and superfans and critics alike agree—his impact on the music industry was nothing short of revolutionary.
—Kenneal Patterson
