New York Congressman Calls Michael Jackson A "Child Molester," Blasts Media Coverage

Congressman Peter T. King, a U.S. Congressman from New York's Long Island, has come under fire from Michael Jackson fans after making some scathing statements about the King of Pop in a video this past weekend. Talking directly to the camera outside of the American Legion in Wantagh, New York, King said, "This low-life, Michael Jackson — his name, his face, his picture — is all over the newspaper, television, radio — Let's knock out the psychobabble. He was a pervert, a child molester, he was a pedophile. And to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country?" Jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005.

"I just think we're too politically correct, no one wants to stand up and say, 'We don't need Michael Jackson,' " King added. "You know, he died, he had some talent. Fine. There's people dying every day." King, a Republican serving his seventh term as representative for Nassau County, was upset with the media's coverage focused on Jackson's death and not more pertinent world issues like the Iraq War. A rep for the Jackson family wouldn't "dignify King's statement with a comment," the AP writes.

"There's nothing good about this guy. He may have been a good singer, did some dancing. But the bottom line is, would you let your child or grandchild be in the same room as Michael Jackson? What are we glorifying him for," King asks in the video. King later defended his statements in an interview with CNN, saying that even though Jackson was never convicted on child molestation charges, the fact that Jackson reached a monetary settlement with his accusers was evidence enough to support King's statements. It's safe to assume King will not be watching tomorrow's Jackson memorial service from Los Angeles' Staples Center.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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