michael jackson toronto

Michael Jackson fans upset after Pride Toronto slams the King of Pop

Pride Toronto is under fire from Michael Jackson fans after the group re-posted an article condemning the now-deceased King of Pop on Facebook. 

The non-profit organization behind the city's yearly LGBTQ+ festival shared a link to an article written by Arianna Davis' digital director of Oprah Magazine yesterday afternoon.

Davis' piece, which focuses heavily on Oprah's recent interview with directors of the contentious four-episode documentary Leaving Neverland, details the writer's personal struggle with disowning Michael Jackson in the wake of child abuse allegations. 

Pride Toronto shared the post, along with a quote from the article and a broken heart emoji. 

The post has received over 200 reactions since yesterday, prompting strong sentiments from those who say they don't support Pride's decision to share Davis' piece.

"Why are you reporting this? This has nothing to do with Pride. Two perjury committing men who lost a lawsuit against the estate," wrote one user, Travis. "MJ was found not guilty in a court of law and the FBI even cleared him.

"Pride Toronto has always sucked but this is the perfect reason to delete. And change your name...you dont [sic] represent a lot of us," wrote another user named Holly. 

Others have positioned themselves on the other side of the MJ debate. 

"This is topical and important. Thank you Pride Toronto. Don't listen to these nasty commenters. To those who think this is lies: watch the 4 hour documentary and interview with Oprah and the victims," commented a user named Cassandre. 

Pride Toronto has yet to reply to comments on their Facebook post, but in a response for comment said, "Our statement is clear, as an organization, we believe victims."

The Toronto organization is not the only group to receive backlash since the revival of one of the biggest sexual abuse stores in the music industry.

It seems the entire Twitterverse, along with groups and social commenters worldwide, have been heavily divided since the release of Leaving Neverland yesterday. 

Lead photo by

@michaeljackson


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