Oh boy, here we go again. I came across a link on a private Twitter thread a few weeks ago, which directed me to a website that was selling Michael Jackson merchandise (well, kind of).
This merchandise isn’t celebrating Michael Jackson’s achievements within the music industry, but instead carries the slogan: “Facts Don’t Lie, People Do” and #TheTruthRunsMarathons in reference to Taj Jackson’s as of yet unpublished documentary series.
You’ve probably heard of the “Facts Don’t Lie, People Do” slogan before, and it appeared for a very brief period on a number of London buses after the release of Leaving Neverland, before swiftly being removed after widespread condemnation, including Survivors Trust a charity for survivors of sexual abuse. The man behind that vile campaign was former Big Brother contestant, Seany O’Kane, who still continues to spread misinformation through his website: mjinnocent.com.
The merchandise in question consists of various pieces of clothing and home accessories which can be bought from a website called: “The Michael Jackson Innocent Project”.
The Michael Jackson Innocent Project according to the WHOIS records was created in March 2019, and is run by a woman who calls herself “Souza” a Dutch nationalist, with various other contributors from the UK and US. Souza claims she’s going to get to the bottom of the conspiracy to take Michael Jackson down.
The website is a typical obsessive stan site with the usual criticism and hatred towards anybody who doesn’t think Michael Jackson was a sweet angel, and actively encourages its readers to contribute monetary funds to continue the project. But it’s the merchandise which catches the eye the most. I’m unaware exactly when this merchandise appeared on the site, but it’s clear that somebody has put a lot of work into not just designing it, but also finding a supplier.
Rather disturbingly, many of the clothing products are aimed at children, with several being modelled by children as young as three or four years old.
The “Facts Don’t Lie, People Do” is a rather dumb slogan, for a number of reasons, namely that it shames all genuine survivors of sexual abuse, but it also puts Michael Jackson on a godlike pedestal who could do no wrong.
Taj Jackson a fierce critic of Leaving Neverland and its subjects has been happy to regurgitate the slogan, whether it’s through his Twitter feed or through various news interviews. The irony is is that Taj Jackson set up a GoFundMe page to fund his documentary series back in early 2019, but as I pointed out in a recent post the description contains numerous lies and misleading statements, which makes it a fraudulent campaign, according to GoFundMe own terms and conditions. So yeah, “Facts Don’t Lie, but the Jacksons Do.”
Taj Jackson has now personally collected over $212,000 (April 2020) via GoFundMe by posting a misleading description which has clearly deceived donors into donating, but that figure may be even greater, thanks to The Michael Jackson Innocent Project, who donate 50% of all profits on their victim blaming merchandise, and 50% of the $9.99 membership fee that anybody takes out, according to their YouTube channel.
To make sure this wasn’t a windup, and to establish further facts I contacted The Michael Jackson Innocent Project via email and asked the owner a simple, but blatantly false and sarcastic question from a fake email account.
My email to info@themichaeljacksoninnocentproject.com on the 7 April 2020:
"I came across your amazing website in support of Michael Jackson. One thing that caught my eye was your merchandise, you now have for sale. As a parent myself, I would be extremely proud to see my four-year-old daughter, display the "Facts Don't Lie, People Do" slogan, as well as myself and my wife. I'm happy to buy several T-shirts and other various items, but just wanted to make sure this is legitimate, and 50% of all profits are going directly to Taj Jackson to help fund his upcoming documentary series, as stated on your website. Thank you very much for your time, and keep up the good work."
I received a reply back on 8 April:
"Hi Michael, Yes we are absolutely legitimate, if we state that we send 50% of profit to Taj, we really do. You can ask Taj about that. He has also been on our live stream 3 times and he has been wearing the merch himself! Let me know if I can help you with anything. Best wishes, Souza"
Read the original emails here.
Despite me sarcastically claiming I would love to see my four-year-old daughter wearing such merchandise, Souza was happy to confirm that it was 100% legitimate, and that Taj Jackson was fully on board and would receive 50% of profits on any merchandise I bought. She even sent me a picture within the email, showing Taj Jackson wearing one of the hoodies alongside Danny Wu at a university in the Netherlands.
And a Twitter link to a YouTube video showing Taj Jackson again, wearing the victim blaming merchandise. (I think that’s the “Unisex Fleece Hoodie”, at €37 by the way.)
I also sent an email to Taj Jackson on the same day asking if he was fully aware of the merchandise in question, and how I would like to buy it and proudly make my four-year-old daughter wear it for his cause. As of yet, there’s been no reply form Taj.
So yeah, there you have it. Michael Jackson stans have set up a website that doesn’t just sell victim blaming merchandise, but merchandise that’s even aimed at babies and preschool children, with 50% of the profits going to the 40 something-year-old Taj Jackson, who appears to fully endorse it.
I’m feeling nauseous.
MJ Not Innocent 