Child star. King of Pop. Poster child for plastic surgery. Accused child molester. What will Michael Jackson's next act be?
While Jackson was once the most-popular entertainer in the world, his reputation has taken a battering during his trial on charges of molesting a 13-year- old cancer survivor.
"The Michael Jackson brand is effectively dead," said Ronn Torossian, president and CEO of 5W Public Relations, which has handled such high-profile clients as fashion and music mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and rapper Jay-Z.
"The image of Michael in handcuffs, or of him saying that it's OK to sleep with teenage boys has soured the public as a whole on him. I think he will forever suffer the O.J. Simpson Syndrome, where someone is found innocent by a jury but is guilty in the public mind."
The 46-year-old entertainer's career was already in free fall when the trial began. And while the not-guilty verdict won't reverse that decline, observers said yesterday, it may represent an opportunity for Jackson to regain at least some of his past glory.
One need only consider the nation's fascination with the singer's 15-week trial - Billboard magazine says that 75 percent of popular music fans followed the court proceedings - to speculate that a comeback, while difficult, might not be impossible.
"Americans love comeback stories, and he can parlay himself as a victim more now than before," said Clark Collins, senior writer for Blender magazine. "Michael can go away for a while and be in position for a comeback."
But that may be difficult.
"I don't think he can have the mass appeal that he enjoyed one or two decades ago," said David Perell, co-author with Suzanne Ely of the revised edition of Freak!: Inside the Twisted World of Michael Jackson (Harper/Collins, January 2005).
"The type of popularity that he once had is impossible to maintain anyway. I don't think the verdict means there's going to be a second act in his career."
And yet, no one is denying that Jackson continues to have passionately devoted fans.
Bill Werde, senior news editor at Billboard, said that Jackson's most recent album, 2001's Invincible, has sold 2 million copies. "That isn't the same number as Thriller, but 2 million copies would be career-making for many artists," Werde said.
"A lot of albums tanked right after Sept. 11. That says a lot about his appeal. There is still a sizable fan base for him. A lot of people talk about how strange Michael Jackson is, but that hasn't been career-ending."
