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Johnny Depp Producing Michael Jackson Musical From His Glove’s Perspective
Johnny Depp is producing a Michael Jackson musical from the perspective of the famed performer's glove. Jackson, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 50, was notorious for often-bizarre celebrity behavior, which led in later years to large-scale sexual abuse scandals. Throughout the King of Pop’s on again, off again controversies involving young boys, many fans stood by his side and refused to believe the accusations, but in the years after he passed away, new accusations began to surface from two of the young boys (now grown men) who had once been at the centre of the allegations.
In 2018, HBO released a two-part Michael Jackson documentary in which the two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck made extensive claims Jackson had sexually abused both of them as children on separate occasions. The public backlash against Jackson was once again renewed and seemed stronger than ever. The sole difference this time, however, was Jackson was no longer around to defend himself. As a result, the entire issue remains a divisive topic between Jackson's supporters and those who stand with Safechuck and Robson. For many, this new perspective on Jackson’s life destroyed memories of a time when the superstar seemed too big to fail.
It was during Jackson’s early years as a pop music icon in which he donned his white sequin glove and captured the attention of millions in the process. Now, according to The Guardian, Jackson’s glove looks set to once again be a focal point as a new stage musical, entitled For the Love of a Glove: An Unauthorised Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, As Told By His Glove, gets set to premier in Los Angeles. The musical is produced by Johnny Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil, and according to its writer Julien Nitzberg, everything came out of a major TV network’s desire for Nitzberg to write a film about Jackson. The problem, however, was that the network couldn’t find as way to deal with the abuse allegations that inevitably came with such a production. Said Nitzberg:
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“I said, how’s this? Everything MJ has been accused of has actually been caused by his glove, which is actually an alien from outer space [and] feeds on virgin boy blood. They laughed and said, ‘Can you do the normal version?’”
As it turns out, this was exactly the version Nitzberg wanted to do and Depp’s production company clearly felt the same. To call the production strange is an understatement, and Depp’s involvement comes at a time when his own behavior is repeatedly being publicly questioned. With previous abuse allegations regarding ex-wife Amber Heard still prominent, Depp has seen his career take a significant decline. This issue, in addition to a variety of lawsuits, one of which claiming the Pirates of the Caribbean star punched a crew member on a recent project, have not helped to make Depp appear any less guilty or capable of violence.
For Depp, aligning himself with the name Michael Jackson at this point in his career may not be the wisest move. As previously noted, Jackson’s reputation is still very much in question, and for Depp to back a stage production which seems to blame accusations of child abuse on an alien sequin glove that feeds on virgin boy blood is, to say the least, somewhat unsavory. At the same time, however, exactly how For the Love of a Glove will deal with the issue of sexual abuse remains to be seen. It’s possible the production may just be crazy enough to work, but Depp can hardly afford a massive failure at this point, making this musical a particularly crucial one.
