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Hey listeners, I'm here to tell you about a new

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podcast I think you'd like called Think

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Twice, Michael Jackson, hosted by

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me, Leon Nafok, and my colleague

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Jay Smooth. Michael Jackson's music

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united the world, but his legacy divides

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it. Since Michael Jackson's death in 2009, the

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world has struggled with how he should be remembered,

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as the king of pop or as a monster.

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Think Twice, Michael Jackson presents a

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new account of the MJ story. In

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this 10-part narrative series, we explore

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the enigma of Michael Jackson's persona, exploring

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the complexities that make him seemingly uncancellable.

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Through dozens of original interviews with

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people who watched the Michael Jackson story

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unfold firsthand, Think Twice

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offers a new perspective on the art and

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the artist. From his extraordinary life

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and groundbreaking music to the contentious legacy

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he left behind, Think Twice examines

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it all. I'm about to play a clip now from

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Think Twice, Michael Jackson. While you're

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listening, follow Think Twice wherever

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you get your podcasts, or binge

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all 10 episodes now, ad-free, on

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Amazon Music or Audible.

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The

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comedian Dougie Doug was having a huge

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year when he appeared as a presenter at

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the NAACP Image Awards in

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January of Doug

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was just 23 years old.

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One can argue I was at the height of my

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career, because that's the reason why they invited

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me. Who Runners had come out, it was a huge

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global hit. I

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played Sanka Coffee, the greatest

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pushcart driver in all of Jamaica.

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Doug's role at the ceremony was to give

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out the award for Outstanding Female Artist,

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which everyone knew was going to go to Whitney Houston

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for the Bodyguard soundtrack. If this woman

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wins, I'm gonna bow down and kiss her feet. Get to kissing

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Whitney Houston! Doug

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actually did kiss Whitney Houston's feet when

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she came to the stage. and he was expecting

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that to be the most surreal encounter he'd have

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with a celebrity that night. Then

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he realized, along with everyone else in

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the audience, that someone even more

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famous was in the building.

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One of the greatest dancer choreographers

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in history, the biggest-selling recording

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artist in the world, the king

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of pop, rock and soul, Mr.

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Michael Jackson.

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Michael

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Jackson hadn't been seen in public in months. As he walked

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onto the stage, smiling, with his hands behind his back, the

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entire auditorium exploded in cheering

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and applause. Only thing

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comparable to it would have been, like, the Pope. Like...

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And it was kind of a meta experience

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because you're like, you're around people who you

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think are big. And it was kind

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of a meta experience because

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you're like, you're around people and

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you're just like, oh, wow, there's Papa Pa, there's Papa Pa. And

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then Michael comes,

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and then everybody's like, he's

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big, he's really big. Dressed

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in a white v-neck under a militaristic blazer with

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big gold buttons, Michael waved in blue kisses as

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the crowd began chanting his name. He

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looked bashful like he couldn't believe

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all the applause was for him. It

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was just kind of like, oh, my God, it's Michael

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Jackson. He was beyond

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a person. And then we're talking about

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among the biggest entertainers at

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that time. You know, he's an anomaly, culturally,

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racially, socially, you know,

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musically. Doug had loved

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Michael Jackson's music his entire life.

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In some ways, he had formed his sense of his

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own future based on Michael's success.

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For a young black boy, he was like an avatar

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for possibility, you know. If

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he's as high as you can go, then you

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can just go high.

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For Doug, seeing Michael appear directly

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in front of him at the NAACP Awards

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felt like proof he had really made it.

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I think for me, it was like... Never

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in my life did I think that I would be

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anywhere near this man. And I think a lot

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of other people felt that way.

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Like, I must be really successful, because I'm

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like near Michael Jackson. As

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the applause continued, a camera

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zoomed across the crowd and swung past Doug,

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who looked like he was in the middle of a full-blown

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freak-out. Years later,

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a short clip of Doug screaming and smiling

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and bouncing up and down on his heels would

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become a viral Internet meme meant to

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indicate uncontrollable excitement. Most

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people who share it probably have no idea

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Doug was taking part in a minute-long

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standing ovation for Michael Jackson. Thank

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you for your

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warm and generous support. I love you

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very much. It

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was a charged moment.

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Michael wasn't even supposed to be at the Image

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Awards.

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He wasn't nominated for anything, and he

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wasn't there to perform. But here he was,

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on stage, and no one knew what was

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going to happen next. Finally,

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after getting his fill of applause, Michael

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bent down toward the microphone and got

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serious.

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For decades, the NAACP

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had stood at the forefront of the struggle

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for equal justice under the law.

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Members of the NAACP have been jailed

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and even killed in the

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noble pursuit of those ideals

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upon which our country was founded. None

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of these goals is more meaningful for me at

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this time in my life than the

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notion that everyone is presumed to

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be innocent.

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The Los Angeles Police Department initiated

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a criminal investigation of entertainer

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Michael Jackson. About

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four months earlier, in August of 1993,

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Michael Jackson had been accused of molesting

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a 13-year-old child.

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Michael had not been charged or arrested,

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but it was still possible that he would be. Now,

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he was calling on his audience to rally behind

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him in the face of persecution, and

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asking them to view him as a victim of injustice.

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Everyone is presumed to be innocent and totally

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innocent until they are charged with a crime

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and then convicted by a jury of their peers.

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A few years later, Michael's family was not allowed to be looking

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out from behind the podium. Michael

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addressed not only the famous black artists

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and entertainment executives in the room with him, but

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also the audience watching the NBC broadcast

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of the show from home.

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I never really took the time to

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understand the importance of that ideal

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until now, until I became

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the victim of false allegations.

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And

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the willingness of others to believe and exploit

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the worst before they have had the chance

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to hear the truth.

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Michael giggled at all the shouting, and when

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someone broke through the noise with an, I love you, he replied

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the way he often did, by saying, I love

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you more. Then he brought a speech

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in for a landing. Because

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not only am I presumed to be innocent,

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I am innocent. Together

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we will see this thing through,

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and I'm very proud to be here. Listen

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to Think Twice, Michael Jackson,

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wherever you get your podcasts, or binge all 10 episodes ad free

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on Amazon Music or Audible.