No one likes a bad loser. But then again, no one likes a smug winner either, and you can't help thinking that if Michael Jackson wants to win back the support of the wider public he would be advised to avoid comparing his victory in court on Monday with the birth of Martin Luther King, the release of Nelson Mandela and the fall of the Berlin Wall. But, according to a post-victory video clip on Jackson's website, his acquittal on child abuse charges is of equal historic significance to those events. Quite who advises Jackson on his public relations I don't know because, despite those occasional career-enforcing PR coups, most of the time he comes out with the kind of crap which surely makes most people go "oh, shut up, you freak".
Anyway, the rehabilitation of Michael Jackson began yesterday following his acquittal on all charges at the Santa Maria court house on Monday. First up his lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, told reporters that the singer had vowed to stop the teenage-boy sleepovers that got him into this mess in the first place because, while Jacko maintains such sleepovers are completely innocent, he now recognises they leave him vulnerable to the kind of allegations made by Jordan Chandler and Gavin Arvizo. Mesereau told US network NBC: "He's not going to do that any more. He's not going to make himself vulnerable to this any more."
Meanwhile speculation has now begun as to Jackson's next career move. To what extent Jacko is in the financial mess some claim is not clear, however most agree he needs a big revenue generator as quickly as possible in order to avoid being forced to sell his stake in Sony/ATV music publishing and his Neverland home.
There has been talk of new music projects, including the possibility of a lucrative residency in Las Vegas. As previously reported, Jackson is keen to restate his musical credentials with a performance at Live 8, either in London or Philadelphia. This puts Live 8 organisers in a difficult position. Jackson was a lead member of the US version of Band Aid, co-writing 'We Are The World' while his Heal The World Foundation has supported famine relief projects in Africa for years. However, some worry that a general music crowd (ie not a crowd of Jacko fans) might respond badly to a Jackson performance so soon after the court case, and that Jackson's involvement might dominate the headlines, stealing attention away from the main issue of the day - combating world poverty. Live 8 promoter Harvey Goldsmith was non-committal about Jackson's possible involvement, telling Capital FM: "Whether it's appropriate or not is another issue, whether he's in a fit state to work is another issue, whether he can work is another issue and whether he can work live is another issue".
In reality, any new Michael Jackson music project, except perhaps the Las Vegas gig, would be unpredictable. Back catalogue is unlikely to bring in sufficient new monies - there have been a number of greatest hits projects in recent years. How bankable a new album would be is debatable. To an extent it would depend on how good the music was - but sales of Jackson's recent releases were not as staggering as in his hey day, and that was before the revelations of the recent court case.
Consensus is that Michael Jackson's quickest route to serious cash in the short term is an no holds barred autobiography, which would secure the singer a multi-million advance and considerable royalties. Whether Jackson would consider that route remains to be seen.
Talking of smugness, which we were, the smuggest journalist in the world - Mr Martin Bashir - might now be facing a lawsuit over that Jacko documentary that kicked off the events that led to the singer's court case troubles. Jackson always planned to sue Bashir and Granada TV over allegations they breached contractual obligations to let Jackson vet the programme before it aired. That lawsuit was put on hold after the singer was arrested over child abuse allegations, but word is their legal action will resume now the child abuse trial has been won.