Michael Jackson and the Supremes

As we endure the endless hours of Sotomayor testimony, let’s remember that rehashing the bizarre lives of dead pop stars can be SO much more interesting than 99.9% of Senate testimony. That said, in researching my new book “Hollywood on the Potomac,” I found an historic tidbit that spoke volumes about both Michael Jackson and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He wasn’t Chief Justice at the time… but when John Roberts was a young lawyer in the Reagan White House, he was very much concerned with Michael Jackson.

The year was 1984 and Michael Jackson was the biggest sensation since Elvis – moonwalking was rapidly replacing blue suede shoes in America’s pop culture lexicon. Jackson’s notorious publicity machine was becoming a global tour de force, and he was sending the White House requests for visits, concert tickets and more! Most of all, Jackson was keen on having Reagan present him with a major award.

After all, Michael Jackson always gets what he wants, right? This has been a familiar refrain in the stories to emerge from the recent coverage of the pop star’s death — Jackson wanted a Chimp named Bubbles, he got it. Jackson wanted a rocket suit, he got it. New nose? Done, done and done again! One of the tragedies about Michael Jackson is that no one would ever say “no” to him. Makes you wonder if Jackson was not only the King of Pop, but the Prince of little Punks.

In 1984, when the Jackson’s “Victory” tour was heading to Washington, D.C., the White House received a list of wishes Jackson expected to have granted: Presidential attendance at the performance, official White House invitations along with special honors from the President lauding — and practically knighting — him in front of the world press (though Jackson didn’t use the word “knight,” we know he had probably picked out the outfit as evidenced in the above photo).

The whole affair would mean big, big headlines. But there was one hiccup. Jackson’s requests had to go through a certain 29 year old lawyer named John Roberts — and he was no pushover. Roberts fired off this memo:

Frankly, I find the obsequious attitude of some members of the White House staff toward Mr. Jackson’s attendants, and the fawning posture they would have the President of the United States adopt, more than a little embarrassing.

With that, the bubble burst on the King of Pop. While most of the world was going ga-ga, Roberts was unimpressed and level headed. Denying Jackson’s request for a major award to be presented by President Reagan, Roberts penned a confidential memo to his boss saying:

Enough is enough. The Office of Presidential Correspondence is not yet an adjunct of Michael Jackson’s PR firm.

Not… yet. Perhaps even Roberts recognized the immense, inevitable power of Jacko. Eventually Reagan held a ceremony in the Rose Garden to present a lesser, symbolic humanitarian award to Jackson for a PSA announcement on teen drinking and driving. A scant six years later, Roberts had moved on, and Jackson was back at the White House. This time, he received his much bigger, super-duper award from President George H.W. Bush: “Artist of the Decade.” When even Presidents can’t say “no,” druggists have no chance.

Now, I can’t speak for Judge Sotomayor, but all this raises a VERY important question that I hope someone asks: would a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male, like John Roberts, who hasn’t lived that life? Or put more simply: would she have said ‘no’ to Jacko?