LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Michael Jackson hasn't had a top hit in a decade and he's facing child molestation charges in California, but some of his fans remain fiercely loyal.
For some, Jackson is a selfless being who embodies humility and generosity in a world where goodness is persecuted, reported Newsweek.
Faisal Malik, who helps run a Web site that says it has the most accurate Michael Jackson news on the Internet, believes Jackson is persecuted because he never tried to conform.
"So what if he wants to get plastic surgery or live in a place called Neverland?" Malik says. "I understand what it's like to have a really strict father who makes you work all the time, who denies you of your childhood."
The Web site is just one of hundreds pro-Michael Jackson fan sites that study and respond to Jackson's legal issues, as well as organizing rallies.
"These fans have what's called a parasocial relationship," Stuart Fischoff, professor emeritus of media psychology at California State in Los Angeles, told Newsweek. "They think they know Michael, even if Michael doesn't know them -- they have a bond they're not willing to give up very readily."
