14 DAY TRIAL // Michael Jackson has often accused his father publicly of abusing him as a child, speaking in interviews of being beaten with anything that came at hand for things as insignificant as missing a beat during dance rehearsals. Joe Jackson has, of course, constantly denied all the claims, but that isn’t stopping a Brazilian organization from using his name and face for the latest ad in its awareness-raising campaign.
The ad, discovered by CopyRanter, features a newspaper clipping from an article that says how Michael had his final revenge on his abusing father by cutting him out of his will, which means Joe Jackson gets nothing from the estate and will have to fend for himself financially. Also included is a photo of Joe holding a picture of Michael, while the caption below reads, “Domestic Violence. Nobody condones it,” in English for purely strategic reasons.
According to CopyRanter, the ad comes from CRAMI, an anti-domestic violence center in Sao Paolo that has resorted to using a face and a name everyone recognizes to draw attention to an issue that continues to be highly overlooked or disregarded in our society. Of course, what CRAMI is also doing – namely placing Joe Jackson at the center of the campaign – could also be highly illegal, since it brings up an accusation that has never been formulated officially, it is being said. However, if it’s to serve a bigger, much nobler purpose, then perhaps the means may be excused just this once, most Jackson fans are saying on dedicated forums.
As for CRAMI (which stands, in English, for Child Abuse Regional Center of the ABCD Region), the description on the official webpage makes its objectives crystal clear. “The CRAMI – Regional Center for Services to Children in Ill-treatment of ABCD is a non-governmental organization founded in 1988 and declared of Public Utility Municipal, State and Federal. Our mission is to provide psychosocial care to children and adolescents victims of domestic violence and develop preventive actions that allows them protection and unconditional protection. Article 5 of the ECA: ‘No child or adolescent will be subject to any form of neglect, discrimination, exploitation, violence, cruelty and oppression, punished as any violation of law, by action or omission, their fundamental rights’.” the CRAMI description on the website reads.
As of now, Joe Jackson has yet to respond to the publication of the ad without his permission, not that he would have ever given it. Speculation on the Internet among Michael Jackson fans has it that he could, if he wanted, mount a legal attack on CRAMI and eventually get some money out of it. Whether he will actually do so, you will find out here.