THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY, UPPER EAST SIDE

Michael Jackson.

I’m a pretty big Michael Jackson fan. The only thing is that me and my friends talk about the raping of the little 13-year-old boy. I mean, I don’ t really know about it but Michael Jackson is one of those guys who changed his life when he either did or didn’t do that stuff. But I still love him. I love his songs, my mom loves his songs. We have a beach house and whenever we’re there we’re playing “Thriller,” “Beat it”—all of them.

What’s the last song of his you really dug?

When you say Michael Jackson, you say “Thriller.”

But did you check out Butterfly ?

I mean, I don’t really like those songs. I just really like his hits.

What year were you born? Did you hear these songs through your parents?

I was born in 1995. Yeah, I heard his songs through my parents and through the radio—

–Like, “hey, this new guy is amazing!”

Yeah!

You heard he died, right?

Uh, yup. I heard that from about a thousand text messages. I heard he had a heart attack, that he was in a coma, that he was alive, that he was dead. I didn’t know what was going on.

All of the above.

It’s strange because they said he’d just gotten checked out and they said he had a healthy heart. He was just about to come back, too.

Would you have taken a date to a Michael Jackson show?

Yeah, maybe! Yeah.

If Michael Jackson was here right now, what would you tell him?

I would say, “You’re awesome, even though you raped a 13-year-old boy” that happens to be me—

It happens to be you?!

–My age! No!

It would have been a happy coincidence for me if you were him.

[laughs] I would tell Michael, “I loved your hits and ‘Thriller.’ You’re a big influence—not in the way of raping.”

Do you think a pop star stands a better chance of getting away with raping kids? Is that fair?

I mean, it’s like if you’re famous like that, you can get away with anything. It’s something I don’t agree with. I think everybody should be equal.

Is OJ Simpson guilty of killing his wife and Ron Goldman? That was before your time.

I don’t know about OJ Simpson.

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