I absolutely do not believe that there is a place for blame in Michael’s death. I didn’t especually want to write about this, but I find it necessary to clarify a few things.
First of all, Michael was in the public eye from the age of 5. He was abused physically and emotionally by his father throughout his childhood. Make no mistake — emotional abuse can be just as horrible as physical abuse. Physical abuse has a stopping point — a slap or a spanking, and it’s done for the time being. But emotional abuse is like water dripping on a stone. Self-esteem never gets a chance to develop when a person is severely emotionally abused.
Michael’s father telling him what an ugly nose he had over and over was one of the precipitants for Michael’s body-dysmorphic disorder.
