SALT LAKE CITY — “Leaving Neverland” hasn’t stopped most people from listening to Michael Jackson’s music, according to a new poll from Morning Consult and The Hollywood Reporter.
The new poll, which surveyed 1,952 adults, asked questions about favorability toward artists who were under fire for sexual assault allegations, including how people felt about music from various artists.
Those artists include Michael Jackson, who was the subject of a recent documentary called “Leaving Neverland” that aired on HBO. The documentary raised child abuse allegations against Jackson.
- 54 percent of people said “no” when asked if they stopped listening to music from Michael Jackson.
- 22 percent of people said they did not listen to Jackson before or after the new allegations.
- 16 percent said they did stop listening to Jackson’s music.
Meanwhile: 24 percent of people said they had a favorable opinion of Jackson, compared to 55 percent who said they had an unfavorable view of him.
Other entertainers included R. Kelly, who was recently charged with sexual abuse, and Ryan Adams, who was recently accused of verbal and sexual abuse from dozens of women, according to The New York Times.
- 22 percent of people said they haven’t stopped listening to Kelly’s music.
- 14 percent of people said they haven’t stopped listening to Adams' music.
Context: The question has been raised about whether people should listen to Jackson’s music after “Leaving Neverland.” Some radio stations have decided to stop playing the songs, and “The Simpsons” decided to pull an episode featuring Jackson. But there are plenty of artists out there who have created content before they were accused of assault, raising questions for many Americans about how we deal with those pieces of art, according to the Deseret News.