Michael Jackson now in an Oscar-worthy role

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, MARCH 7. It seemed too much like yet another performance from the icon of pop as Michael Jackson - all grease and paint - came calling at Oxford University on Tuesday, hobbling on designer crutches to steady his broken foot, and sniffling into a tissue to steady his nerves that jangled with memories of an unhappy childhood in which all he wanted was a ``dad'' and be a ``typical little boy''. And he wanted ``to build tree houses, have water balloon fights and play hide-and-seek....but fate had it otherwise....''

Pass the tissue Uri...sniffle, sniffle, thank you Uri. That was Uri Gellar, Jackson's friend and spiritual guru, himself a picture of emotions as he handed over a tissue to a very nearly sobbing Mike. So, what was ``Wacko Jacko'' , as his tabloid fans call him, doing at Oxford? He was the guest of the Oxford University Union which surprised many and shocked plenty of others by inviting him to speak on child welfare as part of his new initiative, Heal the Kids Foundation.

The surprise and shock was not over the fact that a pop singer was joining the ranks of Albert Einstein and Mother Teresa in speaking from the same platform as they did, but over the choice of a person who had been at the centre of an œ18 million out-of- court settlement over allegations of child abuse. Michael Jackson speaking on child welfare was like the ``Devil himself quoting the scriptures'', one critic said. But the boys and girls loved it. There were 500 of them, chosen from over 3,000 who had sought invitations, and they gave him a standing ovation as he wound up the heart-twitching story of his childhood.

The union president Nick Mason defended the choice saying he had not received any complaint. Jackson, in a black smock jacket with a crest, blew kisses to the waiting crowd as he arrived nearly three hours late accompanied by Uri Geller and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the controversial author of ``Kosher Sex.'' The crutches on which he ostentatiously leaned added to the ``Jackson effect'' - the heavy eye-liner and mascara, lipstick red lips and what The Guardiandescribed ``curtains of shoulder-length hair.''

In his 45-minute speech, he recalled that he started performing at the age of five - a victim of a father who was a management ``genius'' and wanted to make him a commercial success, though Baby Jackson wanted something else - a ``real dad'', to play hide-and-seek, etc, etc. ``My father had real difficulty showing affection. He never really told me he loved me. And he never really complimented me either...'' He counted himself among the child victims of Hollywood, but this was no time to judge. It was time to forgive. ``What I am asking all of us to do tonight is to live up to the fifth of the ten Commandments. Honour your parents by not judging them. Give them the benefit of the doubt. That is why I want to forgive my father and stop judging him,'' he said laying down a seven-point charter for child welfare, the top of which was a child's right to be loved. That was a performance deserving ten out of ten on the showbiz scale.

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Section  : International
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