Saint or Sinner?

The artist David LaChapelle had always wanted to take a portrait of Michael Jackson, and nearly did: several shoots were lined up and cancelled as Jackson grew increasingly wary. “Photographers weren’t nice to him,” says LaChapelle. “He got scared.”

The image forms part of a trilogy inspired by Mexican Saint cards. LaChapelle is convinced that Jackson was innocent of pedophilia. “I don’t think he was capable of hurting anyone,” he says. “I think there’s something really biblical about what happened. His lyrics are so naïve and so beautiful. It’s one of the most epic stories of our time, to go from such heights to such depths. He’s a modern-day martyr.”